Getting started with Service Graph Connectors

Release version: Australia

Updated March 12, 2026

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Summary of Getting started with Service Graph Connectors

Service Graph Connectors, including API Service Graph Connectors, are predefined integrations designed to import and integrate third-party data into the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) from various domains like security, servers, software, IoT, and cloud. These connectors ensure third-party data is correctly mapped within the CMDB according to the Common Service Data Model (CSDM), enhancing data quality, consistency, and reporting accuracy.

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Connectors are available from ServiceNow, partners, and vendors, and can be installed or requested via the ServiceNow Store. They support maintaining a coherent and standardized configuration data pipeline by ingesting, standardizing, reconciling, and loading data into your CMDB.

Key Features

Connector Types: Includes Service Graph Connectors and API Service Graph Connectors, each integrating data into CMDB and related tables.
Data Pipeline Management: Automates data ingestion, standardization, reconciliation, and import to maintain CMDB integrity.
Role-Based Access: Defines specific user roles such as Administrator, SGC-admin, CMDB installation administrator, and SGC-viewer to control installation, configuration, monitoring, and management of connectors.
SGC Central Application: A centralized interface within the CMDB Workspace for discovering, installing, managing, and troubleshooting connectors. Features playbook-guided deployment and minimizes customization efforts.
IntegrationHub ETL Support: Enables efficient transformation and loading of data through ETL processes.
Data Governance and Best Practices: Enforces consistent data association with configuration item (CI) types, proper classification using the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE), and prevention of duplicate CIs across multiple data sources.
Issue Resolution: Use the Now Assist for CMDB application to diagnose and fix import issues related to Service Graph Connectors.

Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

Streamlines integration of diverse third-party data sources into a unified, accurate CMDB.
Supports compliance with CSDM to enable better product interoperability and reporting.
Provides role-based controls to secure and delegate connector management appropriately.
Offers a centralized and guided user experience for connector lifecycle management, reducing deployment time and complexity.
Ensures data consistency and prevents duplication, improving CMDB reliability and trustworthiness.
Facilitates rapid diagnosis and resolution of connector-related issues to maintain continuous data flow and CMDB health.

Service Graph Connectors, including API Service Graph Connectors, are predefined integrations that ingest third-party data and API data into the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) from various domains, such as security, servers, software or monitoring, Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud.

Important:

See Service Graph Connectors and API Service Graph Connectors for a list of connectors provided by ServiceNow.

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.

Service Graph Connectors overview

The following video provides an overview of Service Graph Connectors.

As a purpose-built app, you can use a Service Graph Connector, including an API Service Graph Connector, to maintain the quality and consistency of third-party data in your CMDB.

You can use the following connector types:

Service Graph Connectors: A Service Graph Connector imports and integrates third-party data into CMDB and non-CMDB tables. For a list of Service Graph Connectors, see Service Graph Connectors.
API Service Graph Connectors: An API Service Graph Connector imports and integrates third-party API data into CMDB and non-CMDB tables. For a list of API Service Graph Connectors, see API Service Graph Connectors.
Partner-built connectors: Service Graph Connectors can be built by partners and vendors. For a list of partner-built connectors, see the ServiceNow Store website.

The connectors also make sure that third-party data is mapped to the right locations in your CMDB as specified by the Common Service Data Model (CSDM). The CSDM enables ServiceNow products to use the data and increases reporting accuracy. For more information on CSDM, see Common Service Data Model.

The Service Graph Connectors, including API Service Graph Connectors, manage the configuration data pipeline in the following steps:

Ingest the data by identifying class, attribute, and data sources by using the identification rules.
Standardize the data to comply with your CMDB.
Reconcile the data into a single coherent picture by using the reconciliation rules.
Ingest the data into your CMDB.

You can track the status and processing results of all installed integrations using the SGC Central view within the CMDB Workspace or integrations dashboard provided with the Integration Commons for CMDB store app. For more information, see SGC Central, Integration Commons for CMDB, and CMDB Integrations Dashboard.

Service Graph Connector user roles

Service Graph Connector users can be assigned specific roles to limit the assignment of the Administrator (admin) user role. The following roles are available for Service Graph Connector users.

Table 1. User roles
User role	Description
Administrator (admin)	Users with the Administrator (admin) role can install and upgrade Service Graph Connectors, including API Service Graph Connectors. Administrator users can perform the following tasks: Create a connection and configure connection properties. Monitor connections and data imports. Manage connections. Upgrade the connector. Run background scripts. Provide access to tables in the global scope.
SGC-admin (sn_cmdb_int_util.sgc_admin)	The SGC-admin (sn_cmdb_int_util.sgc_admin) user role has the second-highest level of permissions for Service Graph Connectors. SGC-admin users can perform the following tasks: Create, update, and delete connections. Configure connectors using the guided setup. Read and write the system properties that are used by the connectors. Perform all operations that are allowed by other user roles that have lower levels of permission.
CMDB installation administrator (cmdb_inst_admin)	Users with the CMDB (cmdb_inst_admin) role can use IntegrationHub ETL to create and customize integrations. CMDB installation administrator users can perform the following tasks: Read all Service Graph Connector application modules. Read and write the system properties that are used by the connectors. Create, update, and delete custom tables. Create, update, and delete scheduled imports and data sources. Read records that are owned by other applications and are related to the functionality of Service Graph Connectors (for instance, records in the em_event table).
SGC-viewer (sn_cmdb_int_util.sgc_viewer)	Users with the SGC-viewer (sn_cmdb_int_util.sgc_viewer) role can monitor the status of the integration. SGC-viewer users can perform the following tasks: View all application modules. View CCF. View available SGC connections in cmdb workspace. Read the system properties used by the connectors. View scheduled import runs and related logs. View data sources. View custom tables. View records that are owned by other applications and are related to the functionality of Service Graph Connectors (for instance, records in the em_event table).

Using SGC Central for connectors

The Service Graph Connector Central application also called as SGC Central is available as a view in the CMDB Workspace. The application enables you to discover and install Service Graph Connectors, including API Service Graph Connectors, and then effectively manage the full life cycle of creating, editing, monitoring, and debugging connections. The SGC Central application also ensures that connectors remain supported and up-to-date with certified partners.

The SGC Central application minimizes customization and accelerates time to value with intuitive setup options and playbook-guided connector deployment. If the playbook experience isn’t available for a connector, you can follow the guided setup provided with the connector.

To learn more, see SGC Central.

Using connectors

By using Service Graph Connectors and API Service Graph Connectors, you can mandate data governance and design practices. Examples of mandated practices using connectors include:

Consistently associating data with specific CI types. For instance, IP addresses are assigned to network interfaces rather than a mix of interfaces and servers. Ensuring that ServiceNow products know where to find third-party data. For more information, see CMDB classifications and class dependency.
Using the Identification and Reconciliation (IRE) engine to identify and classify data correctly before it’s loaded into the CMDB. Helping prevent duplicate CIs and ensuring that attribute values are consistent across multiple data sources.
For information on the IRE-related rules used in Service Graph Connectors, see the following topics:
Using the IntegrationHub ETL functionality so that data is transformed and loaded in the fastest and most efficient manner. For more information, see IntegrationHub ETL.

Resolving connector issues

You can use the Now Assist for Configuration Management Database (CMDB) application to resolve any issues or perform a general analysis on a connector installed on your instance. See Fix SGC import set issues with the Now Assist SGC diagnosis skill.