--- sourceDocument: Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/servicenow-platform Release : - zurich ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Zurich ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities ft:clusterId : - platcap bundleId : - platcap workflow : - Platform --- # Crawl stage # CSDM implementation stage --- Crawl {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Zurich Updated July 31, 2025 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) 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 CSDM implementation stage --- Crawl The Crawl stage in the CSDM implementation focuses on working with base-system CMDB tables related to IT Service Management (ITSM). This stage establishes foundational data that supports Incident Management, Change Management, and accelerates Application Portfolio Management (APM) setup. It also prepares your environment for advanced capabilities like DevOps integration, Service Mapping, and Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) risk assessment. Show full answer Show less ## Key Features * **Minimum CMDB Support for ITSM:** The operations performed ensure essential CMDB data is available for Incident and Change Management processes. * **Foundation for APM and DevOps:** Ensures business application and SDLC component data are correctly populated to support faster APM setup and DevOps lifecycle management. * **Service Mapping Readiness:** Populates service instance data to enable mapping of application entry points. * **Lifecycle and Risk Monitoring:** Supports managing technology lifecycles and identifying outdated or at-risk software using APM, Service Mapping, and Software Asset Management (SAM) Professional. ## Important Tables Worked on During Crawl The Crawl stage involves configuring and populating key CMDB tables that serve as the foundation for further CSDM stages and product enhancements: * **Business Application \[cmdbcibusinessapp\]:** Stores your inventory and metadata for business applications and the application portfolio. This table contains conceptual data and is not directly used in ITSM incident or change processes. * **SDLC Component \[cmdbcisdlccomponent\]:** Represents Agile development components as logical CIs, enabling enhanced DevOps visualization and management of application development pipelines. This data is not used in ITSM incident or change processes. * **Service Instance \[cmdbciserviceauto\]:** Represents the logical service instances related to business applications, often corresponding to deployment environments or geographical locations. This table integrates application elements and supports lifecycle management for logical CIs. * **Application \[cmdbciappl\]:** Represents discoverable application instances tied to hosts, created and maintained by Discovery. This table is not an inventory or portfolio and should not be manually populated or used to store managed application details. ## Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers * Focus first on populating accurate application-related data in the designated CMDB tables to build a solid foundation for ITSM and APM capabilities. * Logical CIs, such as SDLC components and service instances, should be associated with product models to align with a product-centric management approach. * Leverage Discovery to automatically populate and maintain application instances and their relationships to hosts, supporting impact analysis and incident resolution. * Understand the distinction between conceptual business application data and operational application instances to avoid data management errors and ensure proper use in ITSM processes. In the Crawl stage, you work on base-system CMDB tables that are associated with IT Service Management (ITSM). ## Benefits of the operations that you perform in the Crawl stage {#csdm-implement-crawl-stage__section_wrd_2vm_jwb} * The operations provide the minimum CMDB support requirements for Incident Management and Change Management. * Setting up APM is faster because your business application data is in the right place in the CMDB. * The operations build the foundation for using DevOps because your SDLC component data is populated and ready to relate to your applications. * Service Mapping is ready to use for mapping entry points because your service instance data is populated. * The operations build the foundation for using TLM risk details, a capability of APM. The operations prepare you to manage and monitor the life cycles and versions of the underlying technologies of the business applications in your enterprise. The data enables you to identify outdated or at-risk software using APM, Service Mapping and Software Asset Management (SAM) Professional. {#csdm-implement-crawl-stage__ul_mvg_wck_4jb} ## Tables that you work on during the Crawl stage {#csdm-implement-crawl-stage__section_jbm_g12_4jb} Important: Future products and product enhancements depend on the data that you prepare in each of the tables. During this stage, you work on the following base-system CMDB tables: * Business Application \[cmdb_ci_business_app\] table * Mapped Application Service \[cmdb_ci_service_discovered\] table. * Application \[cmdb_ci_appl\] table (discoverable) * Server/host (discoverable) {#csdm-implement-crawl-stage__ul_qyt_3vm_jwb} Note: Some of the classes that you implement in this stage are logical CIs. Logical CIs aren't created through Discovery, so their Model ID values might not refer to product model (application model, service model, or software model) records. To help you to migrate to a product-centric management paradigm, each instance of a logical CI should be associated with a product model. See [Auto-generate product models for logical CIs](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/_dV6CTXyIGcyeASaRx43xw "Use the CSDM Product Model Assignment job to auto-generate a product model record (application model, service model, or software model) for each logical CI that is not yet associated with a product model. Product models are ideal for associating CIs that are parts of a single digital product."). Start by focusing on applications and the application-related data in these areas and tables: Business Application \[cmdb_ci_business_app\] table : A business application is a base-system CMDB table that stores your inventory, application portfolio, and their metadata. Note: Because this table holds conceptual data, not operational CIs, it is not used by ITSM Incident Management, Problem Management, or Change Management processes. SDLC Component \[cmdb_ci_sdlc_component\] table : An Agile development component is a CI that represents a unique development effort of code. It represents parts of a larger business application or digital product broken down into its individually developed components. In other words, the Agile development component is a software element of a larger application or technology. Agile development component CI records in the Agile development Component \[cmdb_ci_sdlc_component\] table enable the DevOps product to provide enhanced capabilities for visualizing and managing your application development pipeline. This table represents the software part or element of a larger whole for applications and infrastructure. Related material may serve as representative of developmental details. It can be used if you need to identify the stratification of a business application or digital product. Note: Because this table holds logical data, not operational CIs, it is not used by ITSM Incident Management, Problem Management, or Change Management processes. Service Instance (called application service before CSDM v5) \[cmdb_ci_service_auto\] table : The service instance is typically the system that a caller identifies when they report an issue with an application. A mapped service instance is a base-system CMDB table that identifies the related business application in use. The service instance ties all the elements of the CSDM together where applications are present. You might have several service instances representing each deployment based on the environment (development, QA, production) and location or geography (North America, Asia Pacific). Because service instances are logical in nature, they should use the Logical life-cycle value pairs. Service instances follow the same life-cycle guidance as any other logical CI. See [Use Application Services dashboard to monitor health](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/lRdAS~iv5D3ReQPKfiOaHw "Use insights from the Application Services dashboard to reduce the number of incomplete application services by populating them and adding missing data. To use application services effectively, ensure that application services are fully configured and are populated."). Application \[cmdb_ci_appl\] table : An application is a base-system CMDB table that represents the discoverable instance of an application: code related to a process in use on a host. This table isn't an inventory of your applications. Because of the high level of complexity involved, don't try to manually populate the application table. Discovery creates and maintains this table. Important: The application table \[cmdb_ci_appl\] isn't an inventory or portfolio of your applications. Don't make the mistake of storing managed application details in the application table. Those details (inventory or application portfolio objects) belong in the business application table (as documented in [Design \& Planning domain in the CSDM model](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/jmgdE30lYIDRQPojDKOzmA "Enterprise architects and digital product owners work on the design and planning of digital products that your organization can either buy or build.")). The application might be identified as the root cause of an incident. However, if you're not using Event Management, the application might not be the initial cause. If you're using Discovery, applications are automatically related to their host, which provides an impact hierarchy from server-to-host applications.