Active Directory Domain Controller discovery

reference australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 1 min read r-ActiveDirectory.md

The Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application uses the Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern to find Active Directory domain controllers running on a Windows server. Discovering some of these resources might require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

When discovery runs on a domain controller, the pattern also creates LDAP endpoint connections to child domains in the same forest. This triggers discovery of those domain controllers as well.

Note: For information on Probe to Pattern migration see the knowledge article KB0694477.

Prerequisites

Verify that the applications are up to date
- Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns
- Visibility Content
Verify an LDAP or TCP entry point is configured

Verify that the relevant port is open and listening on the domain controller.
Create Windows credentials with WMI access

Verify that the credentials have permission to run WMI queries on the \\root\CIMV2 namespace. For more information, see Windows credentials.
Schedule a horizontal discovery

For more information, see Schedule a horizontal discovery.

Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern.

Field	Description
Name [name]	Name of the domain controller, which is the domain name.
Domain name [domain_name]	Name of the Active Directory domain.
Domain Controller name [domain_controller_name]	Name of the domain controller server.
Forest name [forest_name]	DNS name of the Active Directory forest.

CI relationships

The Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern creates the following relationships to support Active Directory Domain Controller discovery.

CI	Relationship	CI
Active Directory Domain Controller [cmdb_ci_ad_controller]	Runs on::Runs	Windows Server [cmdb_ci_win_server]

Parent Topic:Software discovery

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---
title: Active Directory Domain Controller discovery
description: The Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application uses the Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern to find Active Directory domain controllers running on a Windows server. Discovering some of these resources might require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-operations-management/itom-visibility/r-ActiveDirectory.html
release: australia
product: ITOM Visibility
classification: itom-visibility
topic_type: reference
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
breadcrumb: [Software discovery, Data collected by ITOM Visibility, ITOM Visibility reference, ITOM Visibility, IT Operations Management]
---

# Active Directory Domain Controller discovery

The Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application uses the Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern to find Active Directory domain controllers running on a Windows server. Discovering some of these resources might require updating to the latest version of the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store.

When discovery runs on a domain controller, the pattern also creates LDAP endpoint connections to child domains in the same forest. This triggers discovery of those domain controllers as well.

**Note:** For information on Probe to Pattern migration see the knowledge article [KB0694477](https://support.servicenow.com/kb_view.do?sysparm_article=KB0694477).

## Prerequisites

-   **Verify that the applications are up to date**
    -   Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns
    -   Visibility Content
-   **Verify an LDAP or TCP entry point is configured**

    Verify that the relevant port is open and listening on the domain controller.

-   **Create Windows credentials with WMI access**

    Verify that the credentials have permission to run WMI queries on the `\\root\CIMV2` namespace. For more information, see [Windows credentials](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/platform-security/r_WindowsCredentialsForm.md).

-   **Schedule a horizontal discovery**

    For more information, see [Schedule a horizontal discovery](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-operations-management/discovery/t_CreateADiscoverySchedule.md).


## Data collected by Discovery during horizontal discovery

Discovery populates the data in the CMDB when running the Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern.

|Field|Description|
|-----|-----------|
|Name \[name\]|Name of the domain controller, which is the domain name.|
|Domain name \[domain\_name\]|Name of the Active Directory domain.|
|Domain Controller name \[domain\_controller\_name\]|Name of the domain controller server.|
|Forest name \[forest\_name\]|DNS name of the Active Directory forest.|

## CI relationships

The Active Directory Domain Controller On Windows pattern creates the following relationships to support Active Directory Domain Controller discovery.

|CI|Relationship|CI|
|---|------------|---|
|Active Directory Domain Controller \[cmdb\_ci\_ad\_controller\]|Runs on::Runs|Windows Server \[cmdb\_ci\_win\_server\]|

**Parent Topic:**[Software discovery](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/it-operations-management/itom-visibility/c_Software.md)