---
sourceDocument: Zurich IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Discovery status

# Discovery status {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Zurich
* 
* 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 Discovery status

The Discovery status in ServiceNow offers a comprehensive summary of each Discovery run from a schedule.
It enables users to monitor ongoing discoveries, troubleshoot issues, and cancel discoveries in progress directly from the status form.
This functionality is essential for managing and understanding the behavior of discovery processes that populate and update the CMDB.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **Accessing Discovery Status:** Navigate to Discovery \> Status to view records representing individual Discovery executions, including details such as date, mode, probes sent, and sensors processed.
* **Monitoring and Troubleshooting:** The status record contains detailed data to diagnose failed discoveries by inspecting probe and sensor activities. Users can enter probe/sensor threads at any point to analyze or rerun specific elements.
* **Discovery Timeline:** A graphical representation showing the sequence and details of probes and sensors used during the discovery.
* **Discovery Log Entries:** Detailed logs capturing classification failures, CMDB updates, and authentication failures, with one log record per discovery action.
* **ECC Queue Entries:** Displays the flow of probe and sensor communications, including XML payloads exchanged between the ServiceNow instance and MID Server.
* **Device History:** Summarizes all devices scanned during the discovery and the actions taken on the CMDB by sensors.
* **Automatic Monitoring:** The Discovery Status Monitor job automatically analyzes discoveries without status updates for a configured period, focusing on those that discover configuration items.
* **Cancel Discovery:** Ability to manually cancel a discovery while it is in progress from the Discovery Status record.

## Important Details in a Discovery Status Record

* **Number:** Unique identifier for the discovery status record.
* **Description:** Indicates how the discovery was run (e.g., Scheduled, Discover Now).
* **Schedule:** Name of the Discovery schedule.
* **State:** Current state of the discovery (Starting, Active, Completed, Canceled).
* **Started and Completed:** Count of probes started and completed during the discovery.
* **Source:** Origin of the discovery, such as Schedule Discovery, Quick Discovery, or DiscoveryAPI.
* **Discovery Type:** Type of discovery performed (Configuration items, IP addresses, Networks, or Processes/Connections).
* **Max Run Time:** Maximum allowed run time for the discovery schedule.
* **Log State Changes:** Indicates whether state changes are logged and visible in device lists.

## Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

ServiceNow customers can leverage the Discovery status feature to effectively monitor and manage their discovery processes, quickly identify and resolve issues affecting CMDB accuracy, and maintain control over discovery execution. The detailed logs and graphical timelines provide actionable insights, while the ability to cancel discoveries in progress helps manage system resources and operational priorities. Automatic monitoring ensures stale discovery schedules are flagged for review, supporting continuous CMDB health.  
The Discovery status provides a summary of a Discovery launched from a schedule. You can also cancel a Discovery that is in progress from the status form.{#c_DiscoveryStatus__shortdesc_discovery-status}  
Note:  
Discovery schedules that have no status updates for a over a defined number of minutes are analyzed automatically by the Discovery Status Monitor job. By default, this job applies to Discovery schedules that discover configuration items. For more information, see the [Discovery Status Monitoring Job](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sys_kb_id=c2a6f4bf935a1ed0f538fb2d6cba10be) article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

To access the Discovery Status form, navigate to DiscoveryStatus and open the status record for a Discovery.

Each record in the Status list represents the execution of a Discovery by a schedule and displays such high-level information as the date of the Discovery, the mode, the number of probe messages sent to devices, and the number of sensor records that were processed. A status record contains data that can help you troubleshoot a failed discovery. Use this
data to troubleshoot the behavior of individual probes and sensors or even run those elements separately. Use the status controls to enter probe/sensor threads at any point for a specific Discovery, and then follow the process in either direction. You can also clearly see which classification probe ran and discovered a particular device by viewing the classification probe column in the device
list.{#c_DiscoveryStatus__p_feature-intro}  
* Refresh: Refreshes the related tabs, including the Discovery Log and ECC Queue for discoveries still in progress.
* Discovery timeline: The Discovery timeline is a graphical display of a discovery, including information about each probe and sensor that was used.
* Discovery log entries: The Discovery Log shows information such as classification failures, CMDB updates, and authentication failures. A Discovery Log record is created for each action associated with a discovery status.
* ECC queue entries: Entries in the ECC queue provide you with a connected flow of probe and sensor activity, as well as the actual XML payload that is sent to or from an instance.
* Device history: The device history provides a summary of all the devices scanned during discovery, and what action sensors took on the CMDB.
{#c_DiscoveryStatus__ul_rrh_znj_c1b}  
Note:  
By default, only 30 days of Discovery records are displayed in the status list at a time.  
The following Discovery status record shows the discovery of a load balancer using a pattern.Figure 1. Example Discovery status record  
{#c_DiscoveryStatus__table_nl1_yv5_lz__entry__2}

| Field | Description |
|-|-|
| Number | An auto-generated number for the record. |
| Description | How this discovery was run. Typically, the description is Scheduled, but if you ran discovery manually from a Schedule, the record would show Discover Now in the Description field. |
| Schedule | The name of the Discovery schedule. |
| State | The state of the discovery: * Starting * Active * Completed * Canceled {#c_DiscoveryStatus__ul_nj5_mx5_lz} |
| Started and Completed | The number of probes started and completed during discovery. |
| Source | Optional read-only field that shows the source of the discovery, such as Schedule Discovery, or Quick Discovery. If the source of the Discovery was from an API call, the source is DiscoveryAPI. |
| From Schedule (Read-only schedule data) ||
| Discover | Shows the Discovery type. The possible types are: Configuration items, IP addresses, Networks, or Processes/Connections (ADM). |
| Max Run Time | Displays the maximum amount of time Discovery was permitted to run on this schedule. |
| Log state changes | Indicates that state changes were logged during this Discovery. These states can be seen in the Last and Current fields in theDiscovery Devices list in this form. |
[ ]

{#c_DiscoveryStatus__table_nl1_yv5_lz}
* **[Cancel a Discovery from a Discovery Status](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/zf1wHhvBeXVCsm7mBlAuNw)**   
  You can manually cancel a discovery while it is in progress from the Discovery Status record.
* **[Discovery timelines](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/EL5DElOdsD88p6kG4zU9zw#c_DiscoveryStatusTimelines)**   
  A Discovery timeline generates a graphical display of a Discovery Status record, including information about each probe and sensor that was used in the discovery.
* **[The ECC queue for Discovery](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/VG0T173VxC06dMYfhOxRBg)**   
  The External Communication Channel (ECC) Queue is a connection point between your ServiceNow instance and other systems that integrate with it, most commonly a MID Server.
* **[Discovery device history](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Kb9qNZukHhAB7my6geGJVQ)**   
  The Devices Related list in the Discovery Status form provides a summary list of all the devices scanned.

**Related tasks**   

* [Schedule a horizontal discovery](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/vg_tjjTTOcl2~Xl7Iri~Rw#t_CreateADiscoverySchedule "A discovery schedule determines what horizontal discovery searches for, when it runs, and which MID Servers are used. Create a discovery schedule for your local environment or a schedule for discovering the resources in your cloud service account.")

*[\>]: and then