Approximated lifecycle and lifecycle code

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Approximated Lifecycle and Lifecycle Code

    The ServiceNow® Content library portal provides expanded lifecycle coverage for hardware and consumable models when official lifecycle dates are not available from manufacturers. In these cases, approximated lifecycle dates are generated using data-driven logic to estimate lifecycle phases. These dates are accompanied by specific lifecycle codes to indicate their approximate nature.

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    Key Features

    • Lifecycle Codes: Codes such as Exception Codes (EXC) and End-of-Phase Codes (END) clarify when explicit dates are unavailable.
    • Hardware Lifecycle Code Table: This table stores approximation codes and descriptions for lifecycle records generated through approximation logic.
    • Scheduled Job: The HAM – Hardware Life cycles job retrieves and loads lifecycle dates from the ServiceNow Content Service into designated tables.
    • System Property: The property approximatedatesinhwlifecycle determines whether only actual dates or both actual and approximated dates are loaded. The default setting is True, allowing both types.

    Key Outcomes

    Customers can identify models with approximated lifecycle dates through the Lifecycle code column in the Hardware Model Lifecycles and Consumable Model Lifecycles tables. If a lifecycle code is present, it indicates that the lifecycle phase and dates are approximated. Conversely, an empty column signifies confirmed dates from the manufacturer. Note that users cannot set lifecycle codes for custom lifecycle records created manually; these codes are exclusive to records obtained from the ServiceNow Content Service.

    Leverage the expanded lifecycle coverage for hardware and consumable models available in the ServiceNow® Content library portal when explicit dates from the manufacturer aren’t available. Hardware models with approximated lifecycle dates contain a lifecycle code that indicates the dates are approximate.

    When manufacturers don’t publish official life cycle dates for certain hardware models and consumables, the  ServiceNow® Content Service generates approximated life cycle dates. The approximated lifecycle dates are derived using data-driven approximation logic to determine the most likely life cycle phase dates for the hardware and consumable models.

    The estimated life cycle dates are categorized using specific lifecycle codes. These codes indicate that the lifecycle dates aren’t the explicit dates published by the manufacturer. When lifecycle dates are unavailable for any models, codes such as Exception Codes (EXC) and End-of-Phase Codes (END) are assigned to those models. These codes provide clarification regarding the absence of these dates.

    The Hardware Lifecycle code [sn_ itam_common_lifecycle_code] table stores the approximation codes and its description for the lifecycle records that are curated through approximation logic. For a detailed explanation of lifecycle codes, see https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB2726382.

    The Lifecycle code column in the Hardware Lifecycle Definition [sn_hamp_lifecycle_definition] table indicates the approximate code for a model's lifecycle. This column references the Lifecycle code column in the Hardware Lifecycle Code [sn_hamp_lifecycle_code] table.

    Load approximated lifecycle date for hardware and consumable models

    The scheduled job HAM – Hardware Life cycles retrieves the life cycles date that is published by the ServiceNow Content Service and loads them into the following tables:
    • cmdb_hardware_model_lifecycle (for hardware models)
    • cmdb_consumable_model_lifecycle (for consumable models)
    The system property approximate_dates_in_hw_lifecycle determines whether only manufacturer-provided actual dates or both actual and approximated dates are loaded into the hardware and consumable life cycle tables. The default value of the system property approximate_dates_in_hw_lifecycle is True.
    • If this property is set to False, only the actual life cycles from the manufacturer are loaded into the hardware and consumable life cycle tables.
    • If it is set to True, both actual and approximated life cycles are loaded into the hardware and consumable life cycle tables.

    Identifying models with approximated lifecycle dates

    In both the Hardware Model Lifecycles [cmdb_hardware_model_lifecycle] and Consumable Model Lifecycles [cmdb_consumable_model_lifecycle] tables, as well as in the Model management view within the Hardware Asset Workspace, the Lifecycle code column indicates if the model’s lifecycle phase and dates have been approximated.
    • If the Lifecycle code column contains a value, the model's lifecycle phase and dates are based on an approximated lifecycle code.
    • If the Lifecycle code column is empty, the model's lifecycle dates are confirmed or explicit dates published by the manufacturer.
    • If the Lifecycle code column contains a value, and the model's lifecycle phase and dates are empty, the Lifecycle code column indicates the reason for the absence of these dates.
    Note:
    When manually adding a new lifecycle record, such as a custom lifecycle or calculated lifecycle, you can't add a lifecycle code value. The lifecycle code is only available for lifecycle records that come directly from the ServiceNow Content Service and can’t be set for the user created lifecycle records.