What is agent?

[BoHyun Jung]

I understand that Discovery is collecting agent information. Can you explain what an Agent is for example?

Please explain the difference between Agent and Application.

[AnveshKumar M · Accepted solution]

Hi @BoHyun Jung 

Agents are the programs whose job is to monitor the system, collect system properties and generate events etc. For example, ScienceLogic is a monitoring tool which will deploy it's agents in all the CIs, which monitors the system performance/health if there is any anomaly or any thing that is normal, the agent will send an event to SciencdLogic server. Ofcourse we can integrate ScienceLogic with ServiceNow to turn those events to Incidents and also as a Discovery source for CMDB.

Where as an agent is stand alone (mostly) which is designed for a specific purpose. For example, Oracle database installed in a server.

Please mark my answer helpful and accept as a solution if it helped 👍✅

[Amit Gujarathi]

HI @BoHyun Jung ,
I trust you are doing great.

1. What is an Agent in ServiceNow Discovery?

   • In ServiceNow Discovery, an "Agent" refers to a software component that is installed on devices within an organization's network. The primary role of these agents is to collect data about the hardware, software, and configuration of the devices they are installed on. This information is then communicated back to the ServiceNow instance.
   • For example, an agent installed on a server might collect data about the server's operating system, installed applications, network settings, and hardware specifications.

2. Difference Between Agent and Application in ServiceNow:

   • Agent:
     • As mentioned, it's a software component for data collection.
     • Typically operates at a device or server level.
     • Its main purpose is to gather and relay information about the system it resides on.
   • Application:
     • In ServiceNow, an application refers to a set of modules and functionalities designed to perform a specific set of tasks or to manage a particular business process.
     • Examples include the Incident Management application, the Change Management application, etc.
     • Applications are more about executing specific processes and managing data within the ServiceNow platform, rather than collecting data from external sources.