--- 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 --- # Discovery resource utilization # Discovery resource utilization {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 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 Discovery resource utilization This document provides detailed information on network bandwidth consumption and CPU usage during ServiceNow Discovery processes across various operating systems and device types. It quantifies data flows between the MID Server, Instance, and target devices during discovery activities. Understanding these metrics helps customers plan and optimize their Discovery deployments by anticipating resource utilization. Show full answer Show less ## Bandwidth Consumption Details The bandwidth usage during Discovery depends on the device type and operating system. Three tables illustrate typical data transfer volumes (in megabytes) for different scenarios: * **Discovery Bandwidth Across Operating Systems:** Shows data transfer between MID Server, Instance, and targets for Windows (various versions), Linux, Mac OSX, HP-UX, Solaris, Cisco UCS switches, load balancers, and EMC storage. For example, EMC Storage devices consume the highest bandwidth (\~6.8 MB total), while Cisco UCS Switches use the least (\~0.25 MB total). * **Three-Tier Application Discovery:** Compares bandwidth for initial and subsequent discoveries across UI (Apache), application (Websphere), and data (Oracle) tiers. Initial discovery consumes significantly more bandwidth (\~17.9 MB) than subsequent runs (\~3.35 MB), reflecting the difference in data collection volume. * **Pattern-Based Discovery by OS Type:** Details bandwidth for creating and updating discovery patterns on various OS types, showing generally lower bandwidth for updates compared to initial creation. For example, Windows Server pattern creation uses \~14.7 MB, and updates are slightly less (\~14.6 MB). Note that these figures are based on base operating configurations and will vary depending on local system settings and environment complexity. ## CPU Usage Considerations CPU usage during Discovery varies widely depending on combinations of operating systems, hardware chipsets, and system loads. Customers are advised to monitor CPU consumption using internal templates tailored for their environment to identify unique builds and assess the performance impact of Discovery on their systems. ## Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers * Understanding bandwidth utilization helps in capacity planning to ensure network resources are sufficient for Discovery tasks without impacting other operations. * Awareness of higher data transfer during initial discoveries supports scheduling and resource allocation strategies. * Monitoring CPU usage with tailored templates enables proactive performance management and tuning of Discovery processes. Standard transactions on Windows and UNIX generate various amounts of network traffic, depending on what is being discovered. These tables show the bandwidth consumption for each data flow segment of a typical discovery using probes and patterns over different operating systems. {#discovery-resource-utilization__table_vxx_sdk_dfc__entry__6} | Device Type | MID \> Instance | Instance \> MID | MID \> Target | Target \> MID | Total | |-|-|-|-|-|-| | Windows 2016 | 0.104966 | 0.101271 | 0.77739 | 2.364353 | 3.34798 | | Windows 2012 | 0.126327 | 0.07928 | 1.177146 | 3.70751 | 5.089804 | | Windows 2008 | 0.141816 | 0.104674 | 1.032673 | 3.594784 | 4.873947 | | Windows 10 | 0.091466 | 0.075601 | 0.642313 | 2.221103 | 3.030483 | | Linux CentOS | 0.164232 | 0.111376 | 0.148742 | 0.690117 | 1.114467 | | Mac OSX | 0.103707 | 0.068302 | 0.021681 | 0.461365 | 0.655055 | | HP-UX | 0.120358 | 0.106676 | 0.042669 | 0.101149 | 0.370852 | | Solaris | 0.130551 | 0.099414 | 0.060243 | 0.346605 | 0.636813 | | Cisco UCS Switch | 0.029655 | 0.027465 | 0.094918 | 0.097444 | 0.249492 | | F5 Load Balancer | 0.043935 | 0.03689 | 0.017179 | 0.012132 | 0.110136 | | A10 Load Balancer | 0.046631 | 0.032266 | 0.018313 | 0.03182 | 0.12903 | | EMC Storage | 0.4776 | 0.373828 | 1.215954 | 4.741926 | 6.809308 | [Table 1. Discovery Bandwidth Over Different Operating Systems (in Megabytes)] {#discovery-resource-utilization__table_vxx_sdk_dfc} The following table shows the bandwidth comparison between an initial discovery for three-tier applications and for each subsequent discovery. Bandwidth is broken up into the three tiers: UI (Apache), application (Websphere), and data (Oracle). This measures the total data transfer for each discovery run once for a device class. {#discovery-resource-utilization__table_vxx_sdk_dfd__entry__6} | Device Type | MID \> Instance | Instance \> MID | MID \> Target | Target \> MID | Total | |-|-|-|-|-|-| | Three-tier application - Initial discovery | 0.712829 | 0.678862 | 7.084678 | 9.430181 | 17.90655 | | F5 Load Balancer | | | | 0.017179 | 0.012132 | | Apache on Linux | | | | 0.540161 | 1.107108 | | Websphere on Linux | | | | 0.729403 | 1.165112 | | Oracle on Windows | | | | 5.797935 | 7.145829 | | | | | | | | | Three-tier application - subsequent discovery | 0.150882 | 0.107409 | 2.536535 | 0.560122 | 3.354948 | | F5 load balancer | | | | 0.001347 | 0.012132 | | Apache on Linux | | | | 0.136366 | 0.79392 | | Websphere on Linux | | | | 0.341042 | 0.11365 | | Oracle on Windows | | | | 2.05778 | 0.354948 | [Table 2. Discovery Bandwidth for Three Tier Applications (in Megabytes)] {#discovery-resource-utilization__table_vxx_sdk_dfd} This table shows discovery of different OS types using patterns. This measures, in megabytes, the total amount of data created and the total amount of data in subsequent scans for each device. {#discovery-resource-utilization__table_xnh_yjk_dfc__entry__7} | Device | | MID \> Instance | Instance \> MID | MID \> Target | Target \> MID | Total | |-|-|-|-|-|-|-| | Linux | Create | 0.39 | 0.486 | 0.098 | 0.273 | 1.247 | | | Update | 0.382 | 0.499 | 0.093 | 0.264 | 1.238 | | Windows Server | Create | 0.289 | 0.316 | 5.628 | 8.508 | 14.741 | | | Update | 0.273 | 0.306 | 5.621 | 8.458 | 14.658 | | Solaris | Create | 1.222 | 1.4 | 0.383 | 0.917 | 3.922 | | | Update | 1.24 | 1.42 | .399 | .675 | 3.734 | | HP-UX | Create | 0.176 | 0.222 | 0.063 | 0.13 | 0.591 | | | Update | 0.178 | 0.247 | 0.062 | 0.128 | 0.615 | | Citrix Netscaler | Create | 0.424 | 1.919 | 0.019 | 0.042 | 2.404 | | | Update | 0.355 | 0.619 | 0.016 | 0.041 | 1.031 | | F5 | Create | 0.087 | 0.135 | 0.026 | 0.047 | 0.295 | | | Update | 0.132 | 0.171 | 0.026 | 0.047 | 0.376 | | L3 Switch | Create | 0.172 | 0.125 | 0.282 | 0.478 | 1.057 | | | Update | 0.178 | 0.126 | 0.282 | 0.479 | 1.065 | [Table 3. Discovery Bandwidth for Patterns over Different Operating System Types (in Megabytes)] {#discovery-resource-utilization__table_xnh_yjk_dfc} Note: These measurements were taken with base operating configurations. Your local system results may vary. ## CPU Usage examples Examples from CPU Usage will vary among the matrix of thousands of combinations of Operating Systems, chip sets and specific loads for each system. Your mix of these variables will determine your unique level of CPU consumption. Use internal templates to identify unique builds. Monitor the performance impact that Discovery has on your system.