Direct Discovery using Discovery Patterns

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Direct Discovery using Discovery Patterns

    The Telecommunications Discovery Patterns (TSOM Patterns) plugin enhances ServiceNow’s AI Platform Telecom Discovery by enabling direct discovery of standalone network elements like routers and switches. This method bypasses traditional network management systems (EMS/NMS) and uses protocols such as SNMP and CLI for multivendor xNF identification and mapping. Telecommunications Discovery Patterns improve visibility into telecom infrastructures by capturing vendor-neutral and vendor-specific device data, which is then accurately reflected in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) and Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) following the TNI data model. This plugin is part of the TSOM Visibility subscription and is available via the ServiceNow Store.

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    Key Features

    • Direct Network Element Discovery: Uses SNMP and CLI protocols to communicate directly with physical network elements, discovering inventory like interface cards, slots, and ports without EMS/NMS mediation.
    • Automated CI Mapping and CMDB Integration: Discovered data is automatically mapped to telecom-specific configuration item (CI) classes and integrated with the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) to maintain accurate, non-duplicate records in the CMDB and TNI.
    • CMDB Accuracy and Compliance: Patterns trigger CMDB Compliance Certification Audits to identify and remediate mismatches or outdated records, ensuring data integrity.
    • Low-Code Pattern Customization: Allows customers to extend or customize discovery patterns through low-code pattern designers to suit their specific network architectures and business requirements.
    • Supported Discovery Patterns: Includes predefined patterns for a range of network elements such as generic routers and switches, Cisco 7613 routers, Juniper MX routers, and Cisco switches utilizing SNMP and CLI.

    How It Works

    The patterns operate via Horizontal Discovery using the Nebula Discovery Language (NDL). Each pattern:

    • Connects to a target device.
    • Executes SNMP and/or CLI commands.
    • Extracts CI attributes and relationships.
    • Submits results to IRE for reconciliation and CMDB/TNI insertion.

    The discovery logic aligns with the TNI data model, restructuring complex CI relationships—for example, synthesizing subslots to avoid invalid card-on-card configurations. This ensures telecom modeling best practices are maintained.

    Architecture and Integration

    The Horizontal Discovery application serves as a scalable discovery engine across network, IT, and cloud environments, providing comprehensive infrastructure data collection. The Telecommunications Discovery Patterns extend this engine to support telecom-specific device discovery.

    When the Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) plugin is installed, every discovered CI also creates a corresponding TNI entity record, maintaining alignment between operational and inventory systems critical for order fulfillment, assurance, and network planning.

    Supporting Components

    • MID Server: Acts as an intermediary facilitating communication between the ServiceNow instance and external network devices or data sources, running as a service within your local network.
    • Identification & Reconciliation Engine (IRE): Centralizes data verification and reconciliation to ensure CMDB integrity, managing non-duplicate CI records from multiple data sources.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    By implementing Telecommunications Discovery Patterns, ServiceNow customers can achieve direct, vendor-neutral discovery of critical network elements without dependency on legacy EMS/NMS systems. This enhances data accuracy and compliance in the CMDB and TNI, supports efficient network inventory management, and provides a foundation for reliable telecom service assurance and planning. Customization options empower customers to adapt discovery to their unique network architectures, while integration with key components like MID Server and IRE ensures seamless operation within existing ServiceNow environments.

    To get started, install the Horizontal Discovery application and enable the Discovery Patterns plugin to leverage these capabilities.

    The Telecommunications Discovery Patterns plugin (also known as TSOM Patterns) extends ServiceNow AI Platform Telecom Discovery to support direct discovery of standalone network elements—such as routers and switches—without relying on traditional network management systems. These patterns enable Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to identify and map multivendor xNFs using protocols like SNMP and CLI.

    Telecommunications Discovery Patterns provide a powerful, pattern-based approach to discover and manage telecom network resources directly from network elements. These patterns are especially valuable for discovering standalone xNFs (such as routers and switches) that aren't managed through traditional EMS/NMS systems.

    This capability enhances visibility across telecom infrastructures and facilitates both vendor-neutral and vendor-specific device data is captured and reflected in the CMDB and Telecom Network Inventory (TNI), following the TNI data model.
    Note:
    Telecommunications Discovery Patterns are part of the TSOM Visibility subscription and are available as a customer-visible plugin from the ServiceNow Store.

    Key capabilities

    • Direct Network Element Discovery
      • Use SNMP and CLI to communicate directly with physical network elements.
      • Discover physical network inventory such as interface cards, slots, ports, and devices without relying on EMS/NMS mediation.
    • Automated CI Mapping and CMDB Integration
      • Discovered data is automatically mapped to telecom-aligned configuration item (CI) classes.
      • Integrates directly with the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) to promote accurate, non-duplicate CI records in the CMDB and Telecom Network Inventory (TNI).
    • CMDB Accuracy and Compliance
      • Patterns trigger CMDB Compliance Certification Audits to detect mismatches or outdated records.
      • Supports discrepancy identification and remediation, helping maintain data integrity.
    • Low-Code Pattern Customization: Extend or customize discovery patterns using low-code pattern designers to meet your specific network architecture and business needs.

    How it works

    Telecommunications Discovery Patterns are executed through Horizontal Discovery using the Nebula Discovery Language (NDL). A pattern is a sequence of steps that:

    1. Establishes a connection to a target device.
    2. Executes commands using SNMP, CLI, or both.
    3. Extracts CI attributes and relationships.
    4. Sends results to IRE for reconciliation and insertion into the CMDB and TNI.

    The discovery logic follows the TNI data model, which restructures complex CI relationships (e.g., card-on-card scenarios) to align with telecom modeling best practices. For example, If a child card is discovered inside a parent card, Telecom Discovery synthesizes a subslot to insert the child, avoiding an invalid card-on-card configuration.

    Architecture using Horizontal Discovery and Telecommunications Discovery Patterns

    The following infographic is an example of the implementation for standalone SNMP or/and CLI xNFs.Architecture diagram of data flow from network devices through discovery components into CMDB and TNI. See the surrounding text for a full description.

    Horizontal Discovery Application

    The Horizontal Discovery application in ServiceNow is a versatile and highly scalable discovery engine to operate effectively across network, IT, and cloud environments, collecting data across multiple layers to provide a holistic view of the infrastructure.

    For more information, see Horizontal discovery process flow with patterns.

    Supported discovery patterns

    A pattern is a sequence of commands to detect attributes of a configuration item (CI) and its outbound connections. Telecom Discovery provides a set of preconfigured Patterns that cover a wide range of network elements. ServiceNow offers several predefined TSOM patterns, including:

    • Telecom Router Pattern – Generic SNMP-based router discovery.
    • Telecom Cisco 7613 Router Pattern – For Cisco 7613 routers using SNMP.
    • Telecom Juniper MX SSH Router Pattern – SNMP + CLI discovery of Juniper MX routers.
    • Telecom Cisco Switch Pattern – SNMP-based Cisco switch discovery.
    • Telecom Switch Pattern – SNMP-based generic switch discovery.

    TNI entity creation

    If your instance has the Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) plugin installed:

    • Every discovered CI automatically results in a TNI entity record.
    • The IRE payload includes mapping to both cmdb_ci and tni_entity tables.

    This promotes seamless alignment between operational and inventory systems, which is essential for order fulfillment, assurance, and network planning.

    MID Server

    MID Server is a Java application that runs as a Windows service or UNIX daemon on a server within your local network. The ServiceNow® MID Server facilitates communication and data transfer between a ServiceNow instance and external applications, data sources, and services.

    For more information, see MID Server.

    Identification & Reconciliation Engine (IRE)

    IRE offers a centralized framework for identifying and reconciling data from multiple sources. It verifies the integrity of the CMDB and some non-CMDB tables when various data sources are used to create or update CI records.