---
sourceDocument: Yokohama IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/yokohama/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - yokohama

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Yokohama IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Discovery for VMware virtual machines

# Discovery for VMware virtual machines {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Yokohama
* 
* Updated December 2, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

Discovery gathers information
about virtual machines managed by VMware vCenter.

The Discovery product can extract information from VMware configuration items (CI), including
their relationships. Discovery is configured to work with the Orchestration VMware Support
Plugin, which enables the automatic cloning of virtual machines by an ESX server managed by
vCenter. For information about data collected by Discovery on vCenter, see [Data collected for VMware vCenter Server](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/xRW8Cn8s96sW5~39xtZ8HA "Discovery identifies and classifies information and data about VMware vCenter servers.").
* **[VMware Workstation - Legacy](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/tjXk8YgRmbEqc_2MsNVOVQ)**   
  In the basic VMware system, the VMware Workstation runs on a Windows or Linux host machine.

**Related concepts**   

* [Discovery for VMware vCenter](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/S4sT9mXn~Jvl1GsT0myOfA "Discovery can explore the VMware vCenter process running on a Windows or Linux host. IPv6 is supported for discovery in VMware vCenter.")
* [Datastore Discovery](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/qZQPEZ7tqukOEwKBi2XMQw "A datastore is a storage object for virtual machines that are hosted on an ESXi server.")  
**Related reference**   

* [ESXi server discovery](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/69HIi_wE1an9UMq2Y8I74Q "Discovery identifies and classifies information about ESXi servers and ESXi resource pools through the discovery of vCenter and not from the direct discovery of any ESXi servers.")
* [Standalone ESXi discovery](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/kfJMNZe2fFanLSf9yr4AMg "Standalone ESXi discovery supports discovery of individual ESXi servers that host virtual machines (VMs) and related components without a vCenter. Various CIs and relationships are discovered as part of a discovery schedule.")
* [VM instance state and status fields](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/U0dPtfhL_EEGPhbGQgTPJQ "These tables represent the state and status of the cmdb_ci_vm_instance in various flows such as vCenter Discovery and vCenter Events and the Business Rules which are triggered.")