SNOW-CSA Database Administration and CMDB Practice Test 7 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An administrator needs to identify which CI(s) are affected by a recent network outage. Which table should be queried to find the relationship between CIs and incidents?

Accepted Answer

task_ci. The task_ci table stores the direct relationship between tasks (including incidents) and configuration items (CIs). When an administrator needs to identify which CIs are affected by a specific incident, querying task_ci with the incident's sys_id will return the associated CIs. This table is the standard ServiceNow junction table for linking any task record (such as an incident) to CIs.

Answer

cmdb_ci

Answer

sys_ci_relation

Answer

cmdb_rel_ci

Question 2

A company uses Discovery to populate the CMDB. After a recent change, some CIs are incorrectly classified as 'Network Gear' instead of 'Server'. What is the most efficient way to correct the classification for these specific CIs?

Accepted Answer

Update the Discovery classification pattern and re-run Discovery on the affected IPs.. Discovery classification patterns define how CIs are categorized based on probe results. Updating the pattern to correctly identify the affected CIs and re-running Discovery on their IPs ensures that the classification is corrected at the source, preventing future misclassification without manual intervention or data loss.

Answer

Delete the CIs and let Discovery recreate them.

Answer

Manually change the 'Class' field on each CI.

Answer

Run the 'Identify CI' probe again.

Question 3

A scheduled job runs a transform map to import data into the CMDB from an external asset management system. The transform map has a field mapping that uses script to derive the CI class based on asset type. Recently, imports have been failing with a 'GlideRecord: Invalid table name' error. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The script in the field mapping is returning a value that does not correspond to an existing table name.. The error 'GlideRecord: Invalid table name' indicates that the script in the field mapping is returning a string that does not match any existing table (class) in the CMDB. When a transform map uses a script to derive the CI class, the returned value must be a valid table name (e.g., 'cmdb_ci_server'). If the script returns a misspelled, malformed, or non-existent table name, GlideRecord fails to instantiate the record, causing the import to fail.

Answer

The external system is sending malformed data.

Answer

The scheduled job does not have the right roles.

Answer

The target table name in the transform map is misspelled.

Question 4

Which table is the base table for all configuration items in the CMDB?

Accepted Answer

cmdb_ci. The `cmdb_ci` table is the base (parent) table for all configuration items in the CMDB. It contains common attributes such as name, sys_class_name, and operational status, and all specialized CI tables (like `cmdb_ci_server`, `cmdb_ci_storage`, and `cmdb_ci_network`) extend from it via class inheritance. This hierarchical structure ensures that any CI record, regardless of its specific type, has a corresponding row in `cmdb_ci`.

Answer

cmdb_ci_storage

Answer

cmdb_ci_server

Answer

cmdb_ci_network

Question 5

What is the purpose of the 'cmdb_rel_ci' table?

Accepted Answer

It stores the actual relationships between CIs.. The 'cmdb_rel_ci' table in ServiceNow stores the actual relationships between Configuration Items (CIs). Each row in this table represents a specific instance of a relationship, linking a parent CI to a child CI via a defined relationship type, enabling the CMDB to model dependencies and connectivity in the infrastructure.

Answer

It stores the CI classification rules.

Answer

It stores the CI hierarchy tree.

Answer

It stores the list of all relationship types.

Question 6

An administrator needs to create a new CI class for 'Database Instance' that extends the existing 'cmdb_ci' table. Which tool should be used?

Accepted Answer

CI Class Manager. The CI Class Manager is the dedicated tool in ServiceNow for creating and managing Configuration Item (CI) classes, including extending existing tables like 'cmdb_ci' to create a new 'Database Instance' class. It provides a guided interface to define class hierarchy, attributes, and relationships specific to CMDB, ensuring proper alignment with the Common Service Data Model (CSDM).

Answer

System Definition > Tables

Answer

CMDB Data Manager

Answer

Studio

Question 7

A new administrator needs to view the relationships between CIs. Which TWO tables store information about CI relationships? (Select two.)

Accepted Answer

cmdb_rel_type. In ServiceNow, CI relationships are stored using two tables: cmdb_rel_type (option B), which defines the types of relationships that can exist between CIs (such as 'Depends on' or 'Contains'), and cmdb_rel_ci (option C), which stores the actual relationship records linking one CI to another. Option B is correct because it provides the relationship type definitions referenced by relationship records, and option C is correct because it is the table where the parent-child or dependency links between CIs are actually recorded. Option A (cmdb_ci_service) is a CMDB CI class table for business services, not a relationship table. Option D (cmdb_ci) is the base CI table holding CI records themselves, not their relationships. Option E (cmdb_ci_relationship) is not the correct table name used by ServiceNow for storing CI relationships.

Answer

cmdb_ci_service

Answer

cmdb_ci

Answer

cmdb_ci_relationship

Question 8

Refer to the exhibit. An administrator runs Discovery on a switch and receives this payload. However, the CI is not created in the CMDB. The Discovery log shows 'Identification rule did not match any CI. Creating new CI failed because of duplicate serial number?'. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

There is already a CI with the same serial number.. The error message 'Creating new CI failed because of duplicate serial number' directly indicates that a CI with the same serial number already exists in the CMDB. ServiceNow enforces uniqueness on the serial number field for hardware CIs; when Discovery attempts to create a new CI but finds a matching serial number, the operation fails. This is why option B is correct.

Answer

The class 'Network Gear' is invalid.

Answer

The identification rule is misconfigured.

Answer

The serial number field is missing from the payload.

Question 9

A system administrator receives a request to add a new field called 'Business Impact' to the 'cmdb_ci' table. Which method should be used to ensure the field is available to all CI classes?

Accepted Answer

Add the field to the 'cmdb_ci' table directly. The 'cmdb_ci' table is the base table for all Configuration Items (CIs) in the CMDB. Adding a field directly to this table ensures it is inherited by all child CI classes (e.g., cmdb_ci_computer, cmdb_ci_server) through the table hierarchy. This is the standard method for making a field universally available across all CI types without creating redundant or inconsistent data structures.

Answer

Add the field to a child class like 'cmdb_ci_computer'

Answer

Use the 'Include Table' configuration to add the field

Answer

Create a new extension table for the field

Question 10

An administrator notices that a reference field on the cmdb_ci table, 'vendor', points to the 'core_company' table. However, some users report that they cannot select certain companies in the reference field. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The 'vendor' field has a reference qualifier that filters companies. Reference qualifiers are used to filter the records displayed in a reference field. If the 'vendor' field has a reference qualifier condition (e.g., 'active=true' or 'vendor_type=hardware'), only companies meeting that condition will appear in the dropdown, preventing users from selecting certain companies. This is the most likely cause when users cannot see specific records in a reference field.

Answer

The 'display field' property is incorrectly configured

Answer

The 'vendor' field is marked as mandatory

Answer

The database view permission is set to 'none' for some users

Question 11

A company is implementing ServiceNow CMDB and wants to ensure that all CIs in the 'Production' environment are backed up daily. What is the best practice to achieve this?

Accepted Answer

Configure the instance's automatic daily backup. ServiceNow instances have a built-in automatic daily backup feature that captures the entire instance, including all CMDB records and CIs, regardless of environment. This ensures that production CIs are backed up daily without requiring manual configuration or selective exports, aligning with best practices for data protection and disaster recovery.

Answer

Set the 'cmdb_ci' table's 'Backup' field to true

Answer

Use the 'Export to XML' feature every night for production CIs

Answer

Create a scheduled data export for only production CMDB records

Question 12

Which THREE of the following are best practices for CMDB data maintenance? (Choose exactly 3.)

Accepted Answer

Scheduled reconciliation to identify and merge duplicates. Option A is correct because scheduled reconciliation compares CMDB records against authoritative sources and identifies duplicate or stale CIs, allowing them to be merged or retired so the CMDB stays accurate and trustworthy. Option D is correct because regular data certification requires CI owners to review and attest to the accuracy of their records, which enforces accountability and catches data-quality drift before it affects ITIL processes like incident and change management. Option E is correct because imported data (for example, from discovery, asset feeds, or HR systems) becomes stale over time, so defining data refresh schedules keeps attributes such as owner, location, and status current. Option B is wrong because disabling discovery removes the automated source of truth and guarantees the CMDB will drift out of date, and Option C is wrong because manually updating all CI attributes is error-prone, unscalable, and defeats the purpose of automated discovery and reconciliation.

Answer

Disabling discovery for all CIs to prevent changes

Answer

Manually updating all CI attributes

Question 13

A company's CMDB has duplicate CIs for the same server due to conflicting identification rules. The admin notices that some CIs are being merged incorrectly. What is the best practice to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

Review and refine the identification rules to ensure uniqueness criteria are correctly defined.. Duplicate CIs in the CMDB arise from conflicting or poorly defined identification rules. The best practice is to review and refine these rules to ensure each CI has a unique set of identifying attributes (e.g., serial number, MAC address, or FQDN). This prevents incorrect merges and maintains data integrity without relying on manual cleanup or timeout adjustments.

Answer

Increase the reconciliation engine's timeout value.

Answer

Run the CI Class Manager to delete duplicate CIs.

Answer

Disable all identification rules and use manual reconciliation.

Question 14

An administrator is troubleshooting issues with the CMDB identification and reconciliation engine. Which three components are part of the identification and reconciliation process? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Reconciliation rules. The identification and reconciliation process in the CMDB consists of three core components: identification rules (D), reconciliation rules (B), and data sources (C). Identification rules (D) define how incoming data is matched against existing CIs using identifiers and identifier entries to determine whether a record is new or an update. Reconciliation rules (B) determine which data source wins when multiple sources provide conflicting values for the same CI attribute, based on priority and precedence. Data sources (C) represent the origins of the incoming CI data (such as ServiceNow Discovery, import sets, or third-party integrations) and are essential because identification and reconciliation logic is applied per data source. Transform maps (A) are used by import sets to map source fields to target fields, but they are not a component of the identification and reconciliation engine itself. CI Class Manager (E) is a UI tool for managing class definitions and identifiers, not a functional component of the identification and reconciliation process.

Answer

Transform maps

Answer

CI Class Manager

Question 15

Your organization uses multiple data sources to populate the CMDB, including ServiceNow Discovery, manual imports, and integrations with an external asset management system. Recently, you have noticed that some CIs appear to be duplicated despite having identification rules configured. Investigation reveals that the identification rules are not correctly matching CIs from the external system. What should you do to resolve the duplication without losing existing relationships?

Accepted Answer

Modify the identification rule to include a unique identifier from the external system.. The duplication occurs because the identification rule does not include a unique identifier from the external system, so CIs from that source are not matched to existing records. Adding the external system's unique identifier to the identification rule allows ServiceNow to correctly correlate incoming CIs with existing ones, preventing duplicates while preserving relationships. This is the standard remediation for identification-rule mismatches.

Answer

Delete all CIs from the external system and re-import.

Answer

Manually merge all duplicate CIs using the UI.

Answer

Disable the external integration to prevent further duplicates.