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Configure and validate backups for ServiceNow

Set up and validate backups for ServiceNow.

Service provider configurations

Before onboarding ServiceNow backups, service providers must complete the following configurations:

  • Prepare a MediaAgent to receive data via S3 protocol
  • Add an access node
  • Create a workload resource pool for SaaS applications

For instructions, see Configure SaaS applications for service providers.

Onboard ServiceNow

Onboard a ServiceNow instance to begin protecting your ServiceNow data. During onboarding, you connect to ServiceNow, assign a backup plan, and create the backup configuration.

Start the configuration

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

  2. Click Add SaaS Application.

  3. Select ServiceNow, and then click Next.

Specify credentials

Cloud App Connection Details

  • In the Name field, provide a display name for this ServiceNow backup configuration.

Configure Credential

  • Instance URL — Your ServiceNow instance URL (for example, https://dev12345.service-now.com)

  • Username — ServiceNow account username

  • Password — ServiceNow account password

Select a backup plan

  • Select an existing backup plan, or click + to create a new one.

  • After you create a backup plan, you can select it when you onboard additional ServiceNow instances.

Important

Use any backup plan whose Primary Copy MediaAgents have the CVS3Service package installed.

Review summary

  • Review the instance name, plan name, schedule, and backup content.

  • Click Submit.

Run a backup

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

  2. For the application that you want to back up, click the action button action_button, and then click Back up now to run a Full backup.

  3. Monitor job progress in the Jobs view.

ServiceNow backups run at the configured schedule, but you can run on-demand backups at any time. Instance-dependent rate limits might affect backup duration for large environments.

Validate the backup

Verify the configuration

After you assign the backup plan, confirm that:

  • The ServiceNow instance appears in the SaaS applications list with the instance URL you configured

Confirm that the backup completed successfully

  1. From the Command Center navigation pane, go to Monitor > Jobs.

  2. Locate the completed backup job.

  3. Verify that the job status is Completed.

  4. Check the job details to confirm if the storage used matches the expected data volume

Test a restore

  1. From the Jobs view, select the completed backup job.

  2. Click Restore.

  3. Select a small table to restore.

  4. Choose a restore destination (same instance or different instance).

  5. Click Submit.

  6. Verify that the restore completes with status Completed and that the data matches the original.

For complete restore procedures, see Restore ServiceNow data.

Common causes of failures and what to check first

Configuration and permission issues

  • 401 Unauthorized error — Verify that the username and password are correct. Check that the account is not locked or disabled in ServiceNow.

  • 403 Forbidden error — Verify that the account has the rest_api_explorer or admin role.

  • Instance returns HTML instead of JSON — The ServiceNow development instance is in hibernate mode. Log in to the ServiceNow web UI to wake the instance, then retry the backup.

  • Network connectivity failures — Verify that the access node can reach the ServiceNow instance URL on port 443. Check firewall rules and network routing.

Backup job failures

  • Tables missing from backup — Verify that the user account has read access to the missing tables. System tables with sys_ prefix are excluded by default.

  • Backup takes longer than expected — ServiceNow enforces instance-dependent rate limits. Large backups might trigger retry logic with exponential backoff. Check the job log for Retry-After headers.

  • Attachments fail to download — Verify that the user account has access to attachment metadata and binary content. Check network connectivity to ServiceNow's CDN.

Restore failures

  • PATCH operations fail with 403 errors — Records with active workflows might reject updates. The workload retries with aggressive PATCH logic, then falls back to POST for new record creation.

  • Reference fields show incorrect sys_id values — Cross-reference fixup runs after the initial restore phase. Wait for the job to complete all three phases (PATCH existing, retry 403, POST new).

  • Restored records missing fields — Only fields that exist in the target instance schema are restored. Verify that the target instance has the same or superset of fields as the source.

  • Target instance schema compatibility — For out-of-place restore to a different instance, make sure the target instance has compatible schema (same or superset of fields for each table being restored).

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