I’m looking to understand how ServiceNow Discovery handles a scenario where the same infrastructure device is discovered from multiple sources or discovery methods.
For example, suppose a server is discovered through multiple Discovery schedules or has overlapping discovery data from different sources.
How does ServiceNow determine whether the discovered device is an existing CI or a new CI?
Specifically:
- Which role do Identification Rules and the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) play?
- How are duplicate CIs prevented?
- What happens when different sources provide conflicting attribute values?
- How do Reconciliation Rules determine which source should update the CI?
I’m interested in understanding the end-to-end flow from Discovery → IRE → Identification Rules → Reconciliation Rules → CMDB.
