AWS Auto Scaling groups discovery with Patterns

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  • Updated March 12, 2026
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    Summary of AWS Auto Scaling groups discovery with Patterns

    The Discovery application in ServiceNow uses the Amazon AWS - AutoScaling Groups (LP) pattern along with Auto Scaling extensions to identify and collect data on AWS Auto Scaling groups. This capability requires the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application, preferably version 1.0.95 or later, to ensure automatic collection of Auto Scaling tags and accurate resource discovery. Customers may need to update their patterns from the ServiceNow Store to access the latest features and improvements.

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    Prerequisites

    • AWS Credentials: Configure AWS Credentials on your ServiceNow instance and activate them for Discovery to access AWS APIs.
    • Cloud Service Account: Set up a valid AWS service account in ServiceNow to enable authenticated discovery processes.
    • User Permissions: Grant permissions to execute the AWS API call DescribeAutoScalingGroups which is essential for retrieving Auto Scaling group details.
    • Discovery Schedule: Create and configure a cloud application schedule in ServiceNow to run AWS Auto Scaling group discovery effectively.
    • Table Configuration: Verify key fields on the Instance Scale Set table (cmdbciinstancescaleset) such as desired capacity, minimum size, maximum size, and health check type for accurate data mapping.
    • API Permissions Validation: Use the Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet to ensure appropriate user permissions and stay updated with new patterns released quarterly.

    Data Collection and CMDB Integration

    During discovery, the Amazon AWS - AutoScaling Groups (LP) pattern populates key data into the CMDB, especially into the cmdbciinstancescaleset and cmdbcivminstance tables. Important fields captured include the Amazon Resource Name (ARN), desired capacity, minimum and maximum size, operational and install status of the Auto Scaling group, as well as instance IDs for virtual machines.

    Relationships and Tag Discovery

    • Discovery establishes relationships between AWS Datacenter, Instance Scale Sets, Service Accounts, and Virtual Machine Instances. Notably, starting with version 1.29.0 of Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns, the relationship between Instance Scale Set and VM Instance uses Managed by::Manages instead of Members::Member of.
    • Tags associated with Auto Scaling groups are collected using the pattern and stored in the cmdbkeyvalue table, linking each tag's key and value to its corresponding Instance Scale Set CI.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automates the discovery and inventory of AWS Auto Scaling groups within ServiceNow CMDB, enhancing visibility into cloud infrastructure.
    • Enables accurate configuration management and operational status tracking of Auto Scaling resources.
    • Supports improved cloud resource governance by capturing tags and establishing correct CI relationships.
    • Facilitates easier troubleshooting, capacity planning, and compliance by maintaining up-to-date AWS scaling group data.

    The ® Discovery application uses the Amazon AWS - AutoScaling Groups (LP) pattern and Auto Scaling extensions to find AWS Auto Scaling groups. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    Starting with Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns version 1.0.95, the pattern extension is automatically displayed and collects the Auto Scaling tags.

    Request apps on the Store

    Visit the ServiceNow Store to view all the available apps, and for information about submitting requests to the store. For cumulative release notes information for all released apps, see the ServiceNow Store version history release notes.

    Prerequisites

    Configure AWS Credentials
    On your instance, configure credentials of type AWS Credentials and set them to Active. For more information, see Access setup for AWS service accounts.
    Configure a Cloud service account
    Configure the AWS service account valid in the ServiceNow instance. For more information, see Set up AWS service accounts.
    Configure user permissions to execute the list AWS Auto Scaling groups API call
    Provide the user permission to run the following API: https://autoscaling.amazonaws.com/?Action=DescribeAutoScalingGroups&Version=2011-01-01
    For more information, see Amazon AWS Cloud components discovery using patterns.
    Configure Cloud Discovery schedule
    Create a cloud application schedule for discovering AWS Auto Scaling groups and configure the attributes. Set Discovery to Cloud application. For more information, see Create schedules for discovering cloud resources in Cloud Discovery Workspace
    Configure AWS Auto Scaling groups
    Navigate to the Instance Scale Set table and verify that the configurations are set as follows:
    Table 1. Verify fields for table- [cmdb_ci_instance_scale_set]
    Element Name Type Label Max Length
    desired_capacity integer Desired Capacity 32
    min_size integer Minimum Size 32
    max_size integer Maximum Size 32
    health_check_type string Health Check Type 128

    Verify the REST API Permissions

    Download the Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet so you can grant user permissions required for running the Discovery patterns. In addition to permissions, the spreadsheet also includes useful information such as pattern names, types, CI Classes, and links to vendor documentation. New patterns are available quarterly, so check periodically to be sure you have the latest version of the spreadsheet.

    Note:
    You can test the AWS REST APIs using Postman API platform. For more information, see the How to test AWS REST API using POSTMAN [KB0782183] article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Amazon AWS - AutoScaling Groups (LP) pattern.

    Table 2. Instance Scale Set [cmdb_ci_instance_scale_set]
    Field Description
    Name [name] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) of the Auto Scaling group.
    Object ID [object_id] The ARN of the Auto Scaling group.
    Install Status [install_status] The install status of Auto Scaling group. Default value is Installed.
    Operational status [operational_status] The operational status of Auto Scaling group. Default value is Operational.
    Desired Capacity [desired_capacity] The desired size of the group.
    Maximum Size [max_size] The maximum size of the group.
    Minimum Size [min_size] The minimum size of the group.
    Table 3. Virtual Machine Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] The Instance ID of the Virtual Machine.
    Figure 1. AWS EC2 Auto Scaling– Class model
    cmdb ci instance scale set and cmdb ci vm instance hosted on cmdb ci aws datacenter which is hosted on cmdb ci cloud service account

    Relationships

    Discovery creates these relationships to support the AWS Auto Scaling groups discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter] Hosted on::Hosts Service Account [cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account]
    Instance Scale Set [cmdb_ci_instance_scale_set] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    Instance Scale Set [cmdb_ci_instance_scale_set] *Managed by::Manages VM Instance [cmdb_ci_vm_instance]
    Note:
    EC2 VM
    Key Value [cmdb_key_value] References Instance Scale Set [cmdb_ci_instance_scale_set]
    *Starting with Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns version 1.29.0, the relationship between Instance Scale Set and VM Instance has changed from Members::Member of to Managed by::Manages.

    Tag discovery

    The Amazon AWS - AutoScaling Groups (LP) pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.

    Table 4. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] The key of the resource tag.
    Value [value] The value of the resource tag.
    Configuration item [configuration_item] References the Instance Scale Set [cmdb_ci_instance_scale_set] table.