Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) Snapshot pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated June 16, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
    • Summarize
    Summarized using AI
    This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete.

    Summary of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Amazon Elastic Block Store (EBS) Snapshot pattern-based discovery

    This pattern-based discovery feature in ServiceNow enables customers to identify and map Amazon EC2 and EBS Snapshot resources within their AWS cloud environment. It leverages the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application to automatically find and populate detailed configuration data about EBS Snapshots into the ServiceNow CMDB. This capability is essential for maintaining an accurate and up-to-date inventory of AWS storage snapshots, supporting cloud asset management and operational visibility.

    Show full answer Show less

    Key Features

    • Pattern Activation: The EBS Snapshot discovery pattern is disabled by default and must be enabled. Activating or deactivating patterns is no longer treated as a customization, ensuring pattern updates continue seamlessly after upgrades.
    • AWS Prerequisites: Customers must verify AWS discovery prerequisites and ensure relevant resources are not listed in the Resource Inclusion List table to avoid duplicate discovery.
    • GovCloud Support: Discovery of AWS GovCloud (US) accounts requires specific configuration using a datacenter URL when creating AWS service accounts.
    • CMDB Data Population: Discovered EBS Snapshot data is stored in the cmdbcistoragevolsnapshot table, capturing key attributes such as ARN, snapshot state, encryption status, size, and volume association.
    • CI Relationships: The pattern creates relationships between snapshots and their hosting AWS datacenters to provide context within the CMDB.
    • Tag Collection: AWS tags attached to EBS Snapshots are collected and stored in the cmdbkeyvalue table, enabling enhanced filtering and reporting on tagged resources.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automates discovery and inventory of EC2 EBS Snapshots, reducing manual effort and improving accuracy.
    • Enables comprehensive visibility into snapshot states, sizes, encryption, and associations for compliance and operational management.
    • Supports integration with AWS GovCloud environments, ensuring secure and compliant discovery in restricted regions.
    • Maintains up-to-date CMDB entries with relationships and tagging information, improving service mapping and impact analysis.
    • Ensures smooth pattern lifecycle management with non-disruptive updates and easy activation/deactivation.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns finds AWS services on your cloud environment. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    Pattern-based discovery and mapping requirements

    Verify the AWS discovery prerequisites
    For more information, see the prerequisites section in Amazon AWS Cloud components discovery using patterns.
    Remove resources from the Resource Inclusion List table
    Verify that the relevant resource isn't listed in the Resource Inclusion List [sa_cloud_inventory_resource_whitelist] table to avoid duplicate discovery. For more information on removing resources from the Resource Inclusion List, see Amazon Web Services (AWS) Resource Inventory.
    Enable the relevant pattern
    The pattern for this service is disabled by default. Starting with Visibility Content version 6.28.0, activating or deactivating a pattern won't be considered a customization, and it will continue to receive updates. Patterns that were previously activated or deactivated will reset to the latest predefined version after upgrading while retaining the last active field value. For more information on enabling patterns, see Activate a disabled pattern.
    Configure the Discovery schedule to support GovCloud
    Discovering AWS GovCloud (US) accounts requires using a datacenter URL when setting up an AWS service account. For more information, see Create AWS service accounts.

    Data stored in CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the CMDB when running the Amazon AWS - Elastic Compute Cloud EBS Snapshot - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    Table 1. Storage Volume Snapshot [cmdb_ci_storage_vol_snapshot]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) uniquely identifying the EBS Snapshot.

    The ARN consists of the AWS region, account ID, and snapshot ID in the following format: arn:aws:ec2:<region>:<accountId>:snapshot/<snapshot_id>.
    Name [name] The unique identifier for the EC2 snapshot.
    State [state] The current state of the snapshot. For example: pending or completed.
    Install Status [install_status] Install status of the resource. Default value is Installed.
    Encrypted [is_encrypted] Indicates whether the snapshot is encrypted.
    Operational status [operational_status] Operational status of the resource. Default value is Operational.
    Description [short_description] Type of resource. The value is set to AWS::Elastic Compute Cloud::EBS Snapshot.
    Size (GB) [size] The size of the resource expressed in gigabytes (GB).
    Size bytes [size_bytes] The size of the snapshot in bytes.
    Volume Name [volume_name] The identifier of the volume associated with the snapshot.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - Elastic Compute Cloud EBS Snapshot - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern creates these relationships to support Amazon EC2 Amazon EBS Snapshot discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Storage Volume Snapshot [cmdb_ci_storage_vol_snapshot] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]

    AWS tag discovery

    The pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.
    Table 2. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag name.
    Value [value] Tag value.