--- 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 --- # CMDB alert grouping --- properties and functionality # CMDB alert grouping --- properties and functionality {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated March 12, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 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 CMDB alert grouping --- properties and functionality CMDB alert grouping in ServiceNow enables efficient organization of alerts based on Configuration Item (CI) relationships. This functionality enhances alert management by automatically correlating alerts through CI topologies, helping you identify related issues quickly and reduce noise in your Event Management dashboard. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Enable CMDB correlation:** The `saanalytics.agg.querycmdbcorrelationenabled` property activates automatic alert grouping using CI relationships. * **Topology depth control:** The `saanalytics.agg.querycmdbgraphwalknodes` property sets the maximum number of CI relationship hops (default recommended ≤4) considered when grouping alerts, balancing detail with system performance. * **Relationship type filtering:** By default, all CI relationship types are used for grouping (`evtmgmt.relatedcisgetallrelationtypes` set to true). Setting this property to false allows selective inclusion of relationships defined in the `emsuggestedrelationtype` table for advanced use cases. * **Suggested relationships management:** The `saanalytics.agg.querycmdbsuggestedrelationshipenabled` property controls whether relationships listed in the Suggested Relations table are used, enabling customized alert group formation. * **Host-containment and hosting rules:** Properties `evtmgmt.relatedcisusecontainmentrules` and `evtmgmt.relatedcisusehostingrules` ensure CMDB alert groups respect service template containment and hosting relationships defined in Metadata Editor, maintaining accurate alert grouping based on infrastructure dependencies. * **Exclusion of applicative flow relations:** The `saanalytics.agg.ignorecmdbapplicativeflow` property prevents grouping based on applicative flow relations within application services, reducing irrelevant alert correlations. * **CI relationship caching:** Event Management stores CI relation maps in the `emcigraphreuse` table to improve performance. The storage duration is controlled by `saanalytics.agg.querycmdbgraphreuseperiod`, which defaults to one day but can be adjusted or disabled for specific needs. ## Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers By configuring these properties, you can tailor CMDB alert grouping to best fit your organization's infrastructure and alert management requirements. Enabling correlation and setting appropriate topology depth optimizes alert grouping efficiency, while relationship filtering allows you to exclude or include specific CI relations to avoid irrelevant alerts. Utilizing containment and hosting rules ensures alert groups accurately reflect real-world service and hosting dependencies, improving root cause analysis. Adjusting caching settings enhances system performance during alert correlation processes. Understanding and applying these properties helps you maintain a clean, relevant, and manageable alert environment, ultimately enabling faster incident response and improved operational visibility. Learn about the key properties and functionality of CMDB alert grouping, which facilitate efficient alert organization based on relationships and enhance the overall effectiveness of alert management. ## Properties for managing CMDB alert group creation {#cmdb-alert-group-properties__section_CMDB-groups} Use the properties listed in the following tables to control CMDB alert group creation. For more information, see [Configure scheduled job-based alert grouping](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_cgbUbAMrpcpUVa0YGIqWw "Set up rules and parameters to group related alerts automatically, streamlining alert management and reducing alert noise."). {#cmdb-alert-group-properties__table_pjt_5lh_vdb__entry__2} | Property | Setting | |-|-| | Enable CMDB correlation sa_analytics.agg.query_cmdb_correlation_enabled | Enable this property to automatically use CI relationships for alert aggregation, correlating alerts and creating CMDB alert groups. | | Max number of relations between CIs in a topology that form a CMDB group sa_analytics.agg.query_cmdb_graph_walk_nodes | Set the maximum number of enabled relations between CIs in a topology that form a CMDB group. For example, if you set this property to 3, a CI associated with an alert will automatically be grouped with similar CIs within three hops or less. Note: This property setting impacts all types of relations used for alert aggregation. Using a value greater than 4 may negatively affect the performance of the alert aggregation job. | | Use all CMDB relations for CMDB group correlation evt_mgmt.related_cis_get_all_relation_types | Set to true if you want to use all relationship types for CMDB grouping. The default setting for new users is that the option is set to true, meaning all relationship types are used for grouping. Set the property to false to filter the relations. | [ ] {#cmdb-alert-group-properties__table_pjt_5lh_vdb} ## Properties for managing automatic creation of CMDB alert groups for advanced use cases {#cmdb-alert-group-properties__id_uvl_htf_4yb} In some use cases, you may need to ignore or exclude certain CI relationships from automatic alert group creation. In this case, the evt_mgmt.related_cis_get_all_relation_types property must be set to false, and the properties in the below table must also be configured. Note: If the evt_mgmt.related_cis_get_all_relation_types property is set to false, and the relationship isn't specified in the \[em_suggested_relation_type\] table, the relationship is not considered for alert aggregation. {#cmdb-alert-group-properties__table_yzy_x4r_nyb__entry__2} | Property | Setting | |-|-| | Enable Suggested Relations for CMDB Correlation sa_analytics.agg.query_cmdb_suggested_relationship_enabled | Keep this property enabled to use any suggested relationships defined in the CMDB Group CI Relations \[em_suggested_relation_type\] table when forming CMDB alert groups. To include a new relationship, add it to this table. This property is enabled by default. | | Use CMDB relationship based on host-containment Metadata rules evt_mgmt.related_cis_use_containment_rules | Containment rules specify which configuration item classes can be contained within another item through a specific relationship when creating a service template. Keep this property enabled when forming CMDB alert groups to use any host-containment rules defined in the Metadata Editor. For more details, see [CMDB dependent relationship rules](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_ServiceRulesMetadata&version=australia&pubname=australia-servicenow-platform&ft:locale=en-US). This property is enabled by default. | | Enable filtering by dependent relationship rules evt_mgmt.related_cis_use_hosting_rules | Hosting rules define what classes of configuration items are hosted on other classes of configuration items. Keep this property enabled when forming CMDB alert groups to apply any hosting rules, which define which classes of configuration items are hosted on other classes. This property is hidden and enabled by default. Note: If you need to change the default value, add the property, as it does not exist in the instance by default. For more information on how to create a property, see [Add a system property](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=t_AddAPropertyUsingSysPropsList&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US). | | Ignore CMDB alert groups from forming due to CI applicative flow relations sa_analytics.agg.ignore_cmdb_applicative_flow | Set this property to true to prevent CMDB groups from forming based on applicative flow relations for CI relations in application services. This property is hidden and enabled by default. Note: If you need to change the default value, add the property, as it does not exist in the instance by default. For more information on how to create a property, see [Add a system property](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=t_AddAPropertyUsingSysPropsList&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US). | | sa_analytics.applicative_flow_rc_enabled | This property is hidden and enabled by default. | [Table 1. Properties for managing automatic creation of CMDB alert groups for advanced use cases] {#cmdb-alert-group-properties__table_yzy_x4r_nyb} Event Management stores a map of related CIs in the Event Management CI Graph Reuse \[em_ci_graph_reuse\] table for each processed CI. You can adjust the storage period by modifying the sa_analytics.agg.query_cmdb_graph_reuse_period property, with the default set to one day (86,400 seconds). This process enhances the search performance of relations in the CMDB. To disable the storage process during advanced use-case configurations, set the property value to zero. Note: If you need to change the default value, add the sa_analytics.agg.query_cmdb_graph_reuse_period property, as it does not exist in the instance by default. For more information on how to create a property, see [Add a system property](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=t_AddAPropertyUsingSysPropsList&version=australia&pubname=australia-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US).