Blueprints - Catalogs and Templates

Get Ready

Get ready for Changes from Orlando, not be able to create any new blueprints.

Preparation needed: Ensure that cloud catalog owner/designer is trained in template technologies e.g.

• • Terraform TF templates
  • Amazon AWS CFT (Cloud Formation Template)
  • Microsoft Azure ARM (Azure Resource Manager)
  • Google Cloud (Google Deployment Manager)
  • Ansible Tower Job Templates (only for day-2 operations, configuration management)

Starting with the Orlando release

Starting with the Orlando release, CMP blueprints are in restricted usage. The Blueprint capability in ServiceNow CMP will be deprecated in future releases. 

Most Frequently Asked Questions

1. What’s the benefit of moving to cloud templates?
   
   • Cloud template technologies (IaC -infrastructure as code) are well documented, well understood, and are constantly updated by the cloud vendors – this makes it easier to spec the infrastructure environment with the latest available cloud vendor offerings. Blueprints require work in creating resource blocks prior to the deployment itself – this makes it a bit complicated.
     
     
2. Why are we obsoleting blueprints?
   
   • We at ServiceNow side love the cloud-agnostics that blueprint offers and we pride ourselves on the outcome that this enables.
     However, we see more customers increasingly preferring to go the cloud-native route owing to the greater knowledge of commonly available tech like CFT, GDM, and Terraform. Also, blueprints rely heavily on the resource block representing a cloud service/resource being present – making it complicated to create and/or maintain.
     
     
3. How to design cloud template catalog items?
   
   • See: Create a cloud template
     
     
4. Is there any place to learn more about cloud catalog items, with working examples?
   
   • See: "Cloud Management Recipes"  and "Updates to the Cloud Management Recipes"
     
     
5. Does Quota control work for Templates?
   
   • Starting with the Quebec release, Quota (resourcing ordering controls and policy) is supported with all cloud template-based catalogs. See docs.
     
     
6. How the Day2 Operations are provided to the Stacks provisioned by CFT/ARM/GDM?
   
   • The Day2 Operations are depending on the Stacks, once the stack got provisioned by the CFT/ARM/GDM catalogs, the available Day2 Operations will work as expected.
     
     
7. We have CFT for AWS and ARM for Azure, similarly, which templates does VMware support for provision?
   
   • No native templates are available for vCenter deployment, this is the limitation from the VMware Provider - the option is to go to Terraform. ServiceNow recommends having Terraform as a solution for VMware provisioning. See: Blueprints and Vmware
     
     
8. Like ServiceNow provided the Templates "Cloud Management Recipes" for CFT and ARM, can we also get the Sample Templates for Vmware Provisioning?
   
   • The below Templates for VMware are available.
     
     1. TF VM with Volume on VMware - Orlando
     2. TF VM on VMware - Orlando
     3. TF VM With Multi NIC on VMware - Orlando

     Please follow "Updates to the Cloud Management Recipes" for more updates from the CPG Product Management 

9. How to configure Ansible Template jobs with Template-based Catalogs?
   
   • We can use the Post-Provisioning scripts the same way we use for BluePrint execution steps, please refer to the below
     
     1. Pre and Post Provision operation with Templates
     2. Create post-provision operations
     3. Example: Post-provision cloud script
     4. Add post-provisioning to a Cloud Formation Template-based catalog item
        
        
10. Which Cloud Providers are supported by Terraform with ServiceNow?
    
    • Azure (Terraform Enterprise/Cloud, Terraform Open-Source)
    • VMware (Terraform Enterprise/Cloud, Terraform Open-Source)
    • IBM Cloud (Terraform Enterprise)