ServiceNow Service Graph

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Platform

The Service Graph connector for runZero brings runZero assets into your ServiceNow CMDB as CIs and, if you choose, periodically updates those CIs with fresh information from runZero scans.

The Service Graph Connector fetches and transforms data with ServiceNow IntegrationHub ETL and passes it through the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE), so you can fine-tune specific fields and CI class mappings from the ServiceNow console. You can also set a runZero search query that decides which assets the connector brings in.

Important notes

  • runZero does not charge for the connector. However, the CI resources the connector creates in CMDB increase your ServiceNow Subscription Unit consumption. CIs created by Service Graph Connectors should be charged at a lower rate than CIs created other ways; consult ServiceNow to confirm this and to get current pricing.

  • If you self-host runZero, you need a MID Server so ServiceNow can connect to your runZero console. If your console uses a self-signed TLS certificate, or one signed by your own internal CA, configure the MID server to trust that CA or certificate. For details, see ServiceNow Knowledge Base article KB0863673.

  • The Service Graph Connector is packaged and available from the ServiceNow Application Store, but fitting a connector into your existing ServiceNow configuration is unlikely to be a one-click operation. We strongly advise having a ServiceNow Consulting and Implementation partner available to help.

  • For detailed installation instructions with screenshots, see the Scoped Application Installation and Configuration Guide on the Service Graph Connector for runZero page under Supporting Links and Docs.

Prerequisites

To use the Service Graph connector for runZero, you need:

  • A Platform license for runZero.
  • A ServiceNow ITOM license including ITOM Discovery and ITOM Visibility.
  • Integration Commons for CMDB installed.

Connector installation checks the ServiceNow dependencies for you.

Installation

Start by finding the Service Graph connector for runZero in the ServiceNow Application Store and installing it into your ServiceNow instance through the usual process.

The connector adds a Service Graph connector for runZero entry to the ServiceNow main menu, with entries for Setup, Data Sources, Scheduled Imports, Support, and System Import Sets. You need the admin role in ServiceNow to configure the connector.

Setup

The Setup menu has a Guided Setup process that walks you through the connector in three stages:

  1. Configure the connection
  2. Configure the mappings (optional)
  3. Configure the scheduled import (optional)

Step 1: Configure the connection

Configuring the connection has two parts: entering a runZero API key as credentials, and setting the connection options.

Entering the API key

The connector accepts a runZero Organization API or Export API key. To get either one, open the Organizations page in runZero and click the organization whose assets you want in ServiceNow CMDB. Organization tokens begin with OT, and export tokens begin with ET.

In the API Key Credentials form, paste the runZero token into the API Key field and click Update.

Configuring connection options

If you use runZero cloud, the default HTTP connection options should be correct.

You can add a Search string to the connection’s Attributes at the bottom of the form. The connector passes this search to runZero to pick the set of assets to bring into CMDB. Write it in runZero search query format. We strongly encourage testing it in your runZero asset inventory first.

Leave the Connection alias and Base path fields as they are. (The connection alias groups the connection settings and the API key credentials for the connector to use.)

If you self-host runZero, the connection options form is where you pick the MID server and give the URL of your runZero console. Put your console’s fully qualified hostname in the Host field. The hostname should match the hostname in the console’s TLS certificate so the MID server trusts it, even when the MID server already trusts the certificate. Check the Use MID server box and select the MID server to use.

Step 2: Configure the mappings (optional)

In the second step, you can customize how runZero data maps to CI classes with the IntegrationHub ETL Transform Map Assistant.

Skip this stage if you have no special data mapping requirements.

Step 3: Configure the scheduled import (optional)

The third step sets a schedule for data import. Test the connector setup with a one-off import first. Once everything is configured correctly, you can create recurring imports.

Scheduled imports are regular ServiceNow tasks. Skip this step if you don’t want a scheduled import yet.

Notes on data mapping

The ServiceNow CMDB and runZero object data models differ. Some runZero data fits no standard CMDB attribute, and in other cases runZero lacks data that CMDB expects. This list shows how the connector maps runZero attributes to ServiceNow CMDB attributes:

  • IP addresses: ServiceNow CIs have an attribute that takes a single IP address. The connector places the first IP address in the CI attribute IP Address and creates the remaining addresses as IP Address CIs owned by the device CI. Each IP Address CI gets a Description that says whether runZero has scanned it. By default, ServiceNow does not show IP addresses owned by a device CI. It only shows IP addresses owned by a network adapter CI that the device CI owns. This is a known limitation of ServiceNow’s default CMDB forms. runZero doesn’t associate IP addresses with network adapters because it generally doesn’t know the necessary information. In that situation, the CMDB connector development guide says to associate the IP addresses with the device CI.
  • Names: ServiceNow CIs have a single Name attribute, while runZero assets can have any number of names, with runZero’s best guesses at the front of the list. The connector places the first name in the CI Name attribute. The first name that looks like a fully qualified domain name goes in the Fully qualified domain name attribute, and the connector uses it to compute a DNS Domain for CIs descended from Network Gear. The full list of names goes in the Description attribute for reference.
  • Serial numbers: ServiceNow CIs have an attribute that takes a single serial number. The connector puts the first serial number in the Serial Number attribute, then runs a Serial Number Lookup operation to add the complete list of serial numbers with their types.
  • Tags: runZero assets can have any number of tags, either single tags such as tag_name or tags with values in the format tag=value. The connector places them in the Key Value class and associates that class with the Hardware class.
  • MAC addresses/Network Adapters: As with IP addresses, ServiceNow has both a single-value MAC Address attribute and an option to look up named MAC addresses to create Network Adapter objects. A runZero asset can have any number of MAC addresses, but because runZero runs no agent software on the scanned systems, it cannot know the interface name that goes with a given MAC address. The connector imports the first MAC address as the MAC Address attribute and the entire set, through lookup, as Network Adapter objects. It names each one from the MAC address and IP address (e.g. 00:00:00:00:00:00-127.0.0.1), or from the MAC address and hostname when no IP address is available (e.g. 00:00:00:00:00:00-hostname). If neither an IP address nor a hostname is available, the MAC address alone is the network adapter name. In some cases, runZero may not know an asset’s MAC address(es); the connector then adds a zero MAC address (00:00:00:00:00:00) to satisfy ServiceNow requirements for some CI classes.
  • Sites: runZero sites represent distinct networks, which may or may not correspond to physical sites. The connector imports them as CMDB Network Site objects.
  • Organizations: Network hardware CIs have no obvious attribute for the runZero organization, so the connector adds the organization name to the Description of CIs.
  • SNMP data: The runZero snmp.sysDesc attribute, if present, also goes in the Description.
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