TechNow Ep 74 | Automate your ServiceNow CI/CD pipeline

Chuck Tomasi · ‎02-21-2020

Simplify and speed up your ServiceNow CI/CD development pipeline. Join our special guest presenter, Chris Faulkner from ServiceNow, as he shows you how you can automate your ServiceNow deployment pipeline using the Now Platform CI/CD tools in the Orlando release. Integrate with existing tools like Jenkins using the scripted REST APIs or use the IntegrationHub spoke to trigger actions on source control, Automated Test Framework, the App Repo, Health Scan, and more.

Originally aired: March 17, 2020 8:00 AM PT

Featured Experts

Chris Faulkner has been with ServiceNow since Jan 2012. Since then, ServiceNow has moved him around the world, from Sydney Australia during his Professional Services days, to Singapore where he traveled Southeast Asia to visit customers and prospects as a Solution Consultant (and where his met my beautiful wife). He currently resides in San Diego (with his wife, son, and dog) as a Product Manager for the Platform BU, and most recently, a Platform Architect for the Solution Innovation team.

Chuck Tomasi Chuck Tomasi is a Sr. TPMM for ServiceNow. He has over 35 years of IT experience. Chuck was a ServiceNow customer from 2008-2010 and honored to be the recipient of the first Innovation of the Year Award at Knowledge 10. Since joining ServiceNow in 2010 as a Technical Consultant, he has held several technical roles in professional services, pre-sales, and marketing. He's well known for his signature bow ties and creative solutions on the Now Platform. Chuck is the top contributor in the ServiceNow Community, has produced hundreds of ServiceNow videos, and co-authored "No-Code Apps for Dummies" to enable and excite everyone interested in building on the Now Platform.

Kreg Steppe is a Training and Certification Program Manager within ServiceNow developing and supporting cloud training infrastructure. He specializes in developing integration solutions, automating repeatable processes and Cloud Management in ITOM. Kreg's prior experience includes operating his own ISP, developing web applications in PHP, network integration, managing network support, Application Development on cloud based networks, DNS and email server maintenance. He is a Linux enthusiast and enjoys Photography.

Jeremy Duncan is a Platform Architect on the Innovation team at ServiceNow. Jeremy is an Enterprise Architect with over 16 years of IT and Service Management experience. His experience and certifications span across retail and manufacturing with focuses on hardware, software, and information security specialties. He has done many implementations in both the Enterprise Federal and Commercial spaces since 2011 and brings a breadth of platform knowledge that aids him in sound architectural decisions. He achieved his B.B.A. at MTSU and majored in Information Systems. He spends his free time fighting crime as a volunteer certified police officer in North Nashville since 2012 and enjoys family time, camping, with his wife and kids!

Links Mentioned

Questions and Answers

The slack message for commit approval is automatic or I need to implement the communication between SN and Slack? -- Amauri Chagas Junior
Chris added the action to his flow. If you want to have Slack communications, you can use the same type of Flow Designer action. Short answer - you can build what you want with the pieces we provide. -- Chuck Tomasi

Is this new Flow Designer in New York or just Orlando? -- Smalls Ernest
Now Platform CI/CD requires Orlando and later. -- Chuck Tomasi

is it required to have designated Mid Server just for this CICD? -- Dinh Tong
Not unless some/part of your process is on-premise. If you are doing this all with cloud instances (including Git, Jenkins, etc.) then you don't need a MID server. -- Chuck Tomasi

I just saw the message about collisions show up - but that was specific to a script include/code. What if Neha was making a change to form layout and Mudit tried to do that as well? That would be XML and not specifically code/javascript. What if Neha was making label changes in sys_dictionary and Mudit tried to do the same on the same table? How does CICD show collisions on things that are not specifically code, but are more UI-based and XML-based? -- Julie Leung
The capability naming is kind of confusing… its not really a "collision". its just a feature to help developers not mix up each other's source control commits new messages. The update sets in the background work as they always have… if two developers are making changes at the same time (script, config, or otherwise), the latest change wins. -- Chris Faulkner

When would the VSCode plugin be able to do git stuff like studio? -- Neji Tawo
Orlando -- Chuck Tomasi

Does this work on Global scoped apps? -- Neji Tawo
Yes it does.The only piece that doesn't work is source control -- Chuck Tomasi

can you explain a global scoped app? -- Adam Laubach
https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-application-development/page/build/applications/concept/c_ApplicationScope.html -- Jeremy Duncan

what would happen when testing fails? -- Dinh Tong
It's up to you. Obviously, wouldn't want to publish to prod for a failed test. You could configure your flow to notify the dev team of the issue and they can resolve it and submit new changes. -- Chuck Tomasi

Can this support more than one test instance -- Seth Werly
Yes, we can support multiple instances. When you create your flow, you direct it where to run the ATF tests. -- Chuck Tomasi

Can you demonstrate how CI/CD would deal with multiple developers doing configurations on the same form or table/schema? (e.g. add a new field at table level, configuration of form layout, change of labels and other items on sys_dictionary) -- things that are usually UI-driven configuration and less script/script includes, specifically? -- Julie Leung
There's a nice message that comes up when someone makes a change and someone else tries to modify it. It's read-only until you explicitly say you want to change it. -- Chuck Tomasi

just to clarify, the ATF test is running in TEST not PROD right? -- Brian Good
Yes, ATF was running on his TEST/UAT instance. -- Chuck Tomasi

How does the rollback works in-case of failure(s)? -- Yash Kedia
It rolls back to the previous version, much like uninstalling an app. -- Chuck Tomasi

in Orlando this example will only work when deploying a scoped app right? Not Global -- Brian Good
Correct. Global is targeted for a future release. -- Chuck Tomasi

This is mind-blowingly faster than pushing update sets through a pipeline manually! -- Jeremiah Abot
I agree. I can't wait for customers to get their hands on it and save time. -- Chuck Tomasi

Can we deploy directly from branch and not deploy all changes from master ? -- Prashant Parekh
Yes you can. You can declare which branch in the deploy action/subflow. -- Chuck Tomasi

while we wait for Paris, can we use ServiceNow native APIs and call from Jenkins in NY release? -- Prashant Parekh
The APIs are available in Orlando and higher (not New York). Yes, you can use the APIs from Jenkins starting with Orlando. -- Chuck Tomasi

When is paris open for developer preview? -- Neji Tawo
We are targeting Q3 for the release of Paris. Typically the developer preview is roughly 6 weeks ahead of general availability. -- Chuck Tomasi

Like scheduled ATF currently, is there a need for an open browser window somewhere or is that handled on the platform somewhere -- Seth Werly
If it's a server based test, no. If there are UI tests, then currently, yes. We are looking to change this in future releases. -- Chuck Tomasi

Is there a plugin we need to enable in order to get the Deployment Request tables? -- Julie Leung
The deployment request table is something Chris built for this demo. He's going to make it available on the Share section of the developer portal and GitHub as an example after this webinar. -- Chuck Tomasi

Could this be used for scoped applications built by ServiceNow such as Customer Service Management or HR? -- Stijn Verhulst
Yes -- Chuck Tomasi

Can we do the flow designer for a Global scope app without github integration? -- Neji Tawo
Yes -- Chuck Tomasi

so instructive as usual ! Thanks a lot, and congrats to the all team ! -- Stephane RD
Thank you for joining us. -- Chuck Tomasi

Are these functionalities available only from Orlando release ? Is this available in NewYork Release? -- Santhamani Babu
The Now Platform CI/CD functionality is new to Orlando. -- Chuck Tomasi

In creating multiple Instance, will all of theses be change to the customers? -- Elvis Edinge
I'm afraid I don't understand the question. If you like, please provide context/details in the community comments. -- Chuck Tomasi

Is this feature available to previous NewYork release? -- Ramesh Chandra
Now Platform CI/CD is new to Orlando and higher. It is not back ported to previous releases. -- Chuck Tomasi

Hi! Thanks for this demo! Really exciting. Do you guys have support for MID Server now with this app? Our enterprise code cannot be put on the public GIT Hub, so wondering if we have an integration through MID Server to connect to our enterprise git repo. Also, is this paid app? -- Nithu Warrier
Hey Nithu, thanks for your question check out the bottom of this page: https://docs.servicenow.com/bundle/orlando-servicenow-platform/page/administer/integrationhub-store-spokes/concept/cicd-spoke.html#d497981e515 | Unfortunately I don't have pricing specifics at this time, but INtegration Hub does require additional licensing. -- Jeremy Duncan

In the Commit files screen, The upadate set column showing as "Neha (%2B1)" What does (%2B1) mean? -- Pavan Devineni
I missed that. Can you provide a time code and where you saw that on the screen in the comments? -- Chuck Tomasi

What module do I need to get deployment request flow in my instance -- Frank Moura
Flow Designer is available from Kingston onward. you don't need to request anything to get that. To get the Now Platform CI/CD stuff activated, you need to be on Orlando and have the IntegrationHub Starter Pack installed - that's free. If it's not activated, reach out to customer support. -- Chuck Tomasi

How do you correct update set errors if they arise with the new CI / CD functionality? -- Jeremiah Abot
None of this is using update sets. It's all done with the app repo to push the changes. -- Chuck Tomasi

Does the tool support backwards compatibility of extensions with SN product upgrades? -- Gail Bickerstaffe
If I understand the question, yes. You can take existing SN applications like HR, CSM, etc and extend them, then deploy your changes using the new Now Platform CI/CD products. -- Chuck Tomasi

Does Flow Designer and Jenkins do the same things? What scenarios warrant using solutions like Jenkins instead of Flow Designer -- Jeppu Sharath K
They are both using the same underlying APIs. Jenkins might be handy for organizations that already have their CI/CD pipeline working with that tool or they want to trigger off something like a GitHub webhook (not currently available, but we're looking at adding Web API triggers to Flow.) -- Chuck Tomasi

Can we leverage the source control and CI/CD flow for the script(s), components and packages created in global? -- Yash Kedia
Currently you can use these features (save source control) with a global scoped app, but not a native global app. See the docs if you're interested in setting a global scoped app. -- Chuck Tomasi

What is the licensing\cost modal for this? -- Anand Cherukuri
Now Platform CI/CD is currently included with the IntegrationHub Starter Pack which is free. -- Chuck Tomasi

Maybe I missed the answer but I would like to know if this flow comes with the application or if it was created only for the demo? -- Ricardo Souza
This flow he is showing was built for this demo and will be available on the share page of the developer portal and GitHub. We'll provide links in the YouTube description and community post in a couple days. -- Chuck Tomasi

Does this work with Microsoft Teams? -- Neji Tawo
Yes. We do have an MS-Teams spoke (collection of actions) available for IntegrationHub that works with Flow Designer. Check with your account team on pricing. -- Chuck Tomasi

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