How to build a ServiceNow Incident Connector for SCOM
Connecting Microsoft SCOM and ServiceNow is a no-brainer! If you want to synchronize your alerts with your incidents, view issues in real-time, and generally make your life easier then why wouldn’t you!
But, we know not everyone is tech-savvy enough to develop these solutions themselves, so we’ve written this blog to give you a helping hand. So, if you want to give it a go and build your own integration tool, then here’s how to get started.
Step 1 – Getting your SCOM Alerts
First, you need to get your SCOM alerts using PowerShell and then send them to a ServiceNow REST Application Performance Interface (API) for the incident table. You can find detailed instructions on how to do this part of the process, in our handy setup guide, click here.
Step 2 – Adding some Functionality
Once you’ve set up your ServiceNow Connector you may want to build in some simple functionality, to really streamline your SCOM alerts with your ServiceNow incidents. So, using a bit of simple scripting you will be able to:
· Add filters so you only receive specific types of alerts
· Modify your alerts to see additional properties
Step 3 – Assess the Results
Up to this point, the setup process is pretty straightforward and the result will be a simple ServiceNow Connector for SCOM. This may well be all you need to keep on top of your alerts. But, for those of you who have bigger plans for your monitoring, you will need some serious scripting skills and time to push the boundaries of this model. For example, you may want to:
Push Alerts - to do this requires information to flow from ServiceNow to SCOM. But ServiceNow is typically SaaS so this means opening a direct connection from ‘the internet’ to your internal corporate network, which will require some security measures.
Auto-Close Alerts – to automatically close alerts when incidents are resolved you’ll need knowledge on how to script SCOM’s SDK.
Reset Monitors - to close SCOM alerts raised by a monitor will require you to reset monitors programmatically using SCOM’s SDK.
Create Incident ID - if you want info on incident ID you will have to figure out how to use Javascript to pull the information from ServiceNow to SCOM.
Monitor Performance - the load placed on your SCOM deployment could impact performance or overload SCOM and bring your whole management Group down, careful testing is required to avoid this (load testing, fail testing, stress testing, soak testing, etc.)
Upgrades – keep up to date with ServiceNow and SCOM upgrades and versions, to ensure your system remains compatible.
So, if you’ve outgrown your DIY ServiceNow Connector or you would rather not dedicate any more hours to modifying and managing it, then now’s the time to switch to a ready-made integration tool.
The ServiceNow Connector from Cookdown offers you everything you need and more. Plus, it’s been tried, tested, and will always be up to date with your business needs. There are three key components in our suite:
1) Alert Sync gives you visibility of your ITSM process by synchronizing critical SCOM alerts into actionable ServiceNow incidents with real-time, two-way synchronization.
2) Discovery provides a fast effective way to populate your Configuration Management Database (CMDB) for Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) compliance and enhanced operations.
3) ServiceNow Monitoring MP this can be downloaded for free to gain true visibility of your network by monitoring the availability and latency of your ServiceNow instances using SCOM.
To find out more check out our products pages for Alert Sync and Discovery or go to our SCOM Freebies page to download the Free ServiceNow Monitoring MP.
You can also take a whistle-stop tour of our ServiceNow Connector Solutions in our short intro video >>>
To find out more about other types of integration tools, then check out our blog on ‘The best way to create ServiceNow incidents from SCOM’ and our top tips on how to find the right integration solution for your business, click here.