SNOW-CSA Database Administration and CMDB Practice Question
An administrator discovers that a scheduled discovery job is creating duplicate CI records for the same physical server. The server has two IP addresses (one for management, one for production). What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume duplicate CIs are caused by scheduling or scanning frequency, when the real issue is the absence of a proper unique identifier in the identification rule, which is a core CMDB concept tested in the SNOW-CSA exam.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The identification rule for the CI class does not include a unique hardware identifier like serial number.
ServiceNow's CMDB uses identification rules to determine whether a discovered CI is new or matches an existing record. For a physical server with multiple IP addresses, the identification rule must include a unique hardware identifier such as a serial number (e.g., from SMBIOS) to prevent duplicate CIs. Without that, the system may treat each IP address as a separate CI, even though they belong to the same server.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The discovery schedule is set to run too frequently.
Why it's wrong here
Frequency does not cause duplicates; it would update existing records.
- ✗
The discovery job is configured to scan only the management IP.
Why it's wrong here
Scanning only one IP would not create duplicates.
- ✓
The identification rule for the CI class does not include a unique hardware identifier like serial number.
Why this is correct
Without a unique identifier, each IP may create a separate CI.
- ✗
The server has too many IP addresses for discovery to handle.
Why it's wrong here
Discovery can handle multiple IPs.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SNOW-CSA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ServiceNow certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SNOW-CSA exam.