---
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


---

# Metric binding to resources

# Metric binding to resources {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read
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## Summary of Metric binding to resources

Metric binding to resources in ServiceNow's Metric Intelligence allows you to associate metric data not only with Configuration Items (CIs) but also with specific resources within those CIs, such as individual disks or web pages.
This enhances metric event binding by enabling more granular monitoring and analysis of metric data at the resource level rather than only at the CI level.
Show full answer Show less  
There are two primary methods of binding metric series:

* **CI/Metric format:** Binds metrics directly to a CI, useful for overall CI-level metric aggregation.
* **CI/Resource/Metric format (Resource Binding):** Binds metrics to specific resources within a CI, allowing detailed tracking of multiple similar resources under a CI, such as disks or network interfaces.

## Key Features

* **Resource Binding Process:** The MID Server generates metric binding events that are processed to identify the related CI and resource. If a matching resource record exists, the event is bound to it; otherwise, a new resource record is created and bound.
* **Configurable Resource Mapping:** The CI Type To Resource Class \[sacitypetoresourceclass\] table maps CI classes to their corresponding resource classes, which can be reviewed and adjusted to meet specific needs.
* **Resource Hierarchy:** Resource binding leverages a hierarchy of resource tables that extend the CI hierarchy, such as hardware, applications, services, databases, and virtual machines.
* **Enabling Resource Binding:** The system property `sa.metric.use.resource.binding` must be enabled (true by default). Additionally, the `resourcepath` attribute must be populated in metric events, either via event rules or during data ingestion to the MID Server.

## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

* Enables detailed and meaningful aggregation of metrics at the resource level, such as average disk usage across all disks of a host.
* Supports monitoring entities that are not part of the CMDB but are critical to service health, like individual web pages or application KPIs.
* Improves metric data modeling, storage, and querying flexibility by distinguishing between CI-level and resource-level metrics.
* Allows more accurate and granular insights into infrastructure and application performance, facilitating better operational decisions.  
Bind metrics to resources to simplify metric events binding by enabling binding to
resources such as specific disks or web pages, in addition to binding to CIs.
Metric Intelligence models metric series in either of the following methods:

* Binding a metric series to a CI and to the metric being monitored for that CI using a 'CI/Metric' format. For example, 'win_server_001/response_time_mean'.
* Binding a metric series to a CI, a resource within that CI, and the metric being monitored for that resource, using a 'CI/Resource/Metric' format. For example, 'win_server_001/Disk --- C/disk_usage'. This method is referred to as resource binding.
{#resource-binding__ul_bcn_d1w_2gb}The first method enables modeling, storing, aggregating, and querying data at the CI level. However, resource binding creates resource records for specific monitored entities, such as an individual web page or a disk. Therefore, resource binding is more efficient when there are multiple resources of similar types within a CI, and metrics applicable to a category of these resources are mapped to these resources.  
Use cases:

* Common examples are disks, processors, and network interfaces. In cases in which these entities are being monitored but do not exist in the CMDB, using resources for metric binding is useful.
* Some monitoring solutions capture metric data within services such as KPIs for individual web pages in an application. In such cases where the entity being monitored is not a configuration item, metric binding to resources can be helpful.
{#resource-binding__ul_uqx_3nc_sfb}In those situations, using resource binding results in more meaningful aggregations across similar metrics (such as: avg disk_usage for a host across all disks).

## Resource binding process {#resource-binding__section_igs_lkq_2gb}

The MID Server generates metric binding events that are processed by the instance. When processing a metric binding event, there is an attempt to identify the CI to which this metric binding event belongs. If this attempt is successful, then the metric binding event is bound to the identified CI and binding to a resource is attempted. The following steps describe the attempt to bind a metric binding event to a resource:

1. Identify the CI class of the CI that was bound to the metric binding event.
2. Locate the resource class which is mapped to that CI class (using the CI Type To Resource Class \[sa_ci_type_to_resource_class\] table).
3. Read the resource_path attribute value in the additional_information field in the metric binding event.
4. Check if a resource record exists in the resource class table. In this table, name is equal to resource_path and cmdb_ci is equal to the CI that was bound to the metric binding event.
5. If such resource record exists, then the metric binding event is bound to that resource. Otherwise, a new resource record is created with the preceding values and the metric binding event is bound to the newly created resource.
{#resource-binding__ol_l5s_vlq_2gb}

## Configure resource binding {#resource-binding__section_fcn_d4b_sfb}

* Ensure that the [sa.metric.use.resource.binding](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/fA0T6eH~9nxRqrlh6bODBQ "Several types of components are installed with activation of the Metric Intelligence (com.snc.sa.metric) plugin, including tables, scheduled jobs, and properties.") system property is set to true (default).
* For series intended to be bound to resources, ensure that the resource_path attribute is populated by doing either step:
  * Use an event rule to add the resource_path attribute to the Additional information field in events. For more information, see [Creating an event rule to map metrics to specific CIs](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/33dRiin71I6uxQSVPZJ5Jg "Create event rules to map incoming raw metric data to specific CIs, to optionally modify metric names, and to populate the resource_path attribute for resource binding.").
  * Populate the resource_path attribute as a part of the respective CI identifier when data is sent to the MID Server for processing.
  {#resource-binding__ul_eyr_tyc_sfb}
* Review the default mappings in the CI Type To Resource Class \[sa_ci_type_to_resource_class\] table and adjust as needed. It is critical that mappings are set as desired prior to data processing.Managing the CI Type To Resource Class table requires the evt_mgmt_admin
  role.

{#resource-binding__ul_y2b_mmc_xfb}

## Resource tables {#resource-binding__section_o1c_5xq_2gb}

Resource binding uses an underlying hierarchy structure of resources which is a subset of the \[cmdb_ci\] hierarchy. Metric Intelligence installs the following resource tables:

* CI Resource \[ci_resource\] (parent table):
* Tables that extend CI Resource \[ci_resource\]:
  * ci_resource_hardware
  * ci_resource_appl
  * ci_resource_service
  * ci_resource_vm_object
  * ci_resource_database
  {#resource-binding__ul_gsj_rbr_2gb}
{#resource-binding__ul_msr_pbr_2gb}

## Mapping CIs to resources {#resource-binding__section_zgq_zbr_2gb}

Mappings of CI classes to resource classes are stored in the CI Type To Resource Class
\[sa_ci_type_to_resource_class\] table. This table is installed with Metric Intelligence, and
is used during metric binding to resources.  
{#resource-binding__table_zzz_hyq_2gb__entry__2}

| CI class | Resource class |
|-|-|
| cmdb_ci_hardware | ci_resource_hardware |
| cmdb_ci_appl | ci_resource_appl |
| cmdb_ci_service | ci_resource_service |
| cmdb_ci_database | ci_resource_database |
| cmdb_ci_vm_object | ci_resource_vm_object |
[Table 1. Mappings in the CI Type To Resource Class table (default)]

{#resource-binding__table_zzz_hyq_2gb}