SNOW-CSA Database Administration and CMDB Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting why a CMDB CI's last discovered date is not updating after a successful discovery run. The CI is in a valid state and the discovery schedule runs. What could be the cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse reconciliation rules with identification rules or assume that a successful discovery run always updates the last discovered date, overlooking the impact of manual reconciliation settings on attribute updates.
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 reconciliation rule is set to 'Manual' and the discovered data conflicts with existing data.
When a reconciliation rule is set to 'Manual', the CMDB will not automatically update CI attributes with discovered data if there is a conflict with existing data. The CI remains in its last discovered state until a manual reconciliation is performed, even if the discovery run succeeds and the CI is valid.
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 CMDB identification rule has a condition that excludes this CI from updates.
Why it's wrong here
If the CI is discovered, the condition likely allows matching.
- ✗
The discovery source is set to 'ServiceNow' but the CI was created manually.
Why it's wrong here
Discovery source does not affect the update; manual CIs can still be updated.
- ✓
The reconciliation rule is set to 'Manual' and the discovered data conflicts with existing data.
Why this is correct
Manual reconciliation prevents automatic updates when conflicts arise, so the date stays unchanged.
- ✗
The CI is a parent class and child class discovery is updating child records.
Why it's wrong here
Parent CIs can still be updated directly by discovery.
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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.