How life-cycle values for Asset, CI, and IBI are synced

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated May 11, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of How life-cycle values for Asset, CI, and IBI are synced

    This topic explains how life-cycle values for Assets, Configuration Items (CIs), and Install Base Items (IBIs) are synchronized within ServiceNow, leveraging the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) life cycle stage and status mappings. Proper synchronization ensures consistent and accurate tracking of item status across these related records, which is crucial for effective asset and configuration management.

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    Key Concepts

    • Install Base Item (IBI): Represents any item provided as a service or sold to customers, linked to Assets and CIs via the Model category table.
    • CSDM Life Cycle Stage and Status: Standardized values used to map and synchronize legacy status fields across Asset, CI, and IBI records.
    • System Properties: Control synchronization behavior between Asset and CI records:
      • csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated: Enables CSDM lifecycle migration features.
      • csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated: Controls sync method between Asset and CI; defaults to false.

    Synchronization Behavior

    When csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated is false (default)

    • Asset to IBI and CI: Updates in Asset status/substatus sync to IBI life cycle stage/status and to CI legacy status/substatus via mapped CSDM values.
    • IBI to Asset and CI: Changes in IBI life cycle stage/status update Asset legacy status/substatus, which then sync to associated CI.
    • CI to Asset and IBI: Updates in CI legacy status/substatus sync to Asset legacy fields, which then update IBI life cycle stage/status.

    When csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated is true (enabled by selecting “Enable life cycle sync”)

    • Asset to CI and IBI: Legacy status/substatus updates on Asset sync to CSDM life cycle stage/status on Asset, which then directly sync with CI legacy and CSDM values. Sync to IBI occurs only via CSDM life-cycle pairs.
    • IBI to Asset and CI: IBI life cycle stage/status updates sync legacy status/substatus on Asset, which sync to CI legacy status/substatus. Asset and CI life cycle stage/status values are directly synchronized.
    • CI to Asset and IBI: CI life cycle stage/status updates sync directly to Asset life cycle values; Asset legacy status/substatus is updated accordingly and synced back to CI. IBI life cycle stage/status sync with Asset occurs via CSDM pairs.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables consistent and automated synchronization of life-cycle status across Assets, CIs, and IBIs, reducing manual updates and errors.
    • Mapping legacy status values to CSDM life cycle stages supports alignment with industry best practices and facilitates reporting and analytics.
    • Customers can choose between legacy-based synchronization or direct CSDM life cycle stage synchronization depending on their maturity and requirements.
    • Activating life cycle sync improves data accuracy and operational efficiency across asset and configuration management processes.

    Your organization gains significant value from your ServiceNow AI Platform applications when you take advantage of the option to directly map legacy status values to CSDM life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values and auto-synchronize the values going forward.

    How Asset, CI, and IBI life-cycle values are synced

    Any item that is provided as a service or sold to your customer is tracked as an Install Base Item (IBI). The Model category table associates Asset, CI, and IBI for the item.
    Sync between asset and IBI
    By default, the system syncs life-cycle values between asset and IBI using the CSDM life cycle stage and life cycle stage status life-cycle value pairs.
    Synchronization between asset and CI
    When the csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated system property is set to true on your instance, synchronization between the asset and CI tables depends on the csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated system property setting:
    • When the property is set to false (default), synchronization occurs through the legacy status and substatus values.
    • When the property is set to true, the system syncs the CSDM life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values directly. This option provides significant benefits to your organization.
      Important:
      The property is set to true when you select Enable life cycle sync on the Life cycle mappings list view.

    Life-cycle sync when the system property is set to false (the default setting)

    Sync when the system property is false.

    When the CSDM (csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated) plugin is activated on your instance and the csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated system property is set to false:

    Sync of updates from asset to IBI and CI
    Updates made to the status or substatus value of an asset are synced with the associated IBI and CI. For example, when the State value of the asset is updated to In use, sync happens as follows:
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset are set to Operational and In use, these values are then synced with life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of IBI asset.
    • The status and substatus values of the CI change to Installed and In use.
    Sync of updates from IBI to asset and CI
    Updates made to the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of an IBI asset are synced with the legacy status and substatus values of the asset through the CSDM values. The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the associated CI. For example, when the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of an IBI asset are updated to Defective and In Stock, sync happens as follows.
    1. The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset change to In Stock and Defective. These values are synced with the status and substatus values of the asset.
    2. The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the associated CI.
    Sync of updates from CI to asset and IBI
    Updates made to the status and substatus values of a CI are synced with the associated asset. The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the IBI asset through the CSDM values. For example, when the status and substatus values of a CI are updated to Retired and Donated, the corresponding values of the asset change. The changes from the asset are synced with the IBI asset and the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values change to End of Life and Retired.

    Life-cycle sync when the system property is set to true

    Sync when the system property is true or you select Enable life cycle sync on the Life cycle mappings list view.

    When the CSDM (csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated) plugin is activated on your instance and the csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated system property is set to true (or you select the select Enable life cycle sync on the Life cycle mapping table list page, as described in Enabling life-cycle sync from legacy-to-asset):

    Sync of updates from asset to CI and IBI
    Updates made to the legacy status and substatus values of the asset are synced between the asset and CI as follows:
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset are updated with values mapped to the legacy status and substatus values of the asset.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are then directly synced with the status and substatus values of the associated CI.
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset are then directly synced with the associated CI.

    However, sync of updates from asset to IBI is only through the CSDM life-cycle value pairs.

    Sync of updates from IBI to asset and CI
    Updates made to the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the IBI are synced as follows:
    • The legacy status and substatus values of the asset are synced with the CSDM life-cycle value pairs.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are synced with the status and substatus values of the associated CI.
    • The life-cycle value pairs of the asset are directly synced with the associated CI.
    Sync of updates from CI to asset and IBI
    Updates made to the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of a CI are synced as follows:
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the CI are directly synced with the associated asset.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are then updated with the values mapped to the CSDM values.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the associated CI.
    • The status and substatus values of IBI are synced with the asset through the CSDM life-cycle value pairs.