Automatic dashboard setup for Data Foundations in CMDB success advisor

concept brazil Updated Sep 28, 2026 3 min read cmdb-sa-auto-setup.md
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CMDB success advisor can automatically configure the Data Foundations advisor dashboard on installation or upgrade, giving you immediate access to pre-configured CMDB health insights without manual setup.

Auto-setup process

When you install or upgrade CMDB success advisor, the CMDB Advisor - Auto Setup on-demand scheduled job configures the Data Foundations advisor dashboard automatically. The job checks eligibility conditions, applies the recommended principal class scope, creates the Data Foundations content template, and triggers initial data collection.

After data collection completes, users with the sn_cmdb_admin role receive a notification with a link to the configured dashboard.

The dashboard card on the CMDB success advisor landing page displays a badge with the number of principal classes that auto-setup selected.

The badge remains after you open the dashboard for the first time. Manually editing the principal class scope through Manage principal classes removes the badge.

Eligibility conditions

Auto-setup runs only when all the following conditions are met. If any condition is not met, you can configure the Data Foundations advisor dashboard manually.

  • The instance has no existing Data Foundations dashboard.
  • The total number of CIs on the instance is fewer than 5 million.
  • No more than 200 principal classes are already marked on the instance.
  • The com.snc.task.principal_class_filter system property is empty, or at least one principal class already exists on the instance.

Scope selected by auto-setup

The following logic applies when auto-setup selects the principal class scope:

  • If no principal classes exist, the top five recommended classes form the scope. Rankings reflect recent incident, problem, and change (IPC) activity. For more information, see CI class recommendations.
  • If one or more principal classes already exist, up to the 200-class scope limit, all existing classes form the scope. Auto-setup doesn't add recommended classes to top up the count.

Data collection and notifications after auto-setup

After auto-setup completes, data collection begins automatically. Data collection runs monthly and changes to daily after you open the dashboard for the first time.

The CMDB Advisor - Check Job Completion and Notify scheduled job checks whether data collection has completed. When collection completes, the job sends a notification to users with the sn_cmdb_admin role that includes a link to the configured dashboard. After all notifications are sent, the job is deactivated.

When you first open the Data Foundations advisor after auto-setup completes, a notification indicates that the advisor is ready and shows the number of principal classes automatically selected based on incident, problem, and change (IPC) activity.

This notification lets you refresh the dashboard view from anywhere in the ServiceNow AI Platform, including the CMDB success advisor landing page. You can also check Data Foundations setup progress from the side panel in the Governance view of Service Graph Workspace. For more information about accessing the Governance view, see Access CMDB success advisor.

Reviewing and modifying the auto-setup scope

You can review and update the model categories selected by auto-setup at any time.

To modify the Data Foundations scope, see Managing Data Foundations advisor scope in CMDB success advisor.

Keywords auto-setupautomatic dashboard setupData Foundations advisor dashboardprincipal classes
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