---
sourceDocument: Zurich IT Operations Management
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    - zurich

ft:locale :

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ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich IT Operations Management

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---

# Storage discovery examples

# Storage discovery examples {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Zurich  
Updated March 12, 2026  
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## Summary of Storage discovery examples

Discovery in ServiceNow automatically creates configuration items (CIs) and their relationships for physical and logical storage components connected to application and database servers.
It supports environments using direct attached storage (DAS) or fibre channel storage area networks (SAN) with switched fibre fabric for redundancy and failover.
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## Direct Attached Storage (DAS) Example

In a DAS scenario, Discovery identifies SCSI physical storage devices, partitions, logical volumes, storage pools, and file systems on a Linux host. For example, a SCSI drive with two partitions is detected: one bootable partition mounted at /boot, and another partition containing a logical volume configured as a storage pool mounted to the root file system via Logical Volume Management (LVM). Discovery records detailed CIs such as disks, partitions, storage volumes, file systems, and their relationships, enabling visibility into storage use and configuration.

## Multipath Fibre Channel Storage Example

For fibre channel SAN environments, Discovery identifies multiple physical storage devices connected through fibre switches that provide failover via redundant paths. It discovers partitions, logical volumes mapped across multiple physical devices, and their mount points on the Linux host. The Discovery process captures the complex relationships between physical devices, logical volumes, and file systems, as well as the multipath connections ensuring high availability.

## Switched Fibre Fabric Details

Discovery also creates CIs for storage sub-components such as fibre channel disks, storage pools, host bus adapters (HBAs), and physical block storage devices. It models the redundant paths within the switched fibre fabric that connect hosts to storage, supporting failover scenarios by mapping the relationships between all components in the SAN.

## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

* Automated, detailed discovery of storage infrastructure components including physical disks, partitions, logical volumes, storage pools, and file systems.
* Visibility into storage relationships and dependencies, crucial for impact analysis, capacity planning, and troubleshooting.
* Support for complex storage topologies such as multipath fibre channel SANs with redundant fabrics, aiding in managing high availability environments.
* Accurate and comprehensive CMDB population for storage assets, enabling better service management and operational efficiency.  
Discovery creates configuration items (CI) and CI relationships for physical and logical storage components attached to application and database servers or by fibre channel switched fabric.

## Direct attached storage {#storage-discovery-examples__section_jwd_pmz_mcb}

In this example of direct attached storage (DAS), a SCSI drive with two partitions, /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda2, is attached to a Linux host. The /dev/sda1 partition is bootable and supports the system software. The /dev/sda2 partition contains a logical volume configured as a storage pool and mounted to the Linux root file system by Logical Volume Management (LVM). The storage pool uses only 1.5GB of the partition, leaving 13GB of storage available for additional logical volumes.Figure 1. Direct attached storage example {#storage-discovery-examples__table_t5y_fgq_mz__entry__4}

| Configuration item | Description | Tables | Key reference and Relationships |
|-|-|-|-|
| /dev/sda | SCSI physical storage device | * \[cmdb_ci_disk\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_device\] * \[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_ehs_qgq_mz} | \[cmdb_rel_ci\] * Provides: /dev/sda * Provided by:/dev/sda1 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_y2y_4mq_mz} |
| /dev/sda | SCSI physical storage device | * \[cmdb_ci_disk\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_device\] * \[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_ehs_qgq_mz} | \[cmdb_rel_ci\] * Provides: /dev/sda * Provided by:/dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_rj1_vmq_mz} |
| /dev/sda1 | Partition 1 on the SCSI storage device | * \[cmdb_ci_partition\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_volume\] * \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * \[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_xyr_shq_mz} | \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * Mount point: /boot * File system: Ext4 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_fpm_znq_mz} |
| /dev/sda1 | Partition 1 on the SCSI storage device | * \[cmdb_ci_partition\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_volume\] * \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * \[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_xyr_shq_mz} | \[cmdb_rel_ci\] * Provides: /dev/sda * Provided by:/dev/sda1 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_udf_g4q_mz} |
| /dev/sda2 | Partition 2 on the SCSI storage device | * \[cmdb_ci_partition\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool_member\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_icg_knq_mz} | \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool_member\] * Pool: /dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 * Storage: /dev/sda2 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_tvm_x4q_mz} |
| /dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 | Linux logical volume, mapped with LVM to a physical disk storage partition. | * \[cmdb_ci_storage_device\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_volume\] * \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool_member\] * \[cmdb_ci_lvm_pool\] * \[cmdb_ci_lvm_pool_member\]\[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_ohx_4nq_mz} | \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * Mount point: / * File system: Ext4 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_nwq_dpq_mz} |
| /dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 | Linux logical volume, mapped with LVM to a physical disk storage partition. | * \[cmdb_ci_storage_device\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_volume\] * \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool_member\] * \[cmdb_ci_lvm_pool\] * \[cmdb_ci_lvm_pool_member\]\[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_ohx_4nq_mz} | \[cmdb_rel_ci\] * Provides: /dev/sda * Provided by:/dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_edp_hpq_mz} |
| /dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 | Linux logical volume, mapped with LVM to a physical disk storage partition. | * \[cmdb_ci_storage_device\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_volume\] * \[cmdb_ci_file_system\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool\] * \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool_member\] * \[cmdb_ci_lvm_pool\] * \[cmdb_ci_lvm_pool_member\]\[cmdb_rel_ci\] {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_ohx_4nq_mz} | \[cmdb_ci_storage_pool_member\] * Pool: /dev/mapper/lvm-root-333-0 * Storage: /dev/sda2 {#storage-discovery-examples__ul_rlb_npq_mz} |
[Table 1. CIs and relationships created for direct attached storage (DAS)]

{#storage-discovery-examples__table_t5y_fgq_mz}

## Multipath fibre channel storage {#storage-discovery-examples__section_g2r_zmz_mcb}

In this example of a fibre channel storage area network (SAN), two physical storage devices, mpatha and mpathb, are attached to a Linux host through fibre switches. The switches provide
failover capabilities. The mpatha drive contains two partitions, mpatha1 and mpatha2. The first partition is mounted directly to /boot on the
Linux host. Three logical volumes are mapped to the mpatha2 partition and to the physical device mpathb. The logical volumes are mounted as Ext4 file systems in folders on the Linux root
structure. This example shows the CIs that Discovery manages for each component and the mounting points for the logical volumes on the Linux host.  
Figure 2. Multipath fibre channel storage example

## Switched fibre fabric details {#storage-discovery-examples__section_b3v_qvg_5z}

Discovery creates CIs for the logical sub-components in NAS and SAN environments, such as fibre channel disks and pool components. Discovery also creates CIs for host bus adapters (HBA) and physical block storage. In multipath environments,
Discovery creates CI relationships within the switched fibre fabrics that connects the Linux host to the physical storage devices. In this diagram, the fibre fabrics have redundant paths that the SAN environment can use for
failover if connections fail.  
Figure 3. Fibre fabric redundant paths