Perspectium | Creating a ServiceNow Instance

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Creating a ServiceNow Instance
and other Useful Tips

• By Zak Cole

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Creating a ServiceNow Instance

• A ServiceNow instance is a collection of
  applications, databases, libraries, virtual
  machines, etc., designed to deliver specific
  services to enterprises. 
• Creating a ServiceNow Instance
• Users can create a ServiceNow instance in minutes
  by following the steps below
• Sign in to the ServiceNow Developer Site.
• After signing in, go to the header and click on
  the Request Instance button. 
• Choose a version of ServiceNow for the Instance. 
• Click the Request button.
• On completing these steps, users will be
  notified, Your instance is ready! and receive
  the URL and admin login details for that
  Instance. 
• ServiceNow recommend saving the Current
  Password securely, so it can be used to access
  the PDI from integrations or mobile applications
  in future. 
• Clicking the Open Instance button will open the
  newly created instance in a new browser tab. 
• After the Instance has been created, users can
  also open an Instance from the Developer Site by
  signing into the site, opening the Account menu,
  and clicking Start Building.
• Often, organizations want to clone an existing
  instance. Users can replicate or clone an
  instance by replicating the instances data. This
  can be achieved through features native to
  ServiceNow or using purpose-built applications
  and solutions.

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Replicating a ServiceNow Instance

• ServiceNow data can be replicated to support data
  migration, data synchronization, data
  democratization and archiving. 
• Why Replicate an Instance?
• Replicating a ServiceNow instancer is an
  excellent practice for data recovery and
  preventing data loss. ServiceNow instances can
  also be replicated to support migration, or
  mergers and acquisitions. For example, when an
  organization would like to consolidate multiple
  ServiceNow instances. The aforementioned examples
  speak to replicating ServiceNow instances in
  full, but some ServiceNow data replication
  services also offer partial replication, where
  only selected data is replicated.
• By extracting and replicating select ServiceNow
  data, users can 
• Integrate ServiceNow data with other systems
  including third-party ITSM solutions and external
  databases.
• Export operational data to an external database
  for future analytics and reporting needs.
• Enable dynamic data synchronization between
  systems.
• Dynamically or batch publish critical data from
  ServiceNow apps/instances to a cloud data
  repository. 
• Selectively back up critical apps and data for
  disaster recovery or migration. 
• How to Replicate an Instance
• Both purpose-built solutions and
  ServiceNow-native functionality can be used to
  replicate a ServiceNow instance. 
• Instance Data Replication (IDR) is ServiceNows
  native approach to replicating an instance and
  its and data.
• IDR copies data updates from one instance and
  replicates them to one or multiple instances.
  Users can sync data between multiple instances in
  one-directional or bi-directional replication. 
• While data transfers are not dynamic, IDR allows
  users to partially or wholly replicate data.
• See also ServiceNow Instance Data Replication
  product page

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Creating a Backup for Disaster Recovery
As well as replicating ServiceNow data to be used
elsewhere in the enterprise, ServiceNow data can
also be replicated to support disaster
recovery.   ServiceNow data backups can be
created using out-of-the-box functionality,
ServiceNow-native applications and third-party
tools.  The Advanced High Availability
(AHA) architecture is ServiceNows inbuilt
functionality for creating data backups. AHA
makes a daily backup of an instance and stores it
for six days in the same data centers where the
primary data resides. It creates a complete
direct-to-disk backup weekly and retains it for
28 days. By creating regular backups, the AHA
architecture restores data and services in the
event of unforeseen disruptions. While this
native functionality helps prevent and minimize
the risk of data loss, organizations usually have
limited control over the backup process. So, they
cannot back up selective critical data per their
needs and convenience. Additionally, the AHA
architecture does not let you restore archived
records since it retains backup data for only 28
days.  Organizations looking for more control
over their data backup and restore
functionalities should explore dedicated backup
and restore solutions for ServiceNow.
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• Limitations of IDR
• However, large enterprises should be aware of
  IDRs limitations, including
• Users need to set up, configure, and manage IDR
  themselves.
• Since IDR consumes ServiceNow bandwidth,
  replicating large data volumes can negatively
  impact performance.
• IDR has an initial seeding limitation for tables
  a table should not have over 3 million records
  per replication set.
• IDR lacks a dashboard. So, users must always run
  a manual test to check if the data has been
  successfully replicated. However, since the
  diagnostic report doesnt occur in real-time, it
  may be faulty or irrelevant.
• IDR data synchronization is not
  dynamic/real-time.
• For organizations with more advanced
  requirements, purpose-built data replication
  solutions and applications may be required. 

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Why opt for Purpose-built Data Replication
Solutions?

• Unlike IDR, purpose-built data replication tools
  can achieve dynamic, bi-directional
  synchronization between one or more instances.
  This is particularly useful for aligning
  different teams and departments and ensuring they
  are working from a single and consistent source
  of truth.
• Certain purpose-built solutions also allow
  organizations to achieve higher-throughput when
  extracting and replicating data. Solutions that
  avoid API-calls and web-services are also
  available, allowing users to move massive volumes
  of data without impacting performance.
• Purpose-built solutions also provide Dashboards
  to aid users in monitoring the status of the
  integration and data replication in real-time.

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Perspectium The One-stop Solution for
ServiceNow Data Replication, Synchronization, and
Integration

• Perspectium is a ServiceNow-native integration
  application and managed service. It differs from
  traditional approaches to integrations, avoiding
  ETL (and associated security concerns) and
  API/web-services based approaches that impact
  instance performance. 
• Thanks to this, Perspectium integrations
  enable massive throughput without impacting
  performance when extracting and replicating
  ServiceNow data.
• Perspectium supports bulk data extraction and
  replication through Perspectium DataSync, and
  dynamic, bi-directional ServiceNow data
  synchronization through Perspectium ServiceBond.
• As a managed service, Perspectium also benefits
  users by freeing them of the burden of
  implementing and maintaining integrations.
  Instead, Perspectiums integration experts manage
  the integration in-full, enabling organizations
  to use internal resources on value-adding
  activities. 
• Want to know more about replicating ServiceNow
  data with Perspectium? Speak with Perspectiums
  integration experts!

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