Discovery 101: Using Behaviors
In our previous blog post, we discussed the importance of creating efficient schedules in the ServiceNow Discovery application. These schedules dictate when and how systems are scanned, a critical component for maintaining optimal network performance.
Today, we delve deeper into the world of Discovery with a focus on Behaviors, a powerful tool that can significantly enhance the efficiency and intelligence of your Discovery processes.
Understanding Discovery Behaviors: Discovery Behaviors are the key to optimizing your network scans. They empower you to control Access Control Lists, perform scans across multiple domains and protocols, and ultimately streamline your Discovery operations. Here’s how they work and how you can harness their potential:
Setting Up Behaviors
- Naming Your Behavior: To get started, navigate to the Discovery definition application and select “Behavior > New.” Give your Behavior a clear and recognizable name, ensuring it reflects its intended purpose.
- Defining Functionality: In the “Discovery Functionality” section, click “New.” Here, you will define four crucial aspects of your Behavior:
a. Phase: This is an arbitrary number you assign, controlling the sequence of Shazzam Probe executions.
b. Functionality: Select from a list of preconfigured individual or groups of Protocols. You can even create custom functionalities in the Functionality Definition module.
c. MID Servers: Choose the MID Server(s) that will follow this Behavior. If you select multiple MID Servers, Discovery will automatically balance the server load. For more advanced load balancing, consider MID Server Clusters.
d. Match Criteria: Select “Any” for a logical OR or “All” for a logical AND. This determines how the Behavior should react when multiple criteria are present. Using Match Criteria intelligently can enhance the efficiency of your Discovery operations.
- Functionality Criteria: If you’re dealing with Windows MID Servers or need to control scans across multiple domains, you’ll need Functionality Criteria. For these scenarios, specify:
a. Name: The variable that passes relevant information, such as mid_server (MID Server processing the results) or win_domain (Windows domain of the target device).
b. Value: Enter the actual MID Server name or domain name to pass to Discovery for this criterion. You can also use mid_domain to define the Windows domain of the MID Server processing Shazzam results.
Optimizing Your Discovery Schedules: When used correctly, Behaviors become a powerful tool in creating more intelligent and efficient Discovery Schedules. They ensure that only the necessary protocols are attempted during scans, saving time and reducing network traffic. A finely tuned Discovery Schedule, enriched with Behaviors, transforms Discovery into a fast and accurate tool for populating your CMDB.
Learn More
If you’re eager to explore the world of ServiceNow Discovery further and want to adopt best practices, here are some valuable resources to check out:
What’s Next: Stay tuned for our next Discovery 101 blog post. We’ll continue to explore best practices and application use cases, helping you master ServiceNow Discovery for the benefit of your organization.
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