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sourceDocument: Yokohama IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/yokohama/it-operations-management
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- yokohama
ft:locale :
- en-US
ft:publication_title :
- Yokohama IT Operations Management
ft:clusterId :
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workflow :
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---
# Exploring Kubernetes Visibility Agent
# Exploring Kubernetes Visibility Agent {#ariaid-title1}
* Release version: Yokohama
*
* Updated March 12, 2026
*
*  3 minutes to read
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## Summary of Exploring Kubernetes Visibility Agent
The Kubernetes Visibility Agent (KVA) provides comprehensive visibility into on-premises and cloud-based Kubernetes clusters.
It continuously discovers and monitors Kubernetes resources, reporting changes to your ServiceNow instance and updating the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) accordingly.
This enables ServiceNow customers to maintain an accurate, up-to-date inventory of Kubernetes resources across their environments.
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## How it Works
* Upon deployment, KVA creates a Kubernetes Deployment with a pod called Informer that connects to the Kubernetes API server.
* The Informer listens for resource events and sends data to ServiceNow via the External Communication Channel (ECC) Queue using the Table API.
* KVA backend processes the data and updates the CMDB tables to reflect the current state of the cluster.
* If the Informer cannot report changes immediately (e.g., due to network issues), resource additions are synced during the next discovery cycle, while deletions are marked Absent and removed after two cycles.
## Discovery and Monitoring
* Initial discovery gathers all cluster resources and reports them to the instance.
* The Informer sends incremental updates every 30 seconds, handling up to 1 MB of data per update, supporting clusters with tens of thousands of pods efficiently.
* Deleted resources are marked Absent and cleaned up from the CMDB within hours.
* Automatic retirement can be enabled for inactive clusters, identified by the Informer being Down and no updates recorded for a configurable period (default 60 days). This updates the installstatus of the cluster and associated resources.
## Performance and Impact
* The Informer minimizes load on the Kubernetes API server by fetching full resource lists only once and then syncing incremental changes.
* The Informer is automatically restarted by Kubernetes if it exits unexpectedly, ensuring continuous monitoring.
* Performance benchmarks are available to understand KVA scalability and efficiency in large environments.
## Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers
* Enables real-time visibility and accurate tracking of Kubernetes resources across multiple environments.
* Automates CMDB updates to reflect current cluster state, supporting effective configuration management and operational insight.
* Supports cluster lifecycle management through automatic retirement of inactive clusters, helping maintain CMDB hygiene.
* Designed for minimal impact on Kubernetes performance, ensuring monitoring does not disrupt cluster operations.
Kubernetes Visibility Agent enables you to gain visibility into on-premises Kubernetes clusters as well as the various Cloud deployments.
Kubernetes Visibility Agent detects changes on resources in a Kubernetes cluster. It performs continuous discovery, reports any changes back to your instance, and updates the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) with the latest data. For the latest information on supported cloud deployments, see the [Kubernetes Visibility Agent (formerly CNO for Visibility) Support Matrix \[KB1700730\]](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB1700730) article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.
## How it works {#cnov-exploring__section_qlp_hrd_syb}
When you deploy Kubernetes Visibility Agent, Kubernetes creates a Deployment resource in the cluster with the latest data. This resource uses a secret stored in Kubernetes to connect to your ServiceNow instance.
The Kubernetes Visibility Agent Deployment resource contains a pod called Informer, which connects to the Kubernetes API server and receives events on the resources in the cluster from it. The Informer sends the collected data to the instance through the External Communication Channel (ECC) Queue table, using
the ServiceNow Table API to read from and write to the queue. The backend part of Kubernetes Visibility Agent (KVA) then updates the appropriate tables in the CMDB.
Note:
If the Informer is unable to report the changes, for example due to a network problem, the resources that were added to the cluster during the event are added to the CMDB after the next full discovery cycle. The resources that were removed from the cluster during the event are marked as Absent and deleted after two full discovery cycles.
For more information about the Kubernetes resources on which the Informer collects data and the CMDB tables it populates, see [Data collected by Kubernetes Visibility Agent](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/R9EQI4CqxGD9xuw2QczKsA "The Kubernetes Visibility Agent Informer collects data on Kubernetes resources and populates various CMDB tables.").
## Initial and periodic discovery {#cnov-exploring__section_jfb_q5d_syb}
In its initial discovery, the Informer finds all the resources in the Kubernetes cluster and reports them to your instance. Every 30 seconds, the Informer sends up to 1 MB of data to the instance. It typically takes up to two minutes to report data on a cluster containing
1,000 pods and another minute for every additional 1,000 pods. A single Informer pod can handle a cluster with tens of thousands of pods. If the Informer exits for any reason, Kubernetes restarts it automatically.
After the initial discovery, the Informer continuously monitors the addition, updating, and deletion of resources in the cluster. Resources that were deleted from the cluster are marked with install_status=Absent and deleted
from the CMDB within hours in a regular cleanup.
During each full discovery cycle, the system can optionally check for inactive clusters and automatically update their status. When the auto-retirement feature is enabled, clusters that meet
specific conditions are retired. A cluster is considered inactive when its associated Informer is in the Down state and the cluster CI has not been touched for a configured period (default: 60 days). The system determines
this based on the sys_updated_on field, which indicates when the cluster was last observed by ServiceNow tools, regardless of whether any field values changed. When these conditions are met, the system updates the install_status field on the Kubernetes cluster CI and all associated CIs (pods, namespaces, deployments, containers, and other resources). For information about configuring auto-retirement, see [Enable automatic retirement for inactive Kubernetes cluster CIs](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/~74jUKWS_lrW4TxHf7QWPA "Enable automatic retirement to update the status of inactive Kubernetes cluster configuration items (CIs) and all associated resources during full discovery cycles, so your CMDB reflects only active infrastructure."). For details about the configuration properties, see [Kubernetes cluster auto-retirement properties](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/y1sqPBcvPwwni0F7miAQAA "Configure system properties to control the automatic retirement of inactive Kubernetes cluster configuration items (CIs) and their associated resources, so your CMDB reflects only active infrastructure.").
## Impact of the Informer on the Kubernetes API server {#cnov-exploring__section_dq2_pvd_syb}
The Informer has minimal impact on the Kubernetes API server. It fetches the complete list of relevant resources only once and saves it to memory. From then on, it synchronizes with the Kubernetes API server and never pulls the complete list again. During the periodic and on-demand full discovery cycles, the Informer resends the saved list of resources to the instance.
## Kubernetes Visibility Agent performance and scalability benchmark {#cnov-exploring__section_ohw_zmx_dzb}
For Kubernetes Visibility Agent benchmarks, see the [Performance results for Kubernetes Visibility Agent \[KB1555851\]](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB1555851) article in the Now Support Knowledge Base.