Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Reserved Instance pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Reserved Instance Pattern-Based Discovery

    Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Reserved Instance pattern-based discovery enables customers to find and manage AWS services within their cloud environment using ServiceNow's Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application. To utilize this functionality, customers must ensure they meet specific prerequisites and update to the latest version of the application.

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    Key Features

    • Prerequisites Verification: Ensure that the relevant AWS resources are not included in the Resource Inclusion List to prevent duplicate discovery.
    • Pattern Activation: The EC2 Reserved Instance pattern is disabled by default. Customers can activate or deactivate this pattern without it being classified as a customization, ensuring it remains up-to-date after upgrades.
    • GovCloud Support: For AWS GovCloud accounts, a datacenter URL is required during AWS service account setup to enable proper discovery.
    • Data Population: The application populates data in both CMDB and non-CMDB tables, allowing customers to manage and analyze their cloud resources effectively.

    Key Outcomes

    By implementing pattern-based discovery, ServiceNow customers can:

    • Gain visibility into their AWS EC2 Reserved Instances and associated resources.
    • Maintain updated and accurate configurations in their CMDB, enhancing resource management.
    • Utilize discovered tags for better organization and categorization of cloud resources.

    This functionality supports efficient cloud resource management and helps customers optimize their AWS investments through accurate tracking and reporting.

    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 Compute Cloud Reserved Instance - 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 Compute Cloud - Reserved Instance [cmdb_aws_elastic_cloud_compute_reserved_instance]
    Field Description
    Object Id [object_id] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) uniquely identifying the Reserved Instance.

    The ARN consists of the region, account ID, and instance ID in the following format: arn:aws:ec2:<region>:<accountId>:reserved-instances/<instance_id>.
    Name [name] The unique identifier assigned to the EC2 instance.
    State [state] The current status or lifecycle state of the EC2 instance.
    Configuration Item [configuration_item] References the Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] table.
    Instance Type [instance_type] The type of EC2 instance. For example: t2.micro or m5.large.
    Scope [scope] The reservation scope. For example: Regional or Availability Zone.

    Data stored in CMDB tables

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

    Table 2. Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] The ARN uniquely identifying the Reserved Instance.

    The ARN consists of the region, account ID, and instance ID in the following format: arn:aws:ec2:<region>:<accountId>:reserved-instances/<instance_id>.
    Name [name] The unique identifier assigned to the EC2 instance.
    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 Compute Cloud::Reserved Instance.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - Elastic Compute Cloud Reserved Instance - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern creates these relationships to support Amazon EC2 Reserved Instance discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    AWS Elastic Compute Cloud - Reserved Instance [cmdb_aws_elastic_cloud_compute_reserved_instance] References Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]

    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.