# Restore ServiceNow data

You can restore ServiceNow content to recover from deletion, corruption, or ransomware events. You can restore content to the same ServiceNow instance (in place) or to a different ServiceNow instance (out of place).

## Restore destinations

Destination | When to use
--- | ---
In place (same instance) | Recovering from accidental deletion, corruption, or ransomware on the original ServiceNow instance
Out of place (different instance) | Migration, disaster recovery to a new instance, or restoring to a test or sandbox instance

## Permissions and prerequisites

Restore operations require the same `rest_api_explorer` or `admin` role used for backup. Additional considerations for out-of-place restore:

- The target ServiceNow instance must have a compatible schema (same or superset of fields for each table being restored)

- User references (assigned_to, opened_by) might need manual mapping if user accounts don't exist in the target instance

- Assignment group references require groups to exist in the target instance

- Company and location references require those records to exist in the target instance

For complete permission details, see Configure permissions for ServiceNow protection.

## Restore ServiceNow data

In-place restore

Restore to the same instance

1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > SaaS applications.

2. Click the ServiceNow configuration.

3. On the Backups tab, select the recovery point to restore from.

4. Click Restore.

5. In the Tables section, select the tables to restore:

6. Select specific tables from the list

7. Expand a table to select individual records

8. Select attachments to restore

9. In the Destination section, verify that Restore to the same instance is selected.

10. Review the restore options:

11. Restore method — PATCH existing records by sys_id, then POST new records that don't exist

12. Cross-reference fixup — Automatically remap reference fields to new sys_ids after initial restore

13. Click Submit.

Restore proceeds in parent-first order:

- Phase 1: Relationships (schema.json) are loaded to build the dependency graph
- Phase 2: Tables are restored in topological order (parent tables before children) based on reference fields
- Phase 3: Attachments are restored after all table records are created
- Phase 4: Cross-reference fixup updates reference fields to point to new sys_ids

Out-of-place restore

Restore to a different instance

1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Protect > SaaS applications.

2. Click the ServiceNow configuration.

3. On the Backups tab, select the recovery point to restore from.

4. Click Restore.

5. In the Tables section, select the tables to restore:

6. Select specific tables from the list

7. Expand a table to select individual records

8. Select attachments to restore

9. In the Destination section, select Restore to a different instance.

10. Provide the target instance credentials:

11. Instance URL — Target ServiceNow instance URL (for example, `https://test12345.service-now.com`)

12. Username — ServiceNow account username for the target instance

13. Password — ServiceNow account password for the target instance

14. Review the restore options:

15. Restore method — PATCH existing records by sys_id, then POST new records that don't exist

16. Cross-reference fixup — Automatically remap reference fields to new sys_ids after initial restore

17. Schema intersection — Only fields that exist in the target instance schema are restored

18. Click Submit.

Restore proceeds in parent-first order:

- Phase 1: Relationships (schema.json) are loaded to build the dependency graph
- Phase 2: Tables are restored in topological order (parent tables before children) based on reference fields
- Phase 3: Attachments are restored after all table records are created
- Phase 4: Cross-reference fixup updates reference fields to point to new sys_ids

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