--- sourceDocument: Australia IT Operations Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-operations-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia IT Operations Management ft:clusterId : - itom bundleId : - itom workflow : - Technology --- # CI deletion strategies for pattern discovery # CI deletion strategies for pattern discovery {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Australia * * Updated August 11, 2026 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of CI deletion strategies for pattern discovery ServiceNow's pattern-based Discovery allows customers to identify a main Configuration Item (CI) type, such as IIS or Tomcat servers, and related CIs that support it. During subsequent discoveries, if related CIs are no longer found but the main CI is detected, customers can apply deletion strategies to manage these related CIs in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). This capability is exclusive to pattern-based Discovery and not available with probes or sensors. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Main CI and Related CIs:** Patterns identify a primary CI and associated related CIs, such as host machines, configuration files, or hosted websites. Relationships between the main CI and related CIs are manually defined in the **Related CI Types \[sacitopattern\]** table. * **Deletion Strategy Application:** Deletion strategies apply only to related CIs, not the main CI for Infrastructure pattern types. For Application or Cloud Resource pattern types, main CIs can be deleted. * **Deletion Strategy Options:** Customers can choose from the following actions when a related CI is missing during Discovery but the main CI is found: * **Keep:** Retain the CI record unchanged (default). * **Delete:** Remove the CI record and its relationship to the main CI from the CMDB. * **Mark as absent:** Set the CI's **Status \[installstatus\]** to Absent, indicating the CI is not found but not deleted. (Exceptions: network adapters and IP addresses are deleted if marked absent.) * **Delete relations:** Remove only the relationship between the related CI and the main CI, keeping the CI record. * **Mark as retired:** Set the CI's **Status \[installstatus\]** to Retired, signaling it is no longer in use without deleting the record or relationship. * **Exclusions:** Deletion strategies do not apply to related entries (rules based on related CIs). ## Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers By configuring deletion strategies in pattern discovery, customers can maintain CMDB accuracy by systematically managing related CIs that are no longer detected. This helps reduce stale or orphaned records, supports CMDB hygiene, and improves the reliability of dependency maps and service models. The manual setup of relationships and deletion strategies ensures tailored control over CI lifecycle management based on business and operational needs. When you perform discovery with a pattern, you can choose what to do with configuration items (CIs) that are in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) but Discovery can no longer find. Note: Deletion strategies are available only with patterns, not probes/sensors. When you use a pattern to perform discovery, you identify a CI Type, which is the main CI you're trying to find, such as an IIS web server or Tomcat server. Discovery can also find related CIs and populate the CMDB accordingly. For example, after Discovery finds an IIS server with the IIS pattern, it can also find these related CIs: * The Windows machine that hosts the web server * The configuration files for the IIS server * The website that the IIS server hosts {#deletion-strategy__ul_twt_lwh_vz} The dependency map on the main CI also shows the related CIs, as illustrated by the following graphic:Figure 1. An example of an IIS server main CI and its related CIs After you discover the main CI and its related CIs for the first time using a pattern, you must manually configure an entry in the Related CI Types \[sa_ci_to_pattern\] table for each relation between the main CI and a related CI type. These records are where you determine the deletion strategy for each related CI based on its type. Note that you cannot set a deletion strategy for the main CI for Infrastructure pattern type. You can view a list of the relations as the following image illustrates:Figure 2. Example CIs related to an IIS server The deletion strategy on a related CI takes effect when both of these conditions occur: * After you run Discovery with the pattern again. * Discovery successfully finds the main CI but cannot find the related CI. {#deletion-strategy__ul_qdp_2x5_zz} These deletion strategy options are available: {#deletion-strategy__table_xl2_jwf_5z__entry__2} | Value | Description | |-|-| | Keep | Preserves the configuration file CI record and makes no other changes to the record. This option is the default setting. | | Delete | Deletes the configuration file CI record from the CMDB, and the relationship to the main CI. | | Mark as absent | Marks the Status \[install_status\] field of the configuration file CI record as Absent, meaning that Discovery cannot find the tracked configuration file. This status does not instruct the system to delete the actual CI or the relationship. Note: There are two tables that do have their CIs deleted if marked as absent: cmdb_ci_network_adapter and cmdb_ci_ip_address. | | Delete relations | Deletes only the CI relationships between the related CI and the main CI. | | Mark as retired | Marks the Status \[install_status\] field of the configuration file CI record as Retired, meaning that Discovery no longer uses this configuration file. This status does not instruct the system to delete the actual CI or the relationship. | [ ] {#deletion-strategy__table_xl2_jwf_5z} Note: Deletion strategies are not available for related entries, which are rules that are based on related CIs. For more information, see [Related entries](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_IdentificationRules&version=australia&pubname=australia-servicenow-platform&ft:locale=en-US#section_ftc_tg4_j1b). * **[Set a deletion strategy](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/l~raf5kuuQZtlrkVh4JUXw)** Set a deletion strategy when you want to take action on a related configuration item (CI) that Discovery can no longer find through pattern discovery. You can delete the main CI only when it is an Application or Cloud Resource pattern type.