<h2>Model categories</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="concept" /><meta name="DC.title" content="Model categories" /><meta name="abstract" content="Model categories associate CI classes with asset classes. Model categories are part of the Product Catalog application." /><meta name="description" content="Model categories associate CI classes with asset classes. Model categories are part of the Product Catalog application." /><meta name="DC.subject" content="model categories" /><meta name="keywords" content="model categories" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_ProductCatalog.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/it-service-management/reference/r_ITServiceManagement.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/asset-management/concept/c_AssetManagement.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/reference/r_InstalledWithProductCatalog.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_Models.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_ManageVendorCatalogItems.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_ManagingProductCatalogItems.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/domain-separation-product-catalog.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_ViewingModelCategories.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_CreatingModelCategories.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_CreatingAssetsManually.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_EditingModelCategories.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_DeletingModelCategories.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../product/configuration-management/concept/c_CMDBClassifications.html" /><meta name="DC.relation" scheme="URI" content="../../asset-management/task/t_CreateAnAssetClass.html" /><meta name="DC.creator" content="ServiceNow" /><meta name="DC.date.created" content="2023-08-03" /><meta name="DC.date.modified" content="2023-08-03" /><meta name="DC.format" content="XHTML" /><meta name="DC.identifier" content="c_ModelCategories" /><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../../CSS/commonltr.css" /><title>Model categories</title></head><body id="c_ModelCategories"> <div class="breadcrumb"><a class="link" href="../../../product/it-service-management/reference/r_ITServiceManagement.html" title="The IT Service Management (ITSM) solution provides scalable workflows to manage and deliver IT services to your users all through a single cloud-based platform.">IT Service Management</a> > <a class="link" href="../../../product/asset-management/concept/c_AssetManagement.html" title="The ServiceNow Asset Management application integrates the physical, technological, contractual, and financial aspects of information technology assets.">Asset Management</a> > </div> <h1 class="title topictitle1" id="ariaid-title1">Model categories</h1> <div class="body conbody"><p class="shortdesc">Model categories associate CI classes with asset classes. Model categories are part of the Product Catalog application.</p> <div class="p">The model category configuration determines if the <span class="ph">ServiceNow</span> platform creates an asset from a CI, and, if so, what class of asset. Asset classes in the base system are <span class="ph uicontrol">Hardware</span>, <span class="ph uicontrol">Software License</span>, and <span class="ph uicontrol">Consumable</span>. You can associate a model category to many models and a model to many model categories. For example, a specific model of a computer can be a <span class="ph uicontrol">Computer</span> and a <span class="ph uicontrol">Server</span>.<div class="fig fignone" id="c_ModelCategories__fig_bp4_z4p_dp"><span class="figcap"><span class="fig--title-label">Figure 1. </span>Models diagram</span> <img class="image" id="c_ModelCategories__image_bmz_dpp_dp" src="../image/ModelsDiagram.png" alt="Models diagram" /> </div> </div> <div class="p">Any item that is provided as a service or sold to your customer is tracked as an Install Base Item (IBI). The Model category table associates Asset class, CI class, and Install Base Item (IBI) class.<div class="note"><span class="notetitle">Note:</span> The Install Base Item class field is available on the Model category form only when the Customer Service Install Base Management [com.snc.install_base] plugin is installed. Currently, only the Medical device install base item [sn_hcls_medical_device_install_base_item] is supported when the Healthcare and Life Sciences Service Management Core application is installed. For more details, see <a class="xref" href="../product/healthcare-life-sciences/reference/hcls-clinical-device-ib-item.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Medical device install base item table</a>. When an IBI class is created, it associates with an asset when the asset exists, otherwise an asset is created.</div> The fields in the Asset class and the IBI class are synchronized as follows:<ol class="ol" id="c_ModelCategories__ol_mh4_x4v_pxb"><li class="li">When an IBI class is updated, the Account, Consumer, Location, and Install date field changes are synchronized with the corresponding fields of the Asset class.</li><li class="li">When an Asset class is updated, the Location and Install date field changes are synchronized with the corresponding fields of the IBI class.</li></ol> </div> </div> <div class="related-links"> <ul class="ullinks"><li class="link ulchildlink"><strong><a href="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_ViewingModelCategories.html">View model categories</a></strong><br /> Default model categories are included with product catalog. You can view a list of default categories and the categories that you created.</li><li class="link ulchildlink"><strong><a href="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_CreatingModelCategories.html">Create model categories</a></strong><br /> You can add custom model categories for your instance.</li><li class="link ulchildlink"><strong><a href="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_CreatingAssetsManually.html">Create assets manually</a></strong><br /> The <span class="ph">Now Platform</span> does not create an asset automatically under certain conditions. You can create an asset manually as needed.</li><li class="link ulchildlink"><strong><a href="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_EditingModelCategories.html">Edit model categories</a></strong><br /> All default model categories can be edited, except for the Contract model category. You can edit any custom model categories that you created at any time.</li><li class="link ulchildlink"><strong><a href="../../../product/product-catalog/task/t_DeletingModelCategories.html">Delete model categories</a></strong><br /> If a model category is no longer needed, you can delete it.</li></ul> <div class="familylinks"> <div class="parentlink"><strong>Parent Topic:</strong> <a class="link" href="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_ProductCatalog.html" title="The product catalog is a set of information about individual models. Models are specific versions or various configurations of an asset. Asset managers use the product catalog as a centralized repository for model information.">Product Catalog</a></div> </div> <div class="linklist relinfo relconcepts"><strong>Related concepts</strong><br /> <ul class="linklist"><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_Models.html" title="Models are specific versions or various configurations of an asset. Models are used for managing and tracking assets through various ServiceNow platform asset applications, including Product Catalog, Asset Management, and Procurement.">Models</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_ManageVendorCatalogItems.html" title="The vendor catalog is a list of goods available from different vendors.">Vendor catalog items</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/c_ManagingProductCatalogItems.html" title="Product catalog items are hardware and software that you can track and offer in the service catalog.">Product catalog items</a></li><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../../product/product-catalog/concept/domain-separation-product-catalog.html" title="Domain separation is supported in the Product Catalog. 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 and Product Catalog</a></li></ul></div> <div class="linklist relinfo reltasks"><strong>Related tasks</strong><br /> <ul class="linklist"><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../../asset-management/task/t_CreateAnAssetClass.html" title="Creating an asset class requires defining a new table and creating a corresponding application and module, then adding the new asset class to new or existing model categories. The default asset classes are Hardware, Software License, and Consumable. These general classes can be used to manage various assets.">Create an asset class</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/product-catalog/reference/r_InstalledWithProductCatalog.html" title="The following components are installed with the Product Catalog plugin.">Components installed with Product Catalog</a></li></ul></div> <div class="linklist relinfo"><strong>Related topics</strong><br /> <ul class="linklist"><li class="linklist"><a class="link" href="../product/configuration-management/concept/c_CMDBClassifications.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CMDB classifications and class dependency</a></li></ul></div> </div> </body></html></div>