Ask the Expert: Live Chat | Assets and Models and CIs, Oh My!

[ServiceNow]

Original Air Date: Thursday, July 9, 2015 | 10:00 AM (PDT) | 1:00PM (EDT)

Do you struggle with the difference between Assets and Configuration Items? And why do we need Model records? Isn't that just another thing to maintain? Get a better understanding of these items, how they are different, and how they work together in this session with Ben Sweetser.

Ben Sweetser is a ServiceNow "old timer" with experience on the full platform with focus on Asset and Configuration Management and Automation, such as Orchestration and Discovery.

[Community Alums]

Hi Bhupinder,

Let's consider each of these in turn:

• Configuration Items: Configuration Item classes have a one-to-one relationship with Model categories. As the item that requires the most specific detail, this keeps the number of Model categories as small as it can be. For example, from an operational standpoint, a computer, a printer, and a network switch all require different details to be tracked. Because this is a 1:1 relationship, simply identifying the CI class also identifies the Model category.
• Assets: Asset classes have a one-to-many relationship with Model categories because from a financial and contractual perspective, the computer, printer, and network switch above can all be treated the same. Rather than complicating things on the asset side, we can just use the Hardware asset class, and associate it with the appropriate Model categories. Because this is 1:many, when you create an asset, you need to identify what the Model category is.
• Models: Models allow you to associate multiple Model categories. Consider this: a computer could serve as an end user computer, a server, a Windows server, a Linux server. You would be very limited if you could not associate the asset with the appropriate class. This has a couple of effects:
  • From the asset perpective what this really allows for is a means to limit options when you create an asset. For example, if you create a new Asset and assign it a Model category of Server, when you select the Model, it will only show the Models that are associated with the Server Model category. If you go the other way and select the Model first, say an HP Proliant DL380, it would only allow you to select the Model categories associated with that Model, perhaps just Server and Windows Server.
  • CIs and discovery sources have the ability to change the Model category for an asset as appropriate, even though you cannot do this manually. For example, if you purchased an HP Proliant server and the Asset record is created with the Server Model category, if the Discovery source then classifies the device as a Windows Server, the Asset record is updated accordingly. As the operational use of an item over time can change, this flexibility is important.

I hope this answers your questions.

Ben

[Bhupinder1]

Thanks Ben. That really helped to clarify my doubts and also thanks for the valuable session on Asset Management process.

[Sharon Hobart]

I noticed on one of your examples, you were creating an Asset and there was a button in the top-right corner that I think said "create asset only".   Is that a new button with a particular release that is out-of-the-box?  

[Community Alums]

Hi Sharon,

I think you are merging two different buttons:

• Create Asset is available on the CI record when you have Enforce CI verification enabled on the Model category and the CI has not yet been verified.
• Delete Asset only is an option available in Fuji and later patches in Eureka (I think patch 3 or 4). This allows you to delete just the asset if you accidentally created one.

Ben

[Sharon Hobart]

You are right again, Ben!   Thanks for clarifying.   But now that you brought it up.   I can't think of a scenario where youwould delete an asset only but leave the CI, unless is was truly a mistake that you added the asset.

Sharon