Migrating data from existing custom classes to out-of-the-box classes

This section describes the steps required to migrate data from existing custom classes to the out‑of‑the‑box classes provided in the latest version of the ServiceNow application.

Before you begin

  1. Install the plugin required for out‑of‑the‑box classes. To do this, search for and open Application Manager in ServiceNow, locate the CMDB CI Class Models plugin, and click Install to activate it. The out‑of‑the‑box classes are fully available only after you install this plug‑in.

  2. Export the required custom classes and CI relationships to an XML file. This backup ensures you can easily revert changes if any issues arise during the process.

    To export the required classes, open zTables, select the CI table, expand the Column options, and select Export > XML.

    Note: Ensure that no filters are applied to the tables during export.
    Export each of the following classes:
    Table 1. Custom classes to be exported
    Class name Class table
    IBM Mainframe zOS Cluster (Sysplex) x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_cluster_sysplex
    IBM Db2 for zOS x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_db2
    IBM Db2 Cluster for zOS (Data Sharing Group) x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_db2_cluster_data_sharing_group
    IBM zOS Db2 Database x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_db2_database
    IBM zOS Db2 Stored Procedure x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_db2_stored_procedure
    IBM CICS Region for zOS x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_cics
    IBM CICS Transaction x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_cics_transaction
    IBM IMS for zOS x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_ims
    IBM IMS Database x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_ims_database
    IBM IMS Transaction x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_ims_transaction
    IBM MQ Manager for zOS x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_mq
    IBM MQ Queue x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_mq_queue
    IBM MQ Local Queue x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_mq_local_queue
    IBM MQ Remote Queue x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_mq_remote_queue
    IBM MQ Model Queue x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_mq_model_queue
    IBM MQ Alias Queue x_ibmg3_ibm_zsyste_zos_mq_alias_queue

    To export the CI relationship table, search for cmdb_rel_ci.list in ServiceNow. Expand the Column options, and select Export > XML.

  3. Ensure that you are using the latest version of the ServiceNow application.

  4. Ensure that all scheduled flows are deactivated, including the IBM Z Discovery Scheduled Flow.

    To deactivate the IBM Z Discovery Scheduled Flow, open Flow Designer, search for and select IBM Z Discovery Scheduled Flow, and click Deactivate in the top‑right corner.

    To deactivate any other flow, open the respective flows, and click Deactivate in the top‑right corner.

About this task

Starting with ServiceNow version 1.6.0, all newly processed data is ingested directly in the ServiceNow out‑of‑the‑box classes instead of the custom classes previously provided by the IBM Z® Resource Discovery application. This update improves performance and enables faster data retrieval within ServiceNow. While new data is automatically saved to the out‑of‑the‑box classes, any existing data stored in custom classes must be manually migrated using the provided scheduled migration scripts.

Procedure

  1. Go to System Definition > Scheduled Jobs and search for the following migration scripts:
    • OOB Migration Scheduled Script - CICS & Sysplex
    • OOB Migration Scheduled Script - DB2
    • OOB Migration Scheduled Script - IMS
    • OOB Migration Scheduled Script – MQ
  2. Run the migration scripts to begin the migration process. To do this, open each script individually and choose one of the following execution methods:
    • To run the migration immediately, click Execute Now. The scripts runs regardless of whether it is active or inactive. If its inactive, the script runs only once.
    • To run the script at scheduled intervals, set Run to Periodically and select the Active checkbox to activate the script. The script runs automatically based on the configured interval. By default, scripts are configured to run every 15 minutes. You can modify the interval as needed.
    • To prevent the script from running on a schedule, change the Run mode to On Demand. The script only runs when manually triggered.
    You may activate the scripts one at a time, all at once, or in any sequence you prefer. For the fastest migration results, activate all migration scripts simultaneously.
    You can view the migration results through migration logs. Migration progress is recorded automatically, and logs are generated in the following situations:
    • After each CI class is migrated
    • At regular intervals (default: every 5 minutes)
  3. For each migration script, you can customize specific configuration values within the script code. These include:
    • MAX_ROWS_MIGRATED_AT_ONE_TIME–Defines the number of rows migrated during a single execution of the job. When this limit is reached, the execution ends, and the next batch of the same size is migrated in the following run. Default value is 10,000.
    • TIME_INTERVAL_TO_LOG–Specifies the time interval during script execution at which migration progress is logged, indicating how many rows have been migrated since the execution began. Default value is 5 minutes.

    Click Update after modifying the values.

  4. After migration completes, deactivate the migration scripts. To deactivate the scripts, open each script individually, clear the Active checkbox, and then click Update.
    Note: If you are using IBM Z Resource Discovery Data Service version 1.6.0 and later, and IDML files are sent that contain data already stored in Kafka, that is some records are updated before the migration from custom classes to out-of-the-box classes, running the ServiceNow scheduled flows will move those updated CIs from the custom classes to the out‑of‑the‑box classes. As a result, those CIs will no longer appear in the custom classes. hence, ensure to deactivate the scheduled flows after installing ServiceNow version 1.6.0 and later.