Amazon EMR Cluster pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated May 13, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Amazon EMR Cluster pattern-based discovery

    This pattern-based discovery enables ServiceNow customers to identify and map Amazon EMR Clusters running on EC2 within their AWS cloud environment. It leverages the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application to find these clusters and populate both CMDB and non-CMDB tables with detailed information.

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    Key Requirements

    • AWS discovery prerequisites: Ensure all AWS discovery prerequisites are met as detailed in the AWS discovery using patterns documentation.
    • Resource Inclusion List management: Verify the EMR clusters are not listed in the Resource Inclusion List table (sacloudinventoryresourcewhitelist) to prevent duplicate discovery.
    • Pattern activation: The Amazon EMR Cluster pattern is disabled by default. Starting with Visibility Content version 6.28.0, enabling or disabling patterns is not treated as customization and patterns reset to the latest predefined version upon upgrade but retain the last active state.

    Data Storage and Tables

    The discovery populates data into two main types of tables:

    • Non-CMDB tables: When running the "Amazon AWS - EMR Cluster - Extended Inventory (LP)" pattern, data is stored in non-CMDB AWS tables accessible via the ServiceNow interface under All > Configuration > AWS. This includes the cmdbawsemrcluster table, which contains key fields such as:
      • Name: EMR cluster name
      • Object ID: Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the cluster
      • Cluster ID: Unique identifier of the cluster
      • State: Current state (e.g., RUNNING, WAITING, TERMINATING)
      • Configuration Item: References the corresponding Cloud Resource record
    • CMDB tables: The same pattern populates CMDB tables, notably cmdbcicmpresource, which tracks the cloud resource with fields such as:
      • Name and Object ID (ARN)
      • Resource Type: Always AWS::EMR::Cluster
      • Install and Operational Status: Default values are Installed and Operational respectively

    CI Relationships and References

    The pattern creates essential relationships and references to support comprehensive discovery:

    • CI Relationships: The Cloud Resource record is linked to the AWS Datacenter hosting it via the "Hosted on::Hosts" relationship.
    • CI References: The EMR Cluster record references the corresponding Cloud Resource record both directly and within key value tables.

    AWS Tag Discovery

    The discovery pattern collects AWS tags associated with the EMR clusters and stores them in the cmdbkeyvalue table. Each tag entry includes:

    • Key: Tag name
    • Value: Tag value
    • Configuration Item: Reference to the associated Cloud Resource record

    Practical Benefits

    By implementing this pattern-based discovery, ServiceNow customers can automate the detection and documentation of Amazon EMR Clusters in their AWS environment. This leads to improved operational visibility, accurate CMDB population, and enhanced cloud resource management, enabling better governance and decision-making for AWS workloads.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns finds Amazon EMR Clusters on your cloud environment running on EC2. 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.

    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 - EMR Cluster - 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 EMR Cluster [cmdb_aws_emr_cluster]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the EMR cluster.
    Object ID [object_id] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the EMR cluster.
    Cluster ID [cluster_id] The unique identifier of the EMR cluster.
    State [state] Current state of the EMR cluster.

    For example: RUNNING, WAITING, or TERMINATING.
    Configuration Item [configuration_item] References the Cloud Resource [cmdb_ci_cmp_resource] table.

    Data stored in CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the CMDB when running the Amazon AWS - EMR Cluster - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    Table 2. Cloud Resource [cmdb_ci_cmp_resource]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the EMR cluster.
    Object ID [object_id] The ARN of the EMR cluster.
    Resource type [resource_type] Type of resource. The value is set to AWS::EMR::Cluster.
    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.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - EMR Cluster - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern creates the following relationships and references to support Amazon EMR Cluster discovery. References link to records in other tables and don't appear in the CI Relationship [cmdb_rel_ci] table.

    Table 3. CI relationships
    CI Relationship CI
    Cloud Resource [cmdb_ci_cmp_resource] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    Table 4. CI references
    CI Field Referenced CI
    AWS EMR Cluster [cmdb_aws_emr_cluster] Configuration Item [configuration_item] Cloud Resource [cmdb_ci_cmp_resource]
    Key Value [cmdb_key_value] Configuration item [configuration_item] Cloud Resource [cmdb_ci_cmp_resource]

    AWS Tag discovery

    The Amazon AWS - EMR Cluster - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.

    Table 5. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag name.
    Value [value] Tag value.
    Configuration item [configuration_item] References the Cloud Resource [cmdb_ci_cmp_resource] table.