Next-Generation Cisco Firewall discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Next-Generation Cisco Firewall discovery

    The ServiceNow Discovery application includes a Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern designed to identify Cisco firewall devices in your network. It uses SNMP calls to perform horizontal discovery and requires the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application (Zurich release or later) installed from the ServiceNow Store. This pattern is compatible with the ServiceNow AI Platform® starting with the Madrid release.

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    Prerequisites

    • Ensure SNMP access is enabled on your Cisco firewall devices.
    • Configure SNMP credentials on your ServiceNow instance.
    • Add the Cisco device’s SNMP system OID record to your instance for accurate classification.
    • Update the classifier and class for Cisco Firewall devices accordingly.

    Deployment Steps

    • Download and install the Firewall extension classes from the ServiceNow Store. This adds necessary CMDB classes for network firewall discovery.
    • Download and install the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the Store.
    • Synchronize the discovery pattern with the appropriate MID Server to enable scanning.

    Data Collected and CMDB Impact

    When running this discovery pattern, the following key information is populated in the CMDB under the Cisco Firewall Device [cmdbcifirewalldevicecisco] class:

    • Device identifiers such as serial number, name (typically FQDN), and IP address.
    • Firmware version, hardware OS and version, manufacturer, and model ID.
    • Operational and hardware status indicators.

    Additional related classes include:

    • IP Address [cmdbciipaddress] - IP details and netmask of the firewall.
    • Network Adapter [cmdbcinetworkadapter] - Network adapter details including IP, MAC address, netmask, and alias.
    • DNS Name [cmdbcidnsname] - DNS names and IP addresses associated with the device.

    CI Relationships

    The discovery creates and maintains relationships between these configuration items (CIs), such as:

    • Cisco Firewall Device owns IP Addresses and Network Adapters.
    • Cisco Firewall Device uses Router Interfaces.
    • Network Adapters are linked back to their Cisco Firewall Device.
    • Router Interfaces and Serial Numbers reference the Cisco Firewall Device.

    Why This Matters

    By leveraging this discovery pattern, ServiceNow customers can automate the identification and detailed inventory of Cisco firewalls within their infrastructure. This enhances the accuracy and completeness of the CMDB, supports compliance and security management, and enables better network operations and service mapping.

    Expectations

    After deployment and configuration, you can expect automated, ongoing discovery of Cisco firewall devices with detailed attributes and relationships captured in the CMDB. This supports improved visibility into your network security infrastructure and streamlines IT service management processes.

    The ServiceNow Discovery application uses the Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern to find Cisco firewalls. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    The discovery pattern uses a set of SNMP calls to find the Cisco firewalls. Discovery uses the pattern to run horizontal discovery.

    You can use this pattern on the ServiceNow AI Platform® using the Madrid release or later.

    Request apps on the Store

    Visit the ServiceNow Store website to view all the available apps and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Prerequisites

    • Ensure that your network firewall device has SNMP access.
    • On the ServiceNow instance, configure SNMP credentials. For more information, see SNMP credentials.
    • Add the SNMP system OID record for the Cisco device to the ServiceNow instance. Update the following:
      • Classifier: Cisco Firewall
      • Class: Cisco Firewall Device
    • Deploy the pattern as follows:
      1. Download and install Firewall extension classes from the ServiceNow Store. The app adds the new CMDB classes required for network firewall discovery.
      2. Download and install the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.
      3. Sync the pattern with the appropriate MID Server.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Next Generation Cisco Firewall pattern.

    Table 1. Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]
    Field Description
    Serial number [serial_number] Serial number of the device.
    Name [name] Administratively assigned name for this managed node. By convention, this is the node's fully qualified domain name (FQDN).
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the device.
    Firmware version [firmware_version] Firmware version.
    Fully qualified domain name [fqdn] FQDN of the device.
    Manufacturer [manufacturer] Device manufacturer.
    Model ID [model_id] Device model name.
    Harware OS [hardware_os] Operating system (OS) running on the hardware.
    Hardware OS Version [hardware_os_version] OS version running on the hardware.
    Description [short_description] Short description of the Cisco device.
    Operational status [operational_status] Indicates if the device is in active state.
    Hardware Status [hardware_status] Detailed description of the current status of the resource.
    Table 2. IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the Cisco firewall.
    Netmask [netmask] Netmask of the Cisco firewall.
    Nic [nic] References the Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] table.
    Table 3. Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the network adapter.
    Alias [alias] User-assigned name for the network adapter.
    Netmask [netmask] Netmask of the network adapter.
    MAC Address [mac_address] MAC address of the network adapter.
    Name [name] Name of the network adapter.
    Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] References the Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] table.
    Table 4. DNS Name [cmdb_ci_dns_name]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Name of the Domain Name System (DNS).
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the DNS.
    This Dependency Views map on the Cisco Firewall Device CI shows the Cisco Firewall Device.
    CIs and connections on a Dependency Views map

    CI relationships

    These relationships are created to support Cisco firewall discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] Owns::Owned by IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] Owns::Owned by Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco] Uses::Used by Router Interface [dscy_router_interface]
    IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address] References Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] Owns::Owned by IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] References Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]
    Router Interface [dscy_router_interface] References Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]
    Serial Number [cmdb_serial_number] References Cisco Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_cisco]