AWS virtual server pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of AWS virtual server pattern-based discovery

    The AWS virtual server pattern-based discovery in ServiceNow enables automated identification and mapping of AWS EC2 virtual machine instances within your cloud environment. This discovery is performed using the Amazon AWS - Virtual Server (LP) pattern, which populates critical configuration item (CI) data in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). To ensure effective discovery, updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application may be necessary.

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    Key Features

    • Comprehensive VM Instance Data Collection: Captures detailed attributes of AWS EC2 instances such as instance name or ID, power state, memory, CPU count, network interfaces, disks, IP address, fully qualified domain name, and status fields (install and operational).
    • Storage and Network Mapping: Discovers storage mappings including root device types and mount points, subnet endpoints with associated IPs and regions, cloud subnets, and DNS names linked to instances.
    • Image and Template Management: Discovers Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) and stores them in either the OS Template or Cloud OS Image tables, with a recommendation to use the Cloud Image table to manage volume efficiently.
    • CI Relationships: Automatically creates relationships between discovered CIs, such as linking VMs to availability zones, storage mappings, AWS datacenters, compute templates, images, network subnets, and DNS names, supporting a rich and accurate CMDB topology.
    • AWS Tag Discovery: Collects AWS tags and stores them as key-value pairs in the CMDB, enabling enhanced categorization and filtering of virtual servers.
    • License Discovery (BYOL): Identifies Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) license types, distinguishing between Bring Your Own License (BYOL) and license-included models, with license data captured as key-value pairs linked to VMs.
    • Status Accuracy: Supports reflecting active or retired VM states accurately in CMDB by setting the snitompattern.discoverawsinstancestatuses MID Server property, though this may affect performance for large VM counts due to additional API calls.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automated and accurate discovery of AWS EC2 instances and related resources ensures your CMDB reflects your cloud infrastructure comprehensively.
    • Enhanced visibility into VM configurations, network, storage, and licensing enables better asset management, compliance, and operational decision-making.
    • Improved CMDB data quality through detailed relationships and tagging supports effective service mapping and dependency analysis.
    • License management capabilities help track and audit license usage for Windows and RHEL instances.
    • Flexible and scalable discovery with options to optimize status accuracy versus performance based on your environment size.

    Next Steps

    To implement AWS virtual server pattern-based discovery, verify your AWS discovery prerequisites, update your Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application as needed, and configure MID Server properties to balance discovery detail and performance. Use the populated CMDB data to support your cloud asset management, service mapping, and compliance initiatives effectively.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns finds AWS EC2 virtual machine instances 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 section in AWS discovery using patterns.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Amazon AWS - Virtual Server (LP) pattern.

    Table 1. Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the instance.

    Possible values are the tag name, if available, or the instance ID.
    Object ID [object_id] Unique identifier for the instance.
    State [state] Power state of the instance.
    Possible values:
    • On: Instance is running
    • Off: Instance is stopped
    VM Instance ID [vm_inst_id] Instance identifier from AWS.
    Memory (MB) [memory] Amount of memory allocated to the instance in megabytes (MB).
    Network adapters [nics] Number of network interface cards (NICs) attached to the instance.
    Disks [disks] Number of volumes attached to the instance.
    CPUs [cpus] Total number of virtual CPUs (vCPUs).
    IP Address [ip_address] Private IP address assigned to the instance.
    Fully qualified domain name [fqdn] Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) assigned to the instance.
    Install Status [install_status] Install status of the resource.

    For example: Installed or Retired.
    Operational status [operational_status] Operational status of the resource.

    For example: Operational, Non-Operational, or Retired.
    Note:

    If you have reactivated a retired virtual machine (VM) and want its active state to be accurately reflected in the Operational status and Install Status fields in the Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] table, set the sn_itom_pattern.discover_aws_instance_statuses MID Server property to true. Note that this setting involves additional API calls—one for each page of the pattern execution—which may impact performance if you're managing a large number of VMs.

    Table 2. Storage Mapping [cmdb_ci_storage_mapping]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Unique identifier for the storage mapping.
    Object ID [object_id] Unique identifier for the storage mapping.
    Mapping Type [mapping_type] The root device type used by the Amazon Machine Image (AMI).

    The AMI can use an EBS volume or an instance store volume.
    Mount Point [mount_point] Device name where the volume is mounted.

    For example: /dev/sda1.
    Host [host] Public IP address of the instance, if available.
    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.
    Table 3. Subnet Endpoint [cmdb_ci_endpoint_subnet]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] Subnet identifier.
    Name [name] Subnet identifier.
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address associated with the subnet endpoint.
    Region [region] AWS region where the subnet is located.
    Table 4. Cloud Subnet [cmdb_ci_cloud_subnet]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] Subnet identifier.
    Table 5. DNS Name [cmdb_ci_dns_name]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Domain Name System (DNS) name assigned to the instance.
    Table 6. Image [cmdb_ci_os_template] or Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] AMI identifier.
    Provider [provider] Cloud provider, which is AWS.

    This field is only populated in the Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image] table.
    Note:
    When using the Image [cmdb_ci_os_template] table to store Cloud OS images, you may notice an unusually large number of records. To avoid this issue, you can store the discovered OS images in the Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image] table. For more information, see Enable Cloud OS Image discovery.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - Virtual Server (LP) pattern creates these relationships to support AWS virtual server discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Availability Zone [cmdb_ci_availability_zone] Contains::Contained by Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Contains::Contained by Storage Mapping [cmdb_ci_storage_mapping]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    DNS Name [cmdb_ci_dns_name] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Provisioned From::Provisioned Compute Template [cmdb_ci_compute_template] or Cloud Hardware Type [cmdb_ci_cloud_hardware_type]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Provisioned From::Provisioned Image [cmdb_ci_os_template] or Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Contains::Contained by DNS Name [cmdb_ci_dns_name]
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Use End Point To::Use End Point From Subnet Endpoint [cmdb_ci_endpoint_subnet]
    Cloud Subnet [cmdb_ci_cloud_subnet] Implement End Point To::Implement End Point From Subnet Endpoint [cmdb_ci_endpoint_subnet]
    Network [cmdb_ci_network] Contains::Contained by Cloud Subnet [cmdb_ci_cloud_subnet]
    Image [cmdb_ci_os_template] or Cloud Image [cmdb_ci_cloud_os_image] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    Key Value [cmdb_key_value] References Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]

    AWS Tag discovery

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

    Table 7. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag name.
    Value [value] Tag value.
    Configuration item [configuration_item] References the Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] table.

    AWS BYOL discovery

    Starting with Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns version 1.30.2, the pattern extension section discovers the following license types for Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) VMs:
    • Bring Your Own License (BYOL)
    • License included
    The pattern stores the license type and model in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.
    Table 8. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] The license type key, which is one of the following:
    • Windows_OS_License_Type_automatic
    • RHEL_OS_License_Type_automatic
    Value [value] The license model, which is one of the following:
    • BYOL
    • License Included
    Configuration item [configuration_item] References the Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] table.