--- sourceDocument: Australia IT Operations Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-operations-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia IT Operations Management ft:clusterId : - itom bundleId : - itom workflow : - Technology --- # Day 1 setup guide for VMware on Cloud Provisioning and Governance # Day 1 setup guide for VMware on Cloud Provisioning and Governance {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Day 1 setup guide for VMware on Cloud Provisioning and Governance This guide provides step-by-step instructions for ServiceNow customers to perform the initial (Day 1) setup of Cloud Provisioning and Governance (CPG) specifically for VMware environments. Completing these procedures enables secure integration with VMware cloud accounts, allowing automated management and governance of cloud resources through ServiceNow. Show full answer Show less After Day 1 setup, customers can optionally perform Day 2 setup and configuration tasks to further customize their cloud management. ## Key Setup Tasks * **Request the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application:** This application requires a separate subscription and the associated plugin (com.snc.cloud.mgmt). * **Assign roles:** VMware users involved in CPG operations must have the `sncmp.cloudadmin` role in ServiceNow, and VMware administrators must have the appropriate VMware roles. * **Set up MID Servers:** MID Servers are required to securely communicate with VMware provider API endpoints for discovery and management tasks. * **Collect VMware account credentials and settings:** Gather account information and credentials from the VMware portal to enable automated discovery and management. * **Create service accounts:** Securely store VMware credentials within ServiceNow as service accounts, which the Discovery process uses to access VMware data programmatically. * **Discover datacenters:** Run discovery on all datacenters associated with the service account to populate the CMDB with resource data, and configure scheduled discovery for ongoing updates. * **Create cloud accounts:** Represent your managed VMware infrastructure logically in CPG by setting up cloud accounts that include specified datacenters from one or multiple service accounts. * **Set capacity limits:** Define restrictions on resource attributes (e.g., number of VMs, CPUs, storage) per datacenter to control user requests and governance. ## Requirements and Best Practices * VMware vSphere Enterprise or Enterprise Plus Edition 5.5 or newer is required. * Enable Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS) in the vSphere environment and place datastores under Storage DRS. * For Windows VM provisioning, ensure customization specifications can be read and modified. * ESXi hosts should allow HTTPS traffic from MID Servers if VM IP addresses are set manually via scripts. * Enable NTP time synchronization on ESXi hosts and vCenter servers. * vCenter server requirements include version 5.5 or 6.0 Standard or Foundation edition with sufficient permissions for datastore, folder, host operations, network assignments, and virtual machine management. * vCenter credentials must include username, password, server URL/IP, and the instance UUID for proper authentication. ## Next Steps Upon completing Day 1 and optional Day 2 setup procedures, refer to the Cloud Provisioning and Governance administration guide for detailed instructions on using the application within your organization to manage cloud resources effectively. To set up Cloud Provisioning and Governance for the very first time, you perform the procedures in this "Day 1" setup guide. Be sure to perform the procedures in order. After you have performed Day 1 setup, you can perform optional Day 2 setup and configuration procedures as needed and in any order. Detailed instructions for each procedure follow this overview. {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__ph-detailed-instructions-follow} ## Request the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__section_vnz_jmf_f2b} The Cloud Provisioning and Governance application is available as a separate subscription and requires the Cloud Provisioning and Governance plugin (com.snc.cloud.mgmt). See Request the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application. ## Roles required to set up Cloud Provisioning and Governance {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__section_brb_nzv_ndb} * Operations in the VMware Console require the VMware administrator role. * Operations in Cloud Provisioning and Governance require the sn_cmp.cloud_admin role. {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__ul_p4b_4zv_ndb} ## About terms that Cloud Management uses {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__section_isw_hbn_ndb} Cloud providers often use different names for accounts, regions, and credential settings. Because the ServiceNow application supports several cloud providers, the app uses general-purpose names for the settings. ## Quick overview of the setup process {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__section_xdb_kjw_ndb} Your setup process includes these tasks: * If needed: Request the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application. * Assign appropriate roles to cloud users. * Set up the MID Servers that will handle secure communications with the provider API endpoints. * On the provider portal, collect your account settings and the credentials that the Discovery process will use (through a MID Server) to programatically access your provider accounts. Securely associate the account settings and credentials with a service account in Cloud Provisioning and Governance. * Set up a cloud account to represent your entire managed cloud infrastructure and set up a service account that works with one of your provider accounts. You specify which datacenters in the service account should be included in the cloud account. (Later, on "Day 2", you can set up additional cloud accounts and service accounts from the same or other providers.){#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__title-gcp-service-account} * Cloud Provisioning uses CMDB data to help users request and manage cloud resources and to help you manage your cloud infrastructure. To populate the CMDB with resource data for all datacenters, you manually run the Discovery process on each datacenter in the service account. Then, to ensure that the data continues to be updated, you configure Discovery to run on a regular schedule. Your cloud account might look like this:Figure 1. Structure of a cloud account on Day 1 * Providers offer services that can auto-update the CMDB whenever a create/modify/terminate life-cycle change or configuration update occurs to a resource. You can configure the service to integrate directly with Cloud Provisioning and Governance. {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__ul_nvw_2p4_ndb} ## What you will do to integrate Cloud Provisioning and Governance with your VMware cloud accounts {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__section_cxt_2tz_tdb} Detailed instructions for each procedure follow this overview. 1. Assign roles to VMware users of Cloud Provisioning and Governance : You assign Cloud Provisioning and Governance roles to user groups and to individual users based on user activities and responsibilities. 2. Create the credential and service account that will access your VMware data : To securely access data on your provider account, the Discovery process must present appropriate credentials. To make the credentials available to Discovery, you first create an account in the VMware Console. You then securely store the credentials in a service account in your instance. A service account is a secure record on your instance that stores the credential and access information for your provider account. Discovery uses the information to access your provider account to get data on each resource in each specified datacenter. 3. Discover all datacenters in a service account on-demand : Discovery uses the information in the service account to identify all logical datacenters associated with the provider account. 4. Set up cloud accounts for VMware : A cloud account is the logical representation in Cloud Provisioning and Governance of all or part of your managed cloud infrastructure. A cloud account can include multiple service accounts --- even service accounts from different providers. For each service account, you specify which datacenters to include in the cloud account. 5. Set capacity limits on user requests for resources : Capacity limits place restrictions on the attributes of cloud resources such as the number of virtual machines, virtual CPUs, or aggregate storage. You can set limits on resources separately for each logical datacenter in a cloud account. vSphere : * Enterprise or Enterprise Plus Edition 5.5 or newer. * Enable the vSphere environment for Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS). * Place datastores under Storage DRS. {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__ul_msp_bvm_pdb} : When provisioning Windows virtual machines, read and modify the named customization specifications. ESXi hosts : If the IP address of a virtual machine is set manually using a script or post-init scripts run on the VM, allow HTTPS traffic between the MID Server and the ESXi host for the VM. : Enable NTP time sync. Enable the NTP client for the hypervisor on the vSphere web client. See the [vSphere documentation](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc/GUID-8756D419-A878-4AE0-9183-C6D5A91A8FB1.html) for more information. vCenter server requirements : vCenter 5.5 or 6.0 Standard or Foundation edition. vCenter access requirements : Minimum permissions for the user that connects to vSphere through the instance: * Datastore: All * Datastore Cluster: All * Folder: Create, Delete * Global: Cancel task, License * Host \> Local operations: Create/Delete/Reconfigure virtual machines * Profile-driven storage: All * Network: Assign network * Resource: Apply recommendation; Create/Modify/Assign/Remove virtual machines. * Virtual machines: All {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__ul_txr_y55_bbb} vCenter credentials : * Username * Password * URL or IP address of the vCenter server that the instance access through the MID Server. * vCenter instance UUID. See Create the credential and service account that will access your VMware data for instructions on how to obtain the UUID. {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__ul_vyf_wkc_yy} ## Next steps {#cloud-mgt-vmware-setup-guide__section_iyg_dww_jdb} When you have finished all Day-1 and Day-2 procedures in this setup guide, see the [Cloud Provisioning and Governance administration guide](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Q80e~T~Rzk1iuvJvR3BjBA "After you set up the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application on your instance, there are many items that you must configure before your users can request and manage any cloud resources.") for information on using the Cloud Provisioning and Governance application in your organization.