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ServiceNow Connector

The ServiceNow connector facilitates connections between Mule integration and ServiceNow applications. The ServiceNow connector currently provides access to standard tables in the ServiceNow database, enabling you to perform the following set of operations on them: Insert, Delete Record, Delete Multiple, Update, Get, Get Keys, and Get Record.

Release Notes: ServiceNow Connector Release Notes

Before You Begin

This document assumes that you are familiar with Mule, Anypoint connectors, and the Anypoint Studio interface. To increase your familiarity with Studio, consider completing one or more Anypoint Studio Tutorials. Further, this page assumes that you have a basic understanding of Mule flows and Mule Global Elements.

This document describes implementation examples within the context of Anypoint Studio, Mule runtime’s graphical user interface, and, also includes configuration details for doing the same in the XML Editor.

If you don’t use Anypoint Studio for development, follow the instructions to install the ServiceNow Maven dependencies into your pom.xml file.

For ServiceNow connector v4.0 to function properly, the namespace for locally declared elements must be qualified by the target namespace. Make the following change in your ServiceNow instance to do so:

  1. Go to System Properties > Web Services

  2. Click Properties

  3. De-select the YES|NO box for the elementFormDefault property as shown below.

snow screen

Note that the box is selected by default, setting the elementFormDefault property to true. By de-selecting the box, we set the property to false thereby specifying that locally declared elements must be qualified by the target namespace.

Installing ServiceNow Connector in Anypoint Studio

You can install a connector in Anypoint Studio using the instructions in To Install a Connector from Anypoint Exchange.

However, to use the ServiceNow connector in a production environment, you must have either:

  • An Enterprise license to use Mule

  • A CloudHub Starter, Professional, or Enterprise account

Contact the MuleSoft Sales Team to obtain either of these. (Read more about Installing an Enterprise License.)

Configuration

To use the ServiceNow connector in your Mule application, you must configure:

  • A global ServiceNow element to be used by all the ServiceNow connectors in the application.

  • Parameters of each ServiceNow connector instance in the flow.

Configuring Using the Studio Visual Editor

Follow these steps to create a global ServiceNow configuration in a Mule application:

  1. Click the Global Elements tab at the base of the canvas, then click Create.

  2. In the Choose Global Type wizard, use the filter to locate and select, ServiceNow, then click O*.

  3. Configure the parameters according to instructions below.

    serviceNowge
    Field Description

    Name

    Enter a name for the configuration so it can be referenced later.

    Username

    Username for connecting to the ServiceNow instance

    Password

    Password to log into the ServiceNow instance

    Service Endpoint

    The URL of the ServiceNow instance.
    Format:`https://<instancename>.service-now.com`

  4. Access the Pooling Profile tab to configure any settings relevant to managing multiple connections via a connection pool.

  5. Access the Reconnection tab to configure any settings relevant to reconnection strategies that Mule should execute if it loses its connection to ServiceNow.

  6. Click OK to save the global connector configurations.

  7. Return to the Message Flow tab in Studio.

Follow these steps to configure the parameters of a ServiceNow connector in the flow:

  1. Drag the ServiceNow connector onto the canvas, then select it to open the properties editor.

  2. Configure the connector’s parameters according to the table below.

    Field Description

    Display Name

    Enter a unique label for the connector in your application.

    Connector Configuration

    Connect to a global element linked to this connector. Global elements encapsulate reusable data about the connection to the target resource or service. Select the global ServiceNow connector element that you just created.

    Operation

    Select the action this component must perform: Insert, Delete Record, Delete Multiple, Update, Get, Get Keys, and Get Record.

    Type

    Select the ServiceNow table to act upon. For a complete list, see the ServiceNow Release Notes.

    <Operation> Request

    From Message: Select this option to define the operation based on the incoming payload.
    Create Object manually: Select this option to define the search values manually. Mule provides an editor to facilitate this task.

  3. Save your configurations.

Configuring Using the XML Editor or Standalone

  1. Ensure that you have included the ServiceNow namespaces in your configuration file.

    http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/servicenow
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/servicenow/current/mule-servicenow.xsd

  2. Create a global ServiceNow configuration outside and above your flows, using the following global configuration code.

    <servicenow:config name="ServiceNow" username="YOUR_USERNAME" password="YOUR_PASSWORD" serviceEndpoint="YOUR_SERVICENOW_URI"/>
    Attribute Description

    name

    Enter a name for the configuration so it can be referenced from within the flow.

    username

    Username for connecting to the ServiceNow instance.

    password

    Password to log into the ServiceNow instance.

    serviceEndpoint

    The URL of the ServiceNow instance.
    Format: `https://<instancename>.service-now.com `

  3. Build your application flow, then add a ServiceNow connector using one of the following operations.

    Operation Description

    <servicenow:delete-multiple>

    Delete multiple records from the targeted table by example values.

    <servicenow:delete-record>

    Delete a record from the targeted table by supplying its sys_id.

    <servicenow:get>

    Query a single record from the targeted table by sys_id and return the record and its fields.

    <servicenow:get-keys>

    Query the targeted table by example values and return a comma delimited list of sys_id.

    <servicenow:get-records>

    Query the targeted table by example values and return all matching records and their fields.

    <servicenow:insert>

    Creates a new record for the targeted table.

    <servicenow:update>

    Updates a existing record in the targeted table in the URL, identified by the mandatory sys_id field.

  4. Follow the links in the table above to access detailed configuration reference for each of these operations.

Example Use Case

As a ServiceNow administrator, insert a user record in the ServiceNow application, and if the user belongs to development department, create a request for a Blackberry phone for the user.

Studio Visual Editor

  1. Drag an HTTP connector into a new flow. Open the connector’s properties editor. Set the exchange pattern to one-way and the Path to onboard.

    HTTPConnectorProperties

  2. The new flow is now reachable through the path http://localhost:8081/onboard. As the exchange pattern is set to one-way, no response message will be returned to the requester.

  3. Add a Set Payload transformer after HTTP endpoint to process the message payload.

  4. Configure the Set Payload transformer according to the table below.

    Field Value XML

    Display Name

    User info

    		 
    doc:name="User info"

    Value

    Note: Copy the lines below and concatenate into a continuous statement
    before adding to Anypoint Studio:

    #[['fname':message.inboundProperties['fname'], 'lname':message.inboundProperties['lname'], 'email':message.inboundProperties['email'], dept':message.inboundProperties['dept']]]`
    		 
    value="# [['fname':message.inboundProperties['fname'],
'lname':message.inboundProperties['lname'],
'email':message.inboundProperties['email'],
'dept':message.inboundProperties['dept']]]"

    With the above configuration, the transformer is set to accept browser query parameters in the following format:

    http://localhost:8081/onboard?fname=<user’s first name> &lname=<user’s last name> &email= <user’s email address>&dept=<department of the user>

  5. Add a Variable transformer to preserve the user’s first name and last name from the message payload.
    Configure the transformer as follows:

    Setusername

  6. Drag a ServiceNow connector into the flow to create a ServiceNow user with the message payload.

  7. Add a new Global element by clicking the plus sign next to the Connector Configuration field.

  8. Configure this Global Element according to the table below (Refer to Configuration for more details).

    Field Description

    Name

    Enter a unique label for this global element to be referenced by connectors in the flow.

    Username

    Enter a Username for connecting to the ServiceNow instance.

    Password

    Enter the user password.

    ServiceNow Endpoint

    Enter the URL of your ServiceNow server.
    The format of the ServiceNow URL is: https://<instancename>.service-now.com

  9. Click Test Connection to confirm that Mule can connect with your ServiceNow instance. If the connection is successful, click OK to save the configurations of the global element. If unsuccessful, revise or correct any incorrect parameters, then test again.

  10. Back in the properties editor of the ServiceNow connector, configure the remaining parameters according to the table below.

    Field Value

    Display Name

    Insert System User (or any other name you prefer)

    Config Reference

    ServiceNow (Enter name of the global element you have created)

    Operation

    Insert

    Type

    User Management -→ User (SYS_USER)

    Insert Request

    Select the From Message option

  11. Drag a DataMapper transformer between the Variable transformer and the ServiceNow connector, then click it to open its properties editor.

  12. Configure the Input properties of the DataMapper according to the steps below.

    1. In the Input type, select Map<k,v>, then select User Defined.

    2. Click Create/Edit Structure.

    3. Enter a name for the Map, then select Element for Type.

    4. Add the child fields according to the table below.

      Name Type

      dept

      String

      email

      String

      lname

      String

      fname

      String

  13. The Output properties are automatically configured to correspond to the ServiceNow connector.

  14. Click Create Mapping, then drag each input data field to its corresponding output ServiceNow field. Click the blank space on the canvas to save the changes.

  15. Add another ServiceNow connector to the flow.

  16. In the Connector Configuration field, select the global ServiceNow element you have created.

  17. Configure the remaining parameters according to the table below.

    Field Value

    Display Name

    Create a Request (or any other name you prefer)

    Config Reference

    Enter the name of the global element you have created

    Operation

    Insert

    Type

    Service Catalog -→ Requested Item (SC_REQ_ITEM)

    Insert Request

    Select Create Manually, then click the … button next to the option. On the Object Builder window, find requestedFor:String field and enter the following value: #[flowVars['UserName']]

  18. Add a Variable transformer, then configure it according to the table below.

    Field Value

    Display Name

    Set Request ID

    Operation

    Set Variable

    Name

    Request ID

    Value

    #[payload.number]

  19. Add a ServiceNow connector into the flow to create a ServiceNow request item for the user.

  20. In the Connector Configuration field, select the ServiceNow global element you created.

  21. Configure the remaining parameters according to the table below.

    Field Value

    Display Name

    Assign the Requested Item to User (or any other name you want to give to the connector)

    Config Reference

    Enter the name of the global element you have created

    Operation

    Insert

    Type

    Service Catalog -→ Requested Item (SC_REQ_ITEM)

    Insert Request

    Select Create Manually, then click the button next to it. On the Object Builder window, do the following:

    Enter Blackberry in CatItem: String field

    Enter #[flowVars['RequestID']] in request:String field

  22. Save and run the project as a Mule Application.

  23. From a browser, navigate to http://localhost:8081/onboard `and enter the user’s first name, last name, email address, and department in the form query parameters:
    `http://localhost:8081/onboard?fname=<user’s first name>&lname=<user’s last name> &email= <user’s email address>&dept=<department of the user>

  24. Mule performs the query and creates the user record in ServiceNow, then assigns Blackberry phone if the user is a developer.

XML Editor

  1. Add a servicenow:config global element to your project, then configure its attributes according to the table below (see code below for a complete sample).

    <servicenow:config name="ServiceNow" username="<user>" password="<pw>" serviceEndpoint="<endpoint_URL>" doc:name="ServiceNow"/>
    Attribute Value

    name

    ServiceNow

    doc:name

    ServiceNow

    username

    <Your username>

    password

    <Your password>

    serviceEndpoint

    <the URL of your ServiceNow instance>

  2. Create a Mule flow with an HTTP endpoint, configuring the endpoint according to the table below (see code below for a complete sample).

    <http:inbound-endpoint exchange-pattern="one-way" host="localhost" port="8081" doc:name="/onboard" path="onboard"/>
    Attribute Value

    exchange-pattern

    one-way

    host

    local host

    port

    8081

    path

    onboard

    doc:name

    /onboard

  3. After the HTTP endpoint, add a set-payload transformer to set the message payload in the flow.

    <set-payload value="#[['fname':message.inboundProperties['fname'],'lname':message.inboundProperties['lname'],'email':message.inboundProperties['email'],'dept':message.inboundProperties['dept']]]" doc:name="Set Payload"/>
    Attribute Value

    value

    #[['fname':message.inboundProperties['fname'],'lname':message.inboundProperties['lname'],'email':message.inboundProperties['email'],'dept':message.inboundProperties['dept']]]

    doc:name

    Set Payload

  4. Add a set-variable element in the flow to preserve the user name from the payload.

    <set-variable variableName="UserName" value="#[message.inboundProperties['fname']+ ' ' +message.inboundProperties['lname']]" doc:name="Set User name"/>
    Attribute Value

    variableName

    UserName

    value

    #[message.inboundProperties['fname']+ ' ' +message.inboundProperties['lname']]

    doc:name

    Set User name

  5. Add the servicenow:insert element to the flow. Configure the attributes according to the table below.

    <servicenow:insert config-ref="ServiceNow" type="SYS_USER" doc:name="Insert System User">
      <servicenow:insert-request ref="#[payload]"/>
</servicenow:insert>
    Attribute Value

    config-ref

    ServiceNow

    type

    User Management -→ User (SYS_USER)

    doc:name

    Insert System User

    ref

    "#[payload]"

  6. Add a DataMapper element between the Set Payload transformer and the ServiceNow connector to pass the message payload to ServiceNow.

    <data-mapper:transform config-ref="Map_To_Map" doc:name="Payload to Insert User"/>
    Attribute Value

    config-ref

    Map_To_Map

    doc:name

    Payload to Insert User

  7. You must configure the DataMapper element through Studio’s Visual Editor. Switch the view to Message Flow view, then click the DataMapper element to set its properties.

    1. In the Input type, select Map<k,v>, then select User Defined.

    2. Click Create/Edit Structure.

    3. Enter a name for the Map, then select Element for Type.

    4. Add the child fields according to the table below.

      Name Type

      dept

      String

      email

      String

      lname

      String

      fname

      String

  8. Add a servicenow:insert element to create a request for an item in ServiceNow. Configure the attributes according to the table below.

    <servicenow:insert config-ref="ServiceNow" type="SC_REQUEST" doc:name="Create a Request">
      <servicenow:insert-request>
          <servicenow:insert-request key="requestedFor">#[flowVars['UserName']]</servicenow:insert-request>
      </servicenow:insert-request>
</servicenow:insert>
    Attribute Value

    config-ref

    ServiceNow

    type

    Service Catalog -→ Request (SC_REQUEST)

    doc:name

    Create a Request

    key

    requestedFor

  9. Add a set-variable element to preserve the ServiceNow request ID.

    <set-variable variableName="RequestID" value="#[payload.number]" doc:name="Set Request Id"/>
    Attribute Value

    variableName

    RequestID

    value

    #[payload.number]

    doc:name

    Set Request Id

  10. Add servicenow:insert to assign the specified catalog item against the request ID.

    <servicenow:insert config-ref="ServiceNow" type="SC_REQ_ITEM" doc:name="Assign a requested item with user">
      <servicenow:insert-request>
          <servicenow:insert-request key="request">#[flowVars['RequestID']]</servicenow:insert-request>
          <servicenow:insert-request key="catItem">Blackberry</servicenow:insert-request>
      </servicenow:insert-request>
</servicenow:insert>
    Attribute Value

    config-ref

    ServiceNow

    type

    Service Catalog -→ Requested Item (SC_REQ_ITEM)

    doc:name

    Assign a requested item with user

    key

    "request">#[flowVars['RequestID']]

    key

    "catItem">Blackberry

Example Code

<mule xmlns:tracking="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ee/tracking" xmlns:json="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/json" xmlns:servicenow="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/servicenow" xmlns:data-mapper="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ee/data-mapper" xmlns:http="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/http" xmlns="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core" xmlns:doc="http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/documentation" xmlns:spring="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans-current.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/core/current/mule.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/http http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/http/current/mule-http.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/servicenow http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/servicenow/current/mule-servicenow.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ee/data-mapper http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ee/data-mapper/current/mule-data-mapper.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/json http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/json/current/mule-json.xsd
http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ee/tracking http://www.mulesoft.org/schema/mule/ee/tracking/current/mule-tracking-ee.xsd">
    <data-mapper:config name="Map_To_Map" transformationGraphPath="map_to_map.grf" doc:name="Map_To_Map"/>
    <servicenow:config name="ServiceNow" username="<user>" password="<pw>" serviceEndpoint="<endpoint>" doc:name="ServiceNow"/>
    <flow name="onboarding-example" doc:name="onboarding-example">
        <http:inbound-endpoint exchange-pattern="one-way" host="localhost" port="8081" doc:name="/onboard" path="onboard"/>
        <set-payload value="#[['fname':message.inboundProperties['fname'],'lname':message.inboundProperties['lname'],'email':message.inboundProperties['email'],'dept':message.inboundProperties['dept']]]" doc:name="Set Payload"/>
        <set-variable variableName="UserName" value="#[message.inboundProperties['fname']+ ' ' +message.inboundProperties['lname']]" doc:name="Set User name"/>
        <data-mapper:transform config-ref="Map_To_Map" doc:name="Payload to Insert User"/>
        <servicenow:insert config-ref="ServiceNow" type="SYS_USER" doc:name="Insert System User">
            <servicenow:insert-request ref="#[payload]"/>
        </servicenow:insert>
        <servicenow:insert config-ref="ServiceNow" type="SC_REQUEST" doc:name="Create a Request">
            <servicenow:insert-request>
                <servicenow:insert-request key="requestedFor">#[flowVars['UserName']]</servicenow:insert-request>
            </servicenow:insert-request>
        </servicenow:insert>
        <set-variable variableName="RequestID" value="#[payload.number]" doc:name="Set Request Id"/>
        <servicenow:insert config-ref="ServiceNow" type="SC_REQ_ITEM" doc:name="Assign a requested item with user">
            <servicenow:insert-request>
                <servicenow:insert-request key="request">#[flowVars['RequestID']]</servicenow:insert-request>
                <servicenow:insert-request key="catItem">Blackberry</servicenow:insert-request>
            </servicenow:insert-request>
        </servicenow:insert>
    </flow>
</mule>

See Also