Multi-instance Topologies

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Multi-instance Topologies

    The Multi-instance Topologies Accelerator is designed to educate ServiceNow Impact customers on the business drivers and topology alternatives for implementing multiple production instances within a single-customer environment. It introduces four distinct multi-instance topology options, detailing their descriptions, use cases, strengths, weaknesses, and example process flows. Interactive activities enable customers to evaluate their multi-instance needs and collaborate with their implementation providers to develop a tailored implementation architecture.

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    This Accelerator is included in the Advanced and Total packages and is intended to help customers understand when and how to deploy multiple production instances effectively.

    Customer Engagement and Sessions

    • Introductory Customer Session (up to 60 minutes): Sets expectations, introduces business drivers for multiple instances, presents four topology options, and requests customer inputs such as use cases and questionnaires.
    • Customer Education Session #1 (up to 120 minutes): Reviews business drivers using customer use cases, presents two topology options, and includes interactive activities.
    • Customer Education Session #2 (up to 120 minutes): Presents the remaining two topology options with related activities and offers advisory guidance for next steps.
    • Follow-up Customer Session (optional, up to 60 minutes): Provides an opportunity for Q&A on multi-instance topologies and guidance.

    Deliverables

    • Workshop slides covering multi-instance topologies
    • Use case activities tailored to customer needs
    • Guidance for subsequent implementation steps
    • Request for customer resources and inputs to support the sessions

    Customer Roles and Responsibilities

    Successful engagement requires the participation of key roles:

    • Platform Owner: Accountable for overall ServiceNow platform governance and alignment to business strategy.
    • Platform Administrator: Manages day-to-day platform administration.
    • ServiceNow Platform Architect: Oversees platform architecture, strategy, and governance.
    • Enterprise Architect(s): Ensures alignment with organizational strategy, processes, and standards.
    • Service Owner(s) (Recommended): Manages data and process flows related to specific services or integrations.

    Prerequisites and Requested Information

    Completion of the "How to Tackle Architectural Implementation Models" workshop is required prior to engaging in this Accelerator. Outputs from that workshop are requested to inform the multi-instance topology discussions. Customers should coordinate with their Enterprise Architect for details.

    Scope and Exclusions

    This Accelerator focuses on education and high-level topology considerations for multiple production instances. It excludes detailed technical architecture design, integration specifics, enterprise architecture reviews, detailed blueprints for multi-instance configurations, and considerations for managed service providers or multi-customer multi-instance scenarios. It also does not cover non-production instances such as development, test, or UAT environments.

    This Accelerator provides education on drivers and topology alternatives to support multiple production instance implementations delivered within the context of a single-customer production implementation.

    Overview

    The Multi-instance Topologies Accelerator provides Impact customers with facilitated education sessions that establish a foundational understanding of the common business drivers that could warrant multiple production instances and an introduction to four multi-instance topology alternatives.

    The overview for each topology includes a description, topology-related use cases, strengths and weaknesses, and example process flows. The education sessions are interspersed with interactive use case activities, so that following the completion of the Accelerator, you may continue to evaluate your own multi-instance requirements by engaging your implementation provider to develop an implementation architecture.

    Note:
    This Accelerator is available in Advanced and Total packages.

    What You Get

    Introductory Customer Session (up to 60 minutes)
    • Introduce Accelerator and set expectations on process and depth of deliverable
    • Communicate expectation for Customer participation
    • Introduce business drivers for multiple production instances
    • Introduce four multi-instance topologies
    • Request completion of intake questionnaire, three use cases, and provide any other requested inputs
    Customer Education Session #1 (up to 120 minutes)
    • Present business drivers for multiple production instances, referencing use cases provided by the customer
    • Present two multi-instance topologies
    • Conduct interactive activities based on relevant customer-provided use cases
    Customer Education Session #2 (up to 120 minutes)
    • Present two multi-instance topologies, which may or may not reference the customer’s use cases
    • Conduct interactive activities based on relevant customer-provided use cases
    • Advisory guidance for next steps
    Follow-up Customer Session (optional upon Customer request - up to 60 minutes)
    Opportunity for Q&A related to the multi-instance topologies education and guidance
    Multi-instance Topologies Deliverables
    • Workshop slides
    • Multi-instance topology use case activities
    • Guidance for next steps

    Requested customer resources

    Table 1. Customer resource and responsibilities
    Customer Resource  Responsibilities 
    Platform Owner (Required) Responsible for the overall accountability of the ServiceNow platform. Provides leadership and oversight to the System Administrators, ensures team alignment to business strategy and the ServiceNow roadmap, and is actively involved in the overarching governance of the platform.
    Platform Administrator (Required) Responsible for the day-to-day administration of the ServiceNow platform.
    ServiceNow Platform Architect (Required) Responsible for overall ServiceNow platform architecture, strategy, and governance.

    Enterprise Architect(s) (Required)

    Provides a holistic view of the organization’s strategy, processes, and other systems, including any necessary policy or organizational requirements. Helps guide the Platform Owner to align with technical or functional standards.

    Service Owner(s) (Recommended) Responsible for data and process flows related to a specific service, process, or an integration.

    Pre-requisite

    The completion of the workshop, How to Tackle Architectural Implementation Models, is required. For more information, contact your Enterprise Architect.

    Requested Information Access

    The output deliverables from the How to Tackle Architectural Implementation Models workshop are requested.

    Exceptions

    • Multi-instance topology architecture design recommendations
    • Multi-instance technical implementation / technical integration detailed architecture
    • Enterprise architecture review
    • Detailed architecture blueprint for multi-instance configuration
    • How to integrate multiple production instances
    • Topology considerations for Managed Service Provider and/or multiple customer multi-instance configurations
    • Multiple sub-production instances, for example, development, test, or user acceptance test (UAT))