Advantages of interacting via MID Server

[Akihiko2]

Hello,

Our on-premise system has an external endpoint for the WebAPI.
The external endpoint is equipped with authentication and security.
Therefore, we believe that WebAPI integration between our on-premise system and ServiceNow is possible.
On the other hand, the MID Server is provided by ServiceNow.
Would it be better to communicate via MID Server instead of directly between the on-premise system and ServiceNow?
It would be helpful if you could tell me the advantages of going through MID.

#WebAPI (REST, SOAP, etc.)
#Authentication (OAuth (Client Credencials), Basic, Mutual TLS (mTLS), etc.)
#Security (WAF, FW, Anti-malware and DoS/DDoS measures etc.)

Thanks,
Akihiko

[Maik Skoddow · Accepted solution]

Hi @Akihiko 

there is no advantage using MID server in case your endpoint is reachable by ServiceNow directly.

A MID server is only required if ServiceNow cannot reach your corporate systems directly.

On the other hand, a MID server has to be hosted anywhere and this consumes resources and costs. And a MID server can cause many troubles (see my article MID Server Knowledge & Troubleshooting Resources)

Kind regards
Maik

[Akihiko2]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I had a chance to look at your article.
It's great that you have so much information about MID Server!
I would like to consider internally whether we need MID or not, referring to your opinion as an expert on MID.
Incidentally, if you know a link to a list of MID benefits (≒ list of provided functions), I would appreciate it if you could let me know.

[Akihiko2]

Our endpoints can reach ServiceNow directly.
Also, Asynchronous Message Bus(AMB、ECC Queue) seems to have a lag in API execution to the extent that it queues.
Other features that the MID server provides (adding custom logic, mashing up multiple responses, etc.) are also available in our system.
We do not think it is necessary to install a MID server in our system.

[Nayan Mahato]

Hello Akihiko,

The MID server (Management, Instrumentation, and Discovery) is designed to ease communication with external systems. It is rather special, since it does not run on the instance; it is Java software that is installed in a customer's infrastructure. This gives the following advantages:

1)The MID Server has direct communication with others systems, since it is in the customers network. This is very useful for communicating with unencrypted protocols, such as JDBC.

2)Scripts that run on the MID server have access to the file-system and can include custom Java code in JAR packages.

3)The MID server only initiates connections. It does not accept inbound communication, and does not open any ports. This makes it more acceptable to security teams.

4)It offloads work from the instance, enabling to scale out horizontally.

Mid Server is used as a middle ware between service now and different data base servers to perform modifications at data level.Mid server is used to import the data into service now.Here is details of mid server 

https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/sandiego-servicenow-platform/page/product/mid-server/concept/mid-server-landing.html

https://www.servicenow.com/content/dam/servicenow-assets/public/en-us/doc-type/success/quick-answer/mid-server-basics.pdf

Regards,

Nayan