How life-cycle values for Asset, CI, and IBI are synced

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated May 11, 2026
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of How life-cycle values for Asset, CI, and IBI are synced

    ServiceNow enables your organization to synchronize life-cycle values across Assets, Configuration Items (CIs), and Install Base Items (IBIs) to enhance management and reporting accuracy. This synchronization aligns legacy status values with the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) life cycle stage and status values, ensuring consistency and real-time updates across related records.

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    How Life-Cycle Values Are Synced

    An Install Base Item (IBI) represents any service or product provided to customers and is linked to Assets and CIs via the Model category table. The synchronization between these entities depends on specific system property settings:

    • Asset and IBI: By default, life-cycle values sync using CSDM life cycle stage and status pairs.
    • Asset and CI: Controlled by two system properties:
      • csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated (must be true to activate synchronization)
      • csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated (false by default)
        • If false, synchronization uses legacy status and substatus values.
        • If true, synchronization uses direct mapping between CSDM life cycle stage and status values, which is recommended for improved accuracy.

    Synchronization Behavior Based on System Property Settings

    When csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated is false (default)

    • From Asset to IBI and CI: Updates to an asset’s status or substatus sync to IBI and CI using CSDM life cycle stages and legacy fields respectively.
    • From IBI to Asset and CI: Changes to IBI life cycle stages sync back to asset legacy status and substatus, which then propagate to the CI.
    • From CI to Asset and IBI: CI status and substatus updates sync to asset legacy fields, which then update the IBI life cycle stages.

    When csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated is true

    • From Asset to CI and IBI: Asset legacy status and substatus updates are mapped to CSDM life cycle stages and synced directly to the CI’s status values. Sync to IBI occurs only through CSDM life cycle value pairs.
    • From IBI to Asset and CI: IBI life cycle stages sync to asset legacy fields and then to CI status and substatus, with direct syncing of life cycle values between asset and CI.
    • From CI to Asset and IBI: CI life cycle stages sync directly to asset, updating legacy fields, which then sync back to CI and IBI accordingly.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Maintains consistent and accurate life-cycle status across Assets, CIs, and IBIs, essential for asset management and service delivery.
    • Enables leveraging the CSDM framework to standardize status tracking and reporting.
    • Provides flexibility to use legacy values or adopt direct CSDM life cycle synchronization based on organizational preferences.
    • Improves visibility into the operational state of items tracked as assets, CIs, or IBIs, supporting better decision making.

    Enabling Life-Cycle Sync

    To enable the enhanced CSDM life cycle synchronization, set the system properties accordingly or use the “Enable life cycle sync” option on the Life cycle mappings list view. Activating these settings ensures direct mapping and synchronization, delivering improved integration between asset, CI, and IBI life-cycle statuses.

    Your organization gains significant value from your ServiceNow AI Platform applications when you take advantage of the option to directly map legacy status values to CSDM life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values and auto-sync the values going forward.

    How Asset, CI, and IBI life-cycle values are synced

    Any item that is provided as a service or sold to your customer is tracked as an Install Base Item (IBI). The Model category table associates Asset, CI, and IBI for the item.
    Sync between asset and IBI
    By default, the system syncs life-cycle values between asset and IBI using the CSDM life cycle stage and life cycle stage status life-cycle value pairs.
    Synchronization between asset and CI
    When the csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated system property is set to true on your instance, synchronization between the asset and CI tables depends on the csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated system property setting:
    • When the property is set to false (default), synchronization occurs through the legacy status and substatus values.
    • When the property is set to true, the system syncs the CSDM life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values directly. This option provides significant benefits to your organization.
      Important:
      The property is set to true when you select Enable life cycle sync on the Life cycle mappings list view.

    Life-cycle sync when the system property is set to false (the default setting)

    Sync when the system property is false.

    When the CSDM (csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated) plugin is activated on your instance and the csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated system property is set to false:

    Sync of updates from asset to IBI and CI
    Updates made to the status or substatus value of an asset are synced with the associated IBI and CI. For example, when the State value of the asset is updated to In use, sync happens as follows:
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset are set to Operational and In use, these values are then synced with life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of IBI asset.
    • The status and substatus values of the CI change to Installed and In use.
    Sync of updates from IBI to asset and CI
    Updates made to the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of an IBI asset are synced with the legacy status and substatus values of the asset through the CSDM values. The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the associated CI. For example, when the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of an IBI asset are updated to Defective and In Stock, sync happens as follows.
    1. The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset change to In Stock and Defective. These values are synced with the status and substatus values of the asset.
    2. The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the associated CI.
    Sync of updates from CI to asset and IBI
    Updates made to the status and substatus values of a CI are synced with the associated asset. The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the IBI asset through the CSDM values. For example, when the status and substatus values of a CI are updated to Retired and Donated, the corresponding values of the asset change. The changes from the asset are synced with the IBI asset and the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values change to End of Life and Retired.

    Life-cycle sync when the system property is set to true

    Sync when the system property is true or you select Enable life cycle sync on the Life cycle mappings list view.

    When the CSDM (csdm.lifecycle.migration.activated) plugin is activated on your instance and the csdm.lifecycle.sync.between.ci.and.asset.activated system property is set to true (or you select the select Enable life cycle sync on the Life cycle mapping table list page, as described in Enabling CSDM life-cycle sync between legacy fields and related assets):

    Sync of updates from asset to CI and IBI
    Updates made to the legacy status and substatus values of the asset are synced between the asset and CI as follows:
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset are updated with values mapped to the legacy status and substatus values of the asset.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are then directly synced with the status and substatus values of the associated CI.
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the asset are then directly synced with the associated CI.

    However, sync of updates from asset to IBI is only through the CSDM life-cycle value pairs.

    Sync of updates from IBI to asset and CI
    Updates made to the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the IBI are synced as follows:
    • The legacy status and substatus values of the asset are synced with the CSDM life-cycle value pairs.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are synced with the status and substatus values of the associated CI.
    • The life-cycle value pairs of the asset are directly synced with the associated CI.
    Sync of updates from CI to asset and IBI
    Updates made to the life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of a CI are synced as follows:
    • The life cycle stage and life cycle stage status values of the CI are directly synced with the associated asset.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are then updated with the values mapped to the CSDM values.
    • The status and substatus values of the asset are then synced with the associated CI.
    • The status and substatus values of IBI are synced with the asset through the CSDM life-cycle value pairs.