Discovery resource utilization

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    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 Resource Utilization

    This document provides insights into the network bandwidth consumption during standard discovery transactions on various operating systems, specifically focusing on the data flow segments involved in the process. Understanding these metrics is crucial for ServiceNow customers to optimize their discovery processes and manage network resources effectively.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Data Flow Bandwidth: The document includes tables detailing bandwidth consumption for different operating systems, illustrating how much data is transmitted during discovery.
    • Three-Tier Applications: It compares bandwidth for initial and subsequent discoveries in three-tier applications, breaking down data transfer by UI, application, and data tiers.
    • Patterns Over OS Types: Another table shows data creation and transfer amounts for different OS types during discovery using patterns.
    • CPU Usage Insights: It mentions that CPU usage can vary significantly based on operating systems, chipsets, and loads, emphasizing the need for monitoring performance impact.

    Key Outcomes

    By analyzing the provided bandwidth metrics, ServiceNow customers can:

    • Make informed decisions regarding network capacity and resource allocation during discovery.
    • Understand the impact of varying operating systems on bandwidth usage, aiding in troubleshooting and optimization efforts.
    • Utilize insights from CPU usage examples to gauge the performance impact of the Discovery tool on their systems.

    Note: Bandwidth measurements were obtained under standard operating conditions, and actual results may vary based on local configurations.

    Standard transactions on Windows and UNIX generate various amounts of network traffic, depending on what is being discovered.

    These tables show the bandwidth consumption for each data flow segment of a typical discovery using probes and patterns over different operating systems.

    Table 1. Discovery Bandwidth Over Different Operating Systems (in Megabytes)
    Device Type MID > Instance Instance > MID MID > Target Target > MID Total
    Windows 2016 0.104966 0.101271 0.77739 2.364353 3.34798
    Windows 2012 0.126327 0.07928 1.177146 3.70751 5.089804
    Windows 2008 0.141816 0.104674 1.032673 3.594784 4.873947
    Windows 10 0.091466 0.075601 0.642313 2.221103 3.030483
    Linux CentOS 0.164232 0.111376 0.148742 0.690117 1.114467
    Mac OSX 0.103707 0.068302 0.021681 0.461365 0.655055
    HP-UX 0.120358 0.106676 0.042669 0.101149 0.370852
    Solaris 0.130551 0.099414 0.060243 0.346605 0.636813
    Cisco UCS Switch 0.029655 0.027465 0.094918 0.097444 0.249492
    F5 Load Balancer 0.043935 0.03689 0.017179 0.012132 0.110136
    A10 Load Balancer 0.046631 0.032266 0.018313 0.03182 0.12903
    EMC Storage 0.4776 0.373828 1.215954 4.741926 6.809308

    The following table shows the bandwidth comparison between an initial discovery for three-tier applications and for each subsequent discovery. Bandwidth is broken up into the three tiers: UI (Apache), application (Websphere), and data (Oracle). This measures the total data transfer for each discovery run once for a device class.

    Table 2. Discovery Bandwidth for Three Tier Applications (in Megabytes)
    Device Type MID > Instance Instance > MID MID > Target Target > MID Total
    Three-tier application - Initial discovery 0.712829 0.678862 7.084678 9.430181 17.90655
    F5 Load Balancer 0.017179 0.012132
    Apache on Linux 0.540161 1.107108
    Websphere on Linux 0.729403 1.165112
    Oracle on Windows 5.797935 7.145829
    Three-tier application - subsequent discovery 0.150882 0.107409 2.536535 0.560122 3.354948
    F5 load balancer 0.001347 0.012132
    Apache on Linux 0.136366 0.79392
    Websphere on Linux 0.341042 0.11365
    Oracle on Windows 2.05778 0.354948

    This table shows discovery of different OS types using patterns. This measures, in megabytes, the total amount of data created and the total amount of data in subsequent scans for each device.

    Table 3. Discovery Bandwidth for Patterns over Different Operating System Types (in Megabytes)
    Device MID > Instance Instance > MID MID > Target Target > MID Total
    Linux Create 0.39 0.486 0.098 0.273 1.247
    Update 0.382 0.499 0.093 0.264 1.238
    Windows Server Create 0.289 0.316 5.628 8.508 14.741
    Update 0.273 0.306 5.621 8.458 14.658
    Solaris Create 1.222 1.4 0.383 0.917 3.922
    Update 1.24 1.42 .399 .675 3.734
    HP-UX Create 0.176 0.222 0.063 0.13 0.591
    Update 0.178 0.247 0.062 0.128 0.615
    Citrix Netscaler Create 0.424 1.919 0.019 0.042 2.404
    Update 0.355 0.619 0.016 0.041 1.031
    F5 Create 0.087 0.135 0.026 0.047 0.295
    Update 0.132 0.171 0.026 0.047 0.376
    L3 Switch Create 0.172 0.125 0.282 0.478 1.057
    Update 0.178 0.126 0.282 0.479 1.065
    Note:
    These measurements were taken with base operating configurations. Your local system results may vary.

    CPU Usage examples

    Examples from CPU Usage will vary among the matrix of thousands of combinations of Operating Systems, chip sets and specific loads for each system.

    Your mix of these variables will determine your unique level of CPU consumption.

    You can identify unique builds using internal templates and discover them by watching the performance impact, or lack of performance impact that your Discovery tool has on your system.