ServiceNow Base Pack PowerPack Release Notes, version 106

The "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack monitors ServiceNow for information about the CI records that are actively being synced between SL1 and ServiceNow with PowerFlow, including basic CI metadata and an overall count. This PowerPack is a critical component of the ServiceNow Incident, Event, and Case SyncPacks.

The "ServiceNow Base Pack PowerPack" version 106 includes updated Run Book Automation policies, a new Run Book Action policy and Run Book Action that are specific to the "ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack.

Version 106 and later of the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack aligned all default Incident Automation policies with the new "ServiceNow: Send to PowerFlow" Action Type. If you have upgraded to the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack 106 or later, but not the "ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack version 4.0.0 or later, you will need to update those default Automation policies to align with the older Action Type. If you made copies of the Automation policies, you will not need to update them.

This release of the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack works with the existing CMDB & Incident workflow as well as the new Incident-only workflow available in the "ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack version 4.0.0 and later. You cannot use both workflows on the same PowerFlow system.

  • Minimum Required Version of ServiceNow: Tokyo
  • Minimum Required SL1 Version: SL1 version 11.2.0 or later. For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.

Features Included in this Release

The following features were included in this release:

  • Created the "ServiceNow: Send to PowerFlow" Action Type to account for the updates to the Incident flow for the ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack. This Action Type includes the following new input parameters, which you can use in the updated "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Incident" Run Book Action policy: 

    • cmdb_integration. Specifies which CMDB SyncPack you are using to ensure that PowerFlow sends the correct identifiers to ServiceNow. If you are using the "ServiceNow CMDB" SyncPack, use CMDB. If you are using the "ServiceNow Service Graph Connector" SyncPack, use SGC.
    • pf_app_override. If you are using a custom PowerFlow application to consume SL1 Events, add the system name of that application to this parameter. Optional. If this parameter is not present and populated, PowerFlow will use the default application for consuming events.

    For more information about the input parameters in the "ServiceNow: Send to PowerFlow" Action Type, see the ServiceNow Base Pack PowerPack manual or the ServiceNow Incident SyncPack manual.

  • Created a new version of the "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Incident" Run Book Action policy for the Incident flow that points to the new Action Type. If you have an older version of the "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Incident" Run Book Action policy on your SL1 system, you should disable or delete that policy.
  • Updated the existing Run Book Automation policies in this PowerPack to make them specific to version 4.0.0 of the "ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack. Existing Automation policies for incidents were updated to point to the new Incident action, so if you are not using version 4.0.0 of the "ServiceNow Incident" SyncPack you will need to update those Automation policies. These policies are disabled by default.
  • Added support for the Run Book Automation queue (RBA queue) retries feature available in PowerFlow version 2.3.0 and SL1 version 11.1.0. The feature is enabled by default in this release, but it will have no impact on SL1 systems before version 11.1.0. The new "ServiceNow: Send to PowerFlow" Action type also supports RBA queue retries.

The following features were included in previous versions of the PowerPack :

  • The "REST: Performance Metrics Monitor (ServiceNow)" Dynamic Application, which collects performance data such as connection errors, latency, SSL errors, and timeouts
  • The "ServiceNow: CMDB Configuration" Dynamic Application, which provides data for PowerFlow systems communicating with ServiceNow
  • The "ServiceNow: Incident Metrics" Dynamic Application, which collects information about the types, statuses, and properties of ServiceNow Incidents
  • A "ServiceNow" Device Class for ServiceNow instances
  • Run Book Automation policies to automate adding, updating, clearing, cases, events, or incidents; acknowledging events; and creating ServiceNow cases, events, or incidents in SL1
  • Run Book Automation policies to enable "Click to Create" cases, events, or incidents.
  • The "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Case", "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Event", and "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Incident" Run Book Action policies

    Make sure you have the latest version of the "ServiceNow: Add/Update/Clear Incident" Run Book Action policy in SL1. You should disable or delete the older version of this policy.

  • Two Sample SOAP/XML Credentials: one for connecting Dynamic Applications to a ServiceNow instance, and one for sending event payload information to PowerFlow using the Run Book Automations
  • The "ServiceNow CMDB: Un-Mapped Device Classes" Event Policy
  • The "ServiceNow Open Incidents" Dashboard, which displays information about ServiceNow incident statuses and types

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

This release contains the following known issues:

  • The "ServiceNow: CMDB Configuration" Dynamic Application might fail when you run the application on systems of high scale.
  • In the "ServiceNow Open Incidents" Dashboard, you cannot select multiple virtual devices in the Custom Device Table widget. SL1 only displays the result of the first virtual device you selected.

Before You Install or Upgrade

Ensure that you are running version 11.2.0 or later of SL1 before installing version 106 of the "ServiceNow Base Pack" PowerPack.

For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.

Installing the PowerPack

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) to prevent the new version of the PowerPack from overwriting local changes for some commonly customized fields.

If you are currently using the Dynamic Applications in this PowerPack to monitor devices, collection errors might occur for one or two polling cycles during the installation of a new version. To prevent collection errors during an upgrade, you can optionally disable collection for monitored devices before performing the following steps and re-enable collection after the upgrade.

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.