Define Configuration Item Dependencies with Relationships

CI relationships connect configuration items to show how they interact or depend on each other. For example, a server may run an application, or a virtual machine may connect to a network switch. These relationships help define real-world dependencies between hardware, software, cloud resources, and services.

Admins use predefined relationship types to describe these links. Each relationship type has a direction and a meaning such as runs on, depends on, or connected to. When you define CI relationships, you create a structured view of how assets rely on one another to deliver services.

In Salesforce CMDB and Service Graph, relationships can be added from either direction, as a source or a target. In a source relationship, the current CI points to another CI that it depends on or uses. For example, if a Linux server depends on a storage device, the server is the source and the storage device is the target. A target relationship means another configuration item is pointing to the current CI as a dependency. For example, if a load balancer routes traffic to a web application, the load balancer is the source and the web application is the target. You can create either type of relationship directly from the Relationships tab of a CI record, depending on how you want to model the connection.

You can choose from predefined relationship types such as runs on, depends on, or connected to. You can view the list of predefined relationship types from CI Relationship Types in the CMDB app.

You can also import CI relationships in bulk by using predefined relationship import templates. Relationship imports help you onboard large dependency models more efficiently and maintain consistent relationship structures across services, infrastructure, and applications. For more information, see Import Configuration Item Relationships.