Class for Applications and Websites - Tracking of Websites in the CMDB

[klpawlenty]

What Class are others using for Applications and Websites?   How are others tracking Websites in the CMDB?

We rolled out using the CMDB with the software_package class.   I believe this is incorrect and we need to fix this before implementing discovery.   What Class are others using for Applications?

We have a need to start tracking certain websites.   What Class are others using to track Websites or how have you decided to track these?

[mechamberlain]

I believe that Web Sites and Web Servers are, out-of-the-box, distinct CI classes.   Here is my attempt at describing them:

• Web Server [table: cmdb_ci_web_server] = Software that accepts and supervises HTTP requests (e.g. Apache, Microsoft IIS, GWS).
• Web Site [table: cmdb_ci_web_site] = A set of related web pages typically served from a single web domain. A website is hosted on at least one Web Server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet address known as a uniform resource locator (URL).

Software that accepts and supervises HTTP requests.

[edward_williams]

@Martin

You could be correct about that. Let's take a look.

Looking at the picture below, under "Application Servers", out-of-the-box the ServiceNow Configuration module (CMDB) does have a "Web Servers" Class. But under "Application Servers" there is also a "Tomcat" Class of Application Server.

Now, if you use ServiceNow Discovery to discover a "Server" by IP address (the only way it works) and that Server is running the Tomcat Web Server Service and the IIS Web Server Service you will get something that kinda looks like the following:

Meaning...that Discovery found Microsoft's Internet Information Service (IIS), which is a Web Server Service, running on that Server. Discovery automatically places IIS under the Web Servers CI Class when Discovery finds that Web Server Service running on a Server. It does the same thing for Tomcat Websphere, etc.

I'm not sure why these are grouped under "Application Servers". This language is very confusing but...all Web Server Services are Applications that run on Servers.

[mechamberlain]

"I'm not sure why these are grouped under "Application Servers". This language is very confusing but...all Web Server Services are Applications that run on Servers."

You are right!   That page you show as an example that lumps "Web Servers" under the heading "Application Servers" along with true Application Servers like WebSphere and JBOSS, is confusing.   I tend to look at the underlying structure to figure out which is which.

[edward_williams]

@Martin

And that seems to be the general consensus. You almost have to be a DBA to work with ServiceNow. The problem with that is working from that perspective you'll lose sight of process principles, which exist for a reason. An example of that is when people come to you and ask you to change the name of a CI. Well that is pretty simple to do from what ServiceNow calls the List View or actually in the database table. But that is not really something you want to do. There's a reason CIs have a lifecycle. CIs should follow the lifecycle you setup for them to follow. Instead that CI should be Retired or Decommissioned (whatever lifecycle Status you have) and another created to replace it.

[mechamberlain]

Edward Williams wrote:

@Martin

And that seems to be the general consensus. You almost have to be a DBA to work with ServiceNow. The problem with that is working from that perspective you'll lose sight of process principles, which exist for a reason. 

I agree, wholeheartedly.     You really have to see it from both sides....one of the challenges being a Configuration Manager.   I think that applies to other CM tools as well...not just ServiceNow.