ServiceNow

ServiceNow integration to synchronize assets in Dastra

What is ServiceNow? The ServiceNow integration allows you to automatically synchronize business applications from the ServiceNow CMDB directly into Dastra.

It allows you to:

• avoid duplicate data entry;

• centralize technical assets used across the organization;

• use these assets in your processing records, datasets, impact assessments, risk analyses, audits, etc.;

• ensure that information from ServiceNow remains up to date in Dastra.

Prerequisites

• Have a paid Dastra license including access to the Integrations / Connectors module.

• Have a ServiceNow instance (e.g. https://your-instance.service-now.com) that allows REST API calls from external sources, and depending on the authentication method:

  • OAuth 2.0 (recommended) — the ability to register an OAuth application in your instance,

  • Basic — a service account with read access to cmdb_ci_business_app.

Installation The setup process follows the common integration flow (see Connections, use cases and field mapping):

1. Go to the ServiceNow integration page in the Dastra integrations marketplace. Example: https://app.dastra.eu/workspace/0/settings/integrations/servicenow

2. On the asset import use case, click Add integration.

3. Add a connection and pick the Authentication method (see below).

4. Complete the Configuration step. It is mandatory to finalize the installation.

Creating the ServiceNow connection

Authentication methods

OAuth 2.0 (recommended) — Dastra never stores a password; ServiceNow issues short-lived tokens that Dastra refreshes automatically.

1. In ServiceNow, create an OAuth app for Dastra: All > Application Registry (on recent releases: Inbound integrations > Authorization code grant), type OAuth API endpoint for external clients.

2. Set the redirect URL to: https://api.dastra.eu/v1/integrationaccounts/callback/servicenow

3. Make sure the app's scope restriction is Broadly scoped (or declare the useraccount scope): a securely scoped app without scopes will reject the token exchange.

4. In Dastra, create the connection with the method OAuth, enter the Instance URL, the OAuth client ID and the OAuth client secret, then click Save and connect and authorize Dastra in ServiceNow.

Basic authentication — username/password of a ServiceNow account, stored encrypted by Dastra.

Recent ServiceNow instances restrict Basic authentication on the REST API at the account level. If you use Basic authentication, create a dedicated service account with "Web service access only" checked — never a named user or an admin account. Symptom of the restriction: a 401 User is not authenticated response even with valid credentials.

Configuration

• Select the users to notify on error (required). They will receive an email notification when a synchronization fails, containing information about the updated assets.

• Create the Dastra record if it does not exist — when enabled, an asset is created if it does not exist in Dastra, based on the external reference.

• Deduplicate synced items — match incoming applications against existing assets on a Matching field (Label or Reference) to update them instead of creating duplicates.

• Field mapping — choose which ServiceNow field (from cmdb_ci_business_app) fills each Dastra field. The choice lists are read live from your instance's data dictionary, so choice values can be transcoded to Dastra values. See Connections, use cases and field mapping.

Warning: if you enable the creation option, a large number of assets may be automatically created in your workspace. Make sure to properly configure external references.

The ServiceNow configuration: options and field mapping

How is data synchronized between Dastra and ServiceNow? The synchronization runs automatically once a day, and can be triggered at any time with Run synchronization now on the use case card. During each synchronization, fields from ServiceNow are mapped into your Dastra asset repository. By default, the following information is retrieved and updated:

• Asset label

• Description (ServiceNow Short Description)

• Application type

• Installation state / status

• Asset type (systematically imported as Software)

• Associated area / domain (AreaId)

• Associated tags

• ServiceNow external identifier (sys_id)

• External source (ServiceNow)

• Last synchronization date

• Asset owner

Each of these default behaviours can be overridden per field in the Field mapping editor. All this data ensures a reliable and up-to-date link between your ServiceNow CMDB and your Dastra repository.

Management of assets deleted in ServiceNow When Dastra detects that an asset previously synchronized no longer exists in ServiceNow, it is not automatically deleted in Dastra.

Instead, Dastra adds an automatic tag (To-delete-servicenow) to the asset indicating that it has been deleted in ServiceNow. If the application reappears in ServiceNow later, the tag is removed automatically.

This behavior allows:

• keeping history in Dastra,

• avoiding unintentional deletions,

• facilitating manual review of obsolete assets.

When deduplication finds several matching assets for one incoming application, the candidates are tagged To-merge-servicenow for a manual merge decision.