**ServiceNow Discovery** is a capability within the [[ServiceNow]] platform that automatically identifies and maps [[IT infrastructure|IT infrastructure]] components—including [[Server (computing)|servers]], [[Network device|network devices]], [[Application software|applications]], [[Cloud computing|cloud]] resources, and [[Storage device|storage systems]]—and populates their configuration data into the [[Configuration management database|configuration management database]] (CMDB). By automating the discovery of [[Configuration item|configuration items]] (CIs) and their relationships, ServiceNow Discovery enables organizations to maintain accurate, current CMDB data without relying on manual inventory processes, supporting [[IT service management|IT service management]] (ITSM), [[IT asset management|IT asset management]] (ITAM), and [[IT Operations Management|IT operations management]] (ITOM) use cases across the enterprise. ServiceNow Discovery operates using a network-based, agentless approach that scans IP address ranges or cloud environments from dedicated [[Mid Server|MID Servers]]—lightweight [[Java (programming language)|Java]] applications deployed within the customer's network that act as communication proxies between the ServiceNow platform and target infrastructure. Discovery probes initiate outbound connections to target devices using standard protocols including [[Windows Management Instrumentation|WMI]], [[Secure Shell|SSH]], [[Simple Network Management Protocol|SNMP]], [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]], and cloud provider [[Application programming interface|APIs]], collecting configuration and relationship data that is returned to the platform for processing. Sensors then parse the collected data and create or update CI records in the CMDB, with [[Identification and Reconciliation Engine|Identification and Reconciliation Engine]] (IRE) rules governing how discovered data is matched to existing records and reconciled against data from other sources to maintain a single authoritative record per CI. ServiceNow Discovery is closely integrated with [[Service mapping|Service Mapping]], which builds on Discovery's CI inventory by tracing the dependencies between infrastructure components and the [[Business service|business services]] they support. Together, Discovery and Service Mapping form the data foundation for ServiceNow's broader [[IT Operations Management|ITOM]] suite, enabling capabilities including [[Event management (ITSM)|Event Management]], [[Operational Intelligence|Operational Intelligence]], and [[Predictive Intelligence|Predictive Intelligence]]. Discovery supports heterogeneous environments encompassing traditional [[On-premises software|on-premises]] infrastructure, [[Virtualization|virtualized]] systems managed through platforms such as [[VMware vSphere|VMware]], and cloud environments across [[Amazon Web Services|AWS]], [[Microsoft Azure|Azure]], and [[Google Cloud Platform|Google Cloud]]. Organizations typically complement ServiceNow Discovery with the [[ServiceNow Agent Client Collector|Agent Client Collector]] for endpoints requiring deeper or more frequent data collection than agentless scanning can provide.