CIs attestation

Release version: Zurich
Updated July 31, 2025
2 minutes to read
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Summary of CIs attestation

CIs attestation in ServiceNow enables you to verify the existence and validity of IT infrastructure and application Configuration Items (CIs) in your CMDB. As CIs are continuously imported from multiple data sources, attestation ensures CMDB integrity by identifying and removing stale or obsolete CIs associated with infrastructure or applications that no longer exist.

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You use the CMDB Data Manager within CMDB Workspace to create attestation policies specifying which CIs require attestation and how often. Attestation tasks are assigned to knowledgeable users who can confirm or reject the status of these CIs. Rejected CIs can then be retired, archived, or deleted, keeping your CMDB accurate and up to date.

Key Features

  • Attestation Policy Creation: Define which CIs require attestation and set attestation frequency using the CMDB Data Manager.
  • Task Assignment: Assign attestation tasks to relevant users responsible for verifying CIs.
  • Task Management: Users can view and manage their assigned attestation tasks from the Tasks view in CMDB Workspace.
  • Smart Detection and Auto-Attestation: Automatically identify and attest CIs discovered recently through discovery programs or Service Graph Connectors, streamlining the attestation process.

Smart Detection Configuration

Smart detection accelerates attestation by auto-attesting CIs based on recent discovery results. To enable and configure smart detection, ensure:

  • Discovery is enabled or Service Graph Connectors are implemented in your organization.
  • The system property sncmdbws.attestation.smartdetection.disabled is set to false (default).
  • Candidate CIs must be discovered within the timeframe set by sncmdbws.attestation.smartdetection.discoverywindow (default 30 days).
  • CIs must not originate from discovery sources listed in the exclusion property sncmdbws.attestation.smartdetection.discoverysource.exclusion, which filters out unreliable sources.

System Properties for Attestation

The following properties govern smart detection and auto-attestation:

  • sncmdbws.attestation.smartdetection.disabled: Enables or disables smart detection (default is false to enable).
  • sncmdbws.attestation.smartdetection.discoverysource.exclusion: Specifies discovery sources to exclude from auto-attestation candidate lists.
  • sncmdbws.attestation.smartdetection.discoverywindow: Defines the number of days in the discovery window for considering CIs as candidates for auto-attestation (default 30 days).

Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

This attestation capability helps maintain a reliable and accurate CMDB by systematically validating CIs in bulk. It reduces manual effort through smart detection and auto-attestation, ensuring only current and verified infrastructure and application data remain in your CMDB. This improves decision-making, compliance, and operational efficiency across your IT environment.

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.

Use the CMDB Data Manager in CMDB Workspace to create an Attestation policy, specifying CIs that need to be attested and the attestation frequency. Assign Attestation tasks to users that are familiar with or that manage the CIs, and who can attest or reject the IT infrastructure or applications that those CIs represent. Rejected CIs that are no longer needed can then be retired, archived, or deleted from the CMDB.

Users can go to the Tasks view in CMDB Workspace to see their assigned attestation tasks, and then review and process the tasks.

Smart detection and auto-attestation

Smart detection streamlines and simplifies CI attestation. With smart detection you can auto-attest CIs that are automatically detected by discovery programs, based only on recent discovery results.

The following conditions must be met to enable smart detection:
  • Discovery is enabled in your organization or Getting started with Service Graph Connectors are implemented.
  • The system property sn_cmdb_ws.attestation.smart_detection.disabled is set to false (default value).
In addition, smart detection uses the following system properties as filters when creating a list of CIs that are candidates for auto-attestation. To be included as candidates for auto-attestation, CIs must be discovered:
  • Within the discovery time window specified by the sn_cmdb_ws.attestation.smart_detection.discovery_window system property (for example, within the last 30 days)
  • By any discovery source that isn't excluded by the sn_cmdb_ws.attestation.smart_detection.discovery_source.exclusion system property
Then, when you review those candidate CIs, you can choose to auto-attest them.

Properties associated with Attestation

Property Description

sn_cmdb_ws.attestation.smart_detection.disabled

Disables smart detection.

  • Type: true | false
  • Default value: false
  • Values:
    • true: Disable smart detection.
    • false: Enable smart detection.
  • Location: Add to System Properties [sys_properties] table.
  • Learn more: Review CMDB Data Manager attestation tasks in CMDB Workspace
sn_cmdb_ws.attestation.smart_detection.discovery_source.exclusion

Comma-separated list of discovery sources that are excluded in smart detection processing. For example, a data source that is unreliable in detecting CIs.

CIs discovered by discovery sources in the list, can't be candidates for auto-attestation.

  • Type: string
  • Default value: Manual Entry
  • Location: System property
  • Learn more: Review CMDB Data Manager attestation tasks in CMDB Workspace
sn_cmdb_ws.attestation.smart_detection.discovery_window

Number of days (discovery window) that smart detection uses to determine whether a CI is a candidate for auto-attestation. Only CIs that were discovered within this discovery window can be candidates for auto-attestation.

  • Type: integer
  • Default value: 30
  • Location: System property
  • Learn more: Review CMDB Data Manager attestation tasks in CMDB Workspace