AWS events-driven discovery

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of AWS events-driven discovery

    AWS events-driven discovery integrates Amazon Web Services (AWS) Config service with ServiceNow to automatically update the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) based on changes in AWS cloud resources. AWS Config sends lifecycle or configuration change events through Simple Notification Service (SNS) notifications to the ServiceNow Cloud Events REST API, enabling real-time synchronization of resource data.

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    Key Features

    • Event Reception and Processing: The ServiceNow instance receives AWS Config events classified as SubscriptionConfirmation, ConfigurationItemChangeNotification, or CloudWatch tag change events, which are stored in the Cloud Events [sncmpcloudevent] table.
    • Batch Processing: The Cloud Event Scheduler processes events in the Ready state using response mappings or discovery patterns to update or create Configuration Items (CIs) in the CMDB.
    • Configurable Update Method: The sncmp.cloudevent.useresponsemappingaws property (default True since Australia release) determines whether response mappings or discovery patterns update the CMDB, offering flexibility in handling events.
    • Scalability: The sncmp.cloudevent.parallelschedulercount property allows running multiple Cloud Event Schedulers in parallel to scale event processing according to event inflow rates.
    • Domain Assignment and Error Handling: The scheduler assigns events to service account domains. To prevent failed events from being visible to all domains, the sncmp.errorevents.defaultdomain property can restrict visibility of errored events to the service-provider domain administrator.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables automated, near real-time updates of AWS resource configurations in the CMDB, ensuring accurate and current asset data.
    • Reduces manual effort and errors by leveraging AWS event notifications and automated processing workflows.
    • Supports high event volumes with scalable processing options for large or dynamic AWS environments.
    • Offers control over event handling and domain visibility to maintain security and data integrity across service domains.

    The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Config service can raise events for any changes in the life-cycle state or the configuration of a cloud resource. The ServiceNow® event-driven discovery uses the events to auto-update the latest resource information in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

    Figure 1. Overview of the AWS events-driven discovery
    Overview of the AWS events-driven discovery
    Configure the AWS Config service to send Simple Notification Service (SNS) notifications to the ServiceNow instance. For more information, see Configure AWS Config event notifications. After you configure the service, it starts sending event notifications to the ServiceNow Cloud Events REST API. When an event meets any one of the following criteria, the API writes it to the Cloud Events [sn_cmp_cloud_event] table:
    • The Type of the event is SubscriptionConfirmation.
    • The Type of the event is Notification and messageType is ConfigurationItemChangeNotification.
    • Amazon CloudWatch has raised the event for a change in the tag associated with the Configuration Item (CI).

    The Cloud Event Scheduler then picks the events in the Ready state for batch processing. During event processing, the event-driven discovery uses response mappings or patterns to update the details of the affected resource in the CMDB. The sn_cmp.cloud_event.use_response_mapping_aws property determines the CMDB update method. To understand the status of an event, review its state in the Cloud Events [sn_cmp_cloud_event] table.

    Starting with the Australia release, the sn_cmp.cloud_event.use_response_mapping_aws property is set to True by default. When this property is set to True, and suitable response mappings are available, the event-driven discovery uses the response mappings to create or update the CI in the CMDB. Otherwise, the event-driven discovery triggers the appropriate patterns to discover the affected resource and create or update the CI in the CMDB.

    Starting with the Australia release, use the sn_cmp.cloud_event.parallel_scheduler_count property to scale the Cloud Event Scheduler per the event inflow rate. Running multiple cloud event schedulers in parallel helps to improve the event processing rate of the instance. For more information on scaling the Cloud Event Schedulers, see Scale the AWS cloud event schedulers.

    During event processing, the Cloud Event Scheduler identifies the domain of the service account and assigns to the event. If an error occurs in identifying the domain before processing, the event can sometimes stay unassigned and become visible to all domains. To prevent the failed events visibility to all domains, you can set the sn_cmp.error_events.default_domain property to sys_id of the service-provider domain so that the failed events appears only to the service-provider domain administrator.