Asset and CI management

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 12 minutes to read

    • Asset and configuration item (CI) management refers to creating assets, setting appropriate states and substates, synchronizing assets and CIs, managing consumables, and retiring assets.

    Relationship between asset and CI

    It’s important to manage the relationship between assets and associated CIs. Assets are tracked with the Asset Management application, which focuses on the financial aspects of owning property. Configuration items are stored in the CMDB, which is used to track items and make them available to users.

    When an asset has a corresponding configuration item, the asset record and the configuration item record are kept synchronized with two business rules.

    • Update CI fields on change (on the Asset [alm_asset] table)
    • Update Asset fields on change (on the Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] table)
    Note:
    Assets and CIs can be synchronized only if they’re logically mapped.

    Asset-CI mapping and synchronization

    The State field of asset record and Status field of CI record are synchronized so that changes made on one form trigger the same update on the corresponding form, ensuring consistent reporting.

    Note:
    The ServiceNow AI Platform synchronizes updates between assets and configuration items only if the asset and configuration item are pointed toward each other.

    The following diagram illustrates the concept of Asset-CI mapping and synchronization.

    Figure 1. Overview of Asset-CI mapping and synchronization
    Overview of Asset-CI mapping and synchronization process

    This synchronization and mapping is based on the following factors:

    • Asset state and CI status aren’t mapped on one-to-one basis. Rather they’re mapped to the most logical counterpart on the other table. For example, for a hardware asset set to state In Stock - Pending disposal, the corresponding CI is set to In Disposition with no substate.
    • This synchronization happens between the asset’s State field and the following CI fields:
      • Install Status field: Install Status doesn’t have a sub status and must be used for non-hardware CIs.
      • Hardware Status and Sub status field: Hardware Status is visible only for Hardware CI.

    • Drive changes by updating the state on the Asset form. The Asset-CI synchronization can be driven in the following ways:

      • Asset to CI synchronization: Change to the asset’s status updates the logically mapped CI’s Install Status or Hardware Status and sub status.
      • CI to Asset: Change to the CIs Install Status or Hardware Status updates the logically mapped asset’s states and sub states.
    • For a CMDB hardware CI, if both Hardware Status and Install Status is updated, the Hardware Status change is considered for mapping the corresponding state of the asset.
    • CIs Install Status and Hardware Status work independently, so the two fields aren't related. CI’s Hardware Status change doesn’t change CIs Install Status and vice versa. To avoid confusion, keeping both status for CMDB CI Hardware isn’t recommended.

    List of the fields that get synced between Asset and CI

    When changing any of the following fields on the asset or CI record, the same field on the corresponding record is automatically updated (except for the Cost field, which is informational-only on the CI record).

    The following is a list of fields that are synchronized.

    • Asset tag
    • Assigned
    • Assigned to
    • Checked in
    • Checked out
    • Company
    • Cost (synchronizes in only one direction: asset to CI)
    • Cost center
    • Delivery date
    • Department
    • Due in
    • Due
    • GL account
    • Install date
    • Invoice number
    • Justification
    • Lease id
    • Location
    • Managed by
    • Model (model_id in CI)
    • Order date
    • Order received
    • Ordered
    • Owned by
    • PO number
    • Purchase date
    • Purchased
    • Serial number
    • Support group
    • Supported by
    • Vendor
    • Warranty expiration

    Asset, CI, and IBI synchronization

    Any item that is provided as a service or sold to your customer is tracked as an Install Base Item (IBI). The Model category table associates Asset class, CI class, and Install Base Item (IBI) class.

    The synchronization between the Asset and CI is through the legacy states and substate fields. However, the synchronization between the Asset and the IBI class is through the CSDM stage and status fields.

    Figure 2. Synchronization of Asset, CI, and IBI
    Synchronization of asset ci and ibi
    Synchronization of updates from asset to IBI and CI
    Updates made to the State or Substate fields of an asset are synchronized with the associated IBI and CI. For example, when the State field of the asset is updated to In use, synchronization happens as follows.
    • The Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Stage Status of the asset are set to Operational and In use, these field values are then synchronized with Stage and Status fields of IBI asset.
    • The Status and Substatus fields of the CI change to Installed and In use.
    Synchronization of updates from IBI to asset and CI
    Updates made to the Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Stage Status fields of an IBI asset are synchronized with the legacy State and Substate fields of the asset through the CSDM fields. The legacy fields of the asset are then synchronized with the associated CI. For example, when the life Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Stage Status fields of an IBI asset are updated to Defective and In Stock, synchronization happens as follows.
    1. The Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Stage Status of the asset change to In Stock and Defective. These field values are synchronized with the State and Substate fields of the asset.
    2. The State and Substate fields of the asset are then synchronized with the corresponding fields of the associated CI.
    Synchronization of updates from CI to asset and IBI
    Updates made to the Status and Substatus fields of a CI are synchronized with the corresponding fields of the asset. The legacy fields of the asset are then synchronized with the Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Stage Status fields of the IBI asset through the CSDM fields. For example, when the Status and Substatus fields of a CI are updated to Retired and Donated, the corresponding fields of the asset change. The changes from the asset are synchronized with the IBI asset and the Life Cycle Stage and Life Cycle Stage Status fields change to End of Life and Retired.

    Asset and CI creation properties

    glide.create_alm_asset.async

    The system property glide.create_alm_asset.async controls whether assets are created immediately when a configuration item (CI) is created, or are created after a delay. A delay in asset creation enables large numbers of CIs to be created quickly. When this property is set to true, assets are created by the Asset - Create asset delayed sync scheduled job that runs every 15 minutes. View the status of the scheduled job in the Asset Job Log table [asset_job_log]. To view assets waiting to be created and asset creation errors, navigate to Asset > Administration > Asset Creation Queue. To reprocess an error, update the state from Error to Ready. The next time the scheduled job runs, it reattempts to create the asset.

    When the glide.create_alm_asset.async property is set to false, assets are created immediately from CIs.
    Note:
    If you upgrade to Washington DC from Orlando or earlier, the default value of this property is false. Before updating this property, review your processes that depend on an asset value present on a CI and make any necessary changes to account for delayed asset creation.
    glide.asset.create_ci_with_ire
    The system property glide.asset.create_ci_with_ire enables CIs to be created from assets using the ServiceNow® Configuration Management Database (CMDB) Identification and Reconciliation engine (IRE). This property affects CI classes that have an identification rule on serial number and have no dependent relationships with other CI classes.
    Note:
    This property is applicable to CI classes that are extended from the hardware CI class [cmdb_ci_hardware].
    CIs created with the IRE are named using the format Serial number - Model name and the source is SNAssetManagement. The Serial number field is required on assets with model categories that correspond to these CI classes. Asset creation fails if its serial number is present on an existing CI or asset. The Serial number field is also required to receive purchase order line items for model categories that correspond to these CI classes. The Serial number field isn’t required to create pre-allocated assets, but the serial number must be provided when the asset is allocated.
    The default value of this property is false if you upgrade to Washington DC from Orlando or earlier. Before updating this property, review the customizations on the Serial number field and any integrations or flows that use an existing serial number to create an asset.

    Other Asset and CI system properties

    sn_itam_enable_cache_for_asset_ci_mapping
    The asset and CI fields are synchronized based on the mappings defined in the relevant mapping tables. Fetching these mappings on the update of an asset or CI has an impact on the performance. The sn_itam_enable_cache_for_asset_ci_mapping system property enables you to cache the following mappings:
    • Asset and CI fields
    • Asset state and CI install status
    • Asset state and CI hardware status

    Unless there isn't any change in the mapping tables, these cached mappings are fetched during the synchronization resulting in the improved system performance.

    Create assets

    Create hardware, software, consumable, bundle, pallet, mobile, and facility assets using the Core UI or the Hardware Asset Workspace.

    Before you begin

    Role required: asset

    Procedure

    1. Create an asset.
      InterfaceAction
      Core UI
      1. Navigate to All > Asset > Portfolios > All Assets.
      2. Select the type of asset that you want to create.
      3. Select New.
      Hardware Asset Workspace
      1. Navigate to All > Hardware Asset Workspace > Asset estate.
      2. Select New Asset.
      3. In the dialog box, select the asset type and then select Create.
    2. On the Asset record fields form, fill in the fields.

      For a description of the field values, see Asset record fields.

    3. Submit or save the asset form.

    Retire assets

    You can retire an asset at any time.

    Before you begin

    Role required: asset

    About this task

    After you change the state of an asset to Retired, the Substate field is active. When you retire an asset, the status of related CIs also changes to Retired. Selecting a substate is not required, but can be helpful for tracking and reporting.

    Note:
    When you manually change the state of the asset from Retired to any other value such as In use the asset becomes active again.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Asset > Portfolios > All Assets.
    2. In State, select Retired.
    3. Optional: In Substate, select Disposed, Sold, Donated, or Vendor Credit.
    4. Click Update.

    Delete assets

    You can delete an asset at any time.

    Before you begin

    Note:
    If an asset is a part of an asset bundle, the asset cannot be deleted.

    Role required: asset

    About this task

    A confirmation must be accepted before the asset and components are permanently deleted. If a CI and asset are linked, deleting one also deletes the other.

    Only delete an asset to clean up errors. For tracking purposes, the correct method for managing an asset that is no longer in use is to change the state of the asset to Retired.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Asset > Portfolios > All Assets.
    2. Select the check box to the left of the asset Name.
    3. In the Actions choice list below the list, select Delete.

    Map asset and CI fields

    When you map the asset and CI fields, synchronization happens both ways. Changes to either the asset or CI record are updated to the logically mapped record. You can synchronize custom mappings and mappings provided with the base instance.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin or asset
    Note:
    If you upgraded from a prior release and customized the AssetAndCISynchronizer script include before the upgrade, you must overwrite the customization and then recreate the custom mappings.

    About this task

    You can conditionally map the fields for synchronization. For example, you can map the Location field only for a hardware asset and not for a software asset. So when an asset is updated, the Location field is synchronized only for the hardware asset.

    Note:
    You can't map the asset and CI fields if the asset value is present only in the Hardware [alm_hardware] table and not in the Asset [alm_asset] table.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Asset > Administration > Asset-CI Field Mapping and click New.
    2. From the Asset field list, select the field.
      This list refers to the alm_asset table.
    3. Select the logically associated field from the Configuration Item fieldlist that refers to the cmdb_ci table.
    4. To create conditions for the mapping, click the Advanced view related link.
      • To specify conditions for synchronizing the asset field with the CI field, use the Asset mapping condition builder.
      • To specify conditions for synchronizing the CI field with the asset field, use the Configuration Item mapping condition builder.
    5. Select the Active check box to activate the mapping.
    6. Select Submit.

    Map asset state and CI install status

    Map the asset State and Substate fields to the CI Install Status field. The Substatus field of the CI Install Status field should not be used for hardware CIs.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin or asset
    Note:
    If you upgraded from a prior release and customized the AssetAndCISynchronizer script include before the upgrade, you must overwrite the customization and then recreate the custom mappings.

    About this task

    Asset synchronization does not update this field when hardware assets are updated. When you create the mapping, you can set the synchronisation direction from Asset to CI, but not from CI to Asset. For non-Hardware CI classes, you can set the synchronisation in both the directions.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Asset > Administration > Asset-CI Install Status Mapping.
      By default, only custom mappings display. The list of mappings uses the filter condition of [Out of the box] [is] [False].
    2. Click New.
    3. From the Asset State list, select the state you want to map.
    4. Optional: If available, select a substate from the Asset Substate list.
      Some of the asset states do not have a substate.
    5. From the Configuration Item Status list, select the logically associated CI status you want to map.
    6. From the Sync direction list, select the direction you want to drive the synchronization.
    7. Select the Active check box to activate the mapping.
    8. Click Submit.

    Map asset state and CI hardware status

    Map the asset State and Substate fields to the CI Hardware Status field. Don't use the Substatus field on hardware CIs because the CI synchronization does not update the field when assets are updated. When you create the mapping, you can set the synchronization direction from the asset, CI, or both.

    Before you begin

    Role required: admin or asset
    Note:
    If you upgraded from a prior release and you've customized the AssetAndCISynchronizer script before the upgrade, overwrite the customization and then recreate the custom mappings.

    About this task

    The Install Status and Hardware Status fields of a CI are independent of each other. There is no correlation between them. A change to the Hardware Status field does not change the CI Install Status field and vice versa.

    Procedure

    1. Navigate to All > Asset > Administration > Asset-CI Hardware Status Mapping.
      By default, only custom mappings display. The list of mappings uses the filter condition of [Out of the box] [is] [False].
    2. Click New.
    3. From the Asset state list, select the state you want to map.
    4. Optional: If available, select a substate from the Asset substate list.
      Some of the asset states do not have a substate.
    5. From the Configuration Item statuslist, select the logically associated CI state you want to map.
    6. Optional: If available, select a substate from the Configuration Item substatus list.
      Some of the CI statuses do not have a substatus.
    7. From the Sync direction list, select the direction you want to drive the synchronization.
    8. Select the Active check box to activate the mapping.
    9. Click Submit.