No hostname string field for the Network Gear CI classes.

[Paul Porter]

Does anyone know why ServiceNow has never included a hostname field for the Network Gear CI classes?   I know it's easy enough to add a short string field, but it just seems odd it isn't already there.

[Valor1]

By definition, network gear is not generally considered a "host" and thus don't typically require a "host name."

Honestly, I've never encountered a customer that has asked for a "hostname" field for network gear.

[Paul Porter]

Thanks for chiming in Valor, but I have to categorically disagree.

Specifically, a hostname is a unique local name that identifies any device with an IP on a network, regardless of it being a "host" or any other device with an IP, that with correctly configured name servers, makes them accessible on the network.

If I'm not mistaken doesn't ServiceNow's Discovery use reverse DNS lookup to populate CI names with the hostname of any device with an IP on the network being "discovered"?

[Valor1 · Accepted solution]

ServiceNow Discovery allows you to select where there "trusted" name comes from (see screenshot below). As an aside, I completely understand your point.

It's just that Wikipedia is always right. I think what it's saying is that Network gear does not host services in the traditional sense, while computers do; it becomes an issue of semantics at some point.

ServiceNow uses the "name" field to store the hostname (what's referenced in the properties), and the properties listed pertain to this value. Just curious if the OOB properties do not meet your requirements?

Side note: Reverse DNS is often less than reliable and can have more than one entry for an IP address. You'd be surprised (okay, maybe not!) at how many customers I encounter that have crazy, incomplete, and inaccurate data in DNS.

[Paul Porter]

I know... Wikipedia can be...   well... Wikipedia.

The use of hostnames for all devices within our environment is particularly critical as we manage a large high speed intercontinental network, so by necessity we must diligently maintain our network of name servers with accurate DNS entries, including hostnames of every device.   However, I've previously worked in other enterprises where DNS wasn't maintained as diligently.

As for OOB functions, due to some upcoming projects, we need the hostname as a separate field to enable data integration with an external tool.   Plus, network engineers (ours anyway) seem to get really picky about what things are supposed to be called.   Like I mentioned originally, I'm happy to drop a new string field into the necessary tables, but semantics aside, it just seems like SN should add it into the schema for all devices that have an IP.

I'm glad Discovery provides some trusted name source options.   Maybe someday, we'll have a business case to use it.

Thanks for your insights.