MID Server distributed cluster for Metric Intelligence
Summarize
Summary of MID Server distributed cluster for Metric Intelligence
To use Metric Intelligence in ServiceNow, you must have at least one MID Server distributed cluster containing a MID Server configured specifically for Metric Intelligence. This cluster supports processing and anomaly detection of metric data, transmitting processed batches and anomaly alerts to the instance. The Metric Intelligence MID Server is dedicated to this function and requires specific hardware, software, and configuration settings to operate effectively.
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Key Features
- MID Server distributed cluster: Supports the Distributed MID Server cluster type exclusively for Metric Intelligence. Activation of Metric Intelligence automatically activates this cluster type.
- Metric Intelligence MID Server: Processes metrics data, detects anomalies, and sends data to the instance immediately upon anomaly detection.
- Support for multiple applications: A Metric Intelligence MID Server can also support other applications and multiple Agent Client Collector agents.
- Domain support: If Domain Support - Domain Extensions Installer is enabled, the MID Server can be configured per domain to process metrics for business services within the same domain.
- MID Server throttling mechanism: Protects the instance from data bursts by throttling data flow; enabled by default but can be disabled for troubleshooting.
- Configuration overrides: Java parameters such as garbage collector and IPv4 preference can be customized through wrapper configuration files.
Requirements and Configuration
- Hardware: For a virtual machine or host, a MID Server requires at least 12 GB memory and 4 CPU cores to support about 1.2 million metrics; larger deployments need 24 GB memory and 8 cores.
- Software: Supported on Windows Server versions from 2008 R2 to 2025 and Linux distributions including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS 6.6 or later, with either 32-bit or 64-bit MID Server versions.
- Configuration: The MID Server logon user must have read access to the SCOM database for pulling data. Key parameters for throttling and memory allocation are configurable in the MID Server record and wrapper configuration files.
- Limitations: The Metric Intelligence MID Server does not support IPv6; IPv4 must be enforced if needed.
Practical Guidance for ServiceNow Customers
When deploying Metric Intelligence, ensure that the MID Server is validated, running, and meets the specified hardware and software requirements. Configure the MID Server properly with Metric Intelligence capabilities and supported applications. Use the throttling mechanism to balance data flow and adjust Java parameters for optimal performance. For multi-domain environments, configure MID Servers per domain to handle business service metrics appropriately. If automatic cluster creation fails, contact ServiceNow Customer Support for assistance.
Using Metric Intelligence requires at least one MID Server distributed cluster which contains a single MID Server that is configured for Metric Intelligence.
When using a single Metric Intelligence MID Server, that server must be added to a MID Server distributed cluster.
To support the specified throughput, create a distributed cluster with a single MID Server that meets the Metric Intelligence MID Server requirements. When using a virtual machine (VM), only a single MID Server can run that supports Metric Intelligence. When working with Agent Client Collector, a MID Server can also be connected to multiple agents (ACC-M and ACC-L).
A MID Server supporting Discovery can also be used with other applications.
For details on setting up Metric Intelligence, see Get started with Metric Intelligence.
MID Server distributed clusters
Activating Metric Intelligence (com.snc.sa.metric), automatically activates MID Server distributed cluster (com.snc.agent.distributed.cluster). A MID Server distributed cluster supports the Distributed MID Server cluster type which is used exclusively with Metric Intelligence.
If automatic creation of a MID Server distributed cluster fails, you can configure the cluster manually. For details, contact Customer Support.
Metric Intelligence MID Server
The Metric Intelligence MID Server supports the Metric Intelligence feature by processing data and detecting anomalies. The MID Server transmits batches of processed data to the instance. If an anomaly is detected, then information about the anomaly along with the raw data is sent immediately to the instance.
- Metric Intelligence as a supported application
- The Metrics capability
- Running the Metric Intelligence Metrics extension
The Metric Intelligence application that the Metric Intelligence MID Server is configured with enables you to add additional supported applications to the same MID Server. By default, Metric Intelligence is included in the definition of the MID Server ALL option. For information about modifying the behavior of the ALL option when selecting supported applications, see Configure applications included in ALL Applications.
If Domain Support - Domain Extensions Installer is activated, then you can configure a MID Server with the Metrics capability, per domain. In this case, metrics for a business service are processed on the MID Server that is in the same domain as the business service. Otherwise, a MID Server from the global domain is used.
- Is validated. For more information, see Validate a MID Server
- Is in running state
- Meets all software, hardware, and configuration requirements
| Requirement | |
|---|---|
One MID Server with:
|
Supports approximately up to a total of 1.2 million metrics (12,000 CIs with 100 metrics per CI). |
One MID Server with:
|
Supports approximately up to a total of 1.7 million metrics (17,000 CIs with 100 metrics per CI). |
| Software | Supported versions | Additional requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | 32-bit and 64-bit versions:
|
32-bit or 64-bit version of the MID Server |
| Linux |
|
32-bit or 64-bit version of the MID Server |
| Configuration | Requirement |
|---|---|
| MID Server service logon user (required only for pulling) | Must be set to a user with read access to the SCOM database (OperationsManagerDW).
|
MID Server throttling mechanism
The MID Server throttling mechanism protects against data bursts to the instance. Data burst protection prevents overloading the instance, while ensuring that you do not lose any data.
The MID Server throttling mechanism is enabled by default. You may want to disable this mechanism when troubleshooting, to ensure that the mechanism is not causing system malfunction.
The throttling parameters are MID Server configuration parameters. Configure these parameters on the MID Server record, on the Configuration Parameters tab. When you add a configuration parameter, select the matching mid.oi parameter from the Parameter
name list.
- To disable this feature for metrics, set the
mid.oi.metric_token_bucket_enabledparameter tofalse. - To disable this feature for anomalies, set the
mid.oi.anomaly_token_bucket_enabledparameter tofalse.
Configuration Override
Use the ../agent/conf/wrapper-override.conf file to configure Java override parameters, such as the garbage collector and IPv4.
To configure the garbage collector, override the existing garbage collector parameter. For example, replace -XX:+UseParallelGC with -XX:+UseG1GC.
To force IPv4, add the following parameter, using the next available wrapper.java.additional number:
wrapper.java.additional.<number>=-Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true
wrapper.java.additional lines. Parameters 101 through 200 are reserved for ServiceNow out-of-the-box parameters. Only override those parameters by uncommenting the existing lines and
changing the values.Use the ../agent/conf/wrapper.conf file to configure memory for Metric Intelligence. Update the following parameters:
wrapper.java.initmemory=1024or higherwrapper.java.maxmemory=4096or higher
Optionally, if a server has additional RAM available, for example 16 GB RAM, you can replace 4096 with 8192 in wrapper.java.maxmemory=4096.