Create inventory models

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Create inventory models

    As an inventory catalog manager in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application, you define metadata for various network equipment models. This metadata ensures consistency and compliance with equipment vendor validations, preventing unsupported equipment creation. Inventory models standardize manufacturer details like name, model number, and dimensions, which are inherited by all equipment instances generated from these models.

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    Creating inventory models is essential for building digital representations of your telecommunications network, enabling you to instantiate accurate network asset instances using templates.

    Key Features

    • Equipment Model: Define new equipment introduced by vendors or OEMs for network asset instance generation.
    • Equipment Holder Model: Define physical characteristics of equipment holders based on manufacturer data.
    • Network Interface Model: Specify physical data for network interfaces as per manufacturer recommendations.
    • Interface Cards Model: Define models for network interface cards.
    • Physical Connection Model: Define metadata for physical/wired connections, with capabilities to import models, attach files/images, and manage optional fields, compatibility, and substitutions.
    • Logical Connection Model: Define metadata for logical connections with similar flexibility as physical connections.
    • Network Model Relationship: Capture and manage relationships between various network inventory models to reflect real-world network configurations.
    • Additional Models: Facility, cable, strand, and network topology models can also be created to represent other physical and logical aspects of the network infrastructure.

    Inventory Model Related Tabs

    Each inventory model record provides specialized tabs that help manage detailed information:

    • Bandwidth Capabilities: Relates bandwidth data to physical and logical connection models (available only in these models).
    • Assets: Displays associated network assets.
    • Configuration Items (CI): Shows linked configuration items.
    • Model Components: Lists components included in the model.
    • Vendor Catalog Items: Contains available network assets from vendors.
    • Hardware Model Lifecycles: Provides lifecycle information for the network assets.
    • Network Model Relationships: Displays related network inventory models.

    Practical Application for ServiceNow Customers

    By following the structured process to create and relate inventory models, ServiceNow customers can establish a comprehensive and accurate digital representation of their telecommunications network. This approach ensures:

    • Consistency and compliance with vendor specifications across all network assets.
    • Simplified instantiation of network assets using templates tied to inventory models.
    • Clear visibility and management of relationships between equipment, interfaces, connections, and physical infrastructure components.
    • Enhanced accuracy in network inventory data, supporting better planning, deployment, and maintenance activities.

    Creating detailed inventory models and defining their relationships is a foundational step for effective network asset management within the ServiceNow Telecommunications Network Inventory application.

    As an inventory catalog manager, you can use a series of forms to define the metadata for each network model in the Telecommunications Network Inventory. During this process, you also specify the relationships between each of these models.

    Inventory models overview

    The metadata that you define in an inventory model serves an important purpose when you create an associated template or instantiate an instance of equipment. It ensures that you adhere to the validations put in place by the equipment vendor so that you don’t create a non-supported piece of equipment.
    • The metadata that the inventory models contain, such as the name, model number, height, and depth, remain consistent across all individual instances of that particular type of equipment.
    • When you generate the equipment instances for an inventory model, they all contain this standard manufacturer information.
    Note:
    To learn more about creating templates and generating network assets from your model and template records, see
    To create a comprehensive digital model of your telecommunications network, do the following tasks:
    1. In the Equipment Model form, create inventory models for your telecommunications equipment.
      • Creating an equipment inventory model is the first requirement for setting up the process to generate network asset instances when using inventory templates.
      • You create an equipment model record every time a vendor or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) introduces new equipment for your use. To learn more, see Create an equipment model.
    2. In the Equipment Holder Model form, create the inventory model records for your equipment holders. To learn more, see Create an equipment holder model.
    3. In the Network Interface Model form, create the inventory model records for your network interfaces. To learn more, see Create a card model.
    4. In the Interface Cards Model form, create the inventory model records for your network interface cards. To learn more, see Create a network interface model.
    5. In the Physical Connection Model form, create the inventory model records for each physical or wired connection. To learn more, see Create a physical connection model.
    6. In the Logical Connection Model form, create inventory model records for each logical connection. To learn more, see Create a logical connection model.
    7. In the Network Model Relationship form, define the relationships between each model record in your network inventory. To learn more, see Define a network model relationship.

    Inventory model related tabs

    After you create inventory models, the information in the following table appears on these tabs in each inventory model record.
    Table 1. Inventory model tabs
    Tab Contains
    Bandwidth Capabilities Relation between the bandwidth and the physical and logical connection models that need to be added.
    Note:
    The Bandwidth Capabilities tab is available only on the physical and logical models.
    Assets Network asset information.
    Configuration Items Configuration Item (CI) that is associated with the model.
    Model Components Components in the model.
    Vendor Catalog Items Available network assets from various vendors.
    Hardware Model Lifecycles Life cycle information about the network asset.
    Network Model Relationships Related network inventory models.