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ServiceNow CMDB

Synchronizing PCE Workloads with ServiceNow CMDB for Enhanced Visibility and Security

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Published in: Security
Case Study

Synchronizing PCE Workloads with ServiceNow CMDB for Enhanced Visibility and Security

ServiceNow CMDB

Executive Summary

IT administrators have to face significant challenges in managing modern enterprise infrastructure due to constant changes in workload. The admins find it difficult to accurately assess which workloads are missing Virtual Enforcement Node (VEN) agent installation due to the continuous flux. They also need to ensure that VEN properties are represented properly within the system. The main business challenge lies in the inability to sync the policy compute engine (PCE) workload with the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) properties, resulting in significant visibility gaps pertaining to unmanaged PCE workload.

To solve these problems, Crest Data ServiceNow experts implemented CMDB as a centralized source to drive business processes. Crest Data developed a ServiceNow application for the customer that correlates PCE workloads with CMDB on a pre-defined, configurable frequency and keeps the mapping up-to-date. This solution allowed IT admins to seamlessly sync workload properties, identify a comprehensive list of unmanaged workloads, and enforce VEN agent installation by integrating directly with ServiceNow Change Management.

About the Customer

The customer is an American business data center and cloud computing security company. It collects telemetry data from Virtual Enforcement Node (VEN) to build an application dependency map that shows how workloads communicate internally and the intricate interdependencies between various applications.

Customer Challenge

The primary business challenge originated from the constant and inconsistent addition of new workloads to the enterprise infrastructure. This continuous flow necessitates IT administrators to continuously assess which workloads are missing critical Virtual Enforcement Node (VEN) agent installations. Also, IT admins must ensure that VEN properties are properly represented across their systems to maintain security integrity. 

Some of the other major challenges were:

  • Managing the agent installation on unmanaged PCE workloads
  • Inability to synchronize PCE workloads with CMDB properties.

Proposed Solution

To efficiently address these challenges, the solution focused on implementing ServiceNow CMDB as a centralized source to drive business processes. Crest Data developed a ServiceNow application to integrate PCE, providing a unified system of record to reconcile and manage workloads.

Various key components of this solution include:

  • Automated Workload Correlation: The application seamlessly fetched the workloads from the PCE and correlated them with the CMDB. This correlation was done on a pre-defined configurable frequency, ensuring that all mappings and data are up-to-date.
  • Property Synchronization: IT administrators used this correlated information to synchronize the workload properties on the PCE, thus maintaining consistency across the infrastructure.
  • Identification of Unmanaged Workloads: This solution enabled IT administrators to quickly identify the full list of unmanaged workloads within the PCE that require attention.
  • Agent Installation: Through seamless integration of the application with change management, the entire process of enforcing the VEN agent installation was streamlined, ensuring workloads are properly secured and managed.

About Crest Data

Crest Data is a data and AI-first product engineering and technology solutions provider with deep expertise in cloud and AI, cybersecurity, observability, data analytics, and workflow automation.

With 1,200+ experts and a track record of 5,500+ successful projects across 150+ global customers, and backed by strong partnerships with ServiceNow, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Datadog, Dynatrace, and NetApp, Crest Data delivers outcome-focused solutions that strengthen security, improve platform reliability, and enable sustainable digital growth.