Indirect Discovery using Service Graph Connectors

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Indirect Discovery using Service Graph Connectors

    ServiceNow Telecom Discovery using Service Graph Connectors (SGCs) enables Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to integrate network infrastructure data from external management systems such as EMS, NMS, and SDN Controllers into the Configuration Management Database (CMDB). This integration provides a unified, real-time, and accurate view of multivendor telecom network resources, services, and configurations aligned with the Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) data model. Telecom Service Graph Connectors are part of the TSOM Visibility subscription and extend the standard Service Graph Connector framework.

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    Key Features

    • Data ingestion from EMS/NMS/Controllers using northbound REST APIs.
    • Automatic population and enrichment of CMDB and TNI records with telecom-aligned data.
    • Data reconciliation with existing Configuration Items (CIs) using the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) to ensure consistency and prevent duplicates.
    • Automatic generation of TNI entity records when the TNI plugin is installed, ensuring alignment between operational and planning systems.
    • Support for discrepancy detection and remediation as part of Telecom Discrepancy Identification & Reconciliation.
    • Low-code tools for configuring, testing, and managing integrations end-to-end.

    Architecture and Components

    The architecture is modular and scalable, consisting of:

    • Service Graph Connector: Defines integration logic to extract and stage data from external network systems.
    • MID Server: Acts as a secure communication bridge between ServiceNow and external systems.
    • IntegrationHub ETL: Provides a guided UI for creating and managing ETL transform maps.
    • Robust Transform Engine (RTE): Transforms staged data into CMDB-compliant records.
    • Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE): Identifies and reconciles CIs to maintain data quality.
    • CMDB/TNI: Stores structured telecom infrastructure data for visibility and downstream use.

    Supported Connectors

    • Nokia Altiplano SGC: Integrates via REST APIs with Nokia Altiplano Access Network SDN Controller.
    • Cisco Meraki SGC: Integrates with Cisco Meraki Dashboard.
    • Fortinet SGC: Integrates with FortiManager.
    • Arista VeloCloud SGC: Integrates with VeloCloud Orchestrator.

    These connectors can coexist with IT and Cloud Service Graph Connectors, supporting a broad set of network and infrastructure domains.

    Key Benefits

    • Fast time to value: Predefined connectors minimize configuration efforts.
    • Multivendor support: Enables integration across access, core, and transport network management platforms.
    • Model-aligned visibility: Telecom-specific hierarchies and relationships are accurately modeled in the CMDB.
    • Discrepancy detection ready: Directly feeds network data into Telecom Discrepancy Identification & Reconciliation processes for CMDB compliance.
    • Scalable integration: Leverages ServiceNow’s proven high-performance integration framework.

    Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) Data Model Integration

    When the TNI plugin is installed, each discovered network element includes a corresponding TNI entity record (tnientity) created alongside the CMDB CI record. This is facilitated through system-generated payload mappings (such as inventorycategory), ensuring data consistency between operational and planning systems. The integration ensures that discovered CIs exist in both the cmdbci and tnientity tables, supporting comprehensive network inventory management.

    ServiceNow Telecom Discovery using Service Graph Connectors (SGC s) enables you to seamlessly integrate network infrastructure data from external management systems, such as EMS, NMS, and SDN Controllers, into the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).

    This approach helps Communication Service Providers (CSPs) maintain a current and accurate view of their multivendor telecom network resources, services, and configurations.

    By leveraging predefined connectors and robust data transformation tools, you can unify your inventory across domains and ensure that the CMDB and Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) reflect real-time network insights aligned with your telecom data model.
    Note:
    Telecom Service Graph Connectors are part of the TSOM Visibility subscription and extend the capabilities of the standard Service Graph Connector framework.

    Service Graph Connector overview

    With Telecom SGC, you can:

    • Ingest data from EMS/NMS/Controllers using northbound REST APIs.
    • Automatically populate and update CMDB and TNI records with enriched, telecom-aligned data.
    • Reconcile incoming data with existing CI records using the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE).
    • Generate TNI entity records automatically when the TNI plugin is installed.
    • Support discrepancy detection and remediation as part of Telecom Discrepancy Identification & Reconciliation.
    • Use low-code tools to configure, test, and manage your integrations end-to-end.

    Architecture overview

    Telecom Service Graph Connectors rely on a modular and scalable architecture:
    Table 1. Key components of Service Graph Connector
    Component Role
    Service Graph Connector Defines the integration logic to extract and stage data from EMS/NMS systems (for example, Nokia Altiplano or Nokia NSP).
    MID Server Acts as a secure bridge between your ServiceNow instance and the external network system.

    For more information, see IntegrationHub ETL.
    IntegrationHub ETL (3.2) Provides a guided UI for creating, testing, and managing ETL transform maps.

    For more information, see MID Server.
    Robust Transform Engine (RTE) Transforms staged source data into CMDB-compliant records using defined ETL logic.

    For more information, see Create a robust import set transformer.
    Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) Ensures data consistency and prevents duplicates by identifying and reconciling CIs.

    For more information, see the CMDB Identification and Reconciliation (IRE).
    CMDB/TNI Stores structured, accurate telecom infrastructure data for visibility and downstream processes.

    Supported Service Graph Connectors

    • Nokia Altiplano SGC (sn_sgc_altiplano_connector): Integrates with the Nokia Altiplano Access Network SDN Controller via REST APIs.
    • Cisco Meraki SGC (sn_sgc_meraki_connector): Integrates with the Cisco Meraki Dashboard via REST APIs.
    • Fortinet SGC (sn_sgc_fortinet_connector): Integrates with FortiManager via REST APIs.
    • Arista VeloCloud SGC (sn_sgc_velocloud_connector): Integrates with VeloCloud Orchestrator via REST APIs.
    Note:
    The connector can coexist with IT and Cloud Service Graph Connectors (e.g., for servers, monitoring tools, IoT, etc.).

    Key benefits

    • Fast time to value – Use predefined, supported connectors that require minimal configuration.
    • Multivendor support – Integrate with various management platforms across access, core, and transport networks.
    • Model-aligned visibility – Ensure telecom-specific hierarchy and relationships are accurately modeled in the CMDB.
    • Discrepancy detection ready – Feed network data directly into Telecom Discrepancy Identification & Reconciliation for CMDB compliance.
    • Scalable integration – Leverage ServiceNow’s proven integration framework built for performance and extensibility.

    Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) data model

    Telecom SGCs include logic to ensure compatibility with the Telecom Network Inventory (TNI) data model:

    • When the TNI plugin is installed, each discovered network element automatically includes a TNI entity record.
    • A tni_entity is created alongside its corresponding cmdb_ci record, using system-generated payload mappings (e.g., inventory_category).
    • This ensures consistency across operational and planning systems.
    If TNI is installed, a payload like the following one will be added to the IRE payload for each item (with inventory_category populated based on the className):
    related = [{
            "className": "tni_entity",
            "values": {
                "inventory_category": ""
            }
        }];
    As a result, the discovered CI is in both the cmdb_ci and tni_entity tables.