Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Reserved Instance pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated June 11, 2026
  • 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 Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Reserved Instance pattern-based discovery

    This pattern-based discovery enables ServiceNow customers to identify and map Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances within their AWS cloud environments using the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application. It supports populating detailed data in both CMDB and non-CMDB tables, providing comprehensive visibility into Reserved Instances and their relationships. The pattern is part of the Zurich release and requires updating the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application to the latest version.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Prerequisites: Verify AWS discovery prerequisites and ensure Reserved Instances are not listed in the Resource Inclusion List to prevent duplicate discovery.
    • Pattern activation: The EC2 Reserved Instance pattern is disabled by default. Activation or deactivation of the pattern no longer counts as a customization, allowing seamless updates and resetting to the latest version after upgrades.
    • GovCloud support: Discovery of AWS GovCloud accounts requires configuring the AWS service account with a datacenter URL.
    • Data population:
      • Non-CMDB tables store extended inventory data when running the relevant pattern, accessible via ServiceNow Configuration > AWS modules.
      • CMDB tables store core configuration items, enabling integration within the ServiceNow CMDB.
    • CI relationships: The pattern establishes relationships between Reserved Instances, virtual machine instances, and AWS datacenters to accurately represent infrastructure dependencies.
    • AWS tag discovery: Tags assigned to Reserved Instances are collected and stored in the Key Value table, allowing for enriched metadata management.

    Key Outcomes

    • Accurate identification and representation of Amazon EC2 Reserved Instances within the ServiceNow CMDB and associated tables.
    • Enhanced infrastructure visibility through detailed instance attributes such as ARN, instance type, state, and reservation scope.
    • Improved asset management and operational oversight by capturing install and operational status in CMDB records.
    • Support for AWS GovCloud environments, enabling discovery in compliance with regional cloud requirements.
    • Facilitation of tagging strategies by collecting AWS tags into ServiceNow, enabling better categorization and reporting.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns finds AWS services on your cloud environment. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    Pattern-based discovery and mapping requirements

    Verify the AWS discovery prerequisites
    For more information, see the prerequisites section in AWS discovery using patterns.
    Remove resources from the Resource Inclusion List table
    Verify that the relevant resource isn't listed in the Resource Inclusion List [sa_cloud_inventory_resource_whitelist] table to avoid duplicate discovery. For more information on removing resources from the Resource Inclusion List, see AWS Resource Inventory discovery with Patterns.
    Enable the relevant pattern
    The pattern for this service is disabled by default. Starting with Visibility Content version 6.28.0, activating or deactivating a pattern won't be considered a customization, and it will continue to receive updates. Patterns that were previously activated or deactivated will reset to the latest predefined version after upgrading while retaining the last active field value. For more information on enabling patterns, see Activate a disabled pattern.
    Configure the Discovery schedule to support GovCloud
    Discovering AWS GovCloud (US) accounts requires using a datacenter URL when setting up an AWS service account. For more information, see Create AWS service accounts.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in both CMDB and non-CMDB tables.

    Data stored in non-CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the non-CMDB table when running the Amazon AWS - Elastic Compute Cloud Reserved Instance - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    You can review the non-CMDB AWS tables by navigating to All > Configuration > AWS. You can also search the navigation filter for the specific pattern name.

    Table 1. AWS Elastic Compute Cloud - Reserved Instance [cmdb_aws_elastic_cloud_compute_reserved_instance]
    Field Description
    Object Id [object_id] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) uniquely identifying the Reserved Instance.

    The ARN consists of the region, account ID, and instance ID in the following format: arn:aws:ec2:<region>:<accountId>:reserved-instances/<instance_id>.
    Name [name] The unique identifier assigned to the EC2 instance.
    State [state] The current status or lifecycle state of the EC2 instance.
    Configuration Item [configuration_item] References the Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] table.
    Instance Type [instance_type] The type of EC2 instance. For example: t2.micro or m5.large.
    Scope [scope] The reservation scope. For example: Regional or Availability Zone.

    Data stored in CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the CMDB when running the Amazon AWS - Elastic Compute Cloud Reserved Instance - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    Table 2. Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] The ARN uniquely identifying the Reserved Instance.

    The ARN consists of the region, account ID, and instance ID in the following format: arn:aws:ec2:<region>:<accountId>:reserved-instances/<instance_id>.
    Name [name] The unique identifier assigned to the EC2 instance.
    Install Status [install_status] Install status of the resource. Default value is Installed.
    Operational status [operational_status] Operational status of the resource. Default value is Operational.
    Description [short_description] Type of resource. The value is set to AWS::Elastic Compute Cloud::Reserved Instance.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - Elastic Compute Cloud Reserved Instance - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern creates these relationships to support Amazon EC2 Reserved Instance discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    AWS Elastic Compute Cloud - Reserved Instance [cmdb_aws_elastic_cloud_compute_reserved_instance] References Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]

    AWS tag discovery

    The pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.
    Table 3. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag name.
    Value [value] Tag value.