Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry

    The Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry enables the ingestion of Configuration Management Database (CMDB) data from the ServiceNow Cloud Observability application through REST APIs. It allows the pushing of events into ServiceNow's Event Management system, providing a cohesive view of your data.

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    Key Features

    • Use Cases: Import project topologies and events from Cloud Observability to assist site reliability engineering (SRE) teams in triaging incidents alongside other ServiceNow data.
    • Guided Setup: A structured sequence of tasks is available for configuring the integration.
    • CMDB Integrations Dashboard: Monitor the status and performance of all integrations with metrics and filtering options.
    • Data Mapping: Cloud Observability data is transformed into ServiceNow CMDB configuration item (CI) classes using the Robust Transform Engine (RTE) and inserted via the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE).
    • Inferred Service Linking: Automatically link inferred services with CIs in the CMDB when the necessary information is present in the spans.

    Key Outcomes

    By utilizing the Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry, ServiceNow customers can achieve a unified view of their infrastructure, streamline incident triage processes, and ensure accurate data representation in the CMDB. This integration facilitates better decision-making and operational efficiency within their IT environments.

    Use the Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry to ingest Configuration Management Database (CMDB) data from the ServiceNow Cloud Observability (formerly Lightstep) application using REST APIs. Push events from the Cloud Observability application into ServiceNow with Event Management.

    Request apps on the Store

    Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Supported ServiceNow versions

    • Utah
    • Vancouver
    • Washington DC

    Use cases

    The following examples describe how you can use the Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry:
    • Import project topologies from Cloud Observability so that the site reliability engineering (SRE) teams can have a single view for triage with other ServiceNow data points (such as a change request, an incident) from a single view.
    • Import events created by Cloud Observability against monitored projects to pinpoint SRE triage activities.

    Guided setup

    The guided setup for the Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry provides an organized sequence of tasks to configure the integration on your instance. To access the guided setup, see Configure Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry.

    CMDB integrations dashboard

    The Integration Commons for CMDB store app provides a dashboard with a central view of the status, processing results, and processing errors of all installed integrations. You can see metrics for all integration runs. You can filter the view to a specific CMDB integration, a specific time duration, or a specific integration run. For more details about monitoring Cloud Observability integrations in the CMDB Integrations Dashboard, see Using the CMDB Integrations Dashboard.

    Data mapping

    Data from the Cloud Observability data sources is mapped and transformed into the ServiceNow CMDB configuration item (CI) class definitions using the Robust Transform Engine (RTE). Data is inserted into the ServiceNow CMDB using the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE).

    When you complete setting up the connection, you can configure the integration to pull data from the application periodically.

    The following table describes the data sources, the scheduled jobs, the staging tables, and the target tables as CMDB CI classes for the Cloud Observability application.
    Table 1. Data mapping for Cloud Observability
    Data source Description Scheduled job Staging table CMDB CI classes
    OpenTelemetry Resources Imports all the Kubernetes clusters, workloads, and application services from the OpenTelemetry traces. OpenTelemetry Resources

    OpenTelemetry Delta Resources

    		 OpenTelemetry Resources [sn_sg_lightstep_resources]

    Calculated Application Service

    Kubernetes Cluster

    Kubernetes Deployment

    Kubernetes Node

    Kubernetes Pod

    Kubernetes StatefulSet

    Kubernetes ReplicaSet

    Kubernetes DaemonSet

    Kubernetes Job

    Kubernetes Cronjob

    Kubernetes Namespace

    Server

    Key Value
    OpenTelemetry Pods Imports all the Kubernetes pods from the containers. OpenTelemetry Pods

    OpenTelemetry Delta Pods

    		 OpenTelemetry K8s Pods [sn_sg_lightstep_pods]

    Kubernetes Cluster

    Kubernetes Pod
    OpenTelemetry Containers Imports all the containers from the OpenTelemetry traces. OpenTelemetry Containers

    OpenTelemetry Delta Containers

    		 OpenTelemetry docker containers [sn_sg_lightstep_containers]

    Docker Container
    OpenTelemetry Container Images Imports all the container images from the OpenTelemetry traces. OpenTelemetry Container Images

    OpenTelemetry Delta Container Images

    		 Opentelemetry container images [sn_sg_lightstep_container_images]

    Docker Image
    OpenTelemetry Services Imports all the Kubernetes services from the OpenTelemetry traces. OpenTelemetry Delta Services

    OpenTelemetry Services

    		 OpenTelemetry K8s Services [sn_sg_lightstep_kubernetes_services]

    Kubernetes Service
    OpenTelemetry Dependency Map Imports the dependency maps to get an aggregate view of the traced data.

    The data source also imports and loads any inferred services and their related services data in the Inferred service [sn_sg_lightstep_inferred_service] staging table.

    Note:
    You need to link the imported inferred services with a CI manually. See Inferred service linking.
    		 OpenTelemetry Dependency Map OpenTelemetry Dependency Map [sn_sg_lightstep_dependency_map]

    Calculated Application Service

    For more information on where data is saved when pulling data from Cloud Observability, see CMDB classes targeted in Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry.

    You can use the IntegrationHub ETL app to view the data maps. See IntegrationHub ETL for more information.

    Inferred service linking

    The ServiceNow Cloud Observability application can infer the presence of an inferred service when the span calling the remote service has the necessary information. Service Graph Connector for OpenTelemetry provides the linking of inferred services and their related services with CIs in the CMDB. For more information, see Linking inferred services with CIs.