CMDB Terminology Glossary

This glossary maps the Vista Platform's internal terminology to the corresponding concepts and CI types used by each supported CMDB platform. Use this as a reference when configuring field mappings, CI type mappings, or troubleshooting sync issues.

Entity Type Mapping

Infrastructure Asset

An infrastructure asset represents a discoverable network endpoint — a server, workstation, network appliance, or service — that hosts or uses cryptographic configurations.

Context Term / CI Type
Platform (internal DB table) network_assets
Platform (display name) Infrastructure Asset
Platform (CI category) infrastructure_asset
ServiceNow cmdb_ci_server (servers), cmdb_ci_computer (endpoints), cmdb_ci_service (services), cmdb_ci_hardware (appliances)
Device42 Device (/api/1.0/devices/)
SolarWinds Node (Orion.Nodes)
Oomnitza Asset (/api/v3/assets)
Unified View v_ci_inventory (category: infrastructure_asset)

Sub-type mapping (ServiceNow):

Asset Type (Platform) ServiceNow CI Class
server cmdb_ci_server
endpoint cmdb_ci_computer
service cmdb_ci_service
appliance cmdb_ci_hardware
(other) cmdb_ci_hardware

Certificate

A digital certificate (X.509) discovered on an infrastructure asset, including TLS/SSL certificates, code signing certificates, and CA certificates.

Context Term / CI Type
Platform (internal DB table) certificates
Platform (display name) Certificate
Platform (CI category) certificate
ServiceNow cmdb_ci_certificate
Device42 Certificate (/api/2.0/certificates/)
SolarWinds Custom property on Node
Oomnitza Asset with certificate-specific custom fields
Unified View v_ci_inventory (category: certificate)

Key

A cryptographic key discovered or tracked by the platform, including TLS private keys, SSH keys, and API signing keys.

Context Term / CI Type
Platform (internal DB table) keys
Platform (display name) Cryptographic Key
Platform (CI category) key
ServiceNow cmdb_ci_credential
Device42 Custom field on Device
SolarWinds Custom property on Node
Oomnitza Asset with key-specific custom fields
Unified View v_ci_inventory (category: key, cmdb_ci_type: cmdb_ci_crypto_key)

Crypto Configuration

A specific cryptographic protocol/cipher configuration observed on an infrastructure asset — for example, a TLS 1.2 connection using ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384.

Context Term / CI Type
Platform (internal DB table) crypto_implementations
Platform (display name) Crypto Configuration
Platform (CI category) crypto_configuration
ServiceNow u_crypto_configuration (custom table)
Device42 Custom field on Device
SolarWinds Custom property on Node
Oomnitza Asset with crypto config custom fields
Unified View v_ci_inventory (category: crypto_configuration)

Note: ServiceNow requires creating the custom table u_crypto_configuration in your instance. The platform provides guidance on the schema for this table.

Crypto Library

A software library that provides cryptographic functionality (e.g., OpenSSL, BoringSSL, LibreSSL, NSS).

Context Term / CI Type
Platform (internal DB table) crypto_libraries
Platform (display name) Crypto Library
Platform (CI category) crypto_library
ServiceNow cmdb_ci_spkg (software package)
Device42 Custom field on Device
SolarWinds Custom property on Node
Oomnitza Asset with library-specific custom fields
Unified View v_ci_inventory (category: crypto_library)

CMDB Concepts

Configuration Item (CI)

A Configuration Item is the fundamental unit in any CMDB. It represents a managed entity — a server, application, certificate, or any other IT resource. In the Vista Platform, the following entity types are treated as CIs for CMDB sync:

  • Infrastructure Assets
  • Certificates
  • Cryptographic Keys
  • Crypto Configurations
  • Crypto Libraries

All of these are unified in the v_ci_inventory database view, which provides a single-table representation of all CIs for export.

CI Relationships

CI relationships describe how Configuration Items relate to each other. The platform tracks and can push the following relationship types:

Relationship Type Description Example
uses One CI uses another Server uses Certificate
installed_on Software is installed on hardware Library installed_on Server
contains Parent contains child Server contains Crypto Config
issued_by Certificate issued by CA Certificate issued_by CA Certificate
depends_on Operational dependency Service depends_on Server
protects Security relationship Certificate protects Service
associated_with General association Key associated_with Certificate
configured_with Configuration link Server configured_with Crypto Config
runs_on Process runs on infrastructure Service runs_on Server
hosts Infrastructure hosts a service Server hosts Service

Platform-specific mapping (ServiceNow cmdb_rel_ci):

Platform Relationship ServiceNow Relationship Type
uses Used by::Uses
installed_on Installed on::Has installed
runs_on Runs on::Runs
depends_on Depends on::Used by
contains Contains::Contained by

CMDB Class

A CMDB class defines the schema (attributes and relationships) for a type of CI. Each CMDB platform has its own class hierarchy:

ServiceNow class hierarchy (relevant classes):

cmdb_ci (base class)
├── cmdb_ci_server         ← Infrastructure Asset (server)
├── cmdb_ci_computer       ← Infrastructure Asset (endpoint)
├── cmdb_ci_service        ← Infrastructure Asset (service)
├── cmdb_ci_hardware       ← Infrastructure Asset (appliance)
├── cmdb_ci_certificate    ← Certificate
├── cmdb_ci_credential     ← Key
├── cmdb_ci_spkg           ← Crypto Library
└── u_crypto_configuration ← Crypto Configuration (custom)

Device42 entity types:

Device        ← Infrastructure Asset
Certificate   ← Certificate
Custom Fields ← Key, Crypto Configuration, Crypto Library

SolarWinds entity types:

Orion.Nodes         ← Infrastructure Asset
Custom Properties   ← Certificate, Key, Crypto Configuration, Crypto Library

Oomnitza entity types:

Assets              ← All entity types (differentiated by custom fields)
  ci_category field ← Distinguishes infrastructure_asset, certificate, key, etc.

Sync Profile

A sync profile is a tenant-scoped configuration that defines how data is pushed to a specific CMDB instance. Each profile includes:

  • Platform type — Which CMDB platform (ServiceNow, Device42, SolarWinds, Oomnitza)
  • Connection config — URL, authentication credentials
  • Field mapping config — How platform fields map to CMDB fields
  • Sync config — Schedule, batch size, conflict resolution
  • CI type mapping — Which CMDB CI class each entity category maps to

Sync Job

A sync job represents a single execution of the sync process for a profile. Jobs are created when:

  • A user manually triggers a sync
  • The scheduler fires based on the profile's schedule
  • An event triggers a sync (e.g., new discovery completed)
  • A retry is attempted after a previous failure

Entity Mapping

An entity mapping links a local entity (e.g., an infrastructure asset with UUID abc-123) to its corresponding CMDB record (e.g., ServiceNow CI with sys_id def-456). Entity mappings are stored in the cmdb_entity_mappings table and include:

  • Local entity type and ID
  • CMDB platform, CI type, and external ID
  • Sync status (pending, synced, error, stale, deleted)
  • Last sync timestamp
  • External URL (direct link to the CMDB record)

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is the process of pulling back external metadata (IDs, status) from the CMDB after a push. This ensures that:

  • Entity mappings have accurate external IDs
  • The platform can detect if a CI was deleted or modified externally
  • Direct links to CMDB records remain valid

Terminology Change Log

The following terminology changes were made to align the platform with CMDB industry standards:

Previous Term New Term Reason
Network Asset Infrastructure Asset Aligns with CMDB CI classification; "infrastructure" is the standard term across ServiceNow, Device42, and SolarWinds.
Crypto Implementation Crypto Configuration "Configuration" better describes the observed cipher/protocol settings on an asset and matches CMDB configuration item semantics.

Both the old and new terms are supported in the API:

  • v1 API uses the original terms (assets, crypto-implementations)
  • v2 API uses the CMDB-aligned terms (infrastructure-assets, crypto-configurations)

A database view provides the mapping:

  • v_ci_inventory → unified view of all CI types for CMDB export

(The former per-type alias views v_infrastructure_assets and v_crypto_configurations were retired — nothing read them; CMDB export goes through v_ci_inventory.)