CIS-SAM Practice Questions

The samadmin role is responsible for the comprehensive setup, configuration, and maintenance of the Software Asset Management application. This includes managing system properties, configuring integrations with external data sources (like SCCM or Jamf), and overseeing data import and reconciliation jobs. These tasks often require elevated platform-level permissions and a thorough understanding of the ServiceNow platform's architecture, which are the core competencies of a trained ServiceNow administrator. Assigning this role to a platform administrator ensures that the foundational and technical aspects of the SAM application are managed effectively, preventing configuration issues that could impact the entire instance.

B. samdeveloper: This role is for users who write scripts and create development artifacts specifically for the SAM application, not for its overall administration or configuration.

C. discoveradmin: This role manages the Discovery application, which is a separate process that provides data to SAM. It is not a core SAM role.

D. entitlementmanager: This is a process-focused role responsible for managing software license records (entitlements) and contracts, not the technical setup of the SAM application.

E. modelmanager: This is a process-focused role responsible for managing software models, normalization, and lifecycle data, which is distinct from technical platform administration.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Software Asset Management roles: The official documentation describes the samadmin role as having "access to all Software Asset Management application features

including properties and content setup." The setup and configuration of properties are administrative tasks.

Source: ServiceNow Product Documentation

Washington DC Release

"Components installed with Software Asset Management

" Section: "Roles installed with Software Asset Management."

2. ServiceNow Training Courseware - SAM Fundamentals: The official ServiceNow training materials for Software Asset Management explicitly define the persona for the SAM Administrator. This persona is expected to be a ServiceNow System Administrator who is responsible for the technical implementation and ongoing maintenance of the SAM application.

Source: ServiceNow Training

"Software Asset Management (SAM) Fundamentals" course materials

Module: "SAM Personas and Responsibilities." (Note: Specific courseware is proprietary

but this is the official guidance provided in ServiceNow training programs).

3. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Set up Software Asset Management: The initial setup steps for the SAM application

such as activating plugins and configuring core system properties

must be performed by a user with the admin role. This directly links the administrative responsibilities of SAM to the platform administrator role.

Source: ServiceNow Product Documentation

Washington DC Release

"Set up Software Asset Management

" Section: "Tasks for setting up Software Asset Management."

The "Discovery Model Normalization" is the specific, out-of-the-box scheduled job that runs daily to perform the normalization process in ServiceNow Software Asset Management (SAM). This job queries for discovery models that have a normalization status of 'New', 'Match Not Found', or 'Publisher Not Normalized'. It then compares these records against the ServiceNow Content Library to standardize the publisher, product, and version information. This is a critical, foundational process for accurate software reconciliation and license compliance.

A. Create a Software Normalization: This is not the name of a scheduled job. It describes an action or a process but does not correspond to an actual automated job in the system.

B. Software Installation Normalization: The normalization process operates on Discovery Models (cmdbsamswdiscoverymodel), which are created from software installations, not directly on the installation records themselves.

C. Software Model Cleanup: This is a separate maintenance job responsible for removing orphaned or unused software models, not for the primary data standardization (normalization) process.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation: "The Discovery Model Normalization scheduled job runs daily to normalize all discovery models that are not normalized."

Source: ServiceNow Product Documentation

"Normalization process

" Software Asset Management.

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation: "Discovery Model Normalization: Scheduled job that runs daily to normalize all discovery models that are not normalized."

Source: ServiceNow Product Documentation

"Components installed with Software Asset Management

" Software Asset Management.

License metrics such as 'Per User' and 'Per Named User' directly tie a software usage right to an individual. To manage and demonstrate compliance for these entitlements within ServiceNow Software Asset Management (SAM), an explicit 'allocation' is required. An allocation is a record that formally assigns a license from an entitlement to a specific user record in the system. This process is fundamental for tracking consumption against the total number of purchased rights and is a prerequisite for the reconciliation process to accurately determine the compliance position for these user-centric metrics.

A. Per Core: This is a capacity-based metric calculated by counting the processor cores on the hardware where the software runs. It does not involve assigning a license to a person or device.

C. Per Named Device: This metric also requires allocations. However, the allocation is to a specific device (Configuration Item) rather than a user. Given the options, 'Per User' and 'Per Named User' are the most direct and common examples of metrics requiring user allocations.

E. Per Core (with CAL): The primary 'Per Core' component is capacity-based. While the associated Client Access Licenses (CALs) would require user or device allocations, the core metric itself does not.

F. Per Application Instance: Compliance is determined by counting the number of software installations discovered. This metric does not require allocation to a specific user or device.

G. Named User Plus: This is a vendor-specific (Oracle) implementation of a named user license. 'Per Named User' is the more general and fundamental metric type, making it a better choice.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Software license metrics: "For user-based and device-based licenses

you can allocate a license to a specific user or device." This statement directly supports that metrics like 'Per User' (B)

'Per Named User' (D)

and 'Per Named Device' (C) require allocations. Metrics like 'Per Core' are reconciled based on CI attributes.

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Manage software license allocations: "You can allocate a user or a device to a software license to track the number of used licenses... The reconciliation process uses allocation data to identify the compliance status of a software model." This confirms that allocations are a key input to the compliance calculation for specific metric types.

3. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Software asset management entitlements: "For some entitlements

such as user or device-based licenses

you can allocate a right to a specific user or device." This section reinforces that the allocation concept is tied specifically to user and device-based license metrics.

ServiceNow's core reporting engine, which the Software Asset Management (SAM) Professional application utilizes, allows reports to be exported in several standard formats. These formats facilitate sharing, printing, and further data analysis. The available options include PDF for a static, formatted document, CSV (Comma-Separated Values) for raw data export into other systems, and XLS/XLSX for direct use in Microsoft Excel. This functionality is a standard feature of the Now Platform and is not unique to, but is fully available within, SAM Professional.

A. PowerPoint: ServiceNow does not provide a native, direct-to-PowerPoint export function for its reports. Users would need to manually export images or data and then import them into a presentation.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Export and share reports: "You can export reports to a variety of formats

including PDF

PNG

JPEG

CSV

or XLS." This document explicitly lists PDF

CSV

and XLS as available export formats. (ServiceNow Product Documentation

Washington release

Reporting

"Export and share reports" section).

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Exporting data: "You can export data to a file in one of several file formats

including... CSV... Excel (.xls or .xlsx)... PDF." This confirms the platform-level capability for exporting data

which is leveraged by the reporting module. (ServiceNow Product Documentation

Washington release

Now Platform administration

Import and export data

"Exporting data" section).

The ServiceNow entitlement import process is specifically configured to parse data from the first worksheet within the Excel template file. If entitlement data is placed on any other worksheet, the import set will be created, but no data will be loaded into the import set table, causing the import to fail. Therefore, ensuring the data is on the correct tab is a critical prerequisite for a successful upload.

A. Not all fields in the template are mandatory. The import will proceed successfully as long as all required fields (marked as such in the template) are populated.

C. While downloading and using the latest template is a critical best practice to avoid data mapping and versioning issues, the import will fundamentally fail to find any data if it is not on the first tab, regardless of the template version.

D. The samuser role provides read-only access to Software Asset Management features. To import entitlements, a user requires a role with create/write permissions, such as samadmin or sammanager.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Import software entitlements: The official documentation outlines the procedure for importing entitlements. It explicitly states

"Open the downloaded file and add your entitlement data to the first worksheet (named Entitlements) in the file." This confirms that using the first worksheet is a required step in the process. (ServiceNow Product Documentation

Software Asset Management

"Import software entitlements"

Rome/San Diego/Tokyo releases).

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Roles in Software Asset Management: This document details the permissions for various SAM roles. It specifies that the samuser role has limited

primarily read-only access

while roles like samadmin and sammanager are required for administrative tasks such as creating and importing entitlements. (ServiceNow Product Documentation

Software Asset Management

"Roles in Software Asset Management"

Rome/San Diego/Tokyo releases).

The offline export utility that comes with the Manage On-Premise Library (com.snsamponprem) plugin generates a ZIP file that contains ONLY three data sets: Software Library, SKU Library, and Content Library. Normalization content (publishers, products, versions, patterns, and classification rules) is intentionally excluded to avoid conflicts with the stand-alone Normalization Data Services. Therefore, claiming that “Normalization content is eligible for the export feature” is incorrect. All other statements accurately reflect documented on-premises behaviour: the “Manage Software Library” module opens an interceptor that allows import or export, on-prem instances do not receive automatic updates, the on-prem plugin is auto-activated with SAM Pro, and customers must still opt-in to Content Service from the setup page.

A. Correct – Documentation states the module launches an interceptor offering Import or Export choices.

B. Correct – Without outbound connectivity, on-prem instances do not get automatic updates.

D. Correct – The com.snsamponprem plugin installs automatically with SAM Pro; no separate opt-in required.

E. Correct – Every instance, hosted or on-prem, must opt-in through the Content Service Setup page before using the service.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation

“Generate offline content updates for on-premises instances

” Tokyo release

Sections ‘Export content’ & ‘What is exported’ (states only Software

SKU

Content Libraries; excludes normalization).

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation

“Manage On-Premise Library plugin (com.snsamponprem)

” Tokyo release notes

paragraph ‘Activation information’ (plugin auto-activates with SAM Pro).

3. ServiceNow Product Documentation

“Content Service Setup

” Tokyo

Steps 1-3 (user must opt-in before any library functions).

4. ServiceNow Product Documentation

“Software Library management

” Tokyo

first paragraph (interceptor page for import/export).

5. ServiceNow Product Documentation

“SAM Content Service overview

” Tokyo

section ‘On-premise instance considerations’ (no automatic updates for on-prem).

In ServiceNow, when using an Import Set and a Transform Map to process incoming data, the behavior for handling non-matching records is controlled by the Transform Map settings. The question specifies that if a value from the import source does not exist in the target table, a new record should not be created. This is achieved by ensuring the "Create" checkbox on the Transform Map is unchecked. When "Create" is unchecked and no matching record is found (based on the coalesce settings), the system's default action is to ignore the source row and proceed to the next one. No new record is created, and no existing record is updated.

A. Reject: This is a more explicit action, typically set via script (action = 'reject'), which stops the transformation for that specific row and logs it in the import log as an error.

B. Create: This option is the direct opposite of the requirement. Selecting 'Create' would instruct the system to generate a new record when no matching record is found.

C. Delete: This action is not a standard option for handling non-matching source records during an import process. It is not relevant to the scenario of creating or updating records.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Create a transform map:

In the section describing the fields on the Table Transform Map form

the "Create" field is defined: "Select this check box to create a record when a matching record is not found." This directly implies that to not create a record

this box must be unchecked

and the resulting action is to skip (or ignore) the row.

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Transform map scripts:

The documentation on onBefore transform scripts explains the special action variable. It states: "action = 'ignore'; //Do not process this row". This confirms that 'ignore' is the official term for the action of skipping a row during transformation

which is the default behavior for non-matching rows when the "Create" option is disabled.

After running reconciliation in ServiceNow Software Asset Management (SAM), the software model results page (or License Workbench) displays the compliance position. If a license deficit exists, ServiceNow provides several remediation options. Besides creating a purchase order to acquire new licenses, a primary remediation action is to create removal candidates. This process identifies unlicensed software installations and generates change requests or catalog tasks to have the software uninstalled from specific devices, thereby reducing consumption and bringing the organization back into compliance.

A. Update license metrics: License metrics are configured on the software model record itself. This is a configuration step, not a direct remediation action taken from the compliance results page.

B. Create allocations: Allocations are used to reserve license rights for specific users or devices from an entitlement record before reconciliation. It is not a remediation action performed after a compliance deficit is identified.

D. Remove software products: A software product is a definition from the content library. To remediate non-compliance, you remove software installations from devices, not the entire software product record.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Remediate your license position: "When your software model is non-compliant

you can remediate the license position by either purchasing new software rights or removing unlicensed software installations." This document explicitly lists the two main remediation paths. (ServiceNow. (2024). Remediate your license position. Washington DC release documentation. Section: Software Asset Management).

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Create removal candidates: "If a software model is in a state of non-compliance

you can create a removal candidate to track the process of removing the software installation." This page details the process that directly corresponds to option C. (ServiceNow. (2024). Create removal candidates. Washington DC release documentation. Section: Software Asset Management).

The samdeveloper role is specifically designed for users who need to create or customize content within the Software Asset Management (SAM) application. According to official ServiceNow documentation, the samdeveloper role contains the scriptwriter role, but scoped specifically to the SAM application. This grants a user the ability to write and modify scripts, such as those required for creating custom license metrics or custom product definitions, without granting them global scripting permissions that could affect the entire platform.

A. discoveradmin: This role is for administering the Discovery application, which finds devices and software on the network, but it does not grant scripting rights within the SAM application.

B. samadmin: While this role has broad administrative access to configure SAM features, the specific, scoped script-writing capability is explicitly bundled within the samdeveloper role.

D. asset: This is a foundational role for managing asset records (Create, Read, Update, Delete). It does not include any administrative or development permissions like scripting.

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation: "Software Asset Management roles and personas"

Reference Details: On this page

the description for the samdeveloper role explicitly states: "Creates and customizes Software Asset Management content such as custom license metrics

custom publishers

and custom software products. This role contains the samuser role and the scriptwriter role for the Software Asset Management application scope." This directly confirms that the samdeveloper role provides the script writing capability for SAM.

Downgrade/Upgrade: These are specific software entitlement rights. Downgrade rights permit a user to run a previous version of the software, while upgrade rights (often included in maintenance or subscription) entitle a user to future versions as they are released.

Software Subscription: This is a licensing model where the right to use the software is granted for a finite, recurring period (e.g., monthly or yearly). Use is contingent on payment, fitting the definition of "a limited amount of time."

Client Access: A Client Access License (CAL) is a common license type in server environments. It grants a specific user (User CAL) or device (Device CAL) the legal right to access and utilize the services of a server product.

Publisher Pack: In Software Asset Management (SAM) tools, a Publisher Pack is a data add-on that provides publisher-specific licensing rules, product use rights, and reporting templates. These are used to populate and run compliance dashboards.

Downgrade/Upgrade (Downgrade Rights):

Source: Microsoft Product Terms

Reference: In the "Universal License Terms" section, under "Software," the "Downgrade Rights" subsection details the specific entitlements for using prior versions of software for which a customer is licensed.

Software Subscription:

Source: Microsoft Licensing Documentation

Reference: The "Subscription licensing" overview explains that subscriptions provide "rights to use software products... for a defined period." This contrasts with perpetual licenses, which grant rights "in perpetuity."

Client Access:

Source: Microsoft Licensing Documentation

Reference: The "Client Access Licenses (CAL) & Management Licenses" guide defines a CAL as a license "that gives a user or device the right to access the services of a server."

Publisher Pack:

Source: Flexera (Official Vendor Documentation for SAM tools)

Reference: The "FlexNet Manager Platform" documentation describes the "Application Recognition Library and Publisher Packs" as containing the necessary data (SKUs, use rights, rules) "to build reports and dashboards" for managing software compliance and optimization.