CMDB,CSDM and Product

Models
Foundational Data Usage across the ServiceNow platform

Speaker Name
Asset: 0003633
September 2023
 A product model is a specific version or
configuration of a product. Defines whether
a product is tracked as an asset, a CI or
both. The product model is captured on
the configuration or asset record and is
maintained in the Product catalog.

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Disclaimer:

Some of the capabilities depend on whether APM

or SAM, SAM Pro is licensed. Some capabilities
like Manage the Technology features and TPM are
not available without a license.

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Common Service Data Model
DESIGN
Domains BUILD Business Enterprise
Capability
Foundation Architect
Design SDLC
Build SDLC
Component
SDLC Business Information Application
Manage Technical Services Component
Component Application Object Owner
Sell / Consume Teams

MANAGE
PORTFOLIO
Technical
Business
Consumer Consumer

MANAGE
TECHNICAL SERVICES Request Service Owner
Catalog Request Business
Item Application Catalog Item Relationship
Service Manager

Application Technical Business Customer

Technical Business
Service Service Service
Service Service
Service Offering
Owner Offering Application Manager
(Delivery) Server
Technology
Service Owner Technical Dynamic IoT Service
Technical
Service CI Network Portfolio
(Infrastructure) Service

Technology
Offering Group Gear
Configuration Items SELL / CONSUME Key Data in
Service Owner
(Delivery)
Technical
Technical
Service
the platform
Service
Offering
and
Foundational
FOUNDATIO
N
Business Products CMDB Company
to success
Contracts Locations
Locations Groups Users Life Cycle
Process (Models) Group Locations Business
Unit
Process Contract Product Data
Owner Manager Owner Steward Department

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Product Model Uses

Technology Technology Applicatio Application

Portfolio Product Model n Lifecycle
Mgmt Lifecycle Catalog
Portfolio
Mgmt

Applicatio
Hardwar n Model
CMD Product CMD
e B
B Models
model
Software
Model • Microsoft
• IBM ThinkPad
SQL 2012
• Cisco 3600 • Oracle
Database 19c

Custom Softwar
Hardwar Service
er e
e Asset Operations
Service Asset
Mgmt
Mgmt Mgmt

Asset managers use the Product Catalog as a

centralized repository for model information
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Product Models and CSDM
Product Models: Specific versions or configurations of products used for managing and tracking
through various ServiceNow platform applications

Product Model: Application Model & Software Model

Life Cycle

Ideation Design Build Operational End of Life

Business SDLC
Applicatio Service Produc
Demand Applicatio Agile Compone Asset
n Service s t
n nt

Strategic Portfolio Mgmt DevOps Service Asset and Product

Operations Mgmt

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Model Data Hierarchy

Product Models
Windows
Application Model Server
[cmdb_application_product_model] Model
Category Model Categories
Software Model
[cmdb_software_product_model]

Hardware Model PowerEdge Dell PowerEdge

[cmdb_hardware_product_model]
R940xa T140
Mode Mode
Consumable Model l l
[cmdb_consumable_product_model]

Service Model
cmdb_service_product_model
DC1-Win- Dal-Win-File01
Contract Model App01
cmdb_contract_product_model CI Only Asset and CI
Facility Model
[cmdb_facility_product_model]
Virtual Servers or Workstations/VDIs are not
assets
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Confidential.
Every CI and Asset should reference a Product
Model
Types: Physical, Logical, Documents San Diego+: Automatically creates
Product Models for Logical CI’s and
Sources: Vendor, Internal teams reference them.
Supports recursive design / use: assemblies, sub-
Customers who migrating to a product-
assemblies and so on centric management get head start on
Product Owner & Team: Foundational in “Product Centric IT” transition for Logical CI types, don’t have
to create them manually
Critical for Lifecycle Management: From Idea to Digital
Product and Service Table Hierarchy Product Model
cmdb_model

Application Model Software Model Contract Model Facility Model Hardware Model Consumable Model Service Model
cmdb_application_product_model cmdb_software_product_model cmdb_contract_product_model cmdb_facility_product_model cmdb_hardware_product_model cmdb_consumable_product_model cmdb_service_product_model

Logical Product
Models:
• Business Services
• Technical Services
• Service Offerings
• Application Services
• Business
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Automated Model Creation

Populate CIs
with the Model
ServiceNo MID Obtain ID
w Server Models of
Datacenter
Discovery
discovery Hardware and
Software

CMDB ASSET

SCCM Service MID

Graph or Obtain
Server
Agent Client Models of
Collector Hardware and
Desktop Software Data
environments
Normalizati
on
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 Product Model Management Record
Use Cases
• Hardware Asset

• Service Catalog
Shows list of CIs that use
• Software Asset this model. Relates to
Model ID on CI record
• Configuration
Management
Synchronize
• Catalog item with Asset
Management
relationships

• End of Life

• Customer Service
Management
Used across the platform, we must assure the
• Asset-CI models are accurate, normalized and populating
Synchronization the CIs and synchronizing with the asset hardware
models.
• Application and
Technology Role required: model_manager or admin
Portfolio
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Model Category Creation

• Navigate to Product
Catalog > Product
Model > Model
Categories

• CMDB
CI Class Models stor
e app
adds class models
that extend the
CMDB class
hierarchy

Creates the CI and the Asset at the same time

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Product Model Management Lifecycle Stages and
Status
Foundational Data Domain Strategic
Portfolio
Product Catalog
Digital Product Mgmt
Mgmt

Ideatio Design Operational End of Life

Application Model n
[cmdb_application_product_model] • Under • Build • In Use • Retired
Evaluation • Sold
Software Model • Pilot
[cmdb_software_product_model]

Hardware Model
[cmdb_hardware_product_model]

Contract Model
cmdb_contract_product_model

The Product Model is often the

“Model ID” attribute on the CI
Record.

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Product Model
Usage Across
the Platform -
CSDM
Application Portfolio
Management
 Business Application Record - Upgraded
Instance [cmdb_ci_business_app] table

• Points to the model

management record

• Instances upgraded
from Pre-Kingston
uses the Software
Model Table attribute
Product Model
• Re-configure these
instances to remove
the “Software Model”
Relationships
attribute and add the
Model ID attribute

• The model attribute

will need to be
populated with the
product model
“Application Model”
Upgraded from a pre-Kingston instance

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Business Application Record
[cmdb_ci_business_app] table

*Click to gather
Software models
Application
Service models
and Hardware for
TPM
Manage
the TRM technical
debts that are
created for the
products that
aren’t aligned with
the TRM phases
and standards.

Application Product Model

Auto-created in *Requires activativation of

Vancouver (see Software Asset Management
Professional (com.snc.samp)
next slide) plugin.

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Application Model – Auto-created in Vancouver

Application Product models have multiple use cases including Agile

and is incredibly important as part of a Digital Product.

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DevOps
DevOps Change Workspace

Create an Application,
tied to an Application
Product Model to track
DevOps Configurations
and Changes
CSDM
Data

Created when
When creating a new populating
application in DevOps, the Business
it automatically creates Product Model – CSDM
Application
a record in the Record or
Application Product directly from
Model table. DevOps
Create the Application Product Model Chose existing Application Product Model

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Technology Portfolio
Management
 Technology Portfolio Management
Managing Tech Debt

CSDM Data
Business
Application
SAP S/4HANA

Application SAP S/4HANA ERP Prod

Service SAP S/4HANA ERP Prod - JAPAN

SAP S/4HANA 2021

SAP S/4HANA 2020
Software
Software
Model
Model
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
15
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
12
Hardware
Model vSphere Virtual Server ESX
v8

Used for Technology Portfolio Management

Using TPM depends on SAM plugins to view the Product Classification,
without the plugin it is not available in the TPM timeline view.
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Agile Development
Product

Product Model

Points to the
cmdb_model.list

Model Category =
Software

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IT Operations
Management
Application Service – Add Software Model

Use the software

model ID as to
indicate the
version of the
software that has
been deployed

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Asset Management
Hardware and Software Asset Management
 Hardware Asset Record

Record contains same model – Auto

synchronization

Product Model

Synchronized based on the “Asset Strategy” of the

Hardware model record

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 Software Asset Models

Product Model

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Software Model Record

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Software Entitlement

Product Model

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Configuration
Management [CMDB]
Relating the Application Service to the
Software Model
Application Services could have
multiple production deployments
using different versions.

Use By:
Used by:
IT Operations Mgmt
Technology Portfolio Mgmt
IT Service Mgmt
Software Asset Mgmt

You can use Technology Portfolio Management even if you do not have Software Asset Management (SAM) installed. A
preconfigured Software Product Model table is available to all TPM users. You can create a list of all software models that your
organization uses either manually or import from existing database or source.

This is not a CMDB relationship that is viewable in a service map.

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Add Application Service Software Model
Related List

Add the related

list to the
Software Model
to view all the
Application
Services related
to a specific
software model.
This becomes
more
automated with
SAM Pro
activated

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 Application Service Software Model

Business applications have multiple instances

such as development, QA, and production.
Application Services represent the various
deployments of that business application.

Application Services must be associated with

software models to know the risk of the
application services.

When adding the Application Service Software

Model as a related list on the Software Model,
then you can see what deployed
instances(Application Services) are related to
a specific software model. Use case:
Software model is reaching end of life. This
will inform you of what Application Services
are deployed using that specific version and
would require an upgrade.
(Think this is the Software model of the
Application Service, not to be confused with Indicates manual
Application Model). creation

Hence application services must be

associated with software models (to the
respective full versions) to know the risk of
the application service.

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 CMDB – Configuration Item Record - Hardware
• Discoverable with
Discovery, Agent Client
Collector and Service Graph
Connectors

• Product Model is discovered Product Model

and populates the Product
Model table for use across
the platform

• CMDB Encoded Queries or

Query builder queries form
CMDB Groups used on the
Dynamic CI record helps
populate all CIs with the
same grouped information
regarding Support Groups

• Location is populated from

the Discovery Schedule

• The hardware model is used

within Technology Portfolio,
Hardware Asset, Product
and Service Catalog and
Configuration Management

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Customer Service
Management
Install Base Item

Product Model
Contains Model ID
for a Hardware Model

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Sold Products Record

Product
Model

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Product and Service
Catalog Management
Software Product Models
[cmdb_software_product_model] table

• Software Models are

auto-populated by
Discovery Manufacturer + Name =
Model ID for use in
CMDB and Service
• Creates software Catalog
licenses, suites,
Track Software License
upgrades and information
downgrades for use in
Software Asset
Management
Will create an asset in
the Software Asset
• Use CSDM related Table
Lifecycle Stage and
Status – Technology
Portfolio Mgmt CSDM related
Lifecycle
Stage and
• Manufacturer + Name Status
= Model ID for use in
CMDB and CSDM
related tables
See how this is used in the Service Catalog Software Catalog Item Record

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 Service Catalog Item Population – Software
Example
Navigate: Catalog item
Product Catalog item>New
Select Class>
• Hardware Catalog item
• Software Catalog item (pc_Software_cat_item) table

The Product Catalog builds on

the Service Catalog. Product catalog
specifies the product models that are
available for use. Product-specific
attributes are captured in each
catalog item. You can create product
models for each type of products in
your portfolio. Product
Model

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Hardware Product Models
[cmdb_hardware_product_model] table

• Hardware Models are

auto-populated by
Discovery Manufacturer + Name =
Model ID for use in
• Creates hardware CMDB and Service
Catalog
assets for Hardware
Asset Management
Will create an asset in
• Use CSDM related the Hardware Asset
Table
Lifecycle Stage and
Status – Technology
Portfolio Mgmt

• Manufacturer + Name CSDM related

Lifecycle
= Model ID for use in Stage and
CMDB and CSDM Status
related tables

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 Service Catalog Item Population – Hardware
Example (pc_hardware_cat_item) table

Navigate:
Product Catalog item>New
Select Class> Product
• Hardware Catalog item Model
• Software Catalog item

Populate:
• Name – What the user
selects
• Catalog – Service (if user facing)
Catalog item
• Software Category
• Vendor – User non-viewable
• Model – User non-viewable
• Description – User viewable

Connects the Hardware Model

for use in Asset Management to
the catalog item
(how many have been ordered?)

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 *Service Offerings - Service Catalog Items
Navigate:
Using Service Builder
add/update an offerings and
their information.

Populate:
Operations tab Product model (Model ID) located this
record
• Add the Catalog items –
there could be more than Should be same model
one version available per
offering

• Add any technical or

business offerings this Product model (Model ID) is on this
catalog item depends on record

• Add the Application Service

that the Catalog item
depends on if applicable
*Must have the SPM license to connect a
Service Offering to a Service Catalog item

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When to use

To provide a Product Owner (the Owner of a Product: Application

Model, Software Model, HW Model, etc.) insight into the life
cycle and value of their product(s). We are encouraging
referencing Models to their appropriate non-discoverable CIs as
such:

•Business Application - Application Model (version agnostic)

•SDLC Component - Application Model (version agnostic)
•Business Service/Offering - Service Model
•Technical Service/Offering - Service Model
•Application Service - Software Model (version specific, child of
Application Model)

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