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CI Classes Discovery Will Populate

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In this lesson, you will learn:

  • Which CI classes Discovery fills
  • Why the class of a CI matters
  • The classes in scope for Clear View

🔁 Quick look back: Last time: Why Discovery Depends on a Healthy CMDB. You learned why a messy CMDB makes Discovery create duplicates and overwrite data.

1 The Problem: The Wrong Class Hides a CI

In SNWR’s CMDB, some servers were saved as the generic ‘Computer’ class. So:

  • They don’t appear in the Linux Server list.
  • Rules for servers don’t apply to them.

🎯 The problem: A CI in the wrong class is hard to find and misses the right rules.

👉 The fix: Know which classes Discovery fills, and plan for CIs in the wrong class today.

Table of device types and the classes Discovery fills.
Figure 1. The main classes Clear View fills.

2 Why the class matters

  • The class decides which fields a CI has.
  • Identification rules are set per class.
  • Health rules and reports work per class.
  • Lists and filters, like ‘all Linux servers’, use the class.

💡 Good to know: Need a refresher? See Fundamentals › CMDB Essentials › CI Classes & Relationships for how classes work.

3 Checking the classes

Open CI Class Manager to see each class, its parent and its identification rule. Names can vary a little by release, so check your instance.

💡 Good to know: Don’t create new classes for things ServiceNow already has a class for.

4 Project Clear View: How We Implemented It

📍 Situation: Some SNWR servers sit in the generic Computer class.

🧭 Decision: List the classes Clear View will fill, and find CIs in the wrong class today.

🛠️ Steps we took:

  1. Listed the classes for each device type in scope.
  2. Checked each one in CI Class Manager on snwrdev.
  3. Found 11 servers saved as Computer.
  4. Noted them for the reclassification check later in this chapter.

✅ What we verified:

  • Hana agreed the list of classes.
  • The 11 misclassed servers are on the cleanup list.

📁 Evidence: The class list in the CMDB readiness report.

5 Quick recap

  • Discovery fills specific classes, such as Linux Server and IP Switch.
  • The class decides fields, rules, health and reports.
  • Check classes in CI Class Manager.
  • Find CIs in the wrong class before scanning.

6 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 Which class will snwr-vpn-gw-01 go into? Show answer

IP Firewall.

2 Why does the class matter? Show answer

It decides the fields, identification rules, health rules and reports.

3 Where do you check classes and their rules? Show answer

In CI Class Manager.

Nice work! You know which classes Clear View fills. 🎉
Next up: Relationships Discovery Creates

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