Prefix on server serial number from VMware via Discovery

Henrik Jutterst · ‎04-04-2024

Background:

We are running ServiceNow Discovery on VMware and it seems like serial number have a different format when the CI is updated from Discovery.

Discovery also adds a prefix to the serial number.

Question:

Is there a setting for this on VMware Discovery or how can this be addressed so that we have the same serial number as displayed on the actual virtual server?

To my understanding the serial number is the same in both VMware and on the virtual server, but when Discovery is done, the serial number is written in another format and with a VMware- prefix.

//Discovery
VMware-42 23 62 aa 3b 11 bd 52-9f a4 f3 97 c3 05 db 01

//Scripted import
422362aa-3b11-bd52-9fa4-f397c305db01

Henrik Jutterst · 2 weeks ago

I found documentation about this on the Doc site for Serial Number.

Reason was that one was VMware Serial number and the other was UUID

In the Serial Number table there are 4 different types of serial numbers having different purposes.

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The Serial Number table is a many to one relationship linking back to the server CI. This table has a type field for specifying the type of the serial number (system, uuid, chassis, bios, or baseboard) and storing the actual value itself. Use the following Windows standards for serial number types in the Serial Number [cmdb_serial_number] table:

system: Product identification such as a serial number for software, a die number on a hardware chip, or a project number (for noncommercial products).

uuid: Universally unique identifier (UUID) for the product. A UUID is a 128-bit identifier that is guaranteed to be different from other generated UUIDs.

chassis: Manufacturer-allocated number that is used to identify a physical element. Value is the Serial Number member of the System Enclosure or Chassis structure in the SMBIOS information. This type represents the properties associated with a physical system enclosure.

bios: The assigned serial number of the BIOS. This type represents the attributes of the computer system basic input/output services (BIOS) that are installed on the computer.
baseboard: Manufacturer-allocated number that is used to identify the physical element. This property is inherited from CIM_PhysicalElement, and is sometimes referred to as the 'Motherboard Serial Number'.

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View solution in original post

AJ_TechTrek · ‎04-04-2024

HI @Henrik Jutterst ,

You must need to check the Probe and Sensor which is updating the Serial Number for virtual machine and then you have to correct the serial number format and mapping there.

Also we have not required to modify the Probe and Sensor OOB as this is not suggested and its break the functionality while you are doing upgrade instance.

Please appreciate the efforts of community contributors by marking appropriate response as Mark my Answer Helpful or Accept Solution this may help other community users to follow correct solution in future.

Thanks

AJ

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Henrik Jutterst · ‎04-05-2024

Thanks for replying, but not really what I was looking for in a solution type of answer.

Yes, I can troubleshoot the pattern (not using probes since that is very old) to see what is going on, but I find it strange that serial number is different format and also have a prefix.

I also read a KB where ServiceNow does not recomend truncating the serial number.

So, still looking for some interesting thoughts regarding this issue/question.

Anyway. Have a nice day and thank you for taking time to answer.

Henrik Jutterst · ‎04-10-2024

The feedback I got from Support in this question was:

"The VMware- prefix is not added by ServiceNow but it is what the probe/pattern gets while making a WMI call to get the system serial number.

It's the UUID of the machine as set in the VMX file of the VM (uuid.bios). It's static for the life of the machine unless you copy the VM and tell VMware that you copied it (rather than moved it).

Meanwhile, I hope the analysis provided is helpful in addressing your concern. If you have any further questions related to this issue kindly update the case with your query and we will be happy to assist you."

Conclusion

So this needs to be investigated from my side in order to understand this better, before I can say who is correct.

MattSN · ‎04-10-2024

Rather than going down the rabbit hole of why that pattern sets the serial number in that manner, it may be best to set a data presedence rule for your import source at position 1 and servicenow at position 2. That will ensure the value stays in the preferred format.