If you miss any content, please leave it as a comment and I will add it to this article.
For the similar topic of Common Service Data Model (CSDM), I have written an individual article| Table of Contents |
My library Knowledge Sources To Go is very popular, but it was intended mainly as a thematically grouped guide to standard sources and was provided by me as a PDF file. For certain topics, however, there is so much content that I can no longer include it in that document, as it cannot continue to grow forever.
For this reason, I have decided to handle such topics in individual community articles like this one instead.
What is a CMDB in ServiceNow?
With the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) application, build logical representations of assets, services, and the relationships between them that comprise the infrastructure of your organization. Details about these components are stored in the configuration management database (CMDB) which you can use to monitor the infrastructure, helping ensure integrity, stability, and continuous service operation. Use core features such as CMDB Health, CMDB Identification and Reconciliation, and CMDB CI Lifecycle Management to monitor and detect health issues, reconcile data integrity issues, and manage data life cycle.
Entry point to the official product information pages
Entry point to the official product documentation
Summarized overview in one PDF file
Outlines the governance and strategy of the CMDB and its implementation
Provides detailed guidance on the way that ServiceNow intends the process to-be.
Describes the inherent functionality of the product and outlines the technical components in the form of a diagram.
Success Pack "CMDB and CSDM Data Foundations"
This success pack helps customers implement and manage the data foundation of the ServiceNow platform, the Configuration Management Database.
Configuration Management and CMDB for Dummies
This book shares in-depth insights and prescriptive guidance to enable IT Operations teams to meet these challenges, including how to:
- Create a configuration management plan.
- Build a healthy configuration management database.
- Align your plan to business use cases.
In this guide, you’ll find practical advice on how to design and deploy your Configuration Management Database (CMDB). We’ll cover overall design principles, specific implementation steps, and best practices for rolling out and maintaining your CMDB. By following this guidance, you’ll maximize the business value of your CMDB, get better results faster, and avoid common pitfalls.
Plan your successful CMDB deployment
Behind every successful CMDB deployment is a detailed configuration management plan for implementing, designing, and sustaining a configuration management capability. And when you take the time to develop a configuration management plan, the result is greater business service performance. This Success Playbook will help you articulate your goals, form a configuration management team, establish a governance structure, understand configuration item design, integrate with key business processes.
Assets and CIs – Understanding the Difference
Easy-to-understand explanation of the distinctions and similarities between CIs and assets.
How to create and manage Assets & CI's effectively
Creating and managing assets and configuration items can be a challenging, and overwhelming task. It typically involves multiple processes, tools, and teams to reach a mature state in which long-term value can be realized.There are three main steps you will need to complete, or at least understand thoroughly, in order to set your organization on the path to IT asset and configuration management success.
CMDB - Lifecycle Stage and Status
CMDB and CSDM LIfecycle Stage and Status is a mini-workshop presentation that will help your organization with understanding and gathering requirements to migrate to the new lifecycles. This is used in Application Portfolio, Hardware and Software Asset Management products
Trainings & Courses
Introduction to the Configuration Management Database
Learn features and functionality of the CMDB, as well as understand IT challenges remediated by a well implemented and maintained CMDB with Introduction to the CMDB.
Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Fundamentals
This on demand course offers lessons and interactive assessment simulators designed to help you effectively configure and implement a robust CMDB. You'll learn of solutions to automate the ingestion of data, governing it to ensure the CMDB remains accurate and healthy, extracting actionable insights, and leveraging the data to drive significant business value.
CMDB Delta and Supporting Content
See release related materials and supporting content for CMDB.
Articles & Blog Posts
2021-11-08, by ServiceNow Support
This article provides guidance and advice about how to design a CMDB, from defining requirements to development of the data model. It assumes that the Configuration Management leadership team has already articulated the goals, benefits, expected uses, and policies that will govern its scope.
2022-12-05 by @Dave Aiken
Assets and CIs – Understanding the Difference
Asset Management and Configuration Management are distinct areas of focus, and yet it can be very difficult to differentiate assets from configuration items. Understanding the difference will facilitate the creation of well-defined Asset and Configuration Management processes enabling well-informed decisions for asset spend and operational support.
2023-02-06 by @Mary Vanatta1
CMDB - 3 Pillars to Successful Data Foundations
Economic downturns are a challenging time for any organization. To navigate these challenging times, organizations often look into their data like a crystal ball to help cut costs, maintain stability, and find ways to recuperate existing spend. The CMDB (Configuration Management Database) is a vital database for enterprise architecture, service operations, and asset management teams to help accomplish this task.
2023-02-22 by Mikko Juola
How to Establish Ownership in Your CMDB
In this article, I will discuss using the Consumer-Owner-Provider model to take control of your CMDB.
2024-04-29 by @Ahmed Drar
Aligning Sold Products and Install Base Items with CMDB
In CSM, Modelling sold product, install base items, product models, and integrating them into CMDB may be a complicated activity, so what I'm trying to accomplish here is to reflect on how to do it properly.
2024-09-10 by @Michael Hansen
What's New in the CMDB and CSDM for the Xanadu Release
The latest updates to the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) in ServiceNow’s Xanadu release take visibility to a whole new level. With enhanced dashboards, new tools to manage your Service Graph Connectors, and a modernized user interface for Application Services and CI Dashboards, the future of IT Operations is smarter and more powerful than ever.
Videos & Podcasts
2019-02-05, by ServiceNow Community
CMDB Basics with Steven Bell (Part 1)
CMDB is always a HOT TOPIC! Now's your chance to ask Steven Bell, Accenture & Community MVP, your questions.
2019-07-11, by ServiceNow Community
CMDB Basics with Steven Bell (Part 2)
Continuing from Part 1, come review with Steven Bell, the Configuration Management Database in ServiceNow - the core repository for Configuration Items. He will cover more configuration topics and need-to-know CMDB structures.
2020-09-12, by ServiceNow Community
A 3-hour webinar covering pretty much everything on the topic of CMDB.
2021-08-18, by ServiceNow Community
Demystifying the Domain Separated CMDB
In this CSDM discussion, Tom Blevens and Mark Bodman explore key considerations in how our CMDB works in Domain Separated instances. We address when to consider using Domain Separation, benefits, automation caveats when implementing discovery or Service Graph connectors, and querying the CMDB.
2022-03-11 by Jeff Thies
What is a Configuration Management Database (CMDB)
Learn what a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is, how it works, and what value it provides with a focus on the ServiceNow CMDB.
2022-05-22, by ServiceNow Community
Asset Management vs. Configuration Management (CMDB) on the ServiceNow Platform
2022-05-25, by ServiceNow Community
In this session, Navin Sharma walks through CMDB best practices for a successful CMDB.
2022-09-26, by ServiceNow Community
2022-10-24, by GlideFast Consulting
CMDB Tokyo Release Demo - CI Attestation
Verify the existence of actual IT infrastructure and applications that you own, systematically and in bulk. As CIs are continuously ingested into the CMDB from various data sources, ensure the integrity of the CMDB. Remove any stale CIs that are associated with IT infrastructure or applications that no longer exists.
2023-02-25 by ServiceNow Community
What's new in Utah CMDB, CSDM and Service Graph Connectors
We present an overview of what's new in the ServiceNow CMDB, CSDM and Service Graph Connectors for our Utah family release and Q1 store releases.
2023-03-02 by ServiceNow Support
CMDB Integrations Dashboard | Overview
Overview of the ServiceNow CMDB Integrations Dashboard.
2023-03-07 by Einar & Partners
ITOM Masterclass: Scaling CMDB Governance
Einar & Partners unpacking CMDB Governance and how to scale the culture around managing a CMDB team successfully.
2023-08-15 by Jeff Thies
ServiceNow CMDB Fundamentals - Configuration Management Database Demo
Learn about the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) by asking Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Topics include the CMDB data model, ServiceNow hierarchical database, configuration items, Identification & Reconciliation Engine (IRE), ServiceNow Discovery, Common Service Data Model (CSDM) and more.
2023-09-20 by ServiceNow Support
Vancouver Release CMDB Unified Map View
This major feature release in Vancouver is focused on the CMDB's Unified Map View, which combines and enhances the user experience of both the legacy dependency map and the legacy Service Map
2023-11-07 by ServiceNow Community
What's new in Vancouver release: CMDB
Customers rely on the CMDB for panoramic insights into their core services and infrastructure. Until now, they've had to choose between two perspectives: a view based on relationship dependencies or a view based on service maps. With the Vancouver release, customers can see their critical business technology in a Unified Map that combines the best of both views. This powerful UX makes it easy to see all of your technology in the context of the processes that affect them so you can plan better, diagnose more accurately, and respond to business needs faster. Come hear Tony Branton, the senior product manager for the CMDB show you how to plan for and maximize the value of this breakthrough feature.
2024-05-13 by Ofer Asif
In this video, I will show you:
- How to use ServiceNow's Support Group, Managed By Group, Change Group, Approval Group, Assignment Group, Assigned to, Managed, by, Owned by, and Supported by fields.
- How does synchronization between Asset and CI records work
- How to create Technical Service Offering in ServiceNow using CMDB Group and Dynamic CI Group.
- How to sync group fields between the Technical Service Offering and the Ci.
2024-05-16 by Ofer Asif
ServiceNow Unauthorized Change Detection of Configuration Items
An overview of ServiceNow's unauthorized change detection capability, with an emphasis on the service mapping dependency.
2024-05-02 by TechnoMonk
ServiceNow Getting Started with CI Class Manager
Unlock your career growth by mastering the ServiceNow CI Class Manager in our comprehensive guide. This video provides step-by-step instructions on how to leverage CI Class Manager for efficient configuration item management. Learn how to navigate the interface, implement best practices, and optimize your workflow for better results.
2025-08-01 by TechTalk with Bill
3 Shocking Mistakes Breaking Your CMDB Right Now
Is your ServiceNow CMDB telling the truth? This video highlights common data integrity issues and explains why your CMDB in ServiceNow might be unreliable. Learn how to fix these mistakes for better data quality and a more trustworthy servicenow configuration.
CMDB Workspace
The CMDB Workspace is an efficient, central, and modernized way for you to work. Use CMDB Workspace to search and explore the CMDB, examine health and recent activity, and access various CMDB dashboards and tools to support tasks in your organization.
Entry point to the official product documentation
Trainings & Courses
Introduction to CMDB Workspace
Attend Introduction to CMDB Workspace to learn how to navigate and understand the various tabs, tiles, charts, metrics, and scorecards available from the CMDB Workspace.
Articles
2022-04-01 by Devoteam
Dive into the CMDB Workspace in ServiceNow San Diego
2024-05-01 by Morten Christiansen
Unified Map - an overview of relations within CMDB Workspace
In the realm of Configuration Management Databases (CMDBs), understanding the relationships between Configuration Items (CIs) is crucial for effective management and decision-making. One crucial aspect of this understanding lies in the Dependency View. Let's delve into the current method of visualizing relationships in the Dependency Map, followed by a look at what it could be.
Videos & Podcasts
2022-12-01, by ServiceNow Community
New CMDB 360 feature for MultiSource CMDB data
The December release of the CMDB Workspace V3.1 includes a new feature called CMDB 360. Navin Sharma walks us through an overview and demo in this session. CMDB 360 replaces current multi-source reports with a more comprehensive ability to view and report on CI differences and discrepancies being ingested from different sources when using the Multi-Source feature. Often, there are differences in the data reported from different source systems such as Discovery and the many Service Graph connectors, CMDB 360 helps investigate what those differences are.
Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE)
The IRE is an underlying key component in Identification and Reconciliation, providing a centralized framework to perform identification and reconciliation processes across different data sources. IRE uses identification rules, reconciliation rules, and IRE data source rules when processing incoming data before inserting that data to the CMDB.
Entry point to the official product documentation
Identification and Reconciliation of CIs
Outlines the baseline process explaining the configurable options with the objective of determining the to-be process and corresponding configuration requirements.
Articles & Blog Posts
by ServiceNow Support
This article explains how exactly the Identification and Reconciliation Engine works when a CI (as payload) is being sent to the IRE
2019-06-19 by ServiceNow Support
How to log the payload sent to IRE and check the issues with the payload
This article focus on how to enable CI identification and Reconciliation debugging and view the CI payload to the IRE and check the issues with the payload on demand.
2019-06-19 by ServiceNow Support
How to run the CI identification on demand using the payload
While debugging the CI IRE, we may need to run the CI Identification and reconciliation using the payload. This article explains how you can run these.
2023-04-30 by @Ahmed Drar
How to configure identification rules for non-CMDB table?
If your core data has several duplicate entries, such as duplicate locations or departments, you might need to adopt IRE.
2024-02-08 by Paul Stuart
Identification & Reconciliation Discovery in ServiceNow
2024-05-24 by Ashok Sasidharan
ServiceNow CMDB Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE)
The CMDB is a very powerful database that can support the business objectives of an organization across a multitude of IT and non-IT functions across the enterprise. An inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated CMDB can lead to erosion of user trust. This will impact all the business functions that leverage the CMDB. Properly reviewing and defining CI identification rules as well as reconciliation rules for each CI class will help to avoid a lot of CMDB data quality issues.
Videos & Podcasts
2021-09-08 by SnowExpertRohit
CMDB Indetification,Reconciliation & DataSource Precedence ServiceNow
The Identification and Reconciliation module provides a centralized framework for identifying and reconciling data from different data sources. It helps maintain the integrity of the CMDB when multiple data sources are used to create and update CI records.
2023-06-01 by GlideFast Consulting
New Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) feature in the Utah Release
Senior Technical Consultant Rikki Fernando walks us through ServiceNow® Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) in the ServiceNow Utah Release.
2023-07-22 by ServiceNow Universe
CMDB Identification and Reconciliation rules
Informative video on very important concept that is IRE. IRE makes sure the CMDB data is clean and have no bad data.
2023-10-03 by ServiceNow Community
Using the IRE for non CMDB data
In the ServiceNow Utah release, we expanded the use core CMDB capabilities such as IH-ETL (Integration Hub - Extract, Transform & Load) and the IRE (Identification & Reconciliation Engine) to properly identify and reconcile non-CI data. We provide an overview of these tools, and details on how to set data that is not a CI to be used in ingestion processes. We cover ingesting and reconciliation Location data in this video to create a well-formed location hierarchy. Locations are used in many ways, from the location of servers in the datacenter, managing buildings and rooms, or location of users so they can be directed to the proper help desk in their building or region.
CMDB Health
Maintaining the health of the CMDB in ServiceNow is essential for ensuring accurate, complete, and reliable data, which is the foundation for effective IT operations and informed decision-making. A healthy CMDB enhances decision-making, reduces downtime, ensures compliance, and leads to cost savings by providing accurate and up-to-date information about the IT infrastructure . ServiceNow facilitates the monitoring of CMDB health through its CMDB Health Dashboard, which evaluates key performance indicators (KPIs) such as completeness, correctness, compliance, and relationship integrity. Completeness assesses whether all necessary information is present in the CMDB, correctness ensures data accuracy by identifying issues like duplicate, orphaned, or stale configuration items (CIs), compliance verifies adherence to defined standards and policies, and relationship integrity checks the accuracy of CI relationships . By regularly monitoring these KPIs, organizations can proactively identify and address data quality issues, thereby maintaining a robust and trustworthy CMDB that supports various IT service management processes.
Product Documentation (CMDB Health)
Entry point to the official product documentation
CMDB Health Configuration is a guide to assist CMDB Admins on setting up the Health Dasbhoards.
6 essential steps for delivering a healthy CMDB with true business value
Your Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a critical tool for ensuring optimal digital services. But to create a healthy CMDB, you need a comprehensive strategy for delivering and maintaining robust CMDB capabilities. In this ebook, you’ll learn the essential practices for delivering and maintaining a CMDB that offers true business value.
Trainings
This simulator will assess your understanding of working with the CMDB Health Dashboard, various scorecards, metrics, and remediation.
Maintain the Health of the CMDB
Explore multiple methods to gain better visibility into the health of your CMDB, create complex queries on CMDB data, and remediate issues such as duplicats and stale CIs.
Articles & Blog Posts
2023-10-23 by ServiceNow Spectaculars
Stale Records vs Orphan Record In CMDB
In ServiceNow’s Configuration Management Database (CMDB), “stale” and “orphan” records refer to two common data quality issues that can arise in the CMDB.
Videos & Podcasts
2023-10-12 by ServiceNow Community
CMDB Health Deep Dive - CSDM Dynamic CI groups & fixing data required for audit and incident
In this session, we start from a regulatory compliance criteria that FFIEC required, and address a few specific CMDB health metrics to show you how improving CMDB health can help you be prepared for audits. We use the Data Foundations dashboard to identify the issues, and go through the process of cleaning up location data, implementing Dynamic CI groups to ensure ownership on CI's and address other common issues.
Legacy Health Dashboards
The CMDB Health Dashboard has been available on the platform for a long time, with a unique set of capabilities for calculating Completeness, Compliance and Correctness. Health indicators such as duplicate CIs, required CI fields, and audits contribute to the calculation of health scorecards at the CI, class, and CMDB level. In contrast, the Data Foundations Dashboard is available in the ServiceNow store, providing a more comprehensive set of metrics and playbooks to help correct them.
With the deprecation and the transition to new Platform Analytics dashboards the following legacy solutions will no longer work any longer in future releases.
Product Documentation (Data Foundations Dashboard)
Entry point to the official product documentation.
Trainings & Courses
Attend CMDB Health Deep Dive to learn how to improve the health of a CMDB by reviewing and remediating the prescribed health results provided by ServiceNow on the CMDB and CSDM Data Foundations Dashboards.
Articles & Blog Posts
2021-04-28, by ServiceNow Support
Install and Upgrade CSDM and CMDB Data Foundations Dashboard
This article explains on how you can install, check the version and upgrade the CSDM and CMDB Data Foundations Dashboards store app.
2021-11-13, by Maik Skoddow
List of all "Get Well Playbooks" (CSDM & CMDB)
The ServiceNow CSDM and CMDB Data Foundations Dashboards store app contains dashboards which provide insights into the key foundational indicators of your CMDB and Common Service Data Model (CSDM). This app provides recommendations to ensure that the CMDB and CSDM are properly configured for optimal usage and to mitigate any potential risks. These playbooks are of exceptional quality and provide much better insights into CMDB structures and CSDM concepts than all other material and training courses. And since there seems to be no other way to get to these playbooks except through the dashboards, the following article lists all of them.
2023-02-06 by @Mary Vanatta1
5 Steps to Monitor CMDB Health Proactively
Industry-specific data must meet an organization's capabilities for a business to succeed. Banking and healthcare industries, for example, must have accurate monetary, customer, and patient information. Business success is at risk if this data is not maintained and there is no governance structure around how it gets populated, utilized, and secured. Customers become unhappy when their data is lost or services you provide are experiencing outages. The CMDB contains operational data critical to providing services, driving an organization's outcomes, meeting its capabilities, and transforming them digitally.
Videos & Podcasts
2021-04-02 by ServiceNow Community
Data Foundations Dashboards for CMDB and CSDM
2021-06-29 by GlideFast Consulting
In this ServiceNow Tutorial, Vlad Tohaneanu gives an introduction to the CMDB Health Dashboard and how to use health inclusion rules to tailor what CIs would have compliance checks done on them.
2022-11-11 by ServiceNow Community
Data Foundations and CMDB Health dashboard overview
In this video, Callan Bond and Mark Bodman explain the value of CMDB health, and provide demos of the 2 critical tools used to improve CMDB and CSDM data quality.
Health Dashboards in the CMDB Workspace
