Telecommunication Network Inventory workflows in Flow Designer

  • Release version: Yokohama
  • Updated January 30, 2025
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Telecommunication Network Inventory workflows in Flow Designer

    The Telecommunication Network Inventory (TNI) workflows in Flow Designer enable ServiceNow customers to automate the network inventory design and assignment processes efficiently. Utilizing the TNI function catalog and subflows, customers can create, update, and retrieve configuration items (CIs) as part of managing telecommunication network components.

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    Key Features

    • Function Catalog: Provides a comprehensive set of TNI functions to support various inventory operations such as creating telco equipment, adding interface cards, creating logical and physical connections, searching paths, and updating records. These functions are accessible in Workflow Studio under the Network Inventory Advanced option.
    • Reusable Workflow Studio Actions: The functions can be used as actions within workflows to automate repetitive tasks, such as creating logical connections during the design and assign process.
    • Subflows: The TNI application includes subflows like Logical Connection Creation and Physical Connection Creation. These subflows handle creating connection records based on input data and can be customized by adding input and output fields. They are also available in Workflow Studio under the Network Inventory Advanced option.

    Practical Use for ServiceNow Customers

    • Automate complex telecommunication network inventory tasks, reducing manual effort and errors.
    • Leverage prebuilt functions and subflows to streamline design and assignment workflows for network components.
    • Customize and extend subflows to fit specific inventory data requirements and operational processes.
    • Enhance workflow consistency and scalability by using reusable actions for common network inventory operations.

    Next Steps

    To maximize benefits, customers should explore the Telecommunications Network Inventory function catalog and subflows documentation within Flow Designer and Workflow Studio. This knowledge will help in building efficient, automated workflows for telecommunications network inventory management.

    By using the Telecommunications Network Inventory function catalog and subflows, you can access the functions that help you to automate the network inventory's design and assign process.

    Telecommunications Network Inventory function catalog

    You can use the Telecommunications Network Inventory functions to create, update, and retrieve a configuration item (CI) while you’re performing the Design and Assign process. For example, you can do the following actions:
    • Create telco equipment
    • Add an interface card
    The following table lists the Telecommunications Network Inventory functions that are categorized by their functionality.
    Table 1. Telecommunications Network Inventory functions
    Function Type Function Name
    Create
    • TNI Create CI From Template
    • Create Logical Connection
    • Create Logical Interface
    • Create Physical Connection
    • Path Search
    Read
    • Allocate Free Number
    • Get Interface Summery
    • Lookup Next Hub
    Update Cascade Update
    Helper function
    • Split String
    • Get Index From Array

    To learn more about the network inventory functions, see Telecommunications Network Inventory function catalog.

    The following example shows the functions that are available in the Workflow Studio action library under the Network Inventory Advanced option. You can use these functions to perform the inventory-related data operations.
    Figure 1. Network Inventory Function Catalog Location
    Infographic displaying all default options of Network Inventory Advanced.

    You can also use these functions as Workflow Studio actions in the Telecommunications Network Inventory workflow because the Design and Assign is a series of actions. The reusable Workflow Studio actions can automate repetitive work, such as creating a logical connection in the workflow. To learn more about Workflow Studio actions, see Flow Designer.

    Telecommunications Network Inventory subflows

    In Workflow Studio, you can give the inputs and outputs to pass the data to and from the subflow while you’re performing the Design and Assign process. If necessary, you can add more fields in the subflows. To learn more about working with the subflows, see Building subflows. To learn more about the Workflow Studio, see Flow Designer.

    The Telecommunications Network Inventory application has the following subflows:
    Logical Connection Creation
    Creates a logical connection record in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application based on the input that you receive when you instantiate an inventory. To learn more, see Logical Connection Creation subflow.
    Physical Connection Creation
    Creates a physical connection record in the Telecommunications Network Inventory application based on the input that you receive when you instantiate an inventory. To learn more, see Physical Connection Creation subflow.
    The following example shows the subflows that are available in the Workflow Studio action library under the Network Inventory Advanced option. You can use these functions to perform the inventory-related data operations.
    Figure 2. Network Inventory Subflow Location

    Infographic displaying all default options of network inventory subflows in the Flow Designer action library.