ServiceNow Incidents SyncPack Release Notes, version 4.2.0

Version 4.2.0 of the "ServiceNow Incidents " SyncPack adds OAuth2 support to the SyncPack, adds multiple configuration options to the "Sync Incident Details from ServiceNow to SL1" application, and updates the "Bulk Update Events" and "Bulk Clear Events" steps in the "Sync Incident Details from ServiceNow to SL1 Events" application.

This SyncPack uses the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack.

You should not use the "ServiceNow Incidents " SyncPack and the "ServiceNow Events "SyncPack on the same PowerFlow system. Also, do not use the "ServiceNow Incidents" and the "ServiceNow Cases" SyncPacks on the same PowerFlow system.

You can use the "ServiceNow Incidents " SyncPack with the Incident portion of the existing CMDB & Incident workflow as well as the new Incident-only workflow. You cannot use both workflows on the same PowerFlow system.

This SyncPack is compatible with the "ServiceNow Service Graph Connector" SyncPack and the "ServiceNow CMDB" SyncPack.

Features Included in this Release

This release of the SyncPack includes the following features:

  • Updated the "Sync Incident Details from ServiceNow to SL1 Events" application so that the "Bulk Update Events" and "Bulk Clear Events" steps both sync data.

  • Added the following configuration options to the "Sync Incident Details from ServiceNow to SL1" application:

    • retry_max. The maximum number of times PowerFlow will retry to execute the step before it stops retrying and logs a step failure. For example, if retry_max is 3, PowerFlow will retry after 1 second, then 2 seconds, then 4 seconds, and stop if the last retry fails. The default is 0.

    • retry_jitter. When selected, instead of using a defined interval between retries, PowerFlow will retry the step execution at random intervals. The default is unselected.

    • retry_backoff. When selected, instead of using a defined interval between retries, PowerFlow will incrementally increase the interval between retries. The default is unselected.

    • retry_backoff_max. The maximum time interval for the retry_backoff option, in seconds. For example, if you have retry_max set to 15, the delays will be 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 120, 240, 480, 600, 600, 600, 600, and 600. The default is 600.

  • Added OAuth2 support to the SyncPack. There are four required parameters you can add to a configuration object to facilitate OAuth2 connection to ServiceNow:

    • snow_oauth_client_id: OAuth2 Client ID from ServiceNow
    • snow_oauth_client_secret: OAuth2 Client secret from ServiceNow
    • snow_oauth_token_url: Full authentication URL, including host and protocol from ServiceNow. For example, "https://<test-instance-name>.service-now.com/oauth_token.do".
    • snow_auth_method: You can enter 'oauth' or 'http_basic' as the value. If no value is provided, 'http_basic' will be used for connection.

The configuration options listed above are only required in the configuration object if you plan to use OAuth2 to authenticate. If the values are not present in the configuration object, normal "http_basic" authentication will be used.

To view the latest manuals for the SL1 PowerFlow Platform, see the SL1 PowerFlow page. To view the latest release notes for PowerFlow, see SL1 PowerFlow Release Notes.

Known Issues

The "ServiceNow Incidents" SyncPack contains the following known issues:

  • If you are using the "ServiceNow CMDB" SyncPack version 3.5.0 or later to sync SL1 devices to ServiceNow, you should set the value of the cmdb_integration parameter in the "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Incident" run book action policy to SGC to allow CIs to attach to incidents. If you are using versions of the "ServiceNow CMDB" SyncPack before version 3.5.0, set the value of the cmdb_integration parameter to CMDB.

System Requirements

This release of the SyncPack requires:

  • SL1 PowerFlow platform version 2.4.0 or later.
  • SL1 version 11.2.0 or later. For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.
  • "Base Steps" SyncPack version 1.5.5 or later.
  • "ServiceNow Base" SyncPack version 3.8.0 or later.
  • "ServiceNow Base" PowerPack 107 or later. You can download the PowerPack from the PowerPacks page.
  • ServiceNow version Tokyo or later, with Web Services enabled.
  • "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Integration" application version 1.0.7.

You should always use the most recent version of a SyncPack and its certified application.

The following table lists the port access required by PowerFlow for the "ServiceNow Incidents" SyncPack:

Source IP Integration Service Destination Integration Service Source Port Destination Port Requirement
PowerFlow SL1 API Any TCP 443 SL1 API Access
PowerFlow ServiceNow API Any TCP 443 ServiceNow API Access
SL1 Run Book Action PowerFlow Any TCP 443 Send SL1 data to the PowerFlow

Prerequisites for the SyncPack

To install this SyncPack, you must have administrator access to both SL1 and ServiceNow. Specifically, you will need:

  • ScienceLogic administrator access to the Administration Portal
  • ServiceNow administrator access

If you want to upload and install multiple ServiceNow SyncPacks at the same time, you should upload all of the SyncPacks first, and then install them to address any dependencies between the SyncPacks.

ScienceLogic highly recommends that you disable all firewall session-limiting policies. Firewalls will drop HTTPS requests, which results in data loss.

ScienceLogic does not support any deployment that attempts to sync one SL1 instance to multiple ServiceNow instances. A deployment of this type will be incredibly fragile and would require the customer to strictly control their environments. This is not something that can be controlled programmatically. Escalations related to this type of deployment are not supported.

Upgrading or Installing the SyncPack

If you are upgrading to this version of the SyncPack from a previous version, make a note of any settings you made on the various integration applications in this SyncPack, as these settings are not retained when you upgrade.

If you are using a version of the "ServiceNow Incidents" SyncPack before version 4.0.0, you should uninstall that version in the PowerFlow user interface before installing this release. Uninstalling ensures that all deprecated applications and configurations have been removed from your system.

If you are upgrading from a previous version of this SyncPack and you want to keep your settings from the existing "ScienceLogic SL1: CMDB & Incident Automation" application, see Migrating from the "ScienceLogic SL1: CMDB & Incident Automation" Application to the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" Application.

Installing or Upgrading the SyncPack

A SyncPack file has the .whl file extension type. You can download the SyncPack file from the ScienceLogic Support site.

To locate and download the SyncPack:

  1. Go to the ScienceLogic Support site at https://support.sciencelogic.com/s/.
  2. Click the Product Downloads tab and select PowerPacks & SyncPacks.
  3. In the Search field, type the name of this SyncPack and select it from the search results. The Release Version page appears.
  4. On the Files tab, click the down arrow next to the SyncPack version that you want to install, and select Show File Details. The Release File Details page appears.
  5. Click the Download File button to download the SyncPack.

After you download a SyncPack, you can import it to the PowerFlow platform using the PowerFlow user interface.

To import a SyncPack in the PowerFlow user interface:

  1. On the SyncPacks page, click Import SyncPack. The Import SyncPack page appears.
  2. Click Browse and select the .whl file for the SyncPack you want to install. You can also drag and drop a .whl file to the Import SyncPack page.
  3. Click Import. PowerFlow registers and uploads the SyncPack. The SyncPack is added to the SyncPacks page.

You cannot edit the content package in a SyncPack published by ScienceLogic. You must make a copy of a ScienceLogic SyncPack and save your changes to the new SyncPack to prevent overwriting any information in the original SyncPack when upgrading.

To activate and install a SyncPack in the PowerFlow user interface:

  1. On the SyncPacks page, click the Actions button () for the SyncPack you want to install and select Activate & Install. The Activate & Install SyncPack modal appears.

    If you try to activate and install a SyncPack that is already activated and installed, you can choose to "force" installation across all the nodes in the PowerFlow system.

    If you do not see the PowerPack that you want to install, click the Filter icon () on the SyncPacks page and select Toggle Inactive SyncPacks to see a list of the imported PowerPacks.

  1. Click Yes to confirm the activation and installation. When the SyncPack is activated, the SyncPacks page displays a green check mark icon for that SyncPack. If the activation or installation failed, then a red exclamation mark icon appears.
  2. For more information about the activation and installation process, click the check mark icon or the exclamation mark icon in the Activated column for that SyncPack. For a successful installation, the "Activate & Install SyncPack" PowerFlow application appears, and you can view the Step Log for the steps. For a failed installation, the Error Logs window appears.
  3. If you have other versions of the same SyncPack on your PowerFlow system, you can click the Actions button () for that SyncPack and select Change active version to activate a different version other than the version that is currently running.

Migrating from the "ScienceLogic SL1: CMDB & Incident Automation" Application to the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" Application

This section explains how to upgrade from the existing "ScienceLogic SL1: CMDB & Incident Automation" application to the new "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application with version 4.0.0 and later of this SyncPack.

Both applications include the following functionality:

  • Create, update, or clear a ServiceNow Incidents from an SL1 Event
  • Sync Incident State from a ServiceNow to an SL1 Event

These applications do not share any tables or fields within ServiceNow.

This section highlights some considerations when transferring to the Incident only application (version 4.0.0 or later of this SyncPack). Any customizations you made in another Certified Application do not carry over to other Certified Applications, even when both are provided by the same vendor. You will need to adapt customizations made previously so they can work within this new application.

  1. The Correlation ID (correlation _type in the Run Book Action Input Parameters) is no longer set in SL1 or PowerFlow. With the new application, the Correlation ID is set in the transformation map within ServiceNow. The preset Correlation IDs that were provided in past applications are also included and can be set by using the Properties page in the ServiceNow Application. You can address custom behavior within the transformation map.
  2. The Incident "onBefore" script addresses Impact and Urgency states. You will most likely need to customize the default behavior for these states to meet your requirements.
  3. The Incident "onBefore" script also addresses cleared event behavior, and you will need to evaluate and customize this behavior to fit your requirements.
  4. Evaluate the field mappings between SL1 and ServiceNow.

Installing the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" Application in ServiceNow

You must install the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation Integration" application on the ServiceNow instance to enable this SyncPack. This application is also called the "certified" or "scoped" application.

Version 4.0.0 or later of the "ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack uses the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application in ServiceNow to sync incident status update from ServiceNow back to SL1. Versions of this SyncPack before 4.0.0 used the "ScienceLogic SL1: CMDB & Incident Automation" application, but that application is not supported with version 4.0.0 or later.

Contents of the Application

This release of the "ServiceNow Incidents" SyncPack requires version 1.0.7 of the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application. Version 1.0.7 includes the following updates:

  • Included support for ServiceNow Vancouver, Utah, and Tokyo.
  • Added a new business rule.
  • Added Transform Map updates.
  • Added dictionary updates to accommodate the domain field for this integration.
  • The initial release of the certified application enabled the sync of SL1 events with ServiceNow incidents.

Installing the Application

You must have a ServiceNow HI Service Account to request this application and download it onto your ServiceNow instance.

You must first request the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application from the ServiceNow Store, and then you can install it.

To request and install the Certified Application:

  1. Go to the ServiceNow Store at https://store.servicenow.com and search for "ScienceLogic SL1".
  2. Select the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application. The detail page for the application appears.
  3. Click the Get button and log in with your HI credentials.
  4. After the request is approved, log in to ServiceNow as an administrator and navigate to Application Manager (System Applications > Applications or My Company Applications).
  5. Click Downloads in the menu header or search for "ScienceLogic".
  6. Click the version drop-down for the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application listing to make sure you are using the correct version of the application that is compatible with your version of this SyncPack.
  7. Click the Install button for the "ScienceLogic SL1: Incident Automation" application. The installation is complete when the button changes to Installed.
  8. In the filter navigator, search for "ScienceLogic" and locate the application in the left-hand navigation menu to verify that the application was installed. You might need to log out of ServiceNow and log in again to see the updated left-hand navigation menu.

Installing the ServiceNow Base Pack PowerPack in SL1

The "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack version 107 or later contains run book action policies, automation policies, and an action type that you can use to integrate this SyncPack with ServiceNow.

By default, installing a new version of a PowerPack will overwrite all content in that PowerPack that has already been installed on the target system. You can use the Enable Selective PowerPack Field Protection setting in the Behavior Settings page (System > Settings > Behavior) in SL1 to prevent the new version of the PowerPack from overwriting local changes for some commonly customized fields.

To install the latest "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack in SL1:

  1. Search for and download the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack from the PowerPacks page at the ScienceLogic Support site at https://support.sciencelogic.com/s/.
  2. In SL1, go to the PowerPack Manager page (System > Manage > PowerPacks).
  3. Click the Actions button and choose Import PowerPack. The Import PowerPack modal appears.
  4. Click Browse and navigate to the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack file from step 1.
  5. Select the PowerPack file and click Import. The PowerPack Installer modal page displays a list of the PowerPack contents.
  6. Click Install. After the installation is complete, the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack appears on the PowerPack Manager page.