<h2>CMDB Health KPIs and metrics</h2><br/><div style="overflow-x:auto"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"><head><meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><meta name="copyright" content="(C) Copyright 2025" /><meta name="DC.rights.owner" content="(C) Copyright 2025" /><meta name="generator" content="DITA-OT" /><meta name="DC.type" content="reference" /><meta name="DC.title" content="CMDB Health KPIs and metrics" /><meta name="abstract" content="The overall CMDB health score consists of three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are correctness, compliance, and completeness, each further consisting of sub-metrics. 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By storing information about your organization's infrastructure and how it is configured, this system allows you to monitor your network and ensure stability and best performance.">Configuration Management Database (CMDB)</a> > <a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/c_ITILConfigurationManagement.html" title="With the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) application, build logical representations of assets, services, and the relationships between them that comprise the infrastructure of your organization. Details about these components are stored in the CMDB which you can use to monitor the infrastructure, helping ensure integrity, stability, and continuous service operation.">Manage the CMDB</a> > </div> <h1 class="title topictitle1" id="ariaid-title1">CMDB Health KPIs and metrics</h1> <div class="body refbody"><p class="shortdesc"><span class="ph" id="ph_HealthMetricsShortDesc">The overall CMDB health score consists of three Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which are correctness, compliance, and completeness, each further consisting of sub-metrics. Each KPI and metric is associated with a scorecard that determines its contribution to the aggregated health at the overall CMDB level, class, and CI level.</span></p> <div class="section"> <p class="p" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__p_HealthMetricsDescription">You can configure which KPIs and metrics are included in the aggregated calculation, and set their weight in the aggregation. In the base system, all KPIs and all metrics are included in the aggregated health report.</p> </div> <div class="section"><h2 class="title sectiontitle">Overall</h2> <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_OverallDescription">An aggregation of all three KPIs (correctness, completeness and compliance), according to their overall scorecard weight settings.</span> </div> <div class="section"><h2 class="title sectiontitle">Correctness</h2> <p class="p">A KPI which is an aggregation of the following metrics, according to the correctness scorecard weight settings.</p> <dl class="dl"> <dt class="dt dlterm">Orphan</dt> <dd class="dd">Measures the percentage of orphan CIs in the CMDB. <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_OrphanGeneralDescription">A CI can become orphan if it was unintentionally left in the CMDB when it is no longer needed. A CI is determined to be orphan if:</span> <ul class="ul" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ul_OrphanDescriptionItems"><li class="li">The CI satisfies the criteria in an <a class="xref" href="../task/t_CreateCMDBHealthOrphanRule.html" title="Create an orphan rule to determine the percentage of orphan CIs in the CMDB. This sum is then aggregated into the correctness CMDB Health KPI, and weighed into the overall CMDB health report. Orphan rules are defined per class, and only a single orphan rule can be defined per class.">orphan rule</a>. This criteria checks for specific attributes that a CI must have, and for CIs that have no relationships or that don't have specific relationships.</li><li class="li">Data is missing for the CI in its respective table, or in one of its parents' table.</li></ul> </dd> <dt class="dt dlterm">Staleness</dt> <dd class="dd"><p class="p" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__p_StalenessHealth_p1">Measures the percentage of stale CIs in the CMDB. <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_StaleCIDesc">A CI is stale if it was not updated within the <span class="ph uicontrol">Effective Duration</span> time period that is specified in the <a class="xref" href="../task/t_CreateCMDBHealthStaleRule.html" title="If the staleness metric is in effect, then staleness rules are used to determine the percentage of stale CIs in the CMDB. This sum is then aggregated into the correctness KPI, and weighs into the overall CMDB health calculation.">staleness rule</a> that applies to the class.</span></p> <p class="p" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__p_StalenessHealth_p2">The base system includes a default staleness rule for the Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] class, which sets the <span class="ph uicontrol">Effective Duration</span> time to 60 days. This rule applies to all extended CMDB classes, and can be overridden by class specific staleness rules defined by the user. To determine CI staleness, a staleness rule for the CI's class is used if it exists, otherwise, the default staleness rule is used.</p> <p class="p" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__p_StaleNote">In addition, a relationship in which a stale CI is a parent or a child, is determined to be a stale relationship.</p> <div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:</span> Discovery marks VMware vCenter CIs that no longer physically exist, as stale. By default, this setting takes precedence over a CMDB Health staleness rule defined for the CI. When drilling-down in the CMDB dashboard to Health Results, the <span class="ph uicontrol">Source</span> for CIs determined to be stale by Discovery, is <span class="ph uicontrol">CLOUD_DISCOVERY</span>. Setting the <span class="keyword parmname">glide.cmdb.health.src.cmdb_health_audit_only</span> system property to true, ensures that the CMDB dashboard displays health results generated only by CMDB Health. For more information, see <a class="xref" href="r_CMDBHealthProperties.html" title="Configure the following system properties to customize how CMDB Health is monitored and evaluated.">CMDB Health system properties</a> and <a class="xref" href="../product/discovery/concept/c_DiscoveryForVMwareVCenter.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Discovery for VMware vCenter</a>.</div> </dd> <dt class="dt dlterm">Duplicate</dt> <dd class="dd"><p class="p">Measures the percentage of duplicate CIs in the CMDB using <a class="xref" href="../task/t_CreateCIIdentificationRule.html" title="Identification rules are used to uniquely identify CIs in the CMDB, as part of the identification and reconciliation process. Each CMDB class can be associated with a single identification rule.">identification rules</a>. Only independent CIs are evaluated for duplication. In a set of duplicate CIs, the count of duplicate CIs is the total number of CIs in the set, minus one. The detailed graphs for a duplicate set of CIs display all the CIs in the set.</p> <p class="p">For more details, examples, and troubleshooting information about duplicate metric, see the <a class="xref" href="https://support.servicenow.com/kb_view_customer.do?sysparm_article=KB0726425" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMDB Health - Duplicate Metric - algorithm [KB0726425]</a> knowledge base article.</p> </dd> </dl> </div> <div class="section"><h2 class="title sectiontitle">Completeness</h2> <p class="p">A KPI which is an aggregation of the following metrics, according to the completeness scorecard weight settings.</p> <dl class="dl"> <dt class="dt dlterm">Required</dt> <dd class="dd">M<span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_ReqFieldDesc">easures the percentage of CIs in which fields that are defined as mandatory, are not populated.</span> <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_RequiredGeneralDescription"> Missing fields are tagged as incomplete noting that for this CI some information is missing. Required fields are equivalent to the fields that are <a class="xref" href="../task/t_SetCIFieldMandatory.html" title="Configure a CI attribute as mandatory so it is included in the CMDB Health tests for the required metric if enabled. Required is a metric of the CMDB Health completeness KPI.">specified as mandatory</a> in the system dictionary.</span></dd> <dt class="dt dlterm">Recommended</dt> <dd class="dd"><p class="p"><span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_RecommendedField">Measures the percentage of CIs in which fields that are <a class="xref" href="../task/t_MakingAFieldRecommended.html" title="Define a list of CI fields as recommended, noting that it is desirable that they are populated by a data source such as Discovery. You can then configure the CMDB completeness KPI to include recommended fields in its aggregated health reports.">set as recommended</a>, are not populated. Out-of-box, no recommended fields are specified.</span></p> <p class="p">You can use the <a class="xref" href="r_TablesInstalledCMDBHealth.html" title="Several types of components are installed with CMDB Health (included in the com.snc.cmdb plugin), such as tables, properties, and scheduled jobs.">Add Identifier Fields In Recommended Rules</a> scheduled job to set criterion attributes from active identification rules, as recommended fields. You can use the <a class="xref" href="r_TablesInstalledCMDBHealth.html" title="Several types of components are installed with CMDB Health (included in the com.snc.cmdb plugin), such as tables, properties, and scheduled jobs.">Remove Identifier Fields In Recommended Rules</a> scheduled job to unset criterion attributes from active identification rules, as recommended fields.</p> </dd> </dl> </div> <div class="section"><h2 class="title sectiontitle">Compliance</h2> <p class="p">Based on the results of actual CMDB audit runs.</p> <dl class="dl"> <dt class="dt dlterm">Audit</dt> <dd class="dd"><p class="p"><a class="xref" href="../../compliance/concept/c_CertificationAudits.html" title="A certification audit compares the actual attributes of certain ServiceNow records. This audit selects a filter, against the expected attributes, relationships, and related record values defined by template conditions or a script.">Audit</a> compares <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_Audit">actual values of specified fields, against expected values defined in template and scripted audits. Based on the <span class="keyword parmname">Last run date</span> of audits, <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_AuditDes">CMDB Health identifies the set of the most recent complete audit run, and uses those audit results. To pass the CMDB Health audit test, a CI must be in compliance with all audits for that CI. </span>Create a compliance-type audit, for which the results are calculated into the CMDB Health compliance KPI. </span></p> <p class="p">When running <a class="xref" href="../../compliance/concept/c_ScriptedAudits.html" title="A scripted audit enables users with the certification_admin role to conduct an audit from a script rather than using restrictive template conditions.">scripted audits</a>, the <span class="keyword parmname">Last run date</span> is not populated. Therefore, for the compliance KPI to include the results of a scripted audit, update the script in the audit to record the audit run time.</p> </dd> </dl> </div> <div class="section"><h2 class="title sectiontitle">Relationships</h2> <p class="p">Measures the health of CI relationships, consisting of the following metrics which are not-configurable:</p> <dl class="dl"> <dt class="dt dlterm">Duplicate relationships</dt> <dd class="dd">R<span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_DuplicateRelDesc">elationships that have identical parent and child CIs, identical relationship type, and an identical port.</span> Duplicate relationships are displayed per relationship type. In a set of duplicate relationships, the duplicate relationship count is the total number of duplicate relationships in the set, minus one. The detailed graphs for a duplicate set of relationships display all the relationships in the set.</dd> <dt class="dt dlterm">Orphan relationships</dt> <dd class="dd">A <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_OrphanRelDesc">relationship that is missing either a parent CI, a child CI, or both.</span></dd> <dt class="dt dlterm">Stale relationships</dt> <dd class="dd">A <span class="ph" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ph_StaleRelDesc">relationship in which the parent CI or the child CI is a stale CI.</span></dd> </dl> <p class="p">A single relationship can fail more than one health test. For example, a duplicate relationship can also be stale.</p> <div class="p">Also reports the following relationship-related summaries:<ul class="ul" id="r_CMDBHealthMetrics__ul_lb4_br3_4z"><li class="li">Relations not compliant with suggested relations</li><li class="li">Relations not compliant with containment rules</li><li class="li">Relations not compliant with hosting rules</li></ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="related-links"> <div class="familylinks"> <div class="parentlink"><strong>Parent Topic:</strong> <a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/c_CMDBHealth.html" title="Monitoring and maintaining the health of the CMDB is essential to an effective and continuous use of the product. Health indicators such as duplicate CIs, required CI fields, and audits contribute to the calculation of health scorecards at the CI, class, and CMDB level.">CMDB Health</a></div> </div> <div class="linklist relinfo relconcepts"><strong>Related concepts</strong><br /> <ul class="linklist"><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/cmdb-health-domain-separation.html" title="This is an overview of domain separation as it pertains to CMDB Health. Domain separation enables you to separate data, processes, and administrative tasks into logical groupings called domains. You can control several aspects of this separation, including which users can see and access data.">Domain separation in CMDB Health</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/cmdb-health-dashboards.html" title="CMDB dashboards display CMDB health reports and let you configure the CMDB health KPIs and metrics that CIs are evaluated for.">CMDB Health dashboards</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/c_MonitorCMDBHealth.html" title="The CMDB dashboard serves as a central location to view aggregated health reports for your CMDB at a glance which helps you understand the CMDB health status. Also, it provides functions to address health issues, and improve CMDB health.">View CMDB health reports</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/monitor-service-health.html" title="The CMDB service dashboard serves as a central location to view aggregated health reports for services at a glance. Also, it lets you drill into a service to perform remediation actions that address health issues, and that improve CMDB health. The CMDB service dashboard uses the Performance Analytics framework for dashboards and employs the capabilities it provides.">View services health reports</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/monitor-cmdb-group-health.html" title="The CMDB group view dashboard serves as a central location to view aggregated health reports for CMDB groups at a glance. Also, it lets you drill into a CMDB group to perform remediation actions that address health issues, and that improve CMDB health. The CMDB group view dashboard uses the Performance Analytics framework for dashboards and employs the capabilities it provides.">View CMDB groups health reports</a></li></ul></div> <div class="linklist relinfo reltasks"><strong>Related tasks</strong><br /> <ul class="linklist"><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/task/t_ViewCIHealth.html" title="The CI dashboard is a central location displaying health report for an individual CI, history of changes to the CI in a timeline view, and the relation formatter. The CI dashboard also displays incidents, changes, and other tasks affecting the CI, and business services affected by the CI. You can access the CI dashboard from a CI form, or from the CMDB dashboard.">View CI health</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/task/t_ViewRelationshipsHealth.html" title="View aggregated orphan, stale, and duplicate CI relationships in the CMDB dashboard. You can configure the relationship scorecards, but you cannot configure the underlying relationship KPI health tests.">View CI relationships health</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/task/t_CreateCMDBRemediationRule.html" title="A CMDB remediation rule is associated with a task that was created for a failed CMDB health test. A CMDB remediation rule is applied automatically or manually to execute a remediation workflow that can, for example, delete stale CIs.">Create CMDB remediation rule</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../task/t_ConfigureCMDBHealthMetrics.html" title="Metrics health scorecards are aggregated into their respective KPI, which in return are aggregated into the overall CMDB Health report. Set aggregation preferences for KPIs, and for each of their respective metrics, deactivate KPIs and metrics that you are not interested in reporting, and adjust weighted averages of aggregation.">Configure KPI and metrics aggregation preferences</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../task/t_ConfigCMDBScorecardThreshold.html" title="Configure the thresholds for best, at risk, and critical state definitions for the KPIs and metrics scorecards. You can configure these settings globally for the entire CMDB, or individually per class.">Configure CMDB Health scorecard thresholds</a></li></ul></div> <div class="linklist relinfo relref"><strong>Related reference</strong><br /> <ul class="linklist"><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/configuration-management/concept/c_CMDBHealthTroubleshooting.html" title="Use the following information to track and resolve issues with the CMDB Health processes.">CMDB Health process tracking</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="r_CMDBHealthProperties.html" title="Configure the following system properties to customize how CMDB Health is monitored and evaluated.">CMDB Health system properties</a></li></ul></div> </div> </body></html></div>