License key discovery and access control tables

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated May 27, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of License key discovery and access control tables

    License key discovery in ServiceNow's Agent Client Collector for Visibility enables automated collection and management of software license keys from endpoint devices. This process leverages specific tables, access controls, and scheduled jobs to discover, store, and update license key data efficiently, supporting software asset management (SAM) initiatives.

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    Key Features

    • License Key Discovery Tables:
      • License Registry Configuration (snaccviscontentlicenseregistryconfig): Admin-managed configurations specifying registry paths and values to collect from endpoints.
      • License Keys (snaccviscontentlicensekeys): Stores discovered license key values linked to devices, SAM products, users, and discovery configurations.
    • License Keys Table Fields: Tracks the configuration item (device), associated SAM product, assigned user, discovery config, registry path, license key value, last scanned date, and marks keys as 'Absent' if no longer found (records are retained, not deleted).
    • License Registry Configuration Fields: Includes SAM product association, Windows registry path and value name, an auto-generated name combining product and registry value, description notes, and an active flag to include/exclude the config from collections. Each config record is uniquely identified by the combination of product, registry path, and registry value name.
    • Access Control:
      • ACC application admin: Full read, write, and create access to Registry Configuration; read-only access to License Keys.
      • Discovery admin: Same access as ACC application admin.
      • SAM admin: Read-only access to both tables.
      • All other roles have no access.
    • Scheduled Job: The "Refresh License Key Config File" runs daily at 8:30 a.m. UTC, activating only when license key discovery is enabled (property snaccviscontent.enablelicensekeydiscovery set to true) and the SAM Professional plugin is active. This job ensures configurations are up to date for discovery.

    Key Outcomes

    By using license key discovery and its access controls, ServiceNow customers can systematically collect, track, and manage software license keys from endpoints, enhancing visibility and compliance in their software asset management processes. The retention of historical key data marked as absent supports audit and trend analysis. Role-based access controls ensure that only authorized personnel can modify configurations or view sensitive license key information, maintaining security and governance.

    Reference information for the tables, fields, access control, and scheduled job used by license key discovery in Agent Client Collector for Visibility Content.

    Tables

    License key discovery uses the following tables.

    Table 1. License key discovery tables
    Table Label Purpose
    sn_acc_vis_content_license_registry_config License Registry Configuration Admin-managed list of registry paths and value names to collect from managed endpoints.
    sn_acc_vis_content_license_keys License Keys Stores the license key values collected from endpoint devices.

    License Keys table fields

    The License Keys [sn_acc_vis_content_license_keys] table stores the following fields for each discovered key.

    Table 2. License Keys form
    Field Description
    Configuration Item Device the key was collected from.

    Table: cmdb_ci_computer.
    Product SAM product associated with this key.

    Table: samp_sw_product.
    User This field is automatically set to the user assigned to the CI.

    Table: sys_user.
    License Key Config Configuration rule that discovered this key.

    Table: sn_acc_vis_content_license_registry_config.
    Resolved Registry Path Exact registry path the key was read from on the endpoint.
    License Key Discovered key value.
    Last Scanned Date the key was last detected by the agent.
    Absent Selected when the key is no longer found on the device. Records are never deleted, they are marked Absent instead.

    License Registry Configuration form fields

    The following table describes the fields in the License Registry Configuration [sn_acc_vis_content_license_registry_config] table.

    Table 3. License Registry Configuration form
    Field Description
    Product SAM product this license key belongs to. Links to the SAM Professional product catalog.
    Registry Path Windows registry path where the key is stored. For example, HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Registration.
    Registry Value Name Specific registry value to read. For example, DigitalProductId.
    Name This field is automatically set to a combination of the Product and Registry Value Name values.
    Description Notes about this configuration record.
    Active Indicator of whether this record is included in future collections. Clearing this check box removes the record from future collections.
    Note:
    The combination of Product, Registry Path, and Registry Value Name must be unique across all configuration records.

    Access control

    The following table shows which roles can access each license key discovery table.

    Table 4. License key discovery role access
    Role License Registry Configuration table License Keys table
    ACC application admin (agent_client_collector_admin) Read, write, create Read only
    Discovery admin (discovery_admin) Read, write, create Read only
    SAM admin (sam_admin) Read only Read only
    All other roles No access No access

    Scheduled job

    The following scheduled job supports license key discovery.

    Table 5. License key discovery scheduled job
    Job Schedule Condition
    Refresh License Key Config File Daily at 8:30 a.m. UTC Runs only when the sn_acc_vis_content.enable_license_key_discovery property is set to true and the SAM Professional plugin (com.snc.samp) is activated.