cmdb_ci_server Table — ServiceNow Reference

Table Reference/cmdb_ci_server

The cmdb_ci_server table stores Configuration Items representing physical and virtual servers in your CMDB. Owned by the CMDB module, it extends cmdb_ci and requires understanding of CI state management and discovery relationships before querying effectively.

What This Table Is

The cmdb_ci_server table stores Configuration Items representing both physical and virtual servers in your CMDB. These are the compute resources that run your applications — from bare metal servers in data centers to AWS EC2 instances to VMware VMs. Each record represents a single server instance with its hardware specifications, operating system, and operational status.

This table is owned by the CMDB module and serves as the foundation for infrastructure visibility and service mapping. Discovery processes populate server records automatically, while manual processes handle edge cases and legacy systems. The table supports the entire ITIL configuration management process — from initial discovery through change management to incident response.

Server CIs extend cmdb_ci and inherit all base CI functionality including state management, change control, and relationship mapping. Specialized server types like cmdb_ci_linux_server and cmdb_ci_win_server extend this table to add OS-specific fields and behaviors.

Large enterprises typically see 10,000-100,000+ server records with high update frequency from discovery. Performance matters here — poorly written queries against cmdb_ci_server can impact platform performance. The table includes several indexed fields for common queries, but joining to related tables requires careful consideration of query execution plans.

When You'll Script Against This Table

You'll query cmdb_ci_server primarily in Business Rules during incident assignment (finding servers by location or team), Script Includes for service mapping and dependency analysis, and Scheduled Jobs for compliance reporting and health monitoring. Discovery scripts constantly update these records, making onChange Business Rules common for triggering downstream processes.

The itil role provides read access, while admin or cmdb_admin enables modifications. Discovery processes run with elevated privileges, but custom scripts must respect ACL boundaries. Some organizations implement record-level security based on server location or support group.

Incident assignment based on server location or support team
Service mapping dependency calculations and impact analysis
Compliance reporting for patching, licensing, and security standards
Capacity planning queries aggregating CPU, memory, and storage metrics
Discovery correlation and duplicate detection during automated updates
Change request validation ensuring servers are in appropriate states
Asset lifecycle management tracking deployment and retirement dates

Table Gotchas

⚠️

The install_status field uses numeric values (1=Installed, 6=Retired, 7=Stolen) but many developers incorrectly query with string values. Always use the numeric constants or sys_choice queries to get the right values.

Virtual servers may have both host_name and dns_domain populated differently than physical servers — discovery sets these based on VM configuration vs network detection

⚠️

The operational_status field can be misleading — a server showing '1' (Operational) may actually be powered off if discovery hasn't run recently. Always check last_discovered timestamp when making operational decisions.

Queries joining to cmdb_rel_ci for relationship data can be expensive — use GlideAggregate when counting relationships rather than iterating GlideRecord results
The correlation_id field is auto-generated and used by Discovery for duplicate detection — never manually modify this field as it breaks discovery correlation

💡

When querying by IP address, remember that servers can have multiple IPs. Query the cmdb_ci_network_adapter table and join via cmdb_rel_ci relationships for comprehensive IP-based searches.

Child tables like cmdb_ci_linux_server inherit ACLs but may have additional field-level security — test permissions thoroughly when accessing OS-specific fields

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Server CIs inherit from cmdb_ci and share its state management, relationship handling, and audit trail functionality. Understanding the parent table's field behaviors and ACL structure is essential before working with server-specific logic. Child tables include cmdb_ci_linux_server, cmdb_ci_win_server, and cmdb_ci_esx_server which add OS-specific fields and discovery patterns.

Most server queries involve cmdb_rel_ci for dependency mapping, sys_user_group for support team assignments, and cmn_location for data center and geographic information. The cmdb_ci_network_adapter relationship provides IP address details essential for network-based queries and incident correlation.

Incident management frequently joins incident records to server CIs via the cmdb_ci reference field, while change management uses change_request and task_ci relationships for impact analysis. Asset management connects through alm_asset for financial tracking and lifecycle management of the underlying hardware.

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Overview

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Internals

Instance:sourdoughdev·Version:Yokohama

Instance StateONLINE

System StatusFully Operational

Session Timeout90 minutes

Logged-In Sessions2 (20 active)

Build Nameyokohama-12-18-2024_p1

IP Address10.159.128.43

Instance HealthHealth Score: 90%

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Key Fields

Column	Type	Label	Notes
name	string	Name	Primary identifier for the server, typically the hostname. Must be unique and is used extensively in discovery correlation and relationship mapping.
host_name	string	Host name	The network hostname without domain. Discovery populates this from OS hostname commands, and it may differ from the Name field in virtualized environments.
dns_domain	string	DNS Domain	The DNS domain suffix for this server. Combined with host_name to create FQDN for network operations and monitoring integrations.
ip_address	string	IP Address	Primary management IP address for the server. May not reflect all network interfaces — use cmdb_rel_ci relationships to network adapters for complete IP inventory.
operational_status	choice	Operational status	Current operational state (1=Operational, 2=Non-Operational, etc.). Set by discovery but can become stale if discovery fails — not real-time server status.
install_status	integer	Install Status	Lifecycle status using numeric values (1=Installed, 6=Retired, 7=Stolen). Critical for asset management queries but often confused with operational_status.
os	string	Operating System	Operating system name and version detected by discovery. Format varies by discovery source and may require normalization for reporting consistency.
os_version	string	OS Version	Detailed OS version information including patch levels. Essential for compliance reporting but format inconsistencies require careful parsing in scripts.
cpu_count	integer	CPU count	Number of CPU cores detected by discovery. For virtual machines, this reflects allocated vCPUs rather than physical CPU cores on the host.
cpu_speed	integer	CPU speed (MHz)	CPU speed in MHz as reported by the operating system. May show virtualized values for VMs that don't reflect actual physical CPU specifications.
memory	integer	RAM (MB)	Total system memory in megabytes. Discovery reports available memory to OS, which may be less than physical RAM due to hardware reservations.
disk_space	float	Disk space (GB)	Total disk storage in gigabytes across all drives. Represents capacity, not usage — use storage device relationships for detailed disk utilization data.
classification	choice	Classification	CI classification (Production, Development, Test, etc.). Critical for change management approval workflows and incident prioritization rules.
environment	choice	Environment	Deployment environment designation. Often drives automated assignment rules and change approval processes, so must be accurately maintained.
location	reference	Location	Reference to cmn_location table for physical or logical placement. Used extensively in incident assignment and disaster recovery planning workflows.
support_group	reference	Support group	Reference to sys_user_group for the team responsible for this server. Primary driver for automated incident assignment and change approval routing.
owned_by	reference	Owned by	Reference to sys_user table for the business or technical owner. Used in approval workflows and accountability tracking for changes.
managed_by	reference	Managed by	Reference to sys_user table for day-to-day management responsibility. Often differs from owned_by and drives operational notifications.
correlation_id	string	Correlation ID	Auto-generated unique identifier used by Discovery for duplicate detection and CI correlation. Never modify manually or discovery updates will fail.
last_discovered	glide_date_time	Last discovered	Timestamp of most recent successful discovery scan. Essential for data freshness validation — stale data older than discovery schedule indicates issues.
virtual	boolean	Virtual	Indicates if this is a virtual machine rather than physical hardware. Affects capacity planning calculations and licensing compliance reporting.

Common Queries

Get all active server CIs with basic filtering

// Most basic server query - active servers only
var gr = new GlideRecord('cmdb_ci_server');
gr.addQuery('install_status', 1); // Installed
gr.addQuery('operational_status', 1); // Operational
gr.query();

while (gr.next()) {
    gs.info('Server: ' + gr.name + ' (' + gr.ip_address + ')');
}

gs.info('Found ' + gr.getRowCount() + ' active servers');

Find servers by environment and support group for incident assignment

// Production servers managed by specific team
var gr = new GlideRecord('cmdb_ci_server');
gr.addQuery('install_status', 1);
gr.addQuery('environment', 'production');
gr.addQuery('support_group.name', 'Infrastructure Team');
gr.addQuery('location.name', 'STARTSWITH', 'NYC'); // Servers in NYC locations
gr.orderBy('name');
gr.query();

while (gr.next()) {
    gs.info(gr.name + ' - ' + gr.support_group.getDisplayValue());
}

Get Windows servers needing patching based on OS version

// Find Windows servers for patch management
var gr = new GlideRecord('cmdb_ci_server');
gr.addQuery('install_status', 1);
gr.addQuery('os', 'CONTAINS', 'Windows Server');
// Look for servers not updated recently
var thirtyDaysAgo = new GlideDateTime();
thirtyDaysAgo.addDaysUTC(-30);
gr.addQuery('last_discovered', '<', thirtyDaysAgo);
gr.addQuery('classification', 'Production');
gr.query();

gs.info('Found ' + gr.getRowCount() + ' Windows servers needing attention');

Count servers by operating system using GlideAggregate

// Aggregate server count by OS for capacity planning
var ga = new GlideAggregate('cmdb_ci_server');
ga.addQuery('install_status', 1);
ga.addQuery('operational_status', 1);
ga.groupBy('os');
ga.addAggregate('COUNT');
ga.query();

while (ga.next()) {
    var os = ga.os || 'Unknown';
    var count = ga.getAggregate('COUNT');
    gs.info('OS: ' + os + ' - Count: ' + count);
}

Wrong way vs right way to query by IP address

// WRONG: Only finds servers where ip_address field matches
// var gr = new GlideRecord('cmdb_ci_server');
// gr.addQuery('ip_address', '10.1.1.100');

// RIGHT: Find servers with any network interface matching IP
var gr = new GlideRecord('cmdb_ci_server');
// Join through relationships to network adapters
var qc = gr.addJoinQuery('cmdb_rel_ci', 'sys_id', 'parent');
qc.addCondition('type.name', 'Contains::Contained by');
var qc2 = qc.addJoinQuery('cmdb_ci_network_adapter', 'child', 'sys_id');
qc2.addCondition('ip_address', '10.1.1.100');
gr.query();

Related Tables

cmdb_ci cmdb_rel_ci sys_user_group

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