Palo Alto Networks firewall discovery

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Palo Alto Networks firewall discovery

    The ServiceNow Discovery application includes the Next-Generation Palo Alto Firewall pattern, which enables discovery of Palo Alto Networks firewalls through SNMP calls during horizontal discovery. This requires updating the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application to the latest version from the ServiceNow Store.

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    This pattern introduces a new CI class extending the firewall device class in the CMDB, enabling structured data capture specific to Palo Alto firewalls.

    Prerequisites

    • Ensure SNMP access is enabled on the Palo Alto firewall device.
    • Configure SNMP credentials and add the Palo Alto SNMP system OID record in the ServiceNow instance.
    • Update the classifier and class for Palo Alto Firewall Device in the ServiceNow instance.
    • Download and install the Firewall extension classes and the Discovery pattern from the ServiceNow Store.
    • Synchronize the pattern with the appropriate MID Server.

    Data Collected by Discovery

    When the pattern runs, it populates the CMDB with detailed information about Palo Alto firewall devices, including:

    • IP address, serial number, FQDN, manufacturer, model ID
    • Operational status, hardware OS and version, firmware version
    • Short description of the device

    Discovery also collects network adapter details (IP address, alias, netmask, MAC address, name) and associates these with the firewall device.

    Additionally, IP addresses and DNS names related to the firewall and its network adapters are documented.

    CI Relationships and References

    The pattern establishes ownership and usage relationships among the Palo Alto Firewall Device, Network Adapter, IP Address, and Router Interface CIs, supporting comprehensive mapping of the firewall infrastructure.

    Key relationships include:

    • The firewall device owns network adapters and IP addresses.
    • The firewall device uses router interfaces.
    • Network adapters own IP addresses.

    The pattern also creates references linking serial numbers, configuration items, network adapters, router interfaces, and IP addresses to the Palo Alto Firewall Device record, ensuring consistent and connected CMDB data.

    The ServiceNow Discovery application uses the Next-Generation Palo Alto Firewall pattern to find Palo Alto Networks 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 Palo Alto Networks firewalls. Discovery uses the pattern to run horizontal discovery.

    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.

    Palo Alto Networks firewall data model

    The Next-Generation Palo Alto Firewall pattern introduces the following CI class that extends an existing CMDB class.

    Table 1. CI class introduced by this pattern
    CI class Extends from
    Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto] Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device]

    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 Palo Alto Networks device to the ServiceNow instance. Update the following:
      • Classifier: Palo Alto Firewall
      • Class: Palo Alto 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 pattern 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 Palo Alto Firewall Pattern.

    Table 2. Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the Palo Alto device.
    Serial number [serial_number] Serial number of the Palo Alto device.
    Fully qualified domain name [fqdn] Fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Palo Alto device.
    Manufacturer [manufacturer] Palo Alto device manufacturer.
    Model ID [model_id] Model ID of the Palo Alto device.
    Operational status [operational_status] Indicates whether the Palo Alto device is in active state.
    Hardware OS [hardware_os] OS running on the hardware.
    Hardware OS Version [hardware_os_version] OS version running on the hardware.
    Description [short_description] Short description of the Palo Alto device.
    Firmware version [firmware_version] Palo Alto device firmware version.
    Table 3. Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the network adapter.
    Alias [alias] The 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 Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto] table.
    Table 4. IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Field Description
    IP Address [ip_address] IP address of the Palo Alto firewall.
    Netmask [netmask] Netmask of the Palo Alto firewall.
    Nic [nic] References the Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] table.
    Table 5. DNS Name [cmdb_ci_dns_name]
    Field Description
    Name [name] Domain Name System (DNS) name of the Palo Alto firewall device.
    IP Address [ip_address] Host IP address.

    CI relationships

    The Next-Generation Palo Alto Firewall pattern creates the following relationships and references to support Palo Alto Networks firewall discovery. References link to records in other tables and don't appear in the CI Relationship [cmdb_rel_ci] table.

    Table 6. CI relationships
    CI Relationship CI
    Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto] Owns::Owned by Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]
    Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto] Owns::Owned by IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto] Uses::Used by Router Interface [dscy_router_interface]
    Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] Owns::Owned by IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address]
    Table 7. CI references
    CI Field Referenced CI
    Serial Number [cmdb_serial_number] Configuration item [configuration_item] Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto]
    Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter] Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto]
    Router Interface [dscy_router_interface] Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] Palo Alto Firewall Device [cmdb_ci_firewall_device_palo_alto]
    IP Address [cmdb_ci_ip_address] Nic [nic] Network Adapter [cmdb_ci_network_adapter]