Configuring the ServiceNow App for IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps

Before you set up your ServiceNow connection in IBM Cloud Pak® for Watson AIOps, you must set up the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps ServiceNow App in your ServiceNow instance.

About this task

With this connection, you can create Incidents in IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps that then become Incidents in ServiceNow. Both contain the same information. To set up this connection, you must set up ServiceNow and the ServiceNow connection in IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps.

When the connection is created, the ServiceNow App can receive updates from IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps for the state, priority, and description values. However, updates from the ServiceNow App are not sent back to IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps.

Prerequisites

Before you can set up ServiceNow to connect with IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps, you need to make sure that your ServiceNow instance meets the following requirements:

  • Install the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps App into your ServiceNow instance. To get the app, go to the ServiceNow Store Opens in a new tab.
  • Important: Make sure that your ServiceNow App is version 4.1 or later so that incidents in IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps and ServiceNow remain synchronized.

Procedure

Complete the following steps to set up ServiceNow for connection:

  1. Assign the managing roles for granting access to ServiceNow.
  2. Create the users that need to access and set up the connection.
  3. Create the ServiceNow connection with the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps UI

Managing roles

In ServiceNow, two preset roles can be assigned to users: user_admin and itil. These roles can be added to the existing roles in the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps App to grant more access to ServiceNow functions.

  • The user_admin role gives privileges to create new users and assign roles to users.

    • Adding this role is optional. Not having this role does not affect functioning.

  • The itil role gives access to the incident and change ticket views.

    • This role is required to view the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps incidents and change risk assessments.

  1. Log in to your ServiceNow custom application.

  2. In the filter field, search for roles.

  3. Click User Administration > Roles.

  4. Search for x_ibm_waiops, which produces a list of predefined roles.

    ServiceNow title list
    Figure. ServiceNow title list

  5. Click x_ibm_waiops.admin.

  6. Optional: Under the Contains Roles List box, select Edit, and you can add the user_admin role to the x_ibm_waiops.admin role.

    It looks like the following:

    ServiceNow edit members
    Figure. ServiceNow edit members

  7. Go back to the list of predefined roles. Select x_ibm_waiops.user.

  8. In the Contains Roles List box, select Edit and add the itil role to x_ibm_waiops.user. Unlike the user_admin role, this role is required.

    • Make sure that your IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps users in ServiceNow are assigned either the x_ibm_waiops.admin or the x_ibm_waiops.user role. The x_ibm_waiops.admin role includes the x_ibm_waiops.user role, so it inherits the itil role. All IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps users need the itil role to view generic incidents and change tickets. Without either the x_ibm_waiops.admin or the x_ibm_waiops.user roles, a user cannot access the augmented incidents and change tickets from the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps ServiceNow App and receives a permissions error.

    • The other three roles available within the x_ibm_waiops.user role (all of which begin with x_ibm_waiops.) provide access to the three new tables introduced by the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps ServiceNow App.

  9. Now you see something like this:

    ServiceNow roles list
    Figure. ServiceNow roles list

User roles

  1. Go to Organization > Users. Create at least 2 users, an admin and a generic user to be a Site Reliability Engineer (SRE).

    • For the admin user, for the built-in filters to work, the admin's user ID needs to be watson.aiops, and the admin's first name needs to be IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps.
    • For the SRE user, the user ID and first and last name do not need to be specific values.

  2. For each user, set up a password by clicking Set Password. After you click Set Password, ServiceNow assigns a default password.

  3. Copy and save the password. The first time that you log in with the default password, ServiceNow prompts you to set a new password. Make sure to change the default password.

  4. For each user, find the Roles tab.

    ServiceNow user creation
    Figure. ServiceNow user creation

  5. For the admin user, assign the x_ibm_waiops.admin role to be used in step 6 of Creating a ServiceNow connection.

    ServiceNow role assignment
    Figure. ServiceNow role assignment

    This admin user will have their name, IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps, attached to the generated incidents and change ticket assessments that are created by IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps in ServiceNow.

    ServiceNow user roles
    Figure. ServiceNow user roles

  6. For the SRE user, assign the x_ibm_waiops.user role so that the user can view and assess ServiceNow incidents and change tickets.

Important: Make sure that the time zone of your admin user (the user value that is used to create your ServiceNow connection) matches your system time zone in ServiceNow. If the two values are not synchronized, the flow of your change request data from ServiceNow to IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps can be disrupted.

Create the ServiceNow connection

You also need the ServiceNow connection to be created with the IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps UI. For more information, see Creating a ServiceNow connection.

ServiceNow App configuration page

Although the System properties for integration with IBM Cloud Pak for Watson AIOps page is still visible in the ServiceNow App, you do not need to configure it.