Model and template naming
Summarize
Summary of Model and template naming
The equipment model in ServiceNow establishes default naming patterns for configuration items (CIs), which inventory templates inherit and can override individually. This two-tier structure supports consistent and customizable CI naming aligned with organizational standards and specific environment needs.
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Key Features
- Equipment Models: Define a class of equipment, including structural details like slot count, card types, and default naming patterns for slots and interfaces.
- Inventory Templates: Represent configurations based on equipment models, selecting specific card models for slots and defining sub-component templates. They inherit naming patterns from models but can customize them independently.
- Automatic Template Generation: When creating an inventory template, related templates are auto-generated following the model's structure, pre-populated with the model's naming patterns.
- Independent Naming Patterns: After creation, each related template owns its own Name Pattern field, allowing customization without impacting siblings or the parent model. Manual edits can restore defaults.
- Inconsistency Detection: The Inventory Template Overview tab highlights naming inconsistencies across templates to help identify and correct issues before CI creation.
- Roles and Permissions: Inventory Catalog Managers manage naming conventions at the model level, while Inventory Template Managers handle naming patterns within templates. CI creators use the generated names without editing patterns.
Key Outcomes
- Establish a consistent, organization-wide naming convention at the equipment model level applied across all related inventory templates.
- Enable flexibility by allowing individual templates to customize naming patterns to meet specific requirements or integrate with external tools, without affecting other templates.
- Provide visibility into naming inconsistencies to ensure accurate and standardized CI naming before deployment.
- Clearly define roles to maintain governance over naming standards while empowering template creators to adapt patterns as needed.
The equipment model establishes default naming patterns for CIs (configuration items). Inventory templates inherit those patterns and can override them per related template.
Equipment models and inventory templates
An equipment model defines a class of equipment, capturing structural facts like slot count, card types, and naming patterns for slots and interfaces.
An inventory template represents a way to configure equipment for your environment, selecting card models for slots, defining sub-component templates, and carrying naming patterns for CIs.
One model supports multiple templates. For example, the Cisco ASR 9006 model is the basis for both the Edge Template and the Router Template — two configurations serving different network roles.
Inheriting naming patterns from models
When you create an inventory template, the system generates related templates matching the model's structure automatically. Name Pattern fields are pre-populated with the corresponding model defaults — slot and interface related templates inherit the model's naming patterns.
After creation, each related template owns its naming pattern independently. Changing the pattern on one related template has no effect on its siblings or on the model. To restore a related template's pattern to the model's default, you must edit the field manually.
Customizing individual template patterns
After you create related templates, each template owns its own Name Pattern field. You can edit any template's pattern independently without affecting others. This lets you customize naming conventions for exceptions—for example, when a slot requires non-standard naming to integrate with an external tool.
When you override a Name Pattern in a related template, the Inventory Template Overview tab displays the resolved name for each template as a tree node label. Inconsistencies appear together. For example, ten
slots following the standard pattern produce Slot -1, Slot -2, and so on, while an eleventh slot edited manually shows Slot-11. Review these differences to identify naming problems
before the template creates CIs.
Roles and permissions
The role required to edit naming patterns differs by layer:
- The Inventory Catalog Manager role edits naming patterns at the equipment model level and establishes the organization's naming convention.
- The Inventory Template Manager role creates and updates inventory templates, including editing the inherited naming patterns on related templates.
Users who create CIs from existing templates do not write or edit naming patterns — they use the names the patterns produce.
Benefits of the two-layer model
Separating model and template responsibilities lets you:
- Define an organization-wide naming convention once, at the model level, so every template based on that model starts with the same defaults.
- Adjust individual templates only where exceptions are necessary, without affecting any other templates that share the same model.