Cascade Update function

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Cascade Update function Telecommunications Network Inventory

    The Cascade Update function allows users to update a configuration item (CI) attribute within the Telecommunications Network Inventory application and propagate that change throughout all related CIs. This capability is essential for maintaining consistency across your inventory, as it automatically updates field values in related CIs when utilized with Flow Designer.

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    In the event of a conflict, such as discrepancies among related CIs, the function will return an error, highlighting the conflict information. Note that this function does not apply to the Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Status fields.

    Key Features

    • Admin Role Requirement: Only users with the admin role can add this action to a flow and define its configuration details.
    • Input Fields: The function includes several input fields:
      • Change Request: The related change request for the affected CI (mandatory).
      • CI: The specific configuration item to be updated (mandatory).
      • Field: The attribute within the CI that requires cascading (optional).
      • Value: The new value to cascade within the field (optional).
    • Cascade Rules: The function defines specific rules for various types of CIs, ensuring updates reflect throughout the hierarchy of related records.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing the Cascade Update function, ServiceNow customers can efficiently manage CI attributes across their Telecommunications Network Inventory, ensuring all related records are consistently updated. This leads to improved data integrity and operational efficiency within your inventory management processes.

    The Cascade Update function enables you to update a configuration item (CI) attribute in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application and cascade the change in all related CIs. You can use this function to automatically cascade the field values in related CIs when you use Flow Designer.

    Overview

    You can use the Cascade Update function to update any field in the inventory record and cascade the changes all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned in the inventory record.

    If there’s a conflict, such as any discrepancies found in the related CIs, this function returns an error. For example, let's say that you pass the change request and CI but the CI isn’t added to the affected CI list of the change request. Instead, it returns a sort error with the conflict information in execution.

    Note:
    This function doesn’t work on Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Status fields.

    You can use this function as a Flow Designer action in the Telecommunications Network Inventory workflow.

    Roles and availability

    Users with the admin role can add an action to a flow and define the configuration details of the flow. This function is available as a Flow Designer action in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application so that you can perform inventory-related data operations.

    Input fields

    The following table lists the input fields in the Cascade Update function and their descriptions.

    Table 1. Input fields of Cascade Update function
    Field Name Description Data Type Mandatory?
    Change Request Change request that is related to the affected CI list. Reference.Change Request No
    CI CI where you want to update the field. Reference.Configuration Item No
    Field Attribute in the CI that you want to cascade. String No
    Value Value in the field that you want to cascade. String No

    To learn more about the variable data types, see Flow Designer input and output data variables.

    Output

    Use this function to update the CI attribute in all related CIs.

    Cascade rule for all common attributes of CI

    The following table lists the information about the cascade rules for the different types of CIs.

    Table 2. Cascade rules
    CI Cascade Rule Example
    Telco Equipment Attributes that are updated for the related equipment holder (slot), interface card, telco equipment holder (subslot), and network interface records. The Type field that is updated in the equipment record cascades all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned in the inventory record.
    Telco Equipment Holder Attributes that are updated for the related interface card, telco equipment holder (subslot), and network interface records. The Type field that is updated in the equipment record cascades all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned.
    Interface Card Attributes that are updated for the related telco equipment holder (subslot) and network interface records. The Type field that is updated in the equipment record cascades all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned.
    Network Interface Attributes that are updated for the related network interface record. The Port Bandwidth field that is updated in the equipment record cascades all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned in the inventory record.
    Physical Connection Attributes are updated for the related physical connection record. The Bandwidth field that is updated in the equipment record cascades all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned in the inventory record.
    Logical Connection Attributes that are updated for all the next element CI records, which are defined in the connection element that reference the logical connection record. The Bandwidth field that is updated in the equipment record cascades all the way down to the hierarchy mentioned in the inventory record.