---
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


---

# Map application services using tags with classic Service Mapping

# Map application services using tags with classic
Service Mapping {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Yokohama
* 
* Updated January 30, 2025
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read

Use tags that help categorize and organize configuration items (CIs) in your organization to map application services. Tag-based mapping doesn't require configuring credentials or providing users with elevated rights.

## Before you begin

Analyze, review, and define tags as covered in [Prepare for mapping application services based on tags](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/kgORSfv2Q3AGkc4UFuWEjw "Analyze, review, and define tags in your organization for successful mapping.").
Role required: service_mapping_admin

## About this task

A tag is a label that consists of a key-value pair. Your organization may use tags to categorize its assets, to enhance query and reporting capabilities. Discovery and Cloud Provisioning and Governance can discover tags used by all major cloud providers and container ecosystems. Once the tags are discovered, Service Mapping can create service instances based on these tags. For example, you can use tags to map all application services your organization uses in the production environment in the EMEA region. You can effectively use tags to map multiple service instances.  
Note:  
Starting with Service Mapping Plus version 1.16.3, take advantage of the Tag-based Service Mapping workspace to efficiently map your application services. For more information, see [Tag-based mapping in the Service Mapping Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/OFk5tbvt1_hfHGvMajDU6w "The Tag-based service mapping dashboard offers an intuitive way to manage tag-based services. Use the widgets, data visualizations, and list navigation to review and update your services, or create new tag-based services in a few steps. The dashboard enhances the Service Mapping Workspace, offering an efficient and user-friendly interface for organizing and optimizing your service mappings.") and [Tag-based discovery for the Service Mapping Workspace](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/OFokaLB1WVsbZHgZsbWZRw "If your organization uses tags for asset management, you can use the Service Mapping workspace to manage these tags and create tag-based application services.").  
The result of the tag-based mapping is a hierarchical service map that may be less precise than the application service created using the patterns. Figure 1. Comparison of pattern-based and tag-based mapping results   

Service Mapping creates names for tag-based services
using tag values discovered for the tag definitions, to which these tag-based
services belong. For example, for Environment and Application tag categories with
Production and HR as their respective tag values, the default service name is
production::hr. Tag-based service names use low case.  
Important:  
If you add or remove tag categories after mapping services, Service Mapping does not implement these changes for previously mapped services belonging to this service family. For more information, see [Modify or update tag definitions for tag-based mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/yy3h6F8FE0BYDhKvNic44A "You can change tag definitions that Service Mapping uses for tag-based mapping. Service Mapping uses updated tag definitions to create new tag-based services without applying tag-related changes to services you mapped earlier.").

In domain-separated deployments, Service Mapping populates tag-based services based on this service family only with CIs belonging to the leaf domain to which the service family belongs.

To map a single application service using tags without preliminary configuration, use
the flow based on Common Service Data Model. For more information, see [Populate application
services using tags](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=populate-app-service-tags&version=yokohama&pubname=yokohama-servicenow-platform&ft:locale=en-US).

## Procedure

1. Navigate to Service MappingAdministrationTag-based Service Families.
2. Click New.
3. Define the service family name.
4. **Optional:** Select Regularly update service candidates for Service Mapping to regenerate suggestions for service instances that match tag categories you define for the service family.
5. Define the tag categories and tag values to use for mapping service instances belonging to this service family.
   1. Under Selected tag categories, select the relevant tag category from the list of tag categories you defined earlier.
   2. **Optional:** To make the mapping process more precise, add the tag value, for example, Production.  
      For multiple tag values, use comma as a separator: Staging, Production.
   3. **Optional:** To change the default service naming convention, set the order in which Service Mapping uses the tag values in the candidate name.  
      For example, the first category of the service family is Environment and the second category is Application. The default service name that Service Mapping assigns to the service candidate is Production::Finance. To make Service Mapping use the Application category value at the beginning of the name, set the Order value for the Application category to 1.
   4. **Optional:** Select other tag categories as necessary for this service family.  
      The maximum number of categories per service family is three.
   {#map-service-tag__substeps_lzk_53p_1jb}
6. Click View service candidates.
7. In the Service candidate window, review the suggested service candidates and select the ones that you want to map.  
   If there are no service candidates, in the Key Value \[cmdb_key_value\] table, ensure that there are tag values for the tag keys you used for mapping.
8. Click Map selected.  
   Service Mapping creates service instances based on the candidates you selected.

   If there is an error about the service name that exists in the system, fix the candidate name by performing the following steps:
   1. Click View service candidates.
   2. Click the name that exists and change it.
   3. Click OK ![OK button]() to save the change.
   4. View the service candidates and map the relevant ones.  
      New candidates contain only the service instance CIs as their entry points. The Populate Calculated Services scheduled job maps new tag-based services once a day.
   {#map-service-tag__substeps_xnd_fxz_bjb}
9. **Optional:** To map a new service instance immediately, without waiting for the scheduled job to populate it:
   1. Select the relevant service instance.
   2. In the service instance form, click Additional Info on the left.
   3. Under Related Links, click Recalculate Service.
   4. Click View Map at the top of the form and review the mapping result.
   {#map-service-tag__substeps_qkr_xcn_2jb}
10. After the scheduled job maps all new tag-based services, navigate to the relevant tag-based service family and review the newly mapped services listed under Mapped services.

## Result

All tag-based service instances have their respective service instance CIs as their entry points.Figure 2. The map for the Finance::Production service instance based on tags   

## What to do next

1. After the scheduled job maps all new tag-based services, navigate to the relevant tag-based service family and review the newly mapped services listed under Mapped services.
2. Make sure that the service instances aren't too large: The following discovery message is displayed in a tag-based service instance: This tag-based service instance reached the maximum number of CIs. For more information, refer to the product documentation.  
   If some application services are too large, resolve the service size issue:
   * [Modify tag definitions used for mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/yy3h6F8FE0BYDhKvNic44A "You can change tag definitions that Service Mapping uses for tag-based mapping. Service Mapping uses updated tag definitions to create new tag-based services without applying tag-related changes to services you mapped earlier.") to make sure Service Mapping includes only relevant CIs in the service instance.
   * If necessary, [Tag-based discovery configuration](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/WMqYQ9cztLwkmoyPJWnmIw "You can refine the default configuration to control which CIs Service Mapping includes in application services during the tag-based discovery process.") to change which CIs Service Mapping includes in tag-based service instances.
   {#map-service-tag__ul_lff_ft5_34b}
3. To fine-tune or fix the tag-based services, [modify the tag categories](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/yy3h6F8FE0BYDhKvNic44A "You can change tag definitions that Service Mapping uses for tag-based mapping. Service Mapping uses updated tag definitions to create new tag-based services without applying tag-related changes to services you mapped earlier.") that you used for the service family.  
   Important:  
   The map window displays maps for tag-based and dynamic services in the View mode only. You cannot fine-tune or edit tag-based and dynamic services from the map.
{#map-service-tag__ol_ip1_xjf_b4b}
* **[Prepare for mapping application services based on tags](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/kgORSfv2Q3AGkc4UFuWEjw)**   
  Analyze, review, and define tags in your organization for successful mapping.

**Related concepts**   

* [Review and approval of application service maps](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/BjGtOsTta_Wo~8ykmxZngQ "After the Service Mapping administrator maps IT services and fixes errors in them, the administrator and the owner collaborate to review and approve the service maps. The review and approval process is available only for discovered and manually created service instances.")
* [Application service completion](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/oTiVA8bO~~ejaFfgU_iy9w "After an application service is reviewed and approved, you can define attributes that enhance its discovery, reflect its importance, and control access to it.")
* [Application service analysis and maintenance using classic Service Mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/kktVI~k2uB35tKBH_EqH8Q "Service Mapping creates maps to help you see the architecture and organization of application services. These maps are useful for planning change or migration, as well as analyzing the continuity and availability of services.")
* [Choose the right method for discovery and mapping application services](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/oqkGxCqQ7VwkBp~TSxM10Q "Service Mapping deploys different methods for collecting information about configuration items (CIs) and organizing them into application services. The available mapping methods are: pattern-based, tag-based, traffic-based, and discovery based on Predictive Intelligence. Learn about the mapping methods to use the ones that best suit the needs of your organization.")
* [Tag-based discovery configuration](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/WMqYQ9cztLwkmoyPJWnmIw "You can refine the default configuration to control which CIs Service Mapping includes in application services during the tag-based discovery process.")  
**Related tasks**   

* [Map multiple application services suggested by classic Service Mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/qFTEgnBYmx4N~e7Wi0hmtA "You can map multiple application services identified and suggested by Service Mapping in a single operation. This method suits your organization if you do not have much information about application services.")
* [Map multiple application services from a CSV file using classic Service Mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0ElnFoss5kGCl7N1cGU5oA "This method suits you if your organization has performed cross-organization mapping and analysis and collected some information about planned service instances. If so, you can organize the collected information in a specific order and save it as a CSV file. Service Mapping extracts information from this file and creates potential service instances referred to as service candidates.")
* [Map a single application service using classic Service Mapping](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/8sD~6Bc3quESSBMeonfe4g "In addition to mapping application services in bulk, you can map individual, single application services by defining attributes for each application service. Use this mapping method if you already know or are planning to find out application service details. You must have Service Mapping enabled to map or review application services.")
* [Fix application service errors in bulk](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/AQZZC7bwEONc9WvfM9~Maw "Service Mapping classifies errors by their root cause, for example, missing credentials or task timeout. For a fast and efficient process, fix errors belonging to the same category in bulk.")
* [Fix errors in individual application service maps](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/mCyIAds3bqivvs99ielgpg "You can address discovery issues in each application service map individually.")
* [Fine-tune application services to implement owner requests](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/iBl4ZwvZMr6J_fUdsUa1Nw "As an administrator, you tweak and fine-tune maps based on comments from the application service owner.")

*[\>]: and then