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Serial Number Valid Field - Support and Troubleshooting
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KB0744965

Serial Number Valid Field


4735 Views Last updated : Jul 15, 2025 public Copy Permalink
KB Summary by Now Assist

Issue

Serial number's valid field set to false after discovery.

Release

All currently supported releases.

Cause

The default value for cmdb_serial_number.valid is "false". Discovery, or any other source creating such CIs, must set valid = true before creating/updating a serial number. Discovery calls SncSerialNumber() with a list of serial numbers to determine if the serial numbers are valid or not.

SncSerialNumber sets the serial numbers to active. Then iterates through a set of conditions to determine if this serial number should be set to invalid. The condition to determine if a serial number is "valid = false" are:

  1. Serial number is empty.
  2. Serial number is composed of the same repeating character.
  3. Serial number meets any of the conditions listed under dscy_invalid_serial.

Resolution

If discovered/created via an OOB probe/sensor or pattern the SncSerialNumber should be called and properly set the serial number valid field accordingly.

If discovered/created via a probe/sensor, pattern, or any other sources which are not OOB the SncSerialNumber may not be called to set the field valid to true. The field value will be set to false since the default value for this field is false. The resolution will depend on how the CI is being created.

Discovery Probe/Sensor:

  1. Ensure the sensor properly calls SncSerialNumber to set the valid field to true for each serial number. Review the OOB "Windows - Hardware Information" sensor for an example.

Discovery Pattern:

  1. Patterns set the valid field to true via "Pre Post Processing" scripts. Review "Windows OS - Pre Sensor" for an example. Validate serial number via a pre postscript, "Pattern Designer > Pre Post Processing" (sa_pattern_prepost_script). 

Other:

  1. Use SncSerialNumber to validate serial numbers before inserting them into the CMDB.

SncSerialNumber being called appropriately or OOB discovery:

  1. Check if the serial number meets one of the conditions found on table dscy_invalid_serial. If so, the serial number will be considered invalid (valid = false).
  •  

Related Links

Serial number types for identification


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