Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated August 10, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) pattern-based discovery

    Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) pattern-based discovery is part of the ServiceNow Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application, designed to identify and map AWS Elastic File System resources in your cloud environment. This pattern enables automated population of both CMDB and non-CMDB tables with detailed information about Amazon EFS instances, helping maintain an accurate and up-to-date asset inventory.

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    Key Features

    • Pattern Activation: The Amazon EFS discovery pattern is disabled by default and must be enabled to operate. Activating or deactivating patterns from version 6.28.0 onward does not count as customization, allowing updates without losing your active settings.
    • Prerequisites and Configuration: Ensure AWS discovery prerequisites are met, including removing relevant resources from the Resource Inclusion List to avoid duplicate discoveries. For AWS GovCloud (US) accounts, configure the discovery schedule using the appropriate datacenter URL and set up AWS service accounts accordingly.
    • Data Population in Tables:
      • Non-CMDB Tables: The pattern populates AWS-specific non-CMDB tables (e.g., cmdbawselasticfilesystemfilesystem) containing fields such as Amazon Resource Name (ARN), file system name, and unique file system ID.
      • CMDB Tables: It also populates the Cloud Directory table (cmdbciclouddirectory) with attributes like install status, operational status, and resource description indicating AWS Elastic File System type.
      • Tag Discovery: AWS tags are collected and stored in the Key Value table (cmdbkeyvalue), capturing tag names and values for better resource categorization and management.
    • CI Relationships: The pattern defines relationships linking Elastic File System instances to their respective Cloud Directory entries and AWS Datacenters, supporting comprehensive configuration item mapping.

    What to Expect

    By enabling Amazon EFS pattern-based discovery, ServiceNow customers can maintain accurate visibility of their AWS EFS resources within the CMDB and associated tables. This facilitates improved asset management, operational insight, and integration with other ServiceNow processes. The automated discovery and relationship mapping reduce manual effort and the risk of data inconsistencies.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns finds AWS services on your cloud environment. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    Pattern-based discovery and mapping requirements

    Verify the AWS discovery prerequisites
    For more information, see the prerequisites section in AWS discovery using patterns.
    Remove resources from the Resource Inclusion List table
    Verify that the relevant resource isn't listed in the Resource Inclusion List [sa_cloud_inventory_resource_whitelist] table to avoid duplicate discovery. For more information on removing resources from the Resource Inclusion List, see AWS Resource Inventory discovery with Patterns.
    Enable the relevant pattern
    The pattern for this service is disabled by default. Starting with Visibility Content version 6.28.0, activating or deactivating a pattern won't be considered a customization, and it will continue to receive updates. Patterns that were previously activated or deactivated will reset to the latest predefined version after upgrading while retaining the last active field value. For more information on enabling patterns, see Activate a disabled pattern.
    Configure the Discovery schedule to support GovCloud
    Discovering AWS GovCloud (US) accounts requires using a datacenter URL when setting up an AWS service account. For more information, see Create AWS service accounts.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in both CMDB and non-CMDB tables.

    Data stored in non-CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the non-CMDB table when running the Amazon AWS - Elastic File System - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    You can review the non-CMDB AWS tables by navigating to All > Configuration > AWS. You can also search the navigation filter for the specific pattern name.

    Table 1. AWS Elastic File System [cmdb_aws_elastic_file_system_file_system]
    Field Description
    Object Id [object_id] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) for the file system.
    Name [name] The assigned name of the Amazon EFS file system.
    Configuration Item [configuration_item] References the Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory] table.
    File System ID [file_system_id] The unique identifier of the Amazon EFS file system.

    Data stored in CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the CMDB when running the Amazon AWS - Elastic File System - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    Table 2. Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] The ARN for the file system.
    Name [name] The assigned name of the Amazon EFS file system.
    Install Status [install_status] Install status of the resource. Default value is Installed.
    Operational status [operational_status] Operational status of the resource. Default value is Operational.
    Description [short_description] Type of resource. The value is set to AWS::Elastic File System::File System.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - Elastic File System - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern creates these relationships to support Amazon EFS discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    AWS Elastic File System [cmdb_aws_elastic_file_system_file_system] References Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory]

    AWS tag discovery

    The pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.
    Table 3. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag name.
    Value [value] Tag value.