Data collected for Microsoft Azure Cloud Discovery
Summarize
Summary of Data collected for Microsoft Azure Cloud Discovery
Microsoft Azure Cloud Discovery in ServiceNow collects detailed information about cloud resources within Microsoft Azure datacenters. This enables ServiceNow customers to discover, track, and manage Azure cloud infrastructure effectively within their CMDB. To utilize this functionality, customers should ensure they have the latest Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application installed from the ServiceNow Store, as new patterns are released quarterly.
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Prerequisites
- Keep Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns applications up to date.
- Create Azure cloud credentials with appropriate access to your Azure account.
- Configure a discovery schedule within the Cloud Discovery Workspace.
- Verify REST API permissions by downloading and reviewing the Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet, which details required user permissions and includes pattern names, CI classes, and vendor documentation links.
How Discovery Works
Discovery uses the Cloud Provisioning and Governance API along with Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns to identify and collect data on Azure cloud resources. ServiceNow supports multiple default patterns targeting different resource types, enabling horizontal and top-down discovery methods.
Key Data Collected
Discovery populates numerous CMDB tables with Azure resource information, including but not limited to:
- Azure Datacenter: Region, Object ID, Name
- Virtual Machine Instances: State, CPUs, Memory, Disks, Network adapters
- Compute Security Groups: State and Object ID
- Storage Volumes and Accounts: Size, Type, State, SKU
- Cloud Networks and Subnets: CIDR, State, Status
- Load Balancers: Object ID, State
- Resource Groups: State, Operational and Install Status with lifecycle tracking for termination events
- Public IP Addresses: IP address, DNS
- Cloud Databases: Vendor, Version, Operational Status, Type
- Cloud Web Servers and IP Addresses: Installation status, Vendor, Operational Status
- Other infrastructure components: Compute Templates, Hardware Types, Images, and Database lifecycle status
Additional Notes
- Some resource states and statuses are automatically updated by reconciliation scripts, for example, marking resource groups as terminated when deleted in Azure.
- The Azure SQL Managed Instance license pattern extension adds further metadata on cloud databases.
- Discovery integrates with other ServiceNow capabilities such as Agent Client Collector and Service Graph Connectors for Azure.
Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
By leveraging Microsoft Azure Cloud Discovery, customers can maintain an accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date inventory of their Azure cloud infrastructure within the CMDB. This improves visibility, supports governance, enhances operational management, and enables more effective cloud resource tracking and lifecycle management.
Discovery collects information about cloud resources in Microsoft Azure datacenters. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.
Request apps on the Store
Visit the ServiceNow Store to view all the available apps, and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.
Prerequisites
- Verify that the applications are up to date
-
- Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns
- CMDB CI Class Models
- Visibility Content
- Create Azure cloud credentials
- Create Microsoft Azure credentials that can access the Microsoft Azure account. For more information, see Create Azure cloud credentials.
- Configure a discovery schedule
- Create a discovery schedule in Cloud Discovery Workspace
Verify the REST API Permissions
Download the Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet 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.
How Discovery finds Microsoft Azure resources
Discovery uses the Cloud Provisioning and Governance API and Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns to find cloud resources.
| Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
| Azure DataBase (LP) |
Discovers database types of:
Populates the [cmdb_ci_cloud_database] table. |
| Azure LoadBalancer TD | Retrieves Microsoft Azure load balancers and populates the cmdb_ci_lb_service table. This pattern is only used by Service Mapping for top-down discovery, not by the Discovery application for horizontal discovery. |
| Azure WebSite (LP) | Retrieves Microsoft Azure web servers and populates the Cloud WebServers [cmdb_ci_cloud_webserver] and IP address [cmdb_ci_ip_address] tables. |
Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Region | region |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| State | state |
| Object ID | object_id |
| CPUs | cpus |
| Disks | disks |
| Disks size (GB) | disks_size |
| Memory | memory |
| Network adapters | nics |
| VM Instance ID | vm_inst_id |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| State | state |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Guest OS | guest_os |
| Image source | image_source |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| State | state |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Storage type | storage_type |
| Size | size |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| State* | state |
| CIDR* | cidr |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Status | status |
| CIDR | cidr |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Netmask | netmask |
| MAC Address | mac_address |
| MAC Manufacturer | mac_manufacturer |
| Status | install_status |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| State | state |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Provisioning state | provisioning_state |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| State | state |
| Operational Status | operational_status |
| Install Status | install_status |
- When a resource group is discovered for the first time, the State field is set to Available, operational_status=Operational, and Status=Installed; based on the response mapping.
- When a resource group is terminated on Microsoft Azure, the CMPReconciler scripts set the State field to Terminated, and operational_status=Non-Operational and Status=Absent.
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Public IP address | public_ip_address |
| Public DNS | public_dns |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Sku Name | sku_name |
| State | state |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Fully qualified domain name | fqdn |
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Operational Status | operational_status |
| Type | type |
| State | state |
| Vendor | vendor |
| Version | version Note: For NoSQL and MSSQL Managed Instances, the API responses for these databases do not return version data. |
| Category* | category |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Install status | install_status |
| Vendor | vendor |
| Fully qualified domain name | fqdn |
| Operational status | operational_status |
| State | state |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Fully qualified domain name | fqdn |
| Install status | install_status |
| IP Address | ip_address |
| Name | name |
| Netmask | netmask |
| Operational status | operational_status |
| Vendor | vendor |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Life-cycle Stage Status | life_cycle_stage_status |
| Name | name |
| Status | status |
| Serial Number | serial_number |
| Type | type |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| VCPUS | vcpus |
| Label | Field Name |
|---|---|
| Name | name |
| Object ID | object_id |
| Provider | provider |
| vCPUs | vcpus |