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Relationships and Non Discoverable CIs
CMDB relationships and manual CIs for the CIS-DF exam: what tools create, the relationship editor, suggested relationships, attestation and ownership.
- 5 min
- Relationships live in
cmdb_rel_ciand have a type that reads both ways, such as Runs on and Runs. - Discovery, Service Mapping, Service Graph Connectors and IRE-based integrations create relationships automatically.
- Dependent relationships are needed to identify dependent CIs, so they must be in the payload.
What it is
A relationship links two CIs with a type that reads in both directions, such as Runs on and Runs, or Depends on and Used by. Relationships are stored in the CI Relationship table, cmdb_rel_ci, and are what make impact analysis possible.
Some relationships arrive automatically from the tools that populate the CMDB. Others, and some CIs and attributes, are known only to people. The exam asks which is which, and how to keep the manual part from going stale.
How it works
Automatically populated relationships
| Source | Relationships it brings |
|---|---|
| Discovery | Infrastructure relationships it finds, such as software running on a host |
| Service Mapping | The CIs and connections that make up an application service |
| Service Graph Connectors | Relationships included in the connector's IRE payloads |
| IntegrationHub ETL and the IRE API | Relationships you map into the payload alongside the CIs |
IRE payloads can carry relations as well as items, so a connector or ETL integration can create the CI and its links in one pass. Dependent relationships, the hosting and containment relationships defined for a class in CI Class Manager, matter here: a dependent CI such as an application on a server is identified through that relationship, so the payload must include it.
Manually populated relationships
People add relationships with the CI relationship editor on the CI form. With suggested relationships turned on, it lists the relationship types that fit the CI's class; you pick a type, then the other CI.
Suggested relationships are kept in the Suggested Relationship table, cmdb_rel_type_suggest, and are managed under Configuration > Suggested Relationships or in the class's Suggested Relationships section in CI Class Manager. Suggestions are inherited down the class hierarchy, so a suggestion on Server also applies to Linux Server.
Manual relationships are typical for business context that no tool sees, such as which business application an application service supports.
Non discoverable CIs and attributes
Some CIs cannot be found by any tool: server racks, office printers on isolated networks, or applications tracked only on paper. Some attributes cannot be discovered either, such as owner, support group or business criticality.
| Need | Approach |
|---|---|
| Bulk load of many manual CIs | Import through the IRE, for example IntegrationHub ETL or an import set using CMDBTransformUtil |
| Single CI or small changes | CMDB Workspace or the CI form, by the CI owner |
| Prove manual CIs still exist | CMDB Data Manager attestation policies |
| Keep discovered and manual attributes apart | Reconciliation rules naming the tools only for the attributes they really own |
Attestation policies are created in CMDB Data Manager in CMDB Workspace. They define which CIs must be verified and how often, and generate tasks for people who know the CIs.
Owners attest that a CI is real or reject it. Owners can exclude a CI from the current task and from future attestation policies; only an admin can undo that.
Ownership
Manual data stays correct only when someone owns it. Give every manual CI an owner and a support group, and send attestation and remediation tasks to them. CI and service owners work with the data_manager_user or sn_cmdb_user roles; Data Manager administrators need data_manager_admin or sn_cmdb_admin.
How the exam asks about this
- "Application services and their component CIs must be related without manual work." Service Mapping populates them; tools populate relationships, people do not.
- "A data center has hundreds of racks no tool can discover, and auditors want proof they still exist." Load them through the IRE, give them owners, and create a Data Manager attestation policy.
- "Administrators keep choosing the wrong relationship type between two classes." Maintain suggested relationships for the class so the relationship editor offers the right types.
What to remember for the exam
- Relationships live in
cmdb_rel_ciand have a type that reads both ways, such as Runs on and Runs. - Discovery, Service Mapping, Service Graph Connectors and IRE-based integrations create relationships automatically.
- Dependent relationships are needed to identify dependent CIs, so they must be in the payload.
- The CI relationship editor uses suggested relationships from
cmdb_rel_type_suggest, managed in CI Class Manager. - Non discoverable CIs need an owner, an IRE-based load path and attestation to stay trusted.
- Attestation policies are built in CMDB Data Manager and create tasks for CI owners.
A manual CI with no owner and no attestation looks just as current as a discovered one on day one, and quietly goes stale. Governance, not the entry form, is what keeps it trustworthy.
Common mistakes
Drawing relationships by hand that a tool creates. If Discovery or Service Mapping finds the link, a manual copy duplicates it and goes out of date. Leave tool-created relationships to the tool.
Typing manual CIs in one by one at scale. Bulk manual data should be loaded through the IRE so identification still runs. Form entry is for single CIs and small changes.
Letting a tool own an attribute it cannot see. If a connector's reconciliation rule covers all attributes, it can overwrite owner or business criticality maintained by people. Limit its rule to the attributes it truly reports.
Check yourself
Which sources populate relationships without manual work?
Discovery, Service Mapping, Service Graph Connectors and IRE-based integrations that include relations in their payloads.
Where are the relationship types offered by the CI relationship editor maintained?
In the Suggested Relationship table, managed under Configuration > Suggested Relationships or in the class's section of CI Class Manager.
How do you prove that non discoverable CIs still exist?
Create a CMDB Data Manager attestation policy so owners regularly receive tasks to attest or reject those CIs.
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