CI relationship editor

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of CI relationship editor

    The CI relationship editor in ServiceNow enables you to view, create, modify, or delete relationships between Configuration Items (CIs) to maintain accurate CMDB data. You access the editor from the CI Relations formatter, with the CI you start from designated as the base CI. The editor facilitates defining relationships by selecting a second CI and specifying the relationship type, either with or without suggested relationships. For more advanced functionality, the Unified Map in the CMDB Workspace store app is an alternative tool for editing CI relationships.

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    Key Features

    • Base CI designation: The CI from which the editor is launched serves as the base CI and can become either the parent or child in a relationship.
    • Relationship types: You can create relationships by selecting from suggested types (highlighted and marked) or by choosing the second CI first and then the relationship type when not using suggestions.
    • Suggested relationships: When enabled, the editor shows all available relationship types with clear indications of parent or child roles and highlights suggested relationships in blue with a "" prefix.
    • Downstream and upstream relationships: Without suggestions, the editor displays downstream relationships (base CI as parent) and upstream relationships (base CI as child) to clarify existing links.
    • Deletion of relationships: The editor allows removal of outdated or irrelevant CI relationships to ensure CMDB integrity.
    • Legacy CI relationship builder: Provides an advanced manual method for defining CI relationships, accessible via the legacy Define Relationships page.
    • Exclusions: Certain relationship types used only for Service Mapping endpoints (e.g., Implement End Point To/From) cannot be used between CIs in this editor.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    Using the CI relationship editor, you can efficiently manage the associations between your CIs, supporting accurate impact analysis, dependency mapping, and CMDB governance. The ability to toggle suggested relationships helps tailor the relationship creation process to your organizational standards. Deleting obsolete relationships prevents data clutter and errors in service mapping and incident management processes. Customers seeking enhanced visualization and editing capabilities should consider using Unified Map in the CMDB Workspace store app as a modern alternative.

    Use the relationship editor to view, create, modify, or delete CI relationships. Open the relationship editor from the CI Relations formatter.

    As an alternative to the CI relationship editor, Unified Map in the CMDB Workspace store app provides the latest functionality for editing CI relationships. For more information, see Edit relationships in Unified Map.

    When you use the relationship editor, the CI from which the editor was launched is designated as the base CI. You can then select one or more CIs as a second CI for the relationship. Depending on the selected relationship type, the base CI can become the parent CI or the child CI in the new relationship.

    The relationship editor operates differently, depending on whether you select the Use suggested relationship check box.
    • With suggested relationships, the relationship editor lists all available relationship types for the base CI. To define a new relationship, select a relationship type, and then select a second CI for the relationship.

      Suggested relationships are highlighted for you. These relationships are displayed in blue with a prefix of [Suggested].

    • Without suggested relationships, you define a new relationship by first selecting a second CI for the relationship and then selecting a parent or a child relationship type.
    Note:
    The following relationship types are used only for Service Mapping endpoints, and you cannot use them as a relationship type between two CIs:
    • Implement End Point To:Implement End Point From
    • Use End Point To: Use End Point From
    • Applicative Flow To:Applicative Flow From

    Suggested relationships

    If you select the Use suggested relationship check box in the editor, the Suggested relationship list appears. It displays all available CI, user and group relationship types for the base CI. Relationship types have a suffix of (Parent) or (Child) to note the relationship descriptor, and suggested relationship types are displayed in blue and have a "*" prefix.

    When you select a relationship, you are also designating the base CI as being the parent or the child CI in the new relationship. For example, if you select the 'Feeds' relationship type, the base CI becomes the designated parent CI, and the second CI that you select becomes the child CI in this relationship.

    Downstream relationships

    If you do not select the Use suggested relationship check box in the editor, the Downstream relationships list appears. It displays all relationships in which the base CI is the parent CI. The child CI of the relationship is displayed in the Child column.

    Upstream relationships

    If you do not select the Use suggested relationship check box in the editor, the Upstream relationships list appears. It displays all relationships in which the base CI is the child CI. The parent CI in each relationship is displayed in the Parent column.