Create discovery schedules for cloud resources

Create schedules for discovering cloud resources based on the cloud discovery method you choose; that is, service accounts or IP ranges.

Discovery Manager interface

Use the Cloud Discovery Schedule Configuration interface to input the information that you need to access your service accounts and sub-accounts. You can specify the credentials to validate the selected accounts. Test the connections to your accounts and then create schedules to discover the cloud resources in your selected datacenters.

The following private and public clour platforms support VMware Dsicovery:

• Alibaba Cloud
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• IBM Cloud
• Microsoft Azure
• OpenStack
• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)
• oVirt
• VMware

Remarque :

The term "sub-accounts" is used generically in the Cloud Discovery Schedule Configuration interface. Its meaning varies by cloud provider:

• In AWS, sub-accounts refer to member accounts under a management account.
• In Microsoft Azure, the equivalent is a subscription.
• In Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Cloud Discovery targets projects.

Progress indicator

As you complete each configuration phase, the tabs at the top of the Discovery Manager track your progress. A check mark indicates a completed phase. A dark underline marks the current phase. The tabs are interactive, t you can move to a phase by clicking that tab.

Discovery Manager label customization

The Service Account Field Options [service_account_field_options] table contains fields to modify the labels in Discovery Manager. These fields enable you to customize the Discovery Manager to handle new service providers or to alter existing labels to meet internal policies. For example, the Microsoft Azure account ID label is Microsoft Azure Subscription GUID by default. You can change it to Subscription ID, to Account ID, or to anything else based on your needs.

Select a service account and test your credentials

Specify your cloud provider and select the service account to discover. You can include one or all available sub-accounts on a schedule. Provide the credentials for the cloud service account and test the connection.

Avant de commencer

Before you attempt to configure Cloud Discovery, you must have at least one validated MID Server with a status of Up. The MID Server must reach the IP ranges that you intend to discover. You can install the MID Server by using Use MID Server guided setup or by manually downloading and running the installer. For details, see the MID Server installation instructions for Linux and Windows. Ensure to configure the MID Server used for Cloud Discovery with the Cloud Management capability.

Role required: discovery_admin

Pourquoi et quand exécuter cette tâche

The ServiceNow® Cloud Discovery wizard begins with the account selection and testing phase. To prevent long waits or unexpected timeouts, use the cdu.record.watcher.timeout system property to define the maximum waiting period for these Cloud Discovery configuration processes:

• Service account validation
• Member account discovery
• Discovery of logical datacenters

The default timeout value is 300000 milliseconds or 5 minutes.

Procédure

1. Navigate to All > Discovery > Home, and then click Discover Cloud Resources in the Welcome screen.
   Remarque :

   The Welcome screen contains a link to the Discovery Quick Start. This wizard is designed to quickly set up a basic Discovery. You can use Quick Start to evaluate Discovery or to explore new network devices, but the guide is not intended for discovering cloud resources.

   If the system cannot detect an appropriate MID Server, you are prompted to install and configure a MID Server by using the MID Server Guided Setup. This notification is also displayed if an existing MID Server is not available because it is upgrading.

   

2. In the Basic Info pane of the Discovery Manager, select the name of your cloud provider in the Provider field, such as AWS or Azure.
   The wizard displays a count of the validated and available MID Servers in the MID Servers pane.
3. If you're using AWS, Azure, GCP, or Alibaba Cloud you can specify the MID Server selection type in the MID Selection Type field.
   Remarque :

   AWS and Azure selection is only available after migration to pattern-based Discovery. For more information, see Migrate from CAPI to Patterns.

   The following options are available:

   • Auto-Select MID Server: The wizard automatically uses an appropriate MID Server.
   • Specific MID Server: The wizard uses the MID Server specified in the MID Server field. To filter and view MID Servers that are configured to assume an IAM role for discovering cloud resources, select the Credential-Less Discovery option.

   

4. If no MID Server has the Cloud Management capability, click Configure MID Servers and configure one appropriately.
   1. Navigate to MID Servers > Capabilities.
   2. From the MID Server Capabilities list, select Cloud Management.
      You can also select ALL, which includes Cloud Management by default.
   3. In the MID Servers related list, click Edit and then add your MID Servers to the capability.
   4. Click Save.
      Your MID Servers are ready to communicate with your cloud service accounts.
5. In the Schedule Name field, enter a unique and descriptive name for the schedule.
6. In the Service Accounts pane, select an existing account for the newly named schedule.
   If you select an existing account, the system auto-completes the form with the available information. If you add an account, you must provide the account ID, credentials, and URL, if applicable. For VMware, you must specify the URL.

   • The AWS account ID is the account ID.
   • The Azure account ID is the Azure Subscription GUID.
   • The GCP account ID is the project ID.
   • The VMware account ID is the virtual machine instance UUID.
   • The Alibaba Cloud account ID is the Compartment ID.

   Remarque :

   VMware discovery can run without a service account. To discover VMware resources, configure the schedule to run on the IP address of the vCenter server.
7. Select the credentials for this cloud service account or add new credentials.
   1. To add a credential, click the plus icon (+).
   2. Select the appropriate cloud credential type from the list.
   3. Complete the form and click Save.
      Remarque :

      You can configure AWS to generate temporary credentials for service accounts. This capability eliminates the need to define some credentials on the instance, and it can increase security on your member accounts (sub-accounts). For details, see Access setup for AWS service accounts.
8. To validate the account with the provided details, click Test Account.
   Messages in the header bar notify you of the validation results. If you specified a management account and the connection test was successful, then the wizard displays a selection screen for any members accounts (sub-accounts) that are associated with the management account. By default, all current member accounts are selected for the schedule and cannot be moved to the Available list.

   Remarque :

   If the validation process does not return any sub-accounts or any sub-accounts that you added recently, click Refresh Members or rerun the validation process. If validation times out repeatedly, increase the timeout interval in the cdu.record.watcher.timeout MID Server property.

   

9. To select specific sub-accounts for the schedule, deactivate the auto-select feature.
   By default, all sub-accounts are selected. To disable the feature and to permit the selection of specific datacenters to discover, slide the toggle switch to the left.

   

10. To exclude a sub-account, drag the sub-account from the Selected list to the Available list.
11. Select Next.

Select a cloud provider datacenter to discover

Cloud Discovery displays the list of available datacenters when you validate the service account. Specify which datacenters you want to discover through the schedule.

Avant de commencer

Role required: discovery_admin

Procédure

1. To select the datacenters to discover, click the Select Datacenters phase in the Discovery Manager tab bar.
   By default, all datacenters associated with the service account are selected for the Cloud Discovery schedule.

   Remarque :

   • If no datacenters appear, select Refresh Datacenters or re-run the account validation. If validation times-out repeatedly, increase the timeout interval in the cdu.record.watcher.timeout MID Server property.
   • You can configure Cloud Discovery to auto-refresh the list of sub-accounts and datacenters before each scheduled discovery. For more information, see Enable auto-refreshing of sub-accounts and datacenters.
2. To select specific datacenters for the schedule, deactivate the auto-select feature by moving the Discover all datacenters listed below toggle switch to the left.
3. Move the datacenters you want to discover from the Available list to the Selected list.
4. Select the next phase in the tab bar.
   If required, you can configure IP ranges to discover virtual machines (VM), or move to the schedule phase and complete Cloud Discovery setup.

Enable discovery of virtual machines

You can discover virtual machines (VMs) during discovery of the cloud resources. Cloud Discovery performs a deep discovery of the virtual machines identified by the cloud schedule, using the IP addresses of the VMs.

Avant de commencer

All MID Servers you intend to use for Cloud Discovery must be validated, have a status of Up, and they can access the IP ranges in the cloud provider account.

Important :

The upgrade process from Madrid to New York deactivates the existing Cloud Discovery schedules. Ensure to re-activate any schedules in the Discovery Manager that might have been deactivated during an upgrade from Madrid . These schedules have a Run status of undefined in the Discovery Schedule [discovery_schedule] table.

Role required: discovery_admin

Pourquoi et quand exécuter cette tâche

You do not need to configure IP ranges for the MID Servers used with Cloud Discovery. Cloud Discovery automatically selects the IP addresses of the virtual machines in the datacenters you selected in the wizard.

Procédure

1. To discover the VMs that are part of the current schedule, click the Discover Virtual Machines (optional) phase in the Discovery Manager tab bar.

   By default, VM discover is active.

   Remarque :

   To learn more about the working of Discover Virtual Machines (optional) in Cloud Discovery, see the KB article How does the "Discover Virtual Machine" (optional) work in Cloud Discovery.
2. Select the MID Server to use.
   The following options are available:

   • Auto-Select: Discovery selects an appropriate MID Server automatically.
   • Specific MID Cluster: Discovery uses the named MID Server cluster.
   • Specific MID Server: Discovery uses the named MID Server.

   

3. To disable VM discovery, move the Discover VMs by IP address toggle switch to the left.
   The MID Selection Type field disappears.
4. Select the Create Schedule phase in the tab bar.

Set the run time for a Cloud Discovery schedule

The final phase in the Discovery Manager wizard creates the schedule that triggers discovery of the cloud resources.

Avant de commencer

Role required: discovery_admin

Pourquoi et quand exécuter cette tâche

You can also access the schedule phase of the Discovery Manager from the Discovery Schedule form. Navigate to Discovery > Discovery Schedules and click Cloud Discovery in the schedules list.

Procédure

1. To configure the Cloud Discovery schedule, select Create Schedule in the Discovery Manager tab bar.
   By default, the schedule is active.
2. Configure when and how often the schedule should run and define a timeout threshold if you want to restrict Cloud Discovery to a specific duration.

   

3. To deactivate the schedule, toggle the Active switch to the left.
4. Complete the Cloud Discovery scheduling process by selecting one of these options:
   • Finish and Run: Runs Discovery immediately, using the current configuration. All subsequent cloud discoveries run on the schedule you provided.
   • Finish: Exits the wizard and runs Cloud Discovery on the schedule you provided.

Que faire ensuite

Open the Discovery Home page and view the results of your Discovery.

Enable auto-refreshing of sub-accounts and datacenters

Configure the Cloud Discovery to auto-refresh the list of sub-accounts and datacenters before each scheduled discovery. If Cloud Discovery identifies any new sub-accounts or datacenters, it adds them to the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and includes them in the discovery schedule.

Avant de commencer

Role required: discovery_admin

Pourquoi et quand exécuter cette tâche

Cloud Discovery can automatically refresh the list of sub-accounts and datacenters covered in a discovery schedule, subject to the fulfilment of the following criteria:

• The cloud provider is Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP)
• The glide.discovery.cdu.auto_refresh_sub_accounts_and_ldcs property to true.
• The Cloud Discovery schedule is created for a management account.
• The Cloud Discovery schedule is configured to discover the resources of all the sub-accounts and datacenters of the management account.

Remarque :

The term "sub-accounts" is used generically in the Cloud Discovery Schedule Configuration interface. Its meaning varies by cloud provider:

• In AWS, sub-accounts refer to member accounts under a management account.
• In Azure, the equivalent is a subscription.
• In Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Cloud Discovery targets projects.

Procédure

1. Navigate to All > System Properties > All Properties.
2. Search for the following system property record, and then open the record.

   glide.discovery.cdu.auto_refresh_sub_accounts_and_ldcs

3. On the form, change the Value field to true.
4. Select Update.