Discovery IP address configuration

Use one or more of these methods in any combination to define the network or network segment for Discovery to query. You can include or exclude specific IP ranges from your query.

Note: If you don't know the IP addresses in the network, run Network discovery first to determine the IP networks. Then, convert the IP networks into IP address range sets.

If you have integrations which populate sys_metadata and sys_update_xml tables, make sure to clear the update and metadata records after the discovery_range_item or discovery_range_item_ip import occurs.

Important: IPv6 addresses aren't supported for IP address range or IP network.

There are three types of IP collections:

IP collection type	Description
IP address list	Use IP address lists to add individual addresses to query. These addresses aren't included in any existing IP range or IP network. You can enter the IP address of the device or a host name (DNS name). If you enter a host name, it must be mapped to an IP address.
IP address range	You can define arbitrary ranges of IP addresses to query. This process is a good way to include selected segments of a network or subnet. However, Discovery has no way of knowing if the IP range includes addresses for private networks or broadcast addresses, and scans all the addresses in the range. If the network and broadcast addresses are included, then the results are inaccurate. Discoveries configured to detect IP networks are more accurate than discoveries configured for IP address ranges. Only those IP addresses in your range that are reserved for manageable devices on the public network should be included. Note: To avoid performance issues, limit Discovery schedules to a maximum range of /16 (approximately 65,536 IPs). For better performance, consider splitting the range into smaller segments.
IP network	You can also scan an entire IP network. An IP network includes the range of available IP addresses in that network. The scan also includes the network address (the lowest address in the range) and the broadcast address (the highest address in the range). After you run network discovery, convert the IP networks that were found into range setsfor use in discovering other devices. IP networks are represented in CIDR notation. Examples of CIDR notation include: 192.168.0.0/24 10.11.128.192/26 Discovery will not scan the network or broadcast addresses for a network. The equivalent ranges for the two networks are: 192.168.0.1 – 192.168.254 10.11.128.193 – 10.11.128.254 To avoid introducing errors from broadcast addresses, configure Discovery to exclude them by using IP network definitions in CIDR notation. Discovery automatically avoids scanning network and broadcast addresses when using IP networks. Including broadcast addresses in Discovery scans can lead to significant errors in the data, such as redundant or invalid device entries. By excluding broadcast addresses, Discovery helps prevent these errors. This built-in control makes IP networks the best method of defining which IP address ranges to query.

IP collection type

Description

IP address list

Use IP address lists to add individual addresses to query. These addresses aren't included in any existing IP range or IP network. You can enter the IP address of the device or a host name (DNS name). If you enter a host name, it must be mapped to an IP address.

IP address range

You can define arbitrary ranges of IP addresses to query. This process is a good way to include selected segments of a network or subnet. However, Discovery has no way of knowing if the IP range includes addresses for private networks or broadcast addresses, and scans all the addresses in the range. If the network and broadcast addresses are included, then the results are inaccurate. Discoveries configured to detect IP networks are more accurate than discoveries configured for IP address ranges. Only those IP addresses in your range that are reserved for manageable devices on the public network should be included.

Note: To avoid performance issues, limit Discovery schedules to a maximum range of /16 (approximately 65,536 IPs). For better performance, consider splitting the range into smaller segments.

IP network

You can also scan an entire IP network. An IP network includes the range of available IP addresses in that network. The scan also includes the network address (the lowest address in the range) and the broadcast address (the highest address in the range). After you run network discovery, convert the IP networks that were found into range setsfor use in discovering other devices.

IP networks are represented in CIDR notation. Examples of CIDR notation include:

192.168.0.0/24
10.11.128.192/26

Discovery will not scan the network or broadcast addresses for a network. The equivalent ranges for the two networks are:

192.168.0.1 – 192.168.254
10.11.128.193 – 10.11.128.254

To avoid introducing errors from broadcast addresses, configure Discovery to exclude them by using IP network definitions in CIDR notation. Discovery automatically avoids scanning network and broadcast addresses when using IP networks.

Including broadcast addresses in Discovery scans can lead to significant errors in the data, such as redundant or invalid device entries. By excluding broadcast addresses, Discovery helps prevent these errors.

This built-in control makes IP networks the best method of defining which IP address ranges to query.

After you define your IP collections, use Discovery generic attributes to automatically set field values on CIs discovered within a schedule, range set, or IP address range. For example, assign different locations to CIs based on the IP range they were discovered in. For more information, see [Define CI field attributes](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-operations-management/discovery/define-ci-attributes.md).

For more information about viewing and managing your IP collections, see Discovery Admin Workspace IP inventory.

Related topics

IP address selection properties

Add IP data

Add IP data to a range set

Create a Quick IP range for a Discovery schedule

Import IP ranges into Discovery schedules with import sets

Exclude IP ranges from a Discovery range set

Use Global Excludes List for IP addresses and ranges

title	Discovery IP address configuration
description	Use one or more of these methods in any combination to define the network or network segment for Discovery to query. You can include or exclude specific IP ranges from your query.
locale	en-US
canonical_url	https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-operations-management/discovery/discovery-ip-address-configuration.html
release	australia
product	Discovery
classification	discovery
topic_type	reference
last_updated	2026-09-10
reading_time_minutes	4
breadcrumb	Configuring DiscoveryDiscoveryITOM VisibilityIT Operations Management