CIS-SM practice question 5 of 25

In Service Mapping, when discovery is started, what is the execution strategy used to run Identification Sections?

Answer options

A: Identification Sections are executed randomly until one is successful and if more than one section is successful an error will be displayed.

B: Identification Sections are executed randomly and the data gathered by the successful sections are merged.

C: Identification Sections are executed one by one in the order they are listed and the last section that is successful will be used.

D: Identification Sections are executed one by one in the order they are listed until the first successful match which concludes the Identification phase. Correct answer

Correct Answer:

D. Identification Sections are executed one by one in the order they are listed until the first successful match which concludes the Identification phase.

Explanation

The ServiceNow Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) processes Identification Sections (formally known as Identifier Entries) sequentially, not randomly. It executes each section according to its specified 'Order' number, starting with the lowest. The entire identification phase for a given Configuration Item (CI) concludes immediately upon the first successful match. Once a section successfully identifies a CI in the CMDB, the engine stops and does not execute any subsequent Identification Sections for that CI. This ensures a predictable, efficient, and deterministic outcome.

Why Incorrect

A. Execution is sequential based on a defined order, not random. The process stops at the first success, it doesn't continue to find multiple successful sections.
B. Execution is not random, and data from multiple sections is not merged for identification. The process is designed to find a single unique match and stop.
C. The process concludes with the first successful match to ensure efficiency, not the last. Executing all sections even after a match is found would be redundant.

References

1. ServiceNow Product Documentation - CI identification rules: In the section "CI identification process," the documentation states, "For a given CI class, IRE tries the identification rules in the specified order, starting from the lowest order number. When IRE finds a match, it stops, and does not try any other identification rules for that CI class." This principle applies to the entries within a rule as well.

2. ServiceNow Product Documentation - Identifier entries: This page details the components of an identification rule. The 'Order' attribute is described as determining the sequence of execution. The documentation clarifies, "The identification engine tries identifier entries in the order that they are listed... The identification engine stops at the first identifier entry that successfully identifies a CI, and does not continue to the next identifier entry."

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