Limitations and requirements for data snapshots
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Summary of Limitations and requirements for data snapshots
Data snapshots in ServiceNow's Zurich release enable tracking of changes in indicator data but come with specific limitations and requirements. These constraints affect database compatibility, table and field types, indicator configurations, and collection settings, which are critical for customers to understand to effectively implement and use data snapshots.
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Instance-level Requirements and Limitations
- Database Support: Only instances using RaptorDB Professional (PostgreSQL) are supported; Oracle and MariaDB/MySQL are not.
- Domain Separation: Not supported on domain-separated instances.
Table-level Limitations
- Unsupported Tables: System tables (named sys) cannot be used with data snapshots.
- Table Size Constraints: Data sources with over 30 million records or tables with more than 1 million changes in the last month are not supported.
- Change Data Capture (CDC): Cannot track deltas for very large indicator sources, limiting multiple breakdowns.
- Benchmarking Indicators: Not supported.
Indicator and Breakdown-level Limitations
- Unsupported Indicators: Benchmarking indicators, indicators without conditions, manual or external indicators are not supported.
- Breakdowns/Aggregations: Only those on Choice fields (strings or integers) are supported; purely string or numeric fields are not.
- Supported Query Operators: Only a subset of operators is supported depending on field type; many common operators are unsupported.
- Formula Indicators: Must be fully supported by data snapshots; formula methods are not supported.
- Database Views: Supported only if join conditions use sysid fields and database view prefixes have no uppercase characters or conflicting prefixes.
- Breakdown Levels: Maximum of 250 breakdown/aggregation fields supported.
- Collection Timezones: Only daily collection with a single timezone is supported.
- Historical Data: Only data collected after enablement is supported; older data with multiple breakdown levels is not retrievable.
- Breakdown Matrices: Not applicable; all combinations are supported by design.
Field-level and Collection Limitations
- Label for Unmatched and Value When Nil: These options on breakdown sources and automated indicators are ignored.
- Security Type: Not supported in breakdown sources.
- Data Collection: All collections occur daily; start/end periods and specific time settings are ignored except for the timezone set on the data collection record.
- Bucket Groups: Not supported.
- Related List Conditions: Do not apply with data snapshots.
- Targets, Thresholds, KPI Signals, and Indicator Scorecards: Support is limited to one or two filters depending on the feature.
- Scoresheets: Manual changes have no effect on indicators enabled for data snapshots.
- String Fields in Conditions: Limited to 4000 characters.
Several features of indicators and breakdowns are not supported with data snapshots and multiple breakdowns.
Instance-level limitations
| Limitation or unsupported feature | Notes |
|---|---|
| Database requirements | Only instances with the RaptorDB Professional (PostgreSQL) database are supported, not Oracle or MariaDB/MySQL. (Checked when plugin is activated.) |
| Domain separation | Domain-separated instances are not supported. |
Table-level limitations
| Limitation or unsupported feature | Notes |
|---|---|
| System tables | System tables (named sys_*) are not supported. |
| Technical limitations on table size | Change data capture (CDC) works by determining and tracking the data that has changed (the "deltas"). If an indicator source is too large for data snapshots to track the deltas, multiple breakdowns are not supported for that indicator. |
| Licensing limitations on table size | Data sources with more than 30 million records are not supported. |
| High volume of changes | If any table that contributes to an indicator, either as a data source or through breakdowns or conditions, has had more than 1 million changes in the last month, data snapshots are not enabled for that indicator. |
| Benchmarking indicators | Not supported |
Indicator- and breakdown-level limitations
| Limitation or unsupported feature | Notes |
|---|---|
|
Benchmarking indicators |
Not supported |
| Indicators with no conditions | Not supported |
| Scripted breakdown mappings/aggregations | Not supported |
| Breakdowns/aggregations on string and numeric type fields are not supported | The same limitations apply as with classic Performance Analytics breakdowns and indicators: Breakdowns on Choice fields that are strings or integers are supported. Only purely string and numeric fields are not supported. For example, a breakdown on Incident.Category would be supported because Category is a Choice field. A breakdown on Short Description would not be supported, because that is purely a string. |
| Only some query operators are supported | Unsupported operators for each field type on the source:
|
| Formula indicators | All contributing indicators must support data snapshots. |
| Formula methods | Formula indicators that use methods in their formulas are not supported. |
| Manual or external indicators or breakdowns | Only automated indicators, formula indicators, and automated breakdowns are supported. All contributing indicators in a formula indicator must be supported for the formula indicator to be supported. |
| Indicators based on database views | Only supported when the join conditions do not include fields other than sys_id. |
| Database view prefix limitations | If the indicator source is a database view and there is an uppercase character in the database view prefix, the indicator is not supported. Also, if the two tables in the database view have the same prefix, the indicator is not supported. |
| Indicators with more than 250 breakdown/aggregation fields | Only 250 levels of breakdown are supported. |
| Indicators whose collection jobs have more than one timezone | Only daily collection and only one timezone are supported. |
| Historical processing | Only data collected after the enablement date is supported. Attempts to apply more than two levels of breakdown to older data do not return any results. |
| Breakdown matrices | Not applicable. All breakdown combinations are supported by design. |
| Collection periods set on data collector | All collections are daily. |
Field-level limitations (Indicator, breakdown, source, and data collector fields)
| Limitation or unsupported feature | Notes |
|---|---|
| Label for unmatched | The Label for unmatched option on breakdown sources is ignored with data snapshots. |
| Value when nil | The Value when nil option on automated indicators is ignored with data snapshots. |
| Security type | Data snapshots does not support the security type defined in the breakdown source. |
| Data collection job settings | Start/end periods, specific time configurations, and other settings do not affect data snapshots. All data collection is daily. Only the timezone set on the data collection record has an effect. |
| Bucket groups | Not supported |
| Related list conditions | Related list conditions do not apply with data snapshots |
| Targets and Thresholds | Support only up to two filters. |
| KPI Signals | Support only one filter. |
| Indicator scorecard visualizations | Support only up to two filters. |
| Scoresheets | Manual changes to scoresheets for indicators that are enabled for data snapshots have no effect. |
| String fields in indicator or source conditions | 4000-character limit |