Frequently Asked Questions

See the following sections for answers to common questions about integrations with the Flexera One ServiceNow app.

•

Question: Is SAM Core or SAM Pro required to use this integration?

•

Question: Is there a licensing cost associated with Software Asset Management (SAM) Foundation?

•

Question: Why is this integration creating a “normalized” software installation record instead of updating the existing record?

•

Question: Why does this integration create a “normalized” model instead of updating the existing model?

Click the question, above, to show the answer.

Question: Is SAM Core or SAM Pro required to use this integration?

No. While the ServiceNow store will list SAM Core as a requirement, along with SAM Foundation, the Flexera One app only needs one plugin or the other and not both. Software Asset Management (SAM) Foundation is the only plugin needed related to SAM.

Question: Is there a licensing cost associated with Software Asset Management (SAM) Foundation?

No. Software Asset Management Foundation is a free plugin but needs to be requested from ServiceNow’s Now Support (HI) portal to be installed.

Question: Why is this integration creating a “normalized” software installation record instead of updating the existing record?

This is necessary for a few different reasons:

•

There are often already duplicate software installation records in cases where multiple sources are involved. If we update both records, then you would end up with duplicate “normalized” installations that would only confuse things more.

•

If we use the same primary key values that ServiceNow uses for software installations as primary key values for “normalized installations,” the result will not match to any existing records. By default, without modifying standard behavior, this approach would create a new record.

•

If we update an existing software installation, the primary key value ServiceNow uses for the software installation would not match the value of the record that’s been normalized. The result would be that the original discovery source would create another record.

While there’s no perfect solution, with this approach you can at least filter the software installations to see only your normalized software estate, free of duplicates, by setting the filter to technopedia_id != NULL or software model categories includes FlexeraOne. This is the recommended approach for views, dashboards, and reporting.

Question: Why does this integration create a “normalized” model instead of updating the existing model?

This is necessary for multiple reasons:

•

Often in “discovery” models you will end up with duplicates, often several even, for what is the same actual model. If we update just one, it would cause more harm than good. If we updated all, you’d have duplicate models.

•

Typically models coalesce using the “name” value. This value will not be the same if we update the model, and the discovery source will likely create another record. This also makes attempting to update a model after it is normalized very difficult.

•

Flexera lifecycle records are associated to a “normalized” Technopedia record. In order to add the lifecycle records we have to also add the model record they relate to.

The recommended approach, if the discovery source is not Flexera but a source being fed into ServiceNow directly, is to allow the integration to update the hardware records as well as create and update models. Then, for the “model_id” column, use “Reconciliation Rules” to prioritize updates from the “FlexeraOne” data source and prevent other data sources from overwriting the “model_id” value. This setting will allow the integration to relate the CIs to a “Flexera Normalized Model” without overwriting the existing “discovery” data.