Cisco Catalyst Center ITSM Integration Guide, Release 3.2.x

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SWIM closed loop automation workflow

Updated: May 5, 2026

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Overview

This section describes the step-by-step workflow for SWIM closed-loop automation, detailing tasks for both Catalyst Center and ServiceNow administrators from image distribution to change request approval and software update.

This table describes the SWIM closed loop automation workflow between Catalyst Center and ServiceNow.

Table 1. SWIM closed loop automation workflow
Step Description

Step 1

The Catalyst Center admin configures the Image Repository to prepare for the provisioning of devices in the network.

Note

See the Manage Software Images chapter in the Cisco Catalyst Center User Guide for information about setting up the Image Repository, as well as to review the software image provisioning process.

Step 2

The Catalyst Center admin distributes the software image to one or more devices at the present time or schedules this activity for a later time.

Note

Before this step is done, ensure that the Automation Events for ITSM (ServiceNow) bundle is configured and activated.

  • From the Catalyst Center home page, the admin clicks Provision> Inventory.

  • From the Focus drop-down list, the admin selects Software Images and selects the device with the image to upgrade.

  • From the Actions drop-down list, the admin chooses Software Images > Update Image and does these tasks:

    • Distribute: Clicks Now to start the distribution immediately or clicks Later to schedule the distribution at a specific time.

    • Clicks Next.

    • Activate: Clicks Now to start the activation immediately or clicks Later to schedule the activation at a specific time.

    • Confirm: Clicks Confirm to confirm the update.

    Figure 1. Cisco Catalyst Assurance provision
    Note

    See the "Manage Software Images" chapter in the Cisco Catalyst Center User Guide for detailed information about this step.

Step 3

After a software image distribution is created in Catalyst Center a SWIM event is generated and sent directly to the ServiceNow ITSM as a change request ticket. This process uses APIs from the Cisco Catalyst app. The initial status of the change request ticket is New.

The SWIM event appears in the ServiceNow GUI in the ServiceNow Change Requests table.

Figure 2. ServiceNow Change Requests

Step 4

In the Change Requests table, the ServiceNow admin clicks the change request number (identifier) to open and review its status and data. In the ServiceNow GUI, the admin can edit the change request. For example, the admin can change the State from 'New' to 'Scheduled' and enter 'Change Management' for the Assignment group. The ServiceNow admin can also identify the SWIM change request with information in the Short Description field.

Figure 3. Change Request

Step 5

The ServiceNow admin now clicks the Cisco Catalyst tab in the change request. In this tab, you can view important additional data synchronized from Catalyst Center to ServiceNow.

Figure 4. Cisco Catalyst tab

Step 6

The ServiceNow admin now either approves or rejects the change request ticket in the ServiceNow GUI.

In the Cisco Catalyst tab, the ServiceNow admin clicks the Approval Status field and then clicks either Approved to approve the request or Rejected to reject the request.

Note

Before the change request is executed, it must be approved in ServiceNow. Only after an approval in ServiceNow will the change request be executed in Catalyst Center.

Figure 5. Cisco Catalyst Approval Status field

Step 7

After the ServiceNow admin approves the ticket and the status of the change request is changed to Implement, a notification is sent to Catalyst Center. If the ticket is rejected, the update is sent to Catalyst Center in Scheduled state and the ServiceNow ticket is automatically canceled.

Step 8

After a successful software image update in Catalyst Center, a notification (task completed) is sent back to ServiceNow. ServiceNow then closes the change request ticket. The change request ticket closure is done through the use of APIs from the Cisco Catalyst app.

Note

If a software update fails, ServiceNow reports the failure so that the ServiceNow admin can manually take action on the change request ticket. If a software update is terminated, the change request ticket is canceled in ServiceNow. Both failed and terminated software image updates are reported through APIs from the Cisco Catalyst app.

Step 9

The Catalyst Center admin can review the SWIM event by choosing Runtime Dashboard > Event Summary.

Note

By clicking the individual events in the GUI window, the admin accesses additional GUI windows that permit direct access to the event in ServiceNow.

Figure 6. Event Summary

Step 10

The Catalyst Center admin clicks an event name (link) to view additional detailed data.

Figure 7. Event history

Step 11

The Catalyst Center admin clicks an event ID number (link) to view only data associated with that specific event.

Figure 8. Event ID data

Step 12

The Catalyst Center admin clicks the ITSM Link to return to the ServiceNow Service Management GUI and specific incident.

Figure 9. ServiceNow Incident