Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) pattern-based discovery

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated June 16, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) pattern-based discovery

    The Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS) pattern-based discovery in ServiceNow enables automated identification and mapping of AWS EFS resources within your cloud environment. This discovery process supports populating configuration and inventory data into both CMDB and non-CMDB tables, facilitating effective asset and service management.

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    Key Features

    • Pattern Activation: The EFS discovery pattern is disabled by default and requires manual activation. From Visibility Content version 6.28.0 onward, activating or deactivating patterns is no longer treated as customization and patterns reset to the latest predefined version after upgrades while preserving the last active state.
    • Prerequisites and Setup: Before discovery, ensure AWS discovery prerequisites are met, including removal of resources from the Resource Inclusion List to avoid duplicates. Discovery of AWS GovCloud (US) requires configuring AWS service accounts with appropriate datacenter URLs.
    • Data Population: The discovery populates detailed Amazon EFS information into specific CMDB tables such as cmdbciclouddirectory and non-CMDB tables like cmdbawselasticfilesystemfilesystem. It also collects AWS tags into the cmdbkeyvalue table for enhanced asset tagging and management.
    • CI Relationships: The pattern establishes relationships between discovered CIs, including linking EFS file systems to their Cloud Directory entries and hosting AWS datacenters, enabling comprehensive service mapping.

    Practical Use and Outcomes

    By enabling the Amazon EFS pattern-based discovery, ServiceNow customers can automate the detection of EFS resources and their attributes in AWS environments. This leads to:

    • Accurate and up-to-date CMDB records for Amazon EFS resources.
    • Improved visibility into AWS file system configurations and relationships.
    • Efficient management of resource tags, enhancing reporting and governance.
    • Support for AWS GovCloud environments through specialized configuration.

    Implementing this discovery pattern supports robust cloud asset management and service mapping, which are critical for operational efficiency and compliance in AWS-integrated IT environments.

    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.

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in both CMDB and non-CMDB tables.

    Data stored in non-CMDB tables

    Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application populates data in the non-CMDB table when running the Amazon AWS - Elastic File System - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern.

    You can review the non-CMDB AWS tables by navigating to All > Configuration > AWS. You can also search the navigation filter for the specific pattern name.

    Table 1. AWS Elastic File System [cmdb_aws_elastic_file_system_file_system]
    Field Description
    Object Id [object_id] The Amazon Resource Name (ARN) for the file system.
    Name [name] The assigned name of the Amazon EFS file system.
    Configuration Item [configuration_item] References the Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory] table.
    File System ID [file_system_id] The unique identifier of the Amazon EFS file system.

    Data stored in CMDB tables

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

    Table 2. Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory]
    Field Description
    Object ID [object_id] The ARN for the file system.
    Name [name] The assigned name of the Amazon EFS file system.
    Install Status [install_status] Install status of the resource. Default value is Installed.
    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 File System::File System.

    CI relationships

    The Amazon AWS - Elastic File System - Extended Inventory (LP) pattern creates these relationships to support Amazon EFS discovery.

    CI Relationship CI
    Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory] Hosted on::Hosts AWS Datacenter [cmdb_ci_aws_datacenter]
    AWS Elastic File System [cmdb_aws_elastic_file_system_file_system] References Cloud Directory [cmdb_ci_cloud_directory]

    AWS tag discovery

    The pattern collects tags and populates them in the Key Value [cmdb_key_value] table.
    Table 3. Key Value [cmdb_key_value]
    Field Description
    Key [key] Tag name.
    Value [value] Tag value.