CIS-ITSM CMDB Practice Test 2 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A technician wants to view the graphical relationship hierarchy of a Business Service and its underlying servers. Which feature should they open from a CI record?

Accepted Answer

Dependency View. Dependency View is the correct feature because it provides a graphical, hierarchical visualization of a CI and its relationships — showing a Business Service at the top and its underlying servers, applications, and infrastructure beneath it. It is accessible directly from a CI record via the 'Dependency Views' related link or the Dependency View UI action. This is the standard way to see service-to-infrastructure mapping in ServiceNow ITSM.

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Relationship Builder

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CMDB Dashboard

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CI Class Manager

Question 2

A custom integration script is inserting records directly into the cmdb_ci_server table without invoking the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE). What is the primary risk of this approach?

Accepted Answer

It bypasses identification rules and reconciliation rules, risking data duplication and unauthorized overwrites.. The primary risk is that bypassing the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) means identification rules and reconciliation rules are not applied. This can lead to duplicate CIs because the system cannot match incoming records to existing ones, and it can allow unauthorized overwrites of CI attributes because reconciliation rules that determine which data source wins are not enforced. This results in data integrity issues in the CMDB.

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It causes ServiceNow to automatically reject all incoming records due to missing UI policies.

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It prevents the CIs from ever being viewed in the Dependency View.

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It triggers an infinite loop in the Discovery pattern engine.

Question 3

A team wants to create a new relationship type to define a custom dependency between hardware and business applications. Which module should be used to define this new relationship type?

Accepted Answer

Relationship Types. The Relationship Types module is where administrators define new relationship types in the CMDB, specifying the parent-child or dependency semantics between CI classes such as hardware and business applications. Creating a new relationship type here makes it available for use in CI relationship records and dependency views. This is the correct module for defining a custom dependency relationship.

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Dependency View Configurator

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CI Relationship Rules

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CMDB Groups

Question 4

An administrator needs to review the overall CMDB health scores for Completeness, Correctness, and Compliance across all classes. Which application and module should they navigate to?

Accepted Answer

Configuration > CMDB Dashboard. The CMDB Dashboard (Configuration > CMDB Dashboard) is the application module that surfaces the overall CMDB health scores for Completeness, Correctness, and Compliance across all classes. It aggregates the health metrics computed by the CMDB Health engine and presents them in a single view for administrators. This is the correct navigation path for reviewing enterprise-wide CMDB health.

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CI Class Manager > Overview

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System Definition > Health Log

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Discovery > Health Metrics

Question 5

While reviewing the CMDB Correctness score, an administrator notices a high count of orphan CIs. What is the definition of an orphan CI in the context of CMDB Health Correctness?

Accepted Answer

A CI that has no relationships defined where relationships are expected according to class configuration rules.. An orphan CI is a Configuration Item that belongs to a class that is expected to have relationships (such as containing or running on), but currently has no relationships defined.

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A CI that has not been updated by any discovery source or manual import in over 90 days.

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A CI record that shares the exact same serial number and name as another active CI record.

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A CI whose assigned support group or managed-by user no longer exists in the sys_user table.

Question 6

A company wants to automatically retire hardware CIs that have been in an 'In Maintenance' state for more than 180 days without an active update. Which CMDB feature is designed to automate this lifecycle management workflow?

Accepted Answer

CMDB Data Manager. CMDB Data Manager is specifically designed to automate lifecycle management tasks, including the retirement of CIs based on conditions like state and inactivity. It provides policies and schedules to manage CI lifecycles without manual intervention.

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Data Certification schedules

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Lifecycle Management Business Rules

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Scheduled Jobs with baseline scripts

Question 7

An auditor wants to verify the physical existence and accuracy of datacenter hardware CIs by having owners attest to their records. Which application provides this attestation capability?

Accepted Answer

Data Certification. The Data Certification application in ServiceNow provides the capability for owners to attest to the accuracy of their Configuration Items (CIs) and other records. It is designed for periodic certification campaigns where users verify that the data is correct. The other options do not provide this attestation functionality.

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Asset Management Audit module

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CI Class Manager attestation wizard

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CMDB Health Dashboard compliance tab

Question 8

Which THREE of the following statements are true regarding Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) processing? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

IRE processing can be invoked via script using the CMDBEngine API or JSON payloads.. Option C is correct because IRE processing can be triggered programmatically through the CMDBEngine API (e.g., sn_cmdb.IRE or CMDBEngine) or by submitting JSON payloads to the IRE endpoint, allowing integrations and scripts to run identification and reconciliation on demand. Option D is correct because one of IRE's core purposes is de-duplication: it identifies incoming records against existing CIs using identifiers and reconciliation rules so that multiple data sources reporting the same physical item update one CI rather than creating duplicates. Option E is correct because reconciliation rules (and the related data source precedence/authoritative source configuration) define which data source is allowed to update which CI attributes, resolving conflicts when sources disagree. Option A is not correct because IRE matches on identifiers such as serial number, name, MAC address, and other identifier entries, not solely on sys_id; sys_id is a unique record key, not a matching attribute. Option B is not correct because IRE does not automatically delete CIs based on a 30-day inactivity threshold; CI lifecycle and retirement are handled by separate CMDB data management/health policies, not by IRE processing itself.

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IRE relies solely on the sys_id attribute to match and update existing Configuration Items.

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IRE automatically deletes any CI that has not been updated within 30 days.

Question 9

Which THREE of the following are benefits of using CI Class Manager? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Centralized viewing and editing of class-specific identification rules.. Option C is correct because CI Class Manager provides a single, centralized console where administrators can view and edit the identification rules that determine how CIs of a given class are uniquely identified and matched during discovery and import. Option D is correct because CI Class Manager allows you to add, modify, and delete attributes on specific CI classes within the CMDB class hierarchy, extending the schema without direct table manipulation. Option E is correct because CI Class Manager centralizes the management of reconciliation rules at both the class and attribute level, controlling how duplicate or conflicting CI records are merged. Option A is not a CI Class Manager benefit; incident triage workflows for failed discoveries are handled through Discovery/Service Mapping health and error handling, not class administration. Option B is not correct because CI Class Manager does not provide direct editing of system-level Java source code for Discovery patterns; pattern customization is done through the Pattern Designer and related tooling.

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Automatic execution of incident management triage workflows for failed discoveries.

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Direct editing of system-level Java source code for Discovery patterns.

Question 10

An organization notices that manual updates made by technicians to the 'Assigned to' field on server CIs are frequently being overwritten by automated nightly imports. What is the best way to prevent this without disabling the import entirely?

Accepted Answer

Configure a Reconciliation Rule giving priority to the 'UI / Manual' data source over the import data source for the 'Assigned to' attribute.. Configuring a Reconciliation Rule that gives priority to the 'UI / Manual' data source over the import data source for the 'Assigned to' attribute ensures that manual updates are not overwritten by automated imports. This rule allows the import to update other fields while preserving the manually assigned value.

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Modify the transform map to ignore the 'Assigned to' field during every import.

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Write a Business Rule on the cmdb_ci table to abort updates to 'Assigned to'.

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Lock the 'Assigned to' field dictionary attribute.

Question 11

Which TWO of the following are recommended best practices when configuring identification rules in the CMDB? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Use attributes that uniquely and reliably identify the CI, such as serial numbers or MAC addresses.. Option B is correct because effective identification rules must rely on attributes that uniquely and reliably distinguish a CI, such as serial numbers or MAC addresses, so that incoming payloads match the right existing record instead of creating duplicates. Option E is correct because identification rules should always be validated in a sub-production instance first; this lets you confirm that payloads reconcile to the intended CIs and catch unintended inserts or merges before they corrupt production CMDB data. Option A is not recommended because identification rules should be defined on the appropriate class (or the class hierarchy where they apply), not indiscriminately on the global cmdb table for all custom classes, which can cause incorrect matching across unrelated CI types. Option C is wrong because disabling all out-of-the-box identification rules does not improve processing speed in a recommended way and would break standard CI class reconciliation. Option D is wrong because volatile attributes like IP addresses change frequently and must not be the sole criteria, since that would cause unstable or duplicate CI identification.

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Create identification rules directly on the global cmdb table for all custom classes.

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Disable all out-of-the-box identification rules to improve payload processing speed.

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Include volatile attributes like IP addresses as the sole criteria in identification rules.

Question 12

Which THREE of the following actions can be performed using CMDB Data Manager? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Archive old and unused CI records based on age and lifecycle state criteria.. CMDB Data Manager is a ServiceNow application used to govern the CMDB lifecycle by creating policies that archive, retire, and delete CI records. Option B is correct because Data Manager policies can archive old and unused CIs by evaluating criteria such as age (for example, 'last discovered more than 90 days ago') and lifecycle state, moving them out of the active CMDB. Option D is correct because Data Manager supports retention-based deletion policies that permanently remove previously archived CIs after a defined retention period elapses. Option E is correct because Data Manager can automatically retire CIs that have reached end of life by setting their install status to Retired (or Absent) according to policy conditions. Option A is not correct because real-time network topology and service mapping views are produced by Service Mapping and Discovery, not by CMDB Data Manager. Option C is not correct because cloud discovery via AWS CloudFormation templates is performed by Discovery and Service Mapping patterns/Cloud Discovery, not by CMDB Data Manager, which only governs existing CI records.

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Generate real-time network topology maps for IT service mapping.

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Automatically discover cloud infrastructure using AWS CloudFormation templates.

Question 13

Which TWO factors should be considered when defining relationship rules between CI classes? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Whether the relationship is mandatory or optional for compliance checking.. Option C is correct because when defining relationship rules between CI classes, you must specify whether a relationship is mandatory or optional, since this determines how compliance checking and CI validation behave — for example, a server must have a mandatory 'Runs on' relationship to a host, while other relationships may be optional. Option D is correct because relationship rules must define the allowed parent and child classes for each relationship type, ensuring that only valid class combinations (such as 'Server' as parent and 'Database' as child for a 'Hosts' relationship) can be created, which enforces data integrity in the CMDB. The unmarked options do not belong: A (IP subnet mask) is a network configuration detail, not a relationship rule factor; B (depreciation schedule) is a financial asset attribute unrelated to CI class relationships; and E (OS version) is a CI attribute, not a factor governing relationship rules between classes.

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The IP subnet mask of the connected network gear.

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The financial depreciation schedule of the connected assets.

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The operating system version of the parent server.

Question 14

A CMDB administrator needs to ensure that when a discovery source reports a server with the same serial number as an existing CI, the existing CI is updated rather than a duplicate being created. The administrator wants to apply this behavior only to the 'cmdb_ci_linux_server' class and its child classes. Which approach should the administrator take?

Accepted Answer

Create a custom identification rule for the Linux Server class with an entry using the serial_number attribute.. The Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) uses identification rules to determine whether an incoming CI matches an existing record. By creating a custom rule for the Linux Server class with a serial_number entry, the administrator ensures that only that class and its descendants use serial number for matching. This is the standard, supported method to achieve class-specific identification behavior without affecting other CI types.

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Create a business rule on the cmdb_ci_linux_server table that checks for existing serial numbers and updates the matching record.

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Enable the 'Use serial number for identification' system property in the CMDB properties.

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Modify the default identification rule for the Computer class to include serial_number as a matching attribute.

Question 15

A CMDB administrator is configuring the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) for a new data source that discovers network switches. The administrator needs to ensure that when a switch is discovered, IRE uses the switch's serial number as the primary identifier and falls back to the MAC address if the serial number is missing. Which configuration should the administrator perform?

Accepted Answer

Create an Identification Rule for the Network Switch [cmdb_ci_netgear] class with two entries: serial_number with a higher priority, and mac_address with a lower priority.. The Identification and Reconciliation Engine uses identification rules to match incoming CI data to existing records. Identification rules contain entries that specify attributes and their priority. By creating a rule with serial_number at a higher priority and mac_address at a lower priority, IRE will use serial_number as the primary identifier and mac_address as a fallback when serial_number is missing. This is the standard way to configure fallback identification.

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Modify the CI Class Manager to set the serial_number as the unique key for the Network Switch class, and configure mac_address as an alternate key.

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Create a Reconciliation Rule for the Network Switch [cmdb_ci_netgear] class that specifies serial_number as the primary attribute and mac_address as the secondary attribute.

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Create a Data Source Precedence rule that prioritizes serial_number over mac_address for the Network Switch class.