CIS-DF Ingest Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

Which ServiceNow table stores the historical relationship between a CI and the various data sources that have updated its attributes, supporting the Data Source Precedence framework?

Accepted Answer

sys_object_source. The cmdb_ci_discovered_items or sys_object_source table tracks the relationship between CIs and their external ingestion sources.

Answer

cmdb_health_result

Answer

sys_import_set_row

Answer

cmdb_rel_ci

Question 2

An organization is migrating from a legacy configuration management database to ServiceNow. They load initial server records using custom import sets without the IRE. Later, they enable ServiceNow Discovery. They notice that every discovered server creates a duplicate CI right alongside the imported record. What caused this duplicate creation?

Accepted Answer

The legacy import bypassed the IRE, failing to populate the sys_object_source tracking table with the correct native keys and discovery source identifiers.. Records ingested without the IRE lack the proper sys_object_source tracking and native identifier linkage expected by Discovery and the IRE, resulting in failure to recognize existing records.

Answer

Discovery is hardcoded to ignore any records created by Transform Maps.

Answer

The cmdb_ci table has a business rule that forces duplicate insertion for security purposes.

Answer

Data Source Precedence rules were not set to 'Manual' before running Discovery.

Question 3

An administrator is configuring a Robust Transform Engine (RTE) definition for a complex CMDB data import. They need to ensure that if an incoming record fails identification or has missing mandatory attributes, the entire batch does not fail, but instead logs an error for that specific row. Where is this error handling behavior managed in RTE?

Accepted Answer

Configure error handling options within the Robust Transform Engine Data Stream Definition and field processors to capture row-level exceptions.. RTE error handling and row-level logging are configured within the Robust Transform Engine definitions and associated data stream transformers.

Answer

Set the Import Set transform map property to 'Ignore Errors' globally.

Answer

Modify the IRE engine configuration property 'glide.cmdb.ire.abort_on_error' to false.

Answer

Write a global Business Rule on sys_import_set_row to catch exceptions.

Question 4

An administrator wants to check which identification rules are active for the `cmdb_ci_computer` class. Where in the ServiceNow user interface should they navigate?

Accepted Answer

CI Class Manager -> Select cmdb_ci_computer -> Identification Rule. CI Class Manager is the central location for viewing and configuring identification rules for CI classes.

Answer

Discovery -> Identification -> Classes

Answer

Configuration -> CMDB Properties -> Rules

Answer

System Definition -> Identification Rules

Question 5

A team is building a custom REST API integration that accepts incoming configuration items. They decide to use the Scripted REST API feature. Within the script of the REST resource, how should they invoke the IRE to process the incoming JSON body correctly?

Accepted Answer

Use `sn_cmdb.IdentificationEngine.createOrUpdateCI(discoverySource, payload)` within the script.. Scripted REST APIs can invoke the IRE using the `JSONUtil` or `sn_cmdb.IdentificationEngine` script includes.

Answer

Use the Import Set Web Service table API directly.

Answer

Instantiate a GlideRecord on `cmdb_ci` and call `.insert()` for each item in the JSON body.

Answer

Call `current.update()` after mapping the JSON properties to the request object.

Question 6

An architect is reviewing an integration that populates network gear into the CMDB. The integration payload includes both the physical chassis and installed line cards. The implementer wants to ensure that if a line card is removed from the chassis in the physical world, its relationship in the CMDB is automatically cleaned up when the integration runs. Which feature supports this behavior?

Accepted Answer

Configure the payload payload structure to mark the relationship as dependent, allowing the IRE to handle stale child relationships.. Payloads processed via IRE can use dependent relationships and payload markers to handle stale related items or orphaned child records.

Answer

Set the Data Source Precedence for line cards to 'Delete on Sync'.

Answer

Write a scheduled job to delete all line cards every night before the integration runs.

Answer

Enable 'Cascade Delete' on the cmdb_rel_ci dictionary entry.

Question 7

An implementer is configuring Service Graph Connectors to ingest infrastructure data into ServiceNow. Service Graph Connectors utilize the Robust Transform Engine (RTE) and the IRE. What is the primary benefit of using Service Graph Connectors over legacy Import Sets for third-party data ingestion?

Accepted Answer

They provide pre-built mapping, utilize the IRE for deduplication, and ensure data aligns with CSDM and CMDB data standards.. Service Graph Connectors adhere to ServiceNow's CSDM and data ingestion standards, leveraging RTE and IRE out-of-the-box to ensure data consistency, deduplication, and proper relationship mapping.

Answer

They allow administrators to bypass CI Class Manager identification rules entirely.

Answer

They completely bypass the database and store CIs in memory for faster reporting.

Answer

They eliminate the need for any network connectivity between the third-party tool and ServiceNow.

Question 8

An administrator notices that when Discovery updates a virtual machine, the 'Environment' attribute populated by a manual spreadsheet import is overwritten, despite Data Source Precedence rules being configured. Upon investigation, they find that both sources are writing with the exact same discovery source string value. What is the correct way to resolve this conflict?

Accepted Answer

Configure the manual import to use a distinct discovery source string (e.g., 'Manual Import' or 'Spreadsheet') rather than sharing the default discovery source string.. If two different workflows or integrations use the exact same discovery source string, the IRE treats them as the same entity and precedence rules cannot distinguish between them.

Answer

Enable 'Coalesce' on the spreadsheet import transform map.

Answer

Modify the CI Class Manager identification rule to exclude the Environment attribute.

Answer

Set the table to read-only for the discovery integration user.

Question 9

An administrator wants to view the list of all registered discovery sources in ServiceNow. Which table stores these discovery source definitions?

Accepted Answer

discovery_source. Discovery sources are tracked in the Discovery Source table (`discovery_source` or managed via reference definitions).

Answer

sys_data_source

Answer

cmdb_rel_ci

Answer

cmdb_ci

Question 10

An administrator is troubleshooting a custom integration where incoming JSON payloads for routers contain an array of interfaces. When the payload is processed, the parent router updates successfully, but none of the interface CIs are created. Reviewing the IRE payload structure shows that the interface objects are nested inside a property named `network_interfaces`. What must be configured in the IRE payload mapping to successfully process these child items?

Accepted Answer

Define a related items block in the payload structure mapping `network_interfaces` to the corresponding child class and relationship type.. When child items are nested in arrays within an IRE payload, related items / dependent relationships must be explicitly defined in the payload structure so the IRE iterates through the array.

Answer

Modify the Transform Map coalesce script to loop through the array.

Answer

Create a Business Rule to split the JSON array into individual rows on the import staging table.

Answer

Add 'network_interfaces' as a comma-separated string column in the base cmdb_ci table dictionary.

Question 11

An administrator is setting up an integration that uses Robust Transform Engine (RTE). They need to combine two incoming fields—'First Name' and 'Last Name' from a user data source—into a single 'Managed By' reference field on the target CI. Which RTE feature should they use?

Accepted Answer

RTE Field Transformations / Operations (such as Concatenate). RTE field transformations and field copiers allow combining or transforming multiple source fields into a single target attribute.

Answer

CI Class Manager Identification Rule criteria

Answer

Discovery pattern preprocessing script

Answer

Standard Transform Map Coalesce script

Question 12

An enterprise wants to ensure that data ingested via manual spreadsheets cannot overwrite critical network attributes populated by automated network discovery. Where should an administrator configure this restriction?

Accepted Answer

CI Class Manager -> Data Source Precedence. Attribute-level overwrite protection between different data sources is managed via Data Source Precedence rules.

Answer

Discovery Schedule Properties

Answer

Data Policies on cmdb_ci

Answer

Import Set Transform Map Field Maps

Question 13

An organization discovers network gear using both SNMP Discovery and an external cloud management platform API. Both integrations populate the same physical switch CIs. The cloud platform sometimes sends an empty string for the serial number, which accidentally clears out valid serial numbers previously populated by SNMP Discovery. How can this be prevented using CMDB ingestion controls?

Accepted Answer

Configure IRE payload settings or Data Source Precedence rules to ignore empty or null attribute updates from specific data sources.. The IRE supports ignore empty attributes or data source precedence settings that prevent empty or null values from overwriting existing non-empty data.

Answer

Delete the identification rule for serial number.

Answer

Write an Inbound Email Action to reject empty payloads.

Answer

Set the serial number field dictionary attribute to 'read-only'.

Question 14

When reviewing CI records ingested into the CMDB, an administrator notices a field labeled 'First discovered' and another labeled 'Last discovered'. Which component populates these lifecycle tracking fields automatically?

Accepted Answer

The Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) and Discovery logging mechanisms. Discovery and the IRE automatically maintain discovery audit metadata, such as first and last discovered timestamps.

Answer

Standard Transform Map execution engine

Answer

CMDB Health Dashboard audit jobs

Answer

Data Policies on the cmdb_ci table

Question 15

An administrator is configuring Data Source Precedence rules in the CMDB. Which TWO of the following statements regarding Data Source Precedence are true? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Administrators can configure Data Source Precedence rules at both the global CMDB level and granularly per CI class.. Data Source Precedence rules determine attribute-level update priority between different discovery sources and can be configured globally or per class.

Answer

Data Source Precedence only applies to data ingested via legacy Import Sets without Transform Maps.

Answer

Data Source Precedence automatically deletes CIs that have not been updated by a high-priority source within 30 days.

Answer

Data Source Precedence rules replace the need for Identification Rules in the IRE.