Legacy CI relationship builder

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Legacy CI Relationship Builder

    The Legacy CI Relationship Builder is a tool for defining configuration item (CI) relationships manually, enhancing the standard list collector functionality. Users can access it through the legacy CI relations formatter by clicking the CI relationship builder icon. For the latest features, refer to the CI relationship editor.

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    Key Features

    • Select CI Relationship Type: Users can choose a specific relationship type to manage from a large option box at the top of the editor.
    • Filter CI Relationships: Check boxes allow users to filter available relationships based on the selected CI type, optimizing the selection process.
    • Hide/Show Relationships: Options are available to hide specific relationships with CIs, users, or groups. An additional checkbox for users with appropriate roles enables viewing all relationships defined in the system.
    • Select CI Relationship Targets: Users can link or unlink CIs based on the selected relationship type, with appropriate CIs displayed in two select boxes for easy management.
    • Apply or Cancel Changes: Users can save changes to relationships or exit without saving, ensuring flexibility in managing configurations.

    Key Outcomes

    By effectively utilizing the Legacy CI Relationship Builder, ServiceNow customers can accurately define and manage CI relationships, enhancing their Configuration Management Database (CMDB) integrity and functionality. This leads to better visibility of CI dependencies and improved operational efficiency.

    Used to define CI relationships manually, this page is a sophisticated version of the standard list collector. In the legacy CI relations formatter, click the CI relationship builder icon (CI relationship builder icon) to display the legacy Define Relationships page.

    For information about the latest CI relationship editor, see CI relationship editor.

    Select a CI relationship type

    The top half of the legacy relationship editor contains a large option box that allows you to select which type of relationship you want to manipulate. Click the particular type of relationship you are interested in working with.

    Filter the list of CI relationships

    In the legacy relationship editor, the check boxes along the right hand edge of the select box provide a quick way to filter down the list of available relationships.

    By default, the system displays a list of all suggested relationships for the type of CI you selected. For example, if you selected a Database instance, a relationship of "Runs on" makes sense, but a relationship of "Provides HVAC for" does not. The default filter is stored in the user preferences ci_manage_relationships_filter_hint.cmdb_cici_manage_relationships_filter_hint.sys_user, and ci_manage_relationships_filter_hint.sys_user_group.

    • Hide CI relationship -- Hides any relationships between this CI and another CI (e.g. "Receives data from").
    • Hide user relationships -- Hides any relationships between this CI and a user (e.g. "Logs reviewed by").
    • Hide group relationships -- Hides any relationships between this CI and a group (e.g. "Backups done by").
    • Show all relationships -- If you have the appropriate role (sn_cmdb_admin or itil_admin in the base system) you will have an additional check box labeled "Show all relationships." If you click that check box, the system will let you choose any relationship defined in the system, regardless of where it is on the "suggested" list for this type of CI.

    Select CI relationship targets

    In the legacy relationship editor, users can link or unlink CIs for a relationship type.

    As soon as you pick a relationship type, the system will fill in the two select boxes at the bottom of the screen with CI's that are appropriate for the relationship you suggested. The left hand select box will contain a list of CI's that might reasonably be linked via this relationship, while the right hand box contains a list of those CI's which are already linked.

    1. Link or unlink items.
      Link new items Move that CI from the left hand box to the right hand box.
      Unlink existing items Move them from the right hand box to the left.

      When you make either type of change, a message appears indicating that you have pending changes.

    2. Apply or cancel your changes.
      Click the Save button. This will save your set of changes, and go back to the previous screen (either a CI or the BSM map depending on how you got here).
      Click the Cancel button. This causes you to exit without saving your changes.