Citrix NetScaler SDX discovery

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated June 2, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Citrix NetScaler SDX discovery

    The ServiceNow Discovery application enables automated discovery of Citrix NetScaler SDX devices using the dedicated Citrix NetScaler SDX pattern. This discovery process leverages a classification mechanism introduced in the Quebec release, which enhances reliability by isolating failures within multi-probe operations. To ensure accurate discovery, customers may need to update the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

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    Prerequisites

    • Ensure that key applications such as CMDB CI Class Models, Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns, and Visibility Content are up to date.
    • Create SSH credentials specifically for accessing Citrix NetScaler SDX devices.
    • Verify that the Discovery user has administrative permissions and shell access to execute critical commands including show vmdevice and show hardware. If full permissions are not available, read-only commands like show systemstatus and show hostname must be accessible to gather essential data.

    Data Collection and CMDB Integration

    During discovery, the application populates the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) with detailed information about Citrix NetScaler SDX devices and associated NetScaler load balancers. Key attributes collected for the Citrix NetScaler SDX include:

    • Name
    • Serial number
    • IP address
    • Object ID (combining serial number and IP)
    • Description
    • OS version

    Similarly, for Citrix NetScaler load balancers, the name, serial number, and IP address are recorded.

    CI Relationships and Dependency Mapping

    The discovery process establishes relationships between the Citrix NetScaler SDX devices and their associated NetScaler load balancers within the CMDB. On the Dependency Views map, customers can visualize all discovered Citrix NetScaler SDX resources and their interdependencies, aiding in comprehensive infrastructure management and impact analysis.

    The ServiceNow Discovery application can discover Citrix NetScaler SDX devices using the Citrix NetScaler SDX pattern. Discovering some of these resources may require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

    The classification mechanism introduced in Quebec triggers the pattern. The classification mechanism prevents the whole probe from failing if a sub probe in a multi-probe fails.​

    The classification mechanism includes a trigger_probe_m2m table, which defines which classification probe to trigger in relation to the relevant protocol. For this pattern, it triggers the Interactive Probe Shell over the ssh protocol.​

    Request apps on the Store

    Visit the ServiceNow Store website 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.

    Prerequisites

    Verify that the following applications are up to date
    • CMDB CI Class Models
    • Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns
    • Visibility Content
    Create SSH credentials
    Create SSH credentials for the Citrix NetScaler SDX device. For more information, see SSH credentials.
    Verify permissions for the following commands
    Verify that the Discovery user has admin permissions and can run the following commands. The show hardware command requires shell access as well.
    Command Description
    show vmdevice Get virtual machine (VM) instances.
    show hardware Provides a quick overview of all configurable settings for the Citrix NetScaler SDX devices.

    If the Discovery user doesn't have shell access or admin permissions, verify that the user can run the following read-only commands in the NetScaler CLI instead:

    Command Description
    show systemstatus Retrieve the current system status of the SDX appliance, including serial number, build number, and product name.
    show hostname Retrieve the hostname of the SDX appliance.

    Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

    Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Citrix NetScaler SDX pattern.

    Table 1. Citrix NetScaler SDX [cmdb_ci_citrix_netscaler_sdx]
    Field Description
    Name [name] The name of the Citrix NetScaler SDX device.
    Serial number [serial_number] The serial number of the Citrix NetScaler SDX device.
    IP Address [ip_address] The IP address of the Citrix NetScaler SDX device.
    Object ID [object_id] The CI identifier of the Citrix NetScaler SDX device, which includes the serial_number and ip_address​.
    Description [short_description] The description of the Citrix NetScaler SDX device.
    OS Version [os_version] The version of the Citrix NetScaler SDX device.​
    Table 2. Citrix Netscaler [cmdb_ci_lb_netscaler]
    Field Description
    Name [name] The name of the Citrix NetScaler load balancer​.
    Serial number [serial_number] The serial number of the Citrix NetScaler load balancer.
    IP Address [ip_address] The IP address of the Citrix NetScaler load balancer​.

    On the Dependency Views map you can see all discovered Citrix NetScaler SDX resources in your organization, and the relationships between them.

    Citrix NetScaler SDX dependency

    CI relationships

    These relationships are created to support Citrix NetScaler SDX discovery:

    CI Relationship CI
    Citrix Netscaler [cmdb_ci_lb_netscaler] Registered on::Has registered Citrix NetScaler SDX [cmdb_ci_citrix_netscaler_sdx]