Integrate Ansible Platform with ServiceNow

In this article, we will discuss how to integrate the Ansible Platform with ServiceNow.

We will cover the following steps:

Create a ServiceNow Developer Instance
Create ServiceNow Credentials in AAP.
Run a Job in AAP to Create an Incident.

ServiceNow Instance

Navigate to https://developer.servicenow.com/dev.do and click Sign Up and Start Building.

After signing up and logging in, you will be prompted to answer some questions.

Alternatively, you may be redirected to another webpage. Select Developer Program.

Then, click Start Building.

Select an instance type, preferably the newest one: Yokohama.

You will then receive a URL and password similar to this:

Your instance URL: https://devxxxxxxxxx.service-now.com

Username: admin

Current password: Qhxxxxxxxxxxx

If you did not receive the URL and password for any reason, you can retrieve them by accessing your profile page.

Here are the URL, username, and password.

Next, in the Ansible Platform, we will define a credential type for ServiceNow.

Set the parameters using following example:

fields:
          - id: SNOW_USERNAME
            type: string
            label: Service Now Username
          - id: SNOW_INSTANCE
            type: string
            label: Service Now Instance Name (https://devXXXXX.service-now.com)
          - id: SNOW_PASSWORD
            type: string
            label: Service Now Password
            secret: true
        required:
          - SNOW_USERNAME
          - SNOW_INSTANCE
          - SNOW_PASSWORD

extra_vars:
          snow_instance: '{{ SNOW_INSTANCE }}'
          snow_password: '{{ SNOW_PASSWORD }}'
          snow_username: '{{ SNOW_USERNAME }}'

In the settings, it should look like this.

After saving the credential type, the result should look like this:

Then, define the credential for your ServiceNow developer instance.

Check Execution Environment

[!NOTE] You do not need to compile a new EE image, as it contains the ServiceNow collection.

The AAP 2.5 built-in EE supported image, registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-supported-rhel8, includes the ServiceNow Ansible collections.


        podman run -it --rm registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-supported-rhel9 bash -c 'ls /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections -lh'
        
        # total 4.0K
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   17 May 15 20:13 amazon
        
        # drwxr-xr-x. 15 root root  186 May 15 20:13 ansible
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   17 May 15 20:13 arista
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  6 root root   53 May 15 20:13 cisco
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  4 root root   37 May 15 20:13 cloud
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   17 May 15 20:13 frr
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   20 May 15 20:13 ibm
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   19 May 15 20:13 junipernetworks
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   18 May 15 20:13 kubernetes
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   16 May 15 20:13 microsoft
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   25 May 15 20:13 openvswitch
        
        # drwxr-xr-x. 21 root root 4.0K May 15 20:13 redhat
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   28 May 15 20:13 sap
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   18 May 15 20:13 servicenow
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   16 May 15 20:13 splunk
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   21 May 15 20:13 trendmicro
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  4 root root   39 May 15 20:13 vmware
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   18 May 15 20:13 vyos
        
        podman run -it --rm registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform-25/ee-supported-rhel8 bash -c 'ls /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections -lh'
        
        # total 4.0K
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   17 May 15 20:14 amazon
        
        # drwxr-xr-x. 15 root root  186 May 15 20:14 ansible
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   17 May 15 20:14 arista
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  6 root root   53 May 15 20:14 cisco
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  4 root root   37 May 15 20:14 cloud
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   17 May 15 20:14 frr
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   20 May 15 20:14 ibm
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   19 May 15 20:14 junipernetworks
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   18 May 15 20:14 kubernetes
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   16 May 15 20:14 microsoft
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   25 May 15 20:14 openvswitch
        
        # drwxr-xr-x. 21 root root 4.0K May 15 20:14 redhat
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   28 May 15 20:14 sap
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   18 May 15 20:14 servicenow
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   16 May 15 20:14 splunk
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   21 May 15 20:14 trendmicro
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  4 root root   39 May 15 20:14 vmware
        
        # drwxr-xr-x.  3 root root   18 May 15 20:14 vyos

Test with AAP Job

We will use a job template to deploy an Ansible Playbook that creates an incident in ServiceNow. The source code is available here:

https://github.com/wangzheng422/ansible.service.now/blob/main/job.template/incident-create.yml

First, define an AAP Project to link the GitHub repository into AAP.

Next, create a Job Template that selects an Ansible Playbook from the Project and executes it.

Launch the Job Template and check the Job status and output.

Navigate to your ServiceNow instance to verify that a new incident has been created.

Check the details of the newly created incident.

Conclusion

This article demonstrated the seamless integration of Ansible Platform with ServiceNow, enabling automated incident creation directly from Ansible playbooks. By following the outlined steps:

setting up a ServiceNow developer instance, configuring credentials in AAP, and executing a job template
users can leverage the power of automation to streamline IT operations and enhance incident management workflows.

This integration not only reduces manual effort but also ensures consistent and rapid response to events, ultimately improving overall operational efficiency and reliability.