Estimating document volume for source systems

---
title: Estimating document volume for source systems
description: Source system tools enable you to estimate the number of documents available for retrieval by external content connectors. By estimating the available document count for a source system, you can determine whether you need to apply crawl scope restrictions when configuring an external content connector for that source system.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-administration/search-administration/estimating-doc-volume-src-sys.html
release: australia
product: Search Administration
classification: search-administration
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-10"
reading_time_minutes: 1
keywords: [ServiceNow Otto, AI Agents, generative AI, agentic AI]
breadcrumb: [Explore, External Content Connectors, Search administration, Configure core features, Administer the ServiceNow AI Platform]
---

# Estimating document volume for source systems

Source system tools enable you to estimate the number of documents available for retrieval by external content connectors. By estimating the available document count for a source system, you can determine whether you need to apply crawl scope restrictions when configuring an external content connector for that source system.

**Parent Topic:**[Exploring External Content Connectors](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-administration/search-administration/exploring-ext-cont-connectors.md)

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