Oracle pluggable database and container database discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 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 Oracle pluggable database and container database discovery

    The ServiceNow Discovery application supports discovering Oracle pluggable databases (PDBs) and container databases (CDBs). PDBs are portable collections of schemas and objects that appear as separate databases to Oracle Net clients, while a CDB comprises multiple PDBs. To discover these resources effectively, customers may need to update to the latest Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application available on the ServiceNow Store.

    Show full answer Show less

    Prerequisites

    • Set appropriate user credentials and permissions:
      • Applicative credentials or Oracle Wallet authentication (for UNIX)
      • Windows credentials (for Windows environments)
      • SSH credentials (for UNIX environments)
    • Configure Oracle database discovery with a user having query permissions on key Oracle database tables including V$DATAFILE, V$TEMPFILE, V$LOG, DBAFREESPACE, V$DATABASE, V$PDBS, and V$PARAMETER.
    • Set applicative credentials at the CDB level to discover PDB relationships and CDB size. For detailed discovery of both relationships and sizes at the PDB level, set credentials at both CDB and PDB levels.
    • Note that without applicative credentials at the CDB level, PDB attributes will not be discovered.

    Data Collected During Discovery

    Discovery collects detailed information on Oracle database instances and their sizes, including:

    • cmdbcidborapdbinstance: Contains attributes such as PDB instance name (sid), combined CI name, version, edition, install directory, oracle home, and the CDB name that contains the PDB.
    • cmdbcidbinstancesize: Captures size metrics for CDB/PDB instances, including total allocated size (dbsize), used size (usedsize), and free space (freesize).

    The discovery process also identifies and maps relationships between PDBs, CDBs, and containers, enabling customers to visualize dependencies accurately within their CMDB.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables comprehensive and accurate discovery of Oracle databases, including modern containerized architectures.
    • Supports configuration management and impact analysis by capturing detailed size and relational data.
    • Improves visibility into Oracle database environments, facilitating better management and operational decisions.
    • Integrates with existing discovery workflows and patterns for Oracle database monitoring and cataloging.

    The ServiceNow Discovery application can discover Oracle pluggable databases (PDBs) and container databases (CDBs). Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    A PDB is a portable collection of schemas, schema objects, and non-schema objects that appear to an Oracle Net client as a separate database. A collection of PDBs is called a container database (CDB).

    For more information about PDBs and CDBs, see What are CDBs, PDBs and Containers?

    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

    Set the user credentials and grant permissions:
    Note:
    Set applicative credentials at the CDB level to discover relationships for PDBs and the CDB size only. Alternatively, set applicative credentials at the CDB/PDB level to discover relationships for PDBs and the CDB/PDB size. If you do not set applicative credentials at the CDB level, no PDB attributes are discovered.

    Data collected during Discovery

    Discovery collects the following data:
    Table and field Description
    cmdb_ci_db_ora_pdb_instance: Relation Type : Managed By​​
    sid Name of the PDB instance​​
    name Name of the CI in CMDB. This is a combination of sid and the hostname​.
    version Version of the PDB as taken from the CDB instance​​
    edition Edition of the PDB as taken from the CDB instance​​
    install_directory Install directory of the PDB as taken from the CDB instance
    oracle_home​ Oracle home of the PDB as taken from the CDB instance
    cdb_name Name of the cdb sid that contains the PDB. This refers to the Oracle database instance configuration item (CI​)
    cmdb_ci_db_instance_size: Relation Type : Contained By​​
    sid Name of the Oracle database CDB/PDB instance​​
    name Name of the CI in CMDB. This is a combination of the sid and the hostname.
    db_size Total size allocated to the database instance
    used_size Size used by the database instance
    free_size Size of the free space on the database instance

    The following is a dependency view of the relationship between PDBs, CDBs, and containers.

    Dependency view of relationship between PDBs, CDBs, and containers