Discovery of application services on cloud using Service Mapping

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated November 6, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Discovery of application services on cloud using Service Mapping

    Service Mapping in cloud environments delivers essential visibility into application dependencies and connections within Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) models. This enables organizations to better understand their application services, enhancing overall service management by revealing how application components interact in cloud infrastructures.

    Show full answer Show less

    IaaS and PaaS Environments

    Understanding the differences between IaaS and PaaS environments is critical for effective discovery:

    • IaaS: Provides virtual computing resources allowing organizations to manage and deploy their own applications and operating systems. Service Mapping uses a discovery approach similar to private networks, leveraging OS credentials or agents to identify hosts and applications.
    • PaaS: Offers a managed platform for application development and deployment, removing the need to manage underlying hardware. Service Mapping relies on cloud platform tools and dedicated service accounts to identify devices and applications, as direct OS access is limited.

    Discovery Process in Cloud Environments

    The discovery process differs between IaaS and PaaS:

    • IaaS Discovery:
      • Begins with locating hosts using Discovery.
      • Uses pattern-based identification to find applications and their connections.
      • Performs top-down discovery to create a detailed map of application services.
    • PaaS Discovery:
      • Starts with configuring a dedicated cloud service account to access the environment.
      • Executes horizontal discovery in two phases: probes identify infrastructure devices, and patterns discover applications and services on those devices.
      • Top-down discovery follows to build a comprehensive application service map.

    Discovery Methods and Capabilities

    Service Mapping supports various discovery approaches adapted to cloud environments:

    • Top-down service mapping: Fully supported in IaaS with OS access; not typically supported in PaaS using metadata alone.
    • Tag-based mapping: Supported in both IaaS and PaaS, leveraging cloud-native tagging and metadata to identify resources.
    • Machine Learning-based mapping: Available when deep discovery captures process and network data, applicable in both environments but requires underlying OS or container runtime access.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    Implementing Service Mapping discovery in cloud environments enables customers to:

    • Gain comprehensive visibility into application infrastructure and dependencies across IaaS and PaaS.
    • Improve resource management by understanding the relationships between virtual machines, databases, and cloud services.
    • Enhance remediation and optimization efforts through detailed application service maps.
    • Utilize cloud-native tools and service accounts to discover managed services where direct OS access is unavailable.

    Service Mapping in cloud environments provides critical visibility into application dependencies and connections. By identifying how different application components interact within IaaS and PaaS environments, your organization can gain better insight into its application services and improve overall service management.

    IaaS and PaaS environments

    To navigate the discovery process effectively, you must first understand the fundamental differences between Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) environments.
    • IaaS - IaaS gives organizations virtual computing resources over the internet, enabling them to manage and deploy their own apps and operating systems. In IaaS, Service Mapping uses a similar discovery process as in private networks, identifying hosts and applications through patterns.
    • PaaS - PaaS offers a complete platform for building, launching, and running applications, removing the need for organizations to manage hardware or servers directly. In PaaS, Service Mapping must use cloud platform tools and service accounts to identify devices and applications.

    Performing Discovery in IaaS and PaaS Environments

    The discovery process in IaaS environments mirrors that used for private networks.
    1. Locating hosts - Service Mapping starts by using Discovery to locate hosts.
    2. Identifying applications and connections - Patterns are used to identify applications and the connections between those applications and the discovered hosts.
    3. Top-down discovery - Service Mapping performs top-down discovery to map the relationships and connections between devices and applications. It then creates a comprehensive map of the application service.
    In contrast to IaaS environments, PaaS environments require a distinct discovery process.
    1. Using cloud platform tools and service accounts - The process begins with a dedicated service account configured for the cloud environment hosting the application service. Service Mapping and Discovery use this service account to access devices and applications. To learn more about setting up an account, see Setting up a cloud service account.
    2. Horizontal discovery - Discovery performs horizontal discovery in two steps:
      1. Probes are used to help identify infrastructure devices. See Horizontal discovery process flow with probes and sensors for detailed information about the four phases of discovery using probes.
      2. Patterns help find the applications and services running on those devices. See Pattern-based discovery in Service Mapping and Horizontal discovery process flow with patterns to learn more about discovery using patterns.
    3. Top-down discovery - Service Mapping then performs top-down discovery, creating a comprehensive map of the application service.

    Discovery methods for cloud environments

    Service Mapping/Discovery Approach IaaS (Virtual Machines, Servers) PaaS (Functions, Databases, Queues) Key requirement difference
    Top-down service mapping Supported (Requires OS credentials or deep agent access) Not supported (or rarely supported) by cloud metadata discovery alone Access to the OS layer to trace live connections
    Tag-based mapping Supported (Using collected tags from the cloud resources and containers) Supported and highly applicable (Uses cloud-native tagging/metadata) Availability of organized metadata (tags)
    Machine Learning (ML)-based mapping Supported (Requires capturing running processes and network traffic, thus requires deep discovery) Supported, but requires deep discovery (Only available when using methods that access the underlying OS/container runtime) Access to application process data

    Consider an e-commerce application hosted on a cloud provider. In an IaaS environment, Service Mapping identifies virtual machines, databases, and their connections, providing a comprehensive view of the application's infrastructure. In a PaaS environment, it uses cloud platform tools to map application components like managed databases, revealing critical dependencies that impact performance and reliability. This visibility enables better resource management, remediation, and optimization of the application service.