IBM Virtualization and Hardware Management Console discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated November 9, 2025
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of IBM Virtualization and Hardware Management Console discovery

    The IBM Virtualization and Hardware Management Console (HMC) discovery in ServiceNow enables the automated identification and population of configuration items (CIs) related to IBM HMC servers, frames, and logical partition (LPAR) instances within the CMDB. This discovery leverages the IBM HMC Server pattern, running over SSH, and supports discovery on IBM AIX OS for LPARs and Linux for HMC servers.

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    This capability helps ServiceNow customers keep their CMDB accurate with detailed hardware and virtualization infrastructure data, facilitating improved asset management, impact analysis, and operational efficiency.

    Prerequisites and Setup

    • Ensure the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application and CMDB CI Class Models are up to date from the ServiceNow Store.
    • Verify you have the necessary permissions on HMC and AIX servers to run specific commands such as lssyscfg, lshmc, lshwres, lssysconn, and lparstat -i.
    • Configure SSH credentials securely on the ServiceNow AI Platform to enable remote discovery.

    Discovery Process

    Discovery occurs in two stages:

    1. Run a horizontal discovery on the HMC server IP address first to identify the HMC server and its managed frames.
    2. After successful HMC discovery, run discovery on the LPARs using their AIX machine IP addresses.

    This sequence ensures hierarchical and accurate data collection of IBM virtualization resources.

    Data Collected and CMDB Population

    The discovery populates multiple CI classes with detailed attributes:

    • IBM HMC Server (cmdbcihmcserver): Includes name, frame count, serial number, IP address, OS version, CPU details, and RAM.
    • IBM Frame (cmdbciibmframe): Captures name, serial number, processor and memory units (installed, configurable, available), and management IP address.
    • IBM LPAR Instance (cmdbcilparinstance): Records name, operational state (On/Off), serial number, unique object ID, VIO server identification, processor and memory allocations, IP address, OS version, and parent frame reference.
    • LPAR Resource (cmdbcilparresource): Tracks dynamic metrics like highest recorded online virtual CPUs and node name linked to the LPAR instance.
    • Serial Number (cmdbserialnumber): Maintains serial numbers for all discovered CIs.

    CI Relationships

    The discovery automatically establishes relationships that reflect the virtualization hierarchy and resource management:

    • IBM HMC Server defines and manages IBM Frames and their processor pools.
    • IBM Frames virtualize IBM LPAR Instances and are managed by the HMC Server.
    • LPAR Instances reference their parent IBM Frame and are grouped into processor pools.
    • VIO servers and client LPARs are identified to represent management relationships between LPARs.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automated, accurate discovery of IBM virtualization infrastructure reduces manual data entry and errors.
    • Comprehensive CMDB data supports better asset management, capacity planning, and operational decision-making.
    • Visibility into LPAR states and resource allocations assists in performance monitoring and troubleshooting.
    • Established CI relationships enable effective impact analysis and change management within complex IBM virtualized environments.

    The Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application uses the IBM HMC Server pattern to find information about Hardware Management Console (HMC), frame, and logical partition (LPAR) servers. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    Discovery supports the following configuration items (CIs):
    • HMC server
    • IBM frame
    • LPAR instance

      An LPAR is the virtual machine equivalent of IBM.

    • LPAR resource

    Discovery is used on the HMC server and the individual AIX machines (LPARs).

    The IBM HMC Server pattern runs using SSH. It’s supported to run on IBM AIX OS for LPAR and on Linux for HMC servers only.

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    Prerequisites

    Verify that the applications are up to date
    • Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns
    • CMDB CI Class Models
    Verify permissions for HMC and AIX servers
    • Verify you have permissions for the following HMC commands:
      • lssyscfg
      • lshmc
      • lshwres
      • lssysconn -r all -F type_model_serial_num:ipaddr
    • Verify you have permissions for the following AIX (LPAR) command: lparstat -i.
      Note:
      The lparstat -i command is in addition to the commands required for AIX server discovery. For more information on AIX server discovery, see AIX server discovery. For a list of the AIX commands, see Service Mapping commands requiring a privileged user.
    Configure SSH credentials
    Configure SSH credentials on the ServiceNow AI Platform. For more information, see SSH credentials.
    Run a horizontal discovery for HMC Server and LPARs
    1. Run a discovery on the HMC IP address.
    2. Only when the HMC Server discovery has successfully completed, run a discovery on the LPARs using the AIX machine IP address.
    For more information on running a discovery, see Schedule a horizontal discovery.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the IBM HMC Server pattern.

    Table 1. IBM HMC Server [cmdb_ci_hmc_server]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the HMC.
    Frame count [frame_count] Number of frames managed for the HMC.

    A frame is the physical machine on which the LPARs reside. A frame is the equivalent of an ESX machine.
    Serial number [serial number] Serial number of the HMC server.
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the HMC.
    OS Version [os_version] Operating system version.
    CPU type [cpu_type] CPU type.
    CPU speed (MHz) [cpu_speed] CPU speed.
    CPU count [cpu_count] CPU count.
    CPU core count [cpu_core_count] CPU core count.
    RAM (MB) [ram] Memory RAM.
    Table 2. IBM Frame [cmdb_ci_ibm_frame]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the frame.
    Serial number [serial number] Serial number of the Frame server.
    Current available processor units [curr_avail_sys_proc_units] Current available processor units.
    Configurable processor units [configurable_sys_proc_units] Configurable processor units.
    Installed processor units [installed_sys_proc_units] Installed processor units.
    Current available memory units [curr_avail_sys_mem] Current available memory units.
    Configurable memory units [configurable_sys_mem] Configurable memory units.
    Installed memory units [installed_sys_mem] Installed memory units.
    IP Address [ip_address] Management IP address of the IBM frame.
    Table 3. IBM LPAR Instance [cmdb_ci_lpar_instance]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the LPAR instance.
    State [state] Operational state. Possible values are On or Off.
    • On: running
    • Off: not activated or not available
    Serial number [serial_number] Serial number of the LPAR.
    Object ID [object_id] Unique object identifier. This identifier is concatenated from the frame serial number and the LPAR identifier.
    Is VIO [is_vio] Identifies the LPAR as a VIO server.

    A VIO server is the LPAR that manages the physical components for other LPARs, such as network interface cards (NICs) and optical drives.
    VIO Servers [vio_servers]
    • Client LPARs: Identifies the VIO servers that manage the client LPARs.
    • VIO servers: Identifies the Client LPARs the VIO servers manage.
    Current Min Proc Units [curr_min_proc_units] Minimum number of processing units that can be assigned to the partition dynamically.
    Running Proc Units [run_proc_units] Number of processing units that are varied on for the partition.
    Current Memory [curr_mem] The amount of memory in megabyte (MB) assigned to the partition.
    Running Memory [run_mem] Current amount of memory in MB that the partition has varied on.
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address assigned to the VIOS LPAR instance.
    Model number [model_number] OS version of the VIOS LPAR instance.
    Frame Name [frame_parent] References the IBM Frame [cmdb_ci_ibm_frame] table.
    Table 4. LPAR Resource [cmdb_ci_lpar_resource]
    Field Description
    High Watermark VCPU [high_watermark_vcpu] Highest recorded value of the Online Virtual CPUs field, as collected by the lparstat-i command.

    Because the value is dynamic, the results of a discovery could affect the value:

    • If the value of the Online Virtual CPUs field is lower than the value collected by the lparstat-i command, the value doesn’t change.
    • If the value of the Online Virtual CPUs field is higher than the value collected by the lparstat-i command, the higher value is used.
    Node name [node_name] Name of the instance, along with the field that refers to the LPAR instance CI.
    Table 5. Serial Number [cmdb_serial_number]
    Field Description
    Serial number [serial_number] Serial number of the CI.

    CI Relationships

    Discovery creates these relationships to support the IBM Virtualization and HMC discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    IBM HMC Server [cmdb_ci_hmc_server] Defines resources for::Gets resources from IBM HMC Processor Pool [cmdb_ci_processor_pool]
    IBM LPAR Instance [cmdb_ci_lpar_instance] Virtualized by::Virtualizes IBM Frame [cmdb_ci_ibm_frame]
    IBM Frame [cmdb_ci_ibm_frame] Managed by::Manages IBM HMC Server [cmdb_ci_hmc_server]
    IBM HMC Processor Pool [cmdb_ci_processor_pool] Members::Member of IBM LPAR Instance [cmdb_ci_lpar_instance]
    IBM LPAR Instance [cmdb_ci_lpar_instance] References IBM Frame [cmdb_ci_ibm_frame]