---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Discovery for Microsoft Azure

# Discovery for Microsoft Azure {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Australia
* 
* Updated March 12, 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read

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This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.  

## Summary of Discovery for Microsoft Azure

The Discovery process for Microsoft Azure enables ServiceNow customers to automate the identification and mapping of cloud resources within their Azure environment.
By creating a service principal, users can grant the MID Server the necessary permissions to access and discover Azure resources effectively.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **Management Groups and Subscriptions:** Organize Azure resources into management groups, which can simplify the management of subscriptions and facilitate smoother discovery processes.
* **Dynamic Credential Management:** Discovery automatically acquires temporary credentials for each subscription under a management group, eliminating the need for separate credentials for each sub-account.
* **Service Principal Creation:** A service principal, similar to a Windows service account, is created to allow ServiceNow to interact with Azure resources. Credentials such as Tenant ID, Client ID, and Secret Key must be configured in ServiceNow.
* **Automatic Refresh:** Discovery can automatically update the list of sub-accounts and datacenters, ensuring that users have the latest resource information.
* **Tag-Based Discovery:** Service Mapping utilizes tag-based discovery to create service instance maps, allowing the integration of discovered components into CI relationships.

## Key Outcomes

By implementing Azure Discovery, ServiceNow customers can expect streamlined resource management, improved visibility into cloud infrastructure, and enhanced operational efficiency. The automatic credential handling and dynamic updates ensure that customers can maintain a current inventory of their Azure resources, supporting better governance and provisioning processes.  
If your cloud resources are in an Azure cloud, you must create a user identity
called a service principal that grants permissions to the MID Server to access selected
resources.

## Azure management groups and subscriptions {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_zsr_zbb_kmb}

An Azure management group contains other management groups and subscriptions. The management groups in an Azure Cloud environment form a hierarchy, but
don't contain volumes or virtual
machines. Subscriptions contain cloud resources, such as virtual machines. The subscriptions that belong to management groups are called sub-accounts.

The advantages of using management groups are:

Easy population of sub-accounts

After you configure the management group and supply the necessary credentials, you can test the account. If the test succeeds, Discovery returns a list of subscriptions in that management group. From this list, you can choose
one or more subscription sub-accounts to include in the Discovery schedule using the management group. For more information on
the hierarchy of management groups and subscriptions, see [Organize your resources with Azure management groups](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/management-groups/overview)

Discovery of sub-account resources using dynamically acquired credentials

When you run Discovery on your subscriptions, you do not need separate credentials for each sub-account. Discovery finds the credentials for the management group and maps them to all of the subscription sub-accounts. The Cloud
Discovery process handles credentials automatically by acquiring a temporary credential for each sub-account via an Azure API. You can elect to use the default configuration or customize the MID Server to assume other roles for
additional controls and security. In addition, Discovery can automatically refresh the list of sub-accounts and datacenters
covered in a discovery schedule. For more information, see the KB article [Retrieve newer accounts/sub-accounts automatically via Cloud Discovery.](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0961449)
A service principal for Azure cloud services is similar to a Microsoft
Windows service account that enables Windows processes to communicate with each other within an Active Directory domain.  
To create the Azure service principal in your ServiceNow instance, copy the service principal credential values from the Azure portal into a text editor, and then transfer those values into the instance. Figure 1. The text file that you generate during this procedure  
This table shows you the Azure Service Principal value and the location in Azure where you can find the values you need for the credentials.{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_kpc_svh_wjb__entry__3}

| Cloud Provisioning and Governance setting | Azure Service Principal value | Location of the Azure value |
|-|-|-|
| Tenant ID | Azure Directory ID value from the text file. | Azure Active DirectoryPropertiesDirectory ID |
| Client ID | Azure Application ID value from the text file. | Azure Active DirectoryApp registrationsRegistered App.Application ID |
| Secret Key | Azure Application key value from the text file. | Azure Active DirectoryApp registrationsRegistered AppSettingsKeys (hidden) |
| Account ID | Azure Subscription ID associated with the Tenant ID. | Azure Active DirectorySubscriptionsSubscription ID |
[ ]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_kpc_svh_wjb}

## Verify the REST API Permissions {#azure-cloud-discovery__id_ppz_r33_ydc}

Download the [Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet](https://downloads.docs.servicenow.com/resource/enus/api/servicenow-discovery-patterns-api-details.xlsx) so you can grant user permissions required for running the Discovery patterns. In addition to permissions, the spreadsheet also includes useful information such as pattern names, types, CI Classes, and links to vendor documentation. New patterns are available
quarterly, so check periodically to be sure you have the latest version of the spreadsheet.{#azure-cloud-discovery__cloud-discovery-api-paragraph}

## Data collected by Service Mapping during top-down discovery {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_mtq_nbg_ppb}

To include discovered components into service instances, enable CI relationships used in tag-based discovery by Service Mapping. These CI relationships are available from the 1.0.68 release on the ServiceNow Store. For operational steps, see [Tag-based discovery configuration](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/__DAxI4a5uhCxFO3rZLOcw "You can refine the default configuration to control which CIs Service Mapping includes in application services during the tag-based discovery process.").  
Service Mapping uses tag-based discovery to create service instance maps including the Cloud components. The Service Mapping application comes with the following preconfigured CI relationships used for tag-based discovery. These CI relationships are available from the 1.0.68 release on the ServiceNow Store. {#azure-cloud-discovery__id_yqp_xhy_qpb__entry__3}

| CI | Relationship | CI |
|-|-|-|
| Configuration Item \[cmdb_ci\] | Hosted on::Hosts | Logical Datacenter \[cmdb_ci_logical_datacenter\] |
| Logical Datacenter \[cmdb_ci_logical_datacenter\] | Hosted on::Hosts | Cloud Service Account \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] |
[ ]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__id_yqp_xhy_qpb}

## Azure Cloud Discovery API list {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_zbd_ypm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.name |
| name | response.name |
| region | response.displayName |
| status | Installed |
[Table 1. Logical Datacenter (cmdb_ci_logical_datacenter)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_mr2_1qm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.id |
| name | response.name |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
| state |   |
[Table 2. Availability Zone (cmdb_ci_availability_zone)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_md1_hqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| name | name |
| state | available |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 3. Resource Group (cmdb_ci_resource_group)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_q1s_3qm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| state |   |
| name | name |
| cidr | properties.addressSpace.addressPrefixes |
[Table 4. Network (cmdb_ci_network)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_c5j_jqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| subnetName | response.name |
| subnetId | response.id |
| resourceGroup | response.properties.resourceGuid |
| networkId | response.id.split('/subnets/') |
| networkName | getNetwork(networkId) |
| cidrBlock | response.properties.addressSpace.addressPrefixes |
[Table 5. Subnet (cmdb_ci_cloud_subnet)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_nfw_jqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
| storage_type | properties.BlobType |
| volume_id | id |
| name | name |
| size_bytes | properties.diskSizeGB \* 1024 \* 1024 \* 1024 |
| object_id | id |
| size | response.properties.diskSizeGB |
| "volume_container" | containerName |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 6. Storage Volume (cmdb_ci_storage_volume)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_i3l_kqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| name | name |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
[Table 7. Security Groups (cmdb_ci_compute_security_group)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_wdg_lqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| memory | properties.hardwareProfile.vmSize |
| state | The instance statuses: * succeeded: on * running: succeeded/stopping * deallocating: stopping/stopped * deallocated: off * terminated: error {#azure-cloud-discovery__ul_x51_b5m_jyb} |
| object_id | id |
| cpus | properties.hardwareProfile.vmSize |
| disks | properties.storageProfile.dataDisks |
| nics | properties.networkProfile.networkInterfaces\[\].size |
| vm_inst_id | properties.vmId |
| name | name |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 8. Virtual Server (cmdb_ci_vm_instance)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_flf_mqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| name | name |
| object_id | name |
| vcpus | numberOfCores |
| memory_mb | memoryInMB |
| local_storage_gb | resourceDiskSizeInMB |
| cores | numberOfCores |
[Table 9. Hardware Template (cmdb_ci_compute_template)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_g25_mqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.id |
| name | response.name |
| public_dns | properties.dnsSettings.fqdn |
| public_ip_address | properties.ipAddress |
[Table 10. Cloud Public IP Address (cmdb_ci_cloud_public_ipaddress)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_udj_nqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | "properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.privateIPAddress OR properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.publicIPAddress, then call Public IP Address API" |
| name | "properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.privateIPAddress OR properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.publicIPAddress, then call Public IP Address API" |
| ipaddress_type | "properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.privateIPAddress ==\> Private IP Address OR properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.publicIPAddress ==\> Public IP Address" |
| status | Installed |
[Table 11. Cloud LB IP Address (cmdb_ci_cloud_lb_ipaddress)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_jkz_rqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| name | name |
| private_ip | properties.ipConfigurations |
| public_dns | call public ip address api - properties.dnsSettings.fqdn |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
| is_static | properties.ipConfigurations |
| mac_address | properties.macAddress |
| public_ip | call public ip address api - |
[Table 12. Cloud Network Interfaces \[cmdb_ci_nic\]]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_jrd_tqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| name | response.id |
| object_id | response.name |
| guest_os | properties.storageProfile.osDisk.osType |
| image_source | id |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 13. Image (cmdb_ci_os_template)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_irp_wqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| name | name |
| object_id | id |
| sku_name | sku.name |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
[Table 14. Cloud Storage Account cmdb_ci_cloud_storage_account]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_sf4_yqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.id |
| name | response.name |
| state |   |
| dns_name | properties. |
| fqdn |   |
| canonical_hosted_zone_name |   |
[Table 15. Load Balancer (cmdb_ci_cloud_load_balancer)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_kcf_zqm_qmb}

## Useful information {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_b2f_2y4_chc}

* [Microsoft Azure discovery solutions comparison](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/1cHAZwBh9Fs2PAVBQVVBQQ "ITOM Visibility applications discover a variety of Microsoft Azure resources and populate the relevant configuration item (CI) classes in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) with their attributes.")
* [Set up Azure service accounts](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/XKQpJvxWTKNL58XCkRHVxA "Create and configure cloud service accounts at ServiceNow AI Platform for the corresponding Microsoft Azure accounts.")
* [Install and configure MID Servers to access cloud environments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/4ajIDq_DzDGU3O~Gc8V_gg "Install and configure the MID Servers correctly to enable ITOM products to access to the cloud resources.")
* [Microsoft Azure Cloud discovery using patterns](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/e2521~KHAw8EO7j1nC9QMA "Discovery uses multiple patterns to discover components of the Microsoft Azure Cloud deployment 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.")
{#azure-cloud-discovery__ul_hbn_gy4_chc}

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