Sending Your CIs to Pasture: The Joyful Art of Retirement in ServiceNow
Ah, Configuration Items (CIs). Those trusty workhorses of your CMDB, diligently serving up information about your IT infrastructure. But just like that old server in the corner gathering dust bunnies, sometimes CIs need to be...well, retired.
Fear not, fellow ServiceNow warriors! Here's your survival guide to giving your CIs a dignified send-off, complete with zero tears (hopefully).
Why Retire a CI? It's Not Just About Age
CIs don't wear cardigans and sip prune juice just because they're "getting on in years." Here are some reasons a CI might be ready for retirement:
- The Departed: The CI represents a piece of equipment that's been decommissioned and sent to the great server farm in the sky.
- The Ghost in the Machine: The CI refers to a system that no longer exists, or its details are so outdated they're more fiction than fact.
- The Wrong Crowd: The CI snuck into your CMDB under false pretenses, maybe through a rogue import or a data gremlin's mischief.
Giving the Boot with Grace (and Automation)
There are a few ways to say "hasta la vista, baby" to your CIs. Let's explore some options, from manual muscle to magic with automation:
- The Manual Method: It's a classic! Simply navigate to the CI record, grab a digital handkerchief (metaphorically speaking), and click that glorious " retire" button.
- Batching Up the Fun: Got a whole herd of CIs ready for retirement? Use the ServiceNow import set to bulk-edit their status. It's like a retirement community bus tour, but way more efficient.
- Automating Adieu: Feeling fancy? Craft a Scheduled Job or Flow Designer workflow to automatically retire CIs based on criteria like last discovery date. This is highly recommended for keeping your CMDB spick and span.
Remember: There's No Shame in Retirement
Retiring a CI isn't a punishment, it's a sign of a healthy CMDB! It means you're actively managing your data and keeping things accurate. Plus, think of all the free space you'll create for the new, shiny CIs waiting to join the party.
So, go forth and retire with confidence! Just make sure you have a good retirement plan in place for your CIs, whether it's complete deletion or archiving for historical purposes (consult your friendly neighborhood admin for details).
P.S. If your CIs put up a fight and refuse to retire, well, that might be a whole other story. But hey, at least you know they're feisty!
