Next-Generation Cisco Firewall discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Next-Generation Cisco Firewall discovery

    The ServiceNow Discovery application includes a Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern designed to identify Cisco firewall devices across your network. This pattern leverages SNMP calls to perform horizontal discovery, collecting detailed configuration and status data to populate the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). It is compatible with the ServiceNow AI Platform® starting from the Madrid release.

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    Prerequisites

    • Ensure SNMP access is enabled on your Cisco firewall devices.
    • Configure SNMP credentials within your ServiceNow instance.
    • Add the SNMP system OID for Cisco devices to your instance.
    • Update the Cisco Firewall Classifier and Device Class for accurate identification.

    Deployment Steps

    • Download and install the Firewall extension classes app from the ServiceNow Store. This app provides the necessary CMDB classes for firewall discovery.
    • Download and install the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store to access the latest discovery patterns.
    • Synchronize the Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern with the appropriate MID Server to enable discovery runs.

    Data Collected and CMDB Impact

    During discovery, detailed data about Cisco firewall devices is collected and stored in specialized CMDB tables including:

    • Cisco Firewall Device [cmdbcifirewalldevicecisco] – stores device identifiers, serial number, FQDN, IP address, firmware version, operational and hardware status.
    • IP Address [cmdbciipaddress] – contains IP address details and netmask linked to the firewall device.
    • Network Adapter [cmdbcinetworkadapter] – includes network adapter specifics such as MAC address, alias, and associated IP addresses.
    • DNS Name [cmdbcidnsname] – captures DNS information related to the firewall.

    CI Relationships

    The discovery process establishes key relationships between the firewall device and its associated IP addresses, network adapters, router interfaces, and serial numbers. These relationships support accurate dependency mapping and configuration management for Cisco firewall devices.

    What This Enables for ServiceNow Customers

    By implementing the Next Generation Cisco Firewall discovery pattern, ServiceNow customers can:

    • Automatically identify and track Cisco firewall devices within their environment.
    • Maintain up-to-date hardware and software inventory in the CMDB.
    • Improve network visibility and operational awareness through detailed device attributes and relationships.
    • Leverage accurate data for service mapping, impact analysis, and security compliance.

    The ServiceNow Discovery application uses the Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern to find Cisco firewalls. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    The discovery pattern uses a set of SNMP calls to find the Cisco firewalls. Discovery uses the pattern to run horizontal discovery.

    You can use this pattern on the ServiceNow AI Platform® using the Madrid release or later.

    Request apps on the Store

    Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Prerequisites

    • Ensure that your network firewall device has SNMP access.
    • On the ServiceNow instance, configure SNMP credentials. For more information, see .
    • Add the SNMP system OID record for the Cisco device to the ServiceNow instance. Update the following:
      • Classifier: Cisco Firewall
      • Class: Cisco Firewall Device
    • Deploy the pattern as follows:
      1. Download and install Firewall extension classes from the ServiceNow Store. The app adds the new CMDB classes required for network firewall discovery.
      2. Download and install the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.
      3. Sync the pattern with the appropriate MID Server.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern.

    Table 1. Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]
    Field Description
    Serial number [serial_number] Serial number of the device.
    Name [name] Administratively assigned name for this managed node. By convention, this is the node's fully qualified domain name (FQDN).
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the device.
    Firmware version [firmware_version] Firmware version.
    Fully qualified domain name [fqdn] FQDN of the device.
    Manufacturer [manufacturer] Device manufacturer.
    Model ID [model_id] Device model name.
    Harware OS [hardware_os] Operating system (OS) running on the hardware.
    Hardware OS Version [hardware_os_version] OS version running on the hardware.
    Description [short_description] Short description of the Cisco device.
    Operational status [operational_status] Indicates if the device is in active state.
    Hardware Status [hardware_status] Detailed description of the current status of the resource.
    Table 2. IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the Cisco firewall.
    Netmask [netmask] Netmask of the Cisco firewall.
    Nic [nic] References the Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] table.
    Table 3. Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the network adapter.
    Alias [alias] User-assigned name for the network adapter.
    Netmask [netmask] Netmask of the network adapter.
    MAC Address [mac_address] MAC address of the network adapter.
    Name [name] Name of the network adapter.
    Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] References the Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] table.
    Table 4. DNS Name [cmdb_ci_dns_name]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the Domain Name System (DNS).
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the DNS.
    This Dependency Views map on the Cisco Firewall Device CI shows the Cisco Firewall Device.
    CIs and connections on a Dependency Views map

    CI relationships

    These relationships are created to support Cisco firewall discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] Owns::Owned by IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] Owns::Owned by Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] Uses::Used by Router Interface [dscy_router_interface]
    IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address] References Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] Owns::Owned by IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] References Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]
    Router Interface [dscy_router_interface] References Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]
    Serial Number [cmdb_serial_number] References Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]