Alibaba Cloud virtual machine (VM) pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Alibaba Cloud Virtual Machine (VM) Pattern-Based Discovery

    The Alibaba Cloud Virtual Machine (VM) pattern-based discovery enables the identification and mapping of Alibaba Cloud VMs within ServiceNow's Configuration Management Database (CMDB). This process utilizes the Alibaba - Virtual Machine (LP) pattern and requires the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

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    Key Features

    • Data Collection: Discovery collects important details about VMs, including instance name, ID, status, CPU count, memory, disk attachments, guest OS, installation status, operational status, and network interfaces.
    • CI Relationships: Establishes relationships between various configuration items (CIs) such as VM instances, network interfaces, and cloud images to maintain a comprehensive view of the resources.
    • Tag Discovery: Automatically collects and populates tags associated with VM instances in the Key Value table, aiding in resource categorization and management.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing the Alibaba Cloud VM pattern-based discovery, customers can efficiently discover and manage their cloud resources, ensuring accurate representation in the CMDB. This enhances visibility into VM status and relationships, leading to improved operational management and decision-making capabilities. Regular updates and adherence to discovery prerequisites are crucial for optimal performance and results.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns uses the Alibaba - Virtual Machine (LP) pattern to discover VMs during horizontal discovery. 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 Alibaba Cloud discovery prerequisites section in Alibaba Cloud discovery using patterns.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Alibaba - Virtual Machine (LP) pattern.

    Table 1. Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the instance.
    Object ID [object_id] Instance ID.
    State [state] Status of the instance.

    For example: Running or Stopped.
    CPUs [cpus] Number of Virtual Central Processing Units (vCPUs).
    Memory (MB) [memory] Memory size in megabytes (MB).
    Disks [disks] Number of local disks attached to the instance.
    Guest OS Name [guest_os_fullname] Type of the operating system (OS) of the instance.

    Possible values are Windows or Linux.
    Install Status [install_status] Install status of the instance. Default value is Installed.
    Operational status [operational_status] Operational status of the instance. Default value is Operational.
    Network adapters [nics] Elastic Network Interfaces (ENIs) attached to the instance.
    Table 2. Cloud Mgmt Network Interface [cmdb_ci_nic]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the ENI.
    Object ID [object_id] ID of the ENI.
    MAC Address [mac_address] MAC address of the ENI.
    Private IP [private_ip] Private IP address of the ENI.
    IP Address [ip_address] Public IP addresses of instances.
    Primary [primary] A Boolean indicating whether a network interface is primary or secondary.
    Node ID [node_id] Instance ID.
    Table 3. Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] ID of the image.
    • IDs of public images contain the operating system version, architecture, language, and release date.

      For example: win2008r2_64_ent_sp1_en-us_40G_alibase_20190318.vhd.

    • IDs of custom, shared, and community images start with m.

      For example: m-0a1b2c3defghijklm4n5o.
    Provider [provider] Image cloud provider: Alibaba.
    Table 4. Cloud Hardware Type [cmdb_ci_cloud_hardware_type]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] ID of the instance type.
    Provider [provider] Image cloud provider: Alibaba.

    CI relationships

    Discovery creates these relationships to support the Alibaba Cloud virtual machine discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Implement End Point To::Implement End Point From Cloud Mgmt Network Interface [cmdb_ci_nic]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Hosted on::Hosts Alibaba Datacenter [cmdb_ci_alibaba_datacenter]
    Availability Zone [cmdb_ci_availability_zone] Contains::Contained by Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Provisioned From::Provisioned Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Provisioned From::Provisioned Cloud Hardware Type [cmdb_ci_cloud_hardware_type]
    Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image] Hosted on::Hosts Alibaba Datacenter [cmdb_ci_alibaba_datacenter]
    Key Value [cmdb_key_value] References Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]

    Tag discovery

    The Alibaba - Virtual Machine (LP) pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.

    Table 5. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag key.
    Value [value] Tag value.
    Configuration item [configuration_item] References the Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] table.