Skip to tutorial content
Rate module Not yet rated

Existing Duplicates: What to Do Before Discovery

4 min read
On this page

In this lesson, you will learn:

  • Why duplicates must be fixed first
  • How to find duplicates
  • How SNWR fixed its five pairs

🔁 Quick look back: Last time: CI Reclassification. You learned how IRE moves a CI to the right class, and what controls it.

1 The Problem: Five Servers Exist Twice

SNWR’s CMDB has five duplicate pairs, such as SNWR-MAIL-01 and snwr-mail-01. If you scan now:

  • IRE finds two matches and can’t pick one.
  • The server isn’t updated at all.
  • Incidents are split across two records.

🎯 The problem: Five SNWR servers exist twice in the CMDB.

👉 The fix: Merge or retire duplicates before the first scan, and switch off the source that made them.

Flow: find, choose the keeper, move links, retire the other, stop the source.
Figure 1. How SNWR fixed its duplicate pairs.

2 Finding duplicates

  • Group server CIs by name, ignoring case and domain.
  • Check CMDB Health for duplicate findings.
  • Look for de-duplication tasks already created.

Key term: De-duplication task

A task IRE creates when it finds duplicate CIs, so someone can review and merge them.

3 Fixing them

  1. Choose the CI to keep, usually the one with more incidents and links.
  2. Move links from the other CI to the keeper.
  3. Retire the other CI.
  4. Stop the source that created it.

⚠️ Careful: Never just delete a duplicate. You may lose incidents and history linked to it.

4 Project Clear View: How We Implemented It

📍 Situation: SNWR has five duplicate pairs from the spreadsheet import.

🧭 Decision: Fix all five before the pilot, with Hana deciding the keeper.

🛠️ Steps we took:

  1. Listed the five pairs.
  2. Hana chose the keeper for each.
  3. Moved incidents and relationships to the keepers.
  4. Retired the other five CIs and switched off the import.

✅ What we verified:

  • No duplicate server names remain.
  • All incidents point to the keeper CIs.

📁 Evidence: The duplicate cleanup record in the CMDB readiness report.

5 Quick recap

  • Duplicates stop IRE from updating a CI.
  • Find them by name, CMDB Health and de-duplication tasks.
  • Keep one, move links, retire the other.
  • Never delete a duplicate outright.

6 Check yourself

Think of your answer first. Then tap to check.

1 What does IRE do when a server has two matching CIs? Show answer

It flags a duplicate and doesn’t update either.

2 How do you choose which CI to keep? Show answer

Usually the one with more incidents and relationships.

3 Why not just delete the duplicate? Show answer

You could lose incidents and history linked to it.

Nice work! SNWR’s CMDB has no duplicate servers. 🎉
Next up: The Project Clear View CMDB Readiness Review

Was this lesson helpful?

Have a question or doubt?

Ask here and get help from instructors and fellow learners.

0 / 300

Only logged-in learners can post.