Is the software model field in the discovery model table deprecated?

[peterikeda1]

I came across this KB article: FAQ: Software Model field in the Software Discovery Model Table not populating - Support and Trouble...

where it states:

4. Do you find Software Model field updated in Software Discovery Models table.

Take a note that discovery models with modified Software Model fields were either manually changed or produced prior to the "SAM Foundation"

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In all of my instances where SAM Pro is activated the software model field is still getting updated for new discovery models where it's able to find a match, so what's stated in the KB article doesn't line up with what I'm seeing. Can someone please clarify?

Thanks,

Peter

[dreinhardt]

@peterikeda1,

I also asked myself this question and at the time the support team referred me to the KB article you mentioned, and that SN is working on cleaning up this field. Perhaps you could ask the support team again why a deprecated field is being updated and whether it has an influence on the reconcile.

Best, Dennis

[LisaDG]

@peterikeda1 

Although this does not answer all of your questions, it did help me.  I entered a ServiceNow case asking whether the software model attribute in the discovery model table should be verified/updated by an ITAM administrator given this thread and the KB.  Here is the answer - 

"The Software Model field on the Discovery Model table (cmdb_sam_sw_discovery_model) is essentially a legacy/deprecated field according to KB0862977.

That KB states that discovery models with a populated Software Model field were either manually changed or produced prior to SAM Foundation.

In the modern SAM Pro workflow, the reconciliation engine does not rely on the Software Model field sitting directly on the Discovery Model record to link installations to software models. Instead, it uses Discovery Maps (DMAPs) on the Software Entitlement Definition table (samp_sw_entitlement_definition) to
associate discovery models to software models during reconciliation.

If you're running SAM Pro with reconciliation, then manually ensuring the Software Model field on Discovery Models is populated and correct is not necessary for reconciliation accuracy — the DMAP and reconciliation engine handle that linkage."

(The KB has been retired and is not accessible.)

[dreinhardt]

@LisaDG thanks for your detailed answer! 
In the last weeks I’ve identified customer processes that have this field included as part of a verification process - now I can use the provided case answer to inform them. Thanks!