Discovery for VMware vCenter

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Discovery for VMware vCenter

    ServiceNow Discovery supports exploring VMware vCenter processes running on Windows or Linux hosts, including support for IPv6. When a vCenter application runs on a Windows or Linux server, a "Runs on" relationship is created between the vCenter CI and its host. However, this relationship is not created for dedicated vCenter appliances. The platform supports vCenter API versions 4.0 and higher, with specific testing done on vCenter versions up to 8.0 and appliance versions up to 6.7.

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    Key Features

    • Discovery Process: Initiates with the classification of vCenter, followed by the VMware - vCenter Datacenters probe, which gathers detailed information on ESX hosts, virtual machines, and other resources. The vmapp port probe also triggers this process.
    • Credential Requirements: VMware credentials must have read-only access, and for Software Asset Management (SAM), "Assign license" privileges ("License Admin") are also required. Windows credentials are not necessary when valid VMware credentials are provided.
    • CMDB Updates via Event Collector: A MID Server extension, the vCenter event collector, updates the CMDB based on vCenter-generated events, allowing timely updates to virtual machine changes without needing full rediscovery. This improves efficiency by targeting only necessary components.
    • Handling Removed or Deleted CIs: Deleted virtual machines are marked as terminated and retired in the CMDB. Removed vCenter CIs are marked as "stale" automatically either through Discovery runs or event-based detection, which reflects in the dependency views by graying out these CIs.
    • Stale CI Management: Customers can control stale CI reporting through system properties and can set up remediation rules to automate workflows for stale CI cleanup, supporting better CMDB health management.

    Practical Guidance for ServiceNow Customers

    • Run vCenter Discovery before discovering individual Server CIs to ensure accurate relationship mapping between vCenter-managed infrastructure and servers.
    • Use the appropriate VMware credentials format (Domain\UserName) to ensure connectivity and compliance with permissions.
    • Leverage the vCenter event collector to keep your CMDB current with VM changes without the overhead of frequent full discoveries.
    • Monitor and manage stale CIs effectively by configuring system properties and remediation rules to maintain CMDB accuracy and health.
    • Note that Windows credentials are not required if valid VMware credentials are used, simplifying credential management for vCenter Discovery.

    Discovery can explore the VMware vCenter process running on a Windows or Linux host. IPv6 is supported for disocvery in VMware vCenter.

    Note:

    If a Windows or Linux server is running vCenter application, after creating the vCenter CI, a "Runs on" relationship to the Windows or Linux server host is created.

    When a vCenter application is running on a dedicated vCenter appliance, a "Runs on" relationship to the vCenter CI isn’t created.

    Tested vCenter versions

    The ServiceNow® platform supports vCenter API versions 4.0 and higher. The following versions were tested with the Australia release:
    • vCenter versions 8.0 and earlier
    • vCenter appliance version 6.7 and earlier
    For installations based on the vCenter appliance, a server CI is created for the vCenter appliance and the following fields are populated:
    • NameIP
    • AddressMAC
    • AddressDiscovery
    • Source
    Note:
    If you're discovering SUSE Linux hosts for vCenter appliances, version 6.0 and earlier, observe these SSH restrictions.

    See Data collected for VMware Cloud Discovery for a description of the VMware architecture and component relationships.

    vCenter discovery process

    After classifying vCenter, Discovery launches the VMware - vCenter Datacenters probe, which in turn launches specific probes that return information about ESX machines, virtual machines, and other vCenter objects. The vmapp port probe is also configured to launch the VMware - vCenter Datacenters probe.
    Note:
    For accurate relationship mapping between server CIs and vCenter resources (such as ESX hosts and datastores), you should initiate discovery of the vCenter environment before discovering Server CIs. This approach helps Discovery associate servers with their corresponding vCenter-managed infrastructure more effectively.

    VMWare credentials

    To access vCenter with a domain account, specify the domain with the user name in the credential record using a supported format, such as Domain\UserName. The VMware credentials must have a read-only role in vCenter. For Software Asset Management (SAM) tracking, the credentials also require the "Assign license" privilege in vCenter, also known as the License Admin privilege.
    Important:
    Windows credentials aren't necessary for vCenter Discovery when valid VMware credentials are used.

    Updating the CMDB with vCenter event collector

    In addition to finding vCenter data through the standard discovery process, Discovery can also update the CMDB by detecting vCenter events through a MID Server extension called the vCenter event collector.

    The event collector allows the CMDB to be updated with changes to virtual machines (VMs), in addition to the updates detected by Discovery. A change to a VM is sent as an event from the vCenter server to the vCenter event collector. When an event is received, the CMDB is updated accordingly. Full vCenter Discovery does not need to rerun. For some events, such as powered on and powered off events, Discovery does not need to run again at all. For most events, Discovery runs only on the necessary vCenter resource.

    For instructions on configuring vCenter events, see Configure and run the vCenter event collector extension.

    VM deleted from vCenter

    If the VM is deleted from vCenter, the cmdb_ci_vm_instance state changes to terminated and the Status field changes to retired.

    CIs removed from vCenter

    When a vCenter CI, such as a virtual machine, is removed, the ServiceNow instance marks it as "stale" in the CMDB, using either of these procedures:
    • When Discovery runs, it creates an audit record in the Components installed with CMDB Health table for the missing CI and marks the CI "stale".
    • If the instance is configured to collect vCenter events, the system can also create a "stale" audit record for the CI in the CMDB Health Result [cmdb_health_result] table from the VmRemovedEvent event, without having to run Discovery.
    Note:
    When the Staleness setting is configured, the dependency view (BSM map) grays out stale CIs in its relationship diagram to indicate that they were removed from vCenter.

    To avoid stale CI health indicators from being generated during VMware discovery, set the system property glide.cmdb.health.src.cmdb_health_audit_only to true. This disables stale CI reporting from the VMware discovery source, enabling you to manage the CI life cycle through other means. For more information, see CMDB Health system properties.

    You have the option of creating a CMDB remediation rule to automatically execute a remediation workflow that can, for example, delete stale CIs. For more information on stale CIs, see CMDB Health Metrics.

    vCenter Discovery on Windows host

    Windows credentials aren't necessary for vCenter Discovery, when valid VMware credentials are used.