Create an agent policy

task brazil Updated Oct 23, 2026 3 min read create-agent-policy.md
Raw file servicenow.com

Create an agent policy by configuring a filter that determines the configuration items (CIs) to run the checks and the metrics that are collected.

Before you begin

Confirm that the DEX plugin (sn_dex) is installed.

Role required: admin

Procedure

  1. Navigate to Workspaces > Service Operations Workspace.

  2. In the primary navigation pane, select the DEX Administration icon ([Omitted image "icon-administration.png"] Alt text:).

  3. In the Device and application configuration section, select Manage policies on the Agent policies card.

  4. Select New.

  5. Enter a descriptive name and description for the policy.

    Note: In the Publish status field, the value is set to Draft. After you create and save the policy, the Publish status value changes to Ready to publish. In the Hierarchy field, the value is set to None. If you create a child for the current policy, the value changes to Parent.

  6. On the Monitored CIs tab, select one of the following options.

Option

Description

Manual calculation

Select to exclude the policy from scheduled policy calculation, ignoring any changes to the policy impacted CIs.Select this option when the policy monitors a single CI. The option enables you to avoid a long completion time for the Refresh and Publish Monitoring Policies scheduled job.

Monitored CI type by filter

  1. In the Monitored CI type field, select the CI type that you want the policy checks to monitor.
  2. In the Filter field, configure a filter so that the policy checks monitor only CI types that meet the specified criteria. CI tags are included in the available criteria.

Monitored CI type by script

Specify the monitored CIs using a script. Using a script enables you to create a CI filter for several tables related to each other. For example, you can set a filter in both a Linux servers table and an Oracle table when searching for a CI.

Monitored CI type by CMDB Group

Specify the monitored CIs by using CMDB group queries. When selected, the Monitored CMDB group drop-down list of CMDB groups appears.

7. On the **Checks** tab, select checks in the **Available** cell and use the arrow to move them to the **Selected** cell.
Checks can be selected multiple times when you’re monitoring more than one process. You can also select a group of checks in the **Filter checks by groups** field, which presents checks of the selected group in the **Available** cell.
  1. On the Proxy Settings tab, configure a proxy server.

    Configure a proxy server only when using the agent as a proxy to report data on remote machines.

  2. On the Scheduling tab, select one of the following options.

Option

Steps

Interval-based scheduling

Configure the time interval (in seconds) to indicate the frequency with which the policy's checks run.

Cron-based scheduling

Enables configuring the policy to be active only during a specific time or time frames.1. Select the Unlock icon ([Omitted image "icon-acc-lock.png"] Alt text: Unlock icon) to enable selecting cron expressions. 2. Select the search icon ([Omitted image "search-icon.png"] Alt text: Search icon), then select New to create a cron expression.

You can also select one of the following cron expressions that come with the base system:

-   Every hour nightly 5:00pm-7:00am
-   Every minute daily 8:00am-4:59pm
-   Every minute Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:59pm

The specified cron expression operates in the time zone of the machine hosting the agent.

**Note:** If an **Interval** or **Cron** value was specified for the check definition, that value overrides the value configured in either of these fields.
  1. On the Credentials tab, select one of the following options.

    Options Steps
    Credential name Select credentials to be assigned to the policy. The available credentials are displayed on the associated check definition's Check Secure Parameter Definitions tab.
    Credential alias Select the Search icon [Omitted image "search-icon.png"] Alt text: Search icon to select a credential alias to be used by the policy's checks to connect to the monitored CI. The available options are created on the Connection & Credential Aliases page.
  2. Select Save.

    The following buttons appear:

    • Publish: Publishes the Draft policy, moving its Publish status to Queued. A queued policy is processed by the policy publishing job. The job calculates which agents run the policy and then sends the policy to the relevant MID Servers. The job then moves the policy's Publish status to Published. A published policy is active on the agent.
    • Delete: Deletes the policy.
Keywords create agent policyagent policydex agent policyconfigure policy checksmonitored cis
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