---
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


---

# Link application services

# Link application services {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Yokohama
* 
* Updated January 30, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read

You can manually link two application services by adding a reference to one
application service into another application service. The service that contains the
reference, becomes a dependent service. The service that you include as a reference is a
contained service. You can link application services to create dependencies for impact
monitoring in Event Management.

## Before you begin

You can edit discovered and manually created service instances.  
Important:  
You cannot fine-tune or edit tag-based and dynamic services from the map.

Ensure that you know the name and the service type of the
application service, to which you want to add a reference.
Role required: app_service_admin or service_mapping_admin

## About this task

To create a link, add a reference to the relevant application service as an outgoing
connection of the relevant CI inside another application service. For example, you
can add the UK Portal application service as a link to the Online Store application
service. In this case, the Online Store service becomes dependent on the UK Portal
service that it contains. The Online Store service reflects discovery errors for its
contained service in the Edit map mode, as well as alerts in Event Management.  
Figure 1. Example of linked application services   

When you link an application service to another application service, the information
about the CI, to which you linked the service, is updated in the CMDB. The CMDB recognizes other application services that
use the same applicative flow, and adds the contained application service to these
application services by analogy. The same logic applies when you remove a contained
application service: The system removes it from all application services where you
either manually linked this service or the system linked this service by
analogy.  
When using Service Mapping, you may want to link application services to create:

* A dependency between two application services.
* A placeholder for a map branch that Service Mapping failed to discover. If you create or customize a pattern to discover the configuration item (CI) serving as an entry point for the contained service instance, Service Mapping can discover this contained service.
* An indication that an service instance contains a branch, which Service Mapping cannot discover.
{#link-services-to-services__ul_lrb_tb3_vcb}

You can add an service instance as a contained service to as many service instance as necessary.

## Procedure

1. Navigate to Service MappingApplication Services.
2. Click View map next to the relevant application service.
3. If needed, click Edit to ensure that the map is in Edit mode.
4. Right-click the CI to which you want to link an application service as a reference.
5. Select Add A CI.
6. In the Add a CI dialog box, select the application service you want to add as a contained service:  
   {#link-services-to-services__table_pks_kwh_vcb__entry__2}

   | Field | Description |
   |-|-|
   | CI Type | Select the relevant service type from this list: * <kbd class="ph userinput">Tag-Based Application Service</kbd> * <kbd class="ph userinput">Mapped Application Service</kbd> for discovered or manually created application services * <kbd class="ph userinput">Calculated Application Service</kbd> for dynamic services * <kbd class="ph userinput">Dynamic CI Group</kbd> {#link-services-to-services__ul_ytg_n25_54b} |
   | CI Name | Select the name of the application service that you want to link as a contained service. |
   [ ]

   {#link-services-to-services__table_pks_kwh_vcb}
7. Click Submit.  
   The icon for the contained service appears on the map.
**Related tasks**   

* [View dependent application services in classic
  Service Mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/iGFK1duG1bNDwq0efXHBow "Check which application services depend on an application service and open maps for dependent application services.")
* [View contained application services in classic
Service Mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/h4tIGY1szq1ReV31RxJ0nw "A contained application service is a reference included into another, dependent application service. You can open the contained service map directly from within the dependent service map.")  
**Related topics**   

* [Application services](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=application-services&version=yokohama&pubname=yokohama-servicenow-platform&ft:locale=en-US)

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