The connection of ServiceNow is only available for the commercial editions.
The ServiceNow platform allows the mapping and automation of various workflows (keyword ITIL), including the forwarding of Checkmk notifications to users.
The integration runs using the instance’s URL and login data.
1. Configuring ServiceNow
A special configuration within ServiceNow is not required, only the instance URL (possibly in the form of a custom URL) and user data must be known. The user must have the role itil in ServiceNow.
2. Configuring Checkmk
You have already learned how to set up Checkmk notifications in general in the article on notifications.
To connect ServiceNow, now proceed as follows in Checkmk:
Create a new notification rule with Setup > Events > Notifications > Add rule.
For the Notification Method choose Servicenow (Enterprise only).
For the ServiceNow URL enter your instance URL.
Add the user name and password of the creating user.
Select the Management type: ServiceNow has two types, case and incident. Depending on your selection, the options displayed below will change. Each of the options offered in Checkmk, both for the case type and the incident type corresponds to the setting of the same name in ServiceNow.
2.1. Setting up the Case management type
If you have selected Case, you can set various other options to shape the content of the notification.
2.2. Setting up the Incident management type
If you have selected Incident, there are a couple of notable specifics on how a notification is laid out.
Under Caller ID add the user name of the concerned user. It is recommended to use the same user name for both the creating and the receiving user. See the Checkmk inline help for more detailed information.
Again, all other options are used to define the content of the notification.
For the two ServiceNow-specific options Urgency and Impact, in the Checkmk inline help you can find links to the respective entries in the ServiceNow documentation.
2.3. Selecting a contact
When using the following Contact selection box, note the following two points:
When selecting contacts, make sure that the notifications are only sent to one contact, e.g. by selecting a single user. With the notification methods for ticket systems etc., the contact selection only serves to specify that notifications are sent. However, the notifications are not sent to the selected user, but to the ticket system. Note that a contact selection via contact groups, all contacts of an object or similar usually generates several identical notifications for an event, which then end up in the ticket system twice, three times or even more often.
If the first point is fulfilled, but the user is used in several notification rules for the same method, then only the last rule applies in each case. It is therefore advisable to create a separate functional user for each of these notification rules.
2.4. Testing the notifications
You can find out how to test the new notification method in the article on notifications.