ESXi server discovery

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read

    • Discovery identifies and classifies information about ESXi servers and ESXi resource pools through the discovery of vCenter and not from the direct discovery of any ESXi servers.

    Important:
    ESXi server discovery is done through vCenter. Do not specify the IP address of the ESXi server in a Discovery Schedule. Instead, discover the vCenter through the Discovery Schedule.

    For a description of the VMware architecture and component relationships, see Data collected for VMware vCenter Server.

    For a discussion of how Discovery collects information on datastores and establishes the relationships between the ESXi hosts and the storage disks attached to the datastores, see Datastore Discovery

    Required Roles

    Users with the itil and asset roles can access ESXii and ESXi configuration item (CI) records. To run discovery on vCenter servers, users must have the discovery_admin role.

    Credentials

    To run a complete Discovery of vCenter/ESXi servers, you need vCenter credentials. If the vmapp port probe is disabled, you must use Windows credentials to access the Windows host on which the vCenter server runs.
    Note:
    Make sure to select a credential Type of VMware.

    ESXi server Discovery components

    Discovery identifies ESXi servers based on the correlation ID (BIOS UUID) , when the hardware manufacturer is on a certified inclusion list. So if the manufacturer is in the compatible manufacturers list, the correlation-id needs to be unique. If the manufacturer is not on the certified inclusion list, we check for the Managed Object Reference ID (MORID) and Serial Number as well. After running the vCenter classifier, Discovery launches the VMware - vCenter Datacenters probe, which launches the probes that explore the ESXi server. For the complete list of vCenter probes, see List of Discovery probes.

    Component Name Description
    Classifier vCenter Classifies stand-alone vCenter servers.
    Probe VMWare - vCenter ESX Hosts Creates records for ESXi servers and hostmounts. Creates relationships between ESXi servers and vCenter components. Triggers probes for storage Discovery.
    Probe VMWare - vCenter ESX Hosts Storage Creates records for ESXi host hardware: network adapters, disks, HBAs, FC ports, iSCSI and FC disks. Creates relationships between DAS/iSCSI/FC disks and datastore disks.

    Data collected

    Basic server data from ESXi hosts is collected by the VMware - vCenter ESX Hosts probe.
    Table 1. Data collected by Discovery on ESXi hosts
    Label Table Name Field Name
    Operating System cmdb_ci_esx_server os
    OS Version cmdb_ci_computer os_version
    Name cmdb_ci_esx_server name
    DNS domain cmdb_ci_esx_server dns_domain
    Manufacturer cmdb_ci_computer manufacturer
    Serial number cmdb_ci_computer serial_number
    CPU type cmdb_ci_esx_server cpu_type
    CPU speed (MHz) cmdb_ci_esx_server cpu_speed
    CPU count cmdb_ci_esx_server cpu_count
    CPU core count cmdb_ci_computer cpu_core_count
    CPU manufacturer cmdb_ci_esx_server cpu_manufacturer
    Model ID cmdb_ci_computer model_id
    RAM (MB) cmdb_ci_esx_server ram
    Disk space (GB) cmdb_ci_esx_server disk_space
    Type cmdb_ci_disk type
    Model ID cmdb_ci_disk model_id
    Disk space (GB) cmdb_ci_disk disk_space
    Name cmdb_ci_disk name
    Name cmdb_ci_network_adapter name
    IP address cmdb_ci_network_adapter ip_address
    MAC address cmdb_ci_network_adapter mac_address
    Netmask cmdb_ci_network_adapter netmask
    Managed object reference ID Visualization Server [cmdb_ci_virtualization_server] morid
    Serial Number Serial Number [cmdb_serial_number] serial_number

    Relationships

    Discovery collects the following relationship data for ESXi servers.
    Base Class Relationship Dependent Class
    ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] Defines resources for:Gets resources from ESXi Server [cmdb_ci_esx_server]
    VM Instance [cmdb_ci_vmware_instance] Registered on:Has registered ESXi Server [cmdb_ci_esx_server]
    ESXi Server [cmdb_ci_esx_server] Provides storage for:Stored on VM Template [cmdb_ci_vmware_template]
    ESXi Server [cmdb_ci_esx_server] Provided by:Provides Networks [cmdb_ci_vcenter_network]
    ESXi Server [cmdb_ci_esx_server] Members of:Members Cluster [cmdb_ci_vcenter_cluster]
    ESXi Server [cmdb_ci_esx_server] Contains:Contained by Datacenter [cmdb_ci_vcenter_datacenter]

    ESXi resource pools

    Resource pools are configured in vCenter and define the maximum amount of resources that virtual machines using that pool can consume. An ESXi server property enables resource pools to expand when necessary if the ESXi server has additional resources to spare. The Name and Owner fields of each resource pool on the ESXi server must be configured within the ServiceNow AI Platform

    in the ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] table. When Orchestration for VMware executes its manual provisioning tasks, the provisioner must select the proper resource pool for the virtual server requested. Discovery finds resource pools on ESXi machines and populates the fields on the ESXi Resource Pool form automatically. For more information, see Configure ESXi resource pools.

    ESXi resource pools requires the Orchestration - VMware Support plugin.

    Note:
    Ensure that vCenter and the ESXi server have been fully configured, including the creation of the templates and resource pools.
    Table 2. Data collected
    Label Table Field Name Source
    CPU expandable ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] cpu_expendable VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    CPU limit (MHz) ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] cpu_limit_mhz VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    CPU reserved (MHz) ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] cpu_reserved_mhz VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    CPU shares ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] cpu_shares VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Full path ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] fullpath VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Memory expandable ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] mem_expandable VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Memory limit (MB) ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] mem_limit_mb VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Memory reserved (MB) ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] mem_reserved_mb VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Memory shares ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] mem_shares VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Owner ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] owner VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe
    Owner Managed Object Reference ID ESXi Resource Pool [cmdb_ci_esx_resource_pool] owner_morid VMWare - vCenter Clusters probe