--- sourceDocument: Brazil IT Operations Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-operations-management Release : - brazil ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Brazil IT Operations Management ft:clusterId : - itom bundleId : - itom workflow : - Technology --- # Discovery error messages # Discovery error messages {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Brazil Updated September 10, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 5 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI 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 error messages This document provides a comprehensive list of common Discovery error messages encountered during ServiceNow Discovery runs, along with their causes and troubleshooting guidance. Understanding these errors helps ensure successful discovery of Configuration Items (CIs) by identifying connectivity, authentication, command execution, sensor, and general system issues. Show full answer Show less ## Common Error Categories * **Input/output errors:** Issues like connection failures, timeouts, unsupported protocols, and file not found errors that indicate network or communication problems. * **Authentication errors:** Failures due to missing or invalid credentials, or unsupported credential types preventing CI authentication. * **SSH errors:** Errors related to SSH shell support, script transfer failures, or invalid SSH sessions. * **Windows errors:** Issues such as unsupported PowerShell versions impacting Windows-based discovery. * **Command errors:** Problems like command timeouts, invalid commands, parsing errors, or lost terminal sessions during probe execution. * **Generic component errors:** Errors regarding invalid components or operations within the Discovery process. * **General error messages:** Includes XML parsing errors due to special characters in passwords, duplicate IP warnings when multiple NICs are targeted, and authentication failures requiring credential updates. ## Specific Troubleshooting Guidance * **Authentication failures:** Ensure credentials for target machines are added to the Discovery credentials table. * **WMI connection errors:** Verify MID Server service account permissions, domain admin usage, firewall settings, and run diagnostic WMIC or PowerShell commands on the MID Server host. * **PowerShell impersonation failures:** Confirm domain specification in user credentials used for PowerShell access. * **WMI repository corruption:** Follow Microsoft TechNet guidance to repair the repository. * **Payload size limits:** For large probe results exceeding 5,000,000 bytes, adjust the MID Server property `mid.discovery.maxpayloadsize` to disable payload limits. * **Oracle Solaris serial number probe:** Install the Oracle Sneep command line tool and run Solaris discovery with root credentials for certain hardware (e.g., Fujitsu PRIMEPOWER). ## Discovery Sensor Error Messages Errors related to sensor and probe version mismatches (major and minor version differences) indicate incompatibility and may halt processing until resolved. Other sensor errors include missing sensors for active probes, JavaScript exceptions, XML parsing failures, empty probe outputs, and "Probe not found" errors due to missing or invalid probe records. ## Resolving Sensor Errors * Ensure that every active probe has a corresponding active sensor to process collected data. * Address JavaScript errors by correcting the associated sensor code files. * Verify the correct `sysid` of probes referenced in ECC Queue records to resolve "Probe not found" errors. * For XML parsing issues, ensure probe output is well-formed XML, escaping special characters or using CDATA sections as needed. ## Practical Recommendations for ServiceNow Customers * Use this guidance to quickly identify and resolve errors during Discovery runs, minimizing CI identification disruptions. * Maintain correct credentials and MID Server permissions to avoid authentication and connection issues. * Regularly validate sensor and probe versions to prevent incompatibility errors. * Adjust MID Server properties as needed to accommodate specific environments or large payloads. * Leverage diagnostic commands on MID Servers to verify connectivity and permissions with target devices. Review common Discovery error messages and their causes to identify and resolve issues that occur during discovery runs. ## Common error messages Input/output errors : * CONNECTION_FAILED * CONNECTION_TIMEOUT * CONNECTION_REFUSED * CONNECTION_CIPHER_UNSUPPORTED * CONNECTION_PROTOCOL_UNSUPPORTED * CONNECTION_LOST * INVALID_CONNECTION_PARAMETER * FILE_NOT_FOUND * IO_ERROR {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__ul_cbd_sy2_ss} Authentication errors : * NO_CREDENTIALS * AUTHENTICATION_FAILED * INVALID_CREDENTIALS_TYPE {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__ul_w2r_yxr_1cb} SSH errors : * SSH_SHELL_UNSUPPORTED * SSH_SCRIPT_TRANSFER_FAILED * SSH_INVALID_SESSION {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__ul_vzs_fyr_1cb} Windows errors : POWER_SHELL_VERSION_UNSUPPORTED Command errors : * COMMAND_TIMEOUT * INVALID_COMMAND * COMMAND_FILTER_ERROR * COMMAND_PARSER_ERROR * COMMAND_KEY_MAPPER_ERROR * COMMAND_VALUE_NORMALIZER_ERROR * TERMINAL_SESSION_LOST_ERROR * TERMINAL_SESSION_ENVIRONMENT_MODIFICATION_ERROR {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__ul_gqs_2z2_ss} Generic component errors : * INVALID_COMPONENT * INVALID_COMPONENT_PARAMETER * INVALID_OPERATION {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__ul_rss_hyr_1cb} ## General error messages {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__section_ttb_jyr_1cb} Message: org.xml.sax.SAXParseException: The entity name must immediately follow the '\&' in the entity reference : A version of this message occurs if you have used special characters in a password that is saved in an XML file. Message: Identified, ignored extra IP : This message can appear at the end classification phase of Discovery if a targeted IP address belongs to a device that is being discovered at the same time. For example, a Windows server has two NIC cards with two IP addresses. Discovery targets both IP addresses within the same Discovery schedule. This message is generated to note that second IP address is ignored because we don't want to update the same CI twice within the same Discovery run. This message is a warning and is expected. No action is needed. Message: Authentication failures : The discovery process could not discover the CI because the discovery application could not authenticate. To resolve, add the credentials of that machine in to the discovery credentials table. Message: Identified, not updating CI, now finished : No match on any of the CI Identifiers. Message: The impersonation of user failed : This message originates in the Powershell. Check that the domain is specified along with the user name in the credentials. Message: Connection failed to WMI service. Error: Permission denied : This message originates in WMI. Check that the MID Server service is running with the correct credentials and has access to the target device. To check this, run the following command from the command prompt on the MID Server host: wmic /node:target /user:user /password:password path win32_operatingsystem target = IP address of target device user = user account used by the mid server service password = password used by the mid server service Message: Connection failed to WMI service. Error: The remote server machine does not exist or is unavailable : This message originates in WMI. Check that the MID Server service account has access to the targeted machine. Check if a domain admin account is used as the MID Server service account. Check if any existing firewalls are open to the connection. To check this, run the following command from the command prompt on the MID Server host. Execute for runner_type=WMI: wmic /node:"" /user:"" /password:"" path win32_operatingsystem From within a Powershell console on the mid server host, execute for runner_type=Powershell: gwmi win32_operatingsystem -computer -credential '' Message: Provider is not capable of the attempted operation : WMI repository was corrupted. After following the "WMI: Repository Corruption, or Not?" article on the [Microsoft TechNet site](https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/), the problem was corrected. Message: The result file can't be fetched because it doesn't exist : PRB581515 - Powershell does not work when customer has locked down write rights to admin share. Message: Please run sneep as root to ensure correct serial number from fserial data source : The Oracle Sneep command line tool must be installed for the Solaris - Serial Number probe to work correctly. There is a [known limitation](https://wikis.oracle.com/display/proactive/SneepFAQ) with Fujitsu PRIMEPOWER devices. To work around this limitation, run the Solaris discovery with root credentials. ## Discovery sensor error messages {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__section_lz3_rzr_1cb} Message: The multisensor will not process because its major version = X while probe_name responding script's major version = Y : This error message indicates that there is a major version mismatch. Message: Payload length exceeds limit of 5000000 : This error message indicates that the Discovery probe results exceed the limit. The MID Server will discard the results and return a warning message. To resolve, set the value of the mid.discovery.max_payload_size MID Server property to any negative number (for example, -1) to disable the payload limit and allow payloads of any size to be sent to the instance. Message: The multisensor will not process because its responding script's major version = X while its referenced probe probe_name major version = Y : This error message indicates that there is a major version mismatch. Message: sensor_name sensor's major version = X while its related probe's major version = Y : This error message indicates that there is a major version mismatch in the probe and sensor versions and the sensor will stop processing until this condition is resolved. Message: sensor_name multisensor's minor version = X while probe_name responding script's minor version = Y : This error message indicates that there is a minor version mismatch. Message: sensor_name multisensor's responding script's minor version = X while its referenced probe probe_name minor version = Y : This error message indicates that there is a minor version mismatch. Message: sensor_name sensor's minor version = X while its related probe's minor version = Y : This error message indicates that there is a minor version mismatch in the probe and sensor versions. Processing will continue, but you may want to resolve this condition. Message: Sensor error when processing . . . : No sensors defined : Every active probe looks for a corresponding sensor to process the data that is collected by the probe. This error message indicates that the corresponding sensor for the probe is missing or inactive. Message: Sensor error when processing . . . : typeError: . . . : This error message indicates that the sensor has one of the core error constructors in JavaScript. Message: Sensor error when processing ...: Exception while processing sensor: XML Parse Problem: !\[CDATA\] : This XML parsing error occurs when the discovery sensor fails to parse the input ECC queue payload. The payload is not formatted according to XML specifications. Possible solutions include: * Escape problematic characters. For example, change \< to \< and \& to \&. * Escape entire blocks of text with CDATA sections, or put encoding declarations at the start of the text. * Remove any whitespace characters (space, tabs, newlines) before the XML declarations. {#c_DiscoveryErrorMessages__ul_wsj_t13_ft} Message: Sensor error when processing Linux - Network ARP Tables: Exception while running probe post processing script: No XML data : The system displays the No XML data error when the XML sensor processor fails to find the expected XML data in the probe output. During sensor processing, Discovery attempts to retrieve the probe results but finds the probe output empty. Verify that the probe returns the correct output for the sensor to process. Message: Sensor error when processing Shazzam: Exception while running probe post processing script: Probe not found: null : The Probe not found error occurs when the sensor processor fails to find the probe record supposedly associated with the sensor. During sensor processing, Discovery gets the probe record from the probe cache and stores it for later reference. The "Probe not found" error occurs either when the sys_id of the probe cannot be found or there is an issue with the probe cache. See [Find the cause of a "Probe not found" error](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/fsEfxXXdgwIr77AlVJSYbw "Verify the correct sys_id of the probe associated with the probe parameter in the payload of the ECC Queue input record.") for more information. * **[Find the cause of a sensor error message](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/sYSAp~hha8SX~Nv28QnHvA)** Use this procedure to identify a Discovery sensor error. * **[Find the cause of a "No Sensor Defined" error message](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/GAmHVC2VICxEelD9J36lOA)** Every active probe looks for a corresponding sensor to process the data that is collected by the probe. The "No Sensors Defined" message indicates that the corresponding sensor for the probe is missing or inactive. * **[Fix the cause of a sensor error message](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/SHDe79C2D894GHh_NbzcWw)** To fix a Discovery sensor error message, you must fix the JavaScript file containing the code that generated the error. * **[Find the cause of a "Probe not found" error](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/fsEfxXXdgwIr77AlVJSYbw)** Verify the correct sys_id of the probe associated with the probe parameter in the payload of the ECC Queue input record.