Note: Available only for new signups after the 31 March, 2026 release. If you signed up earlier, refer to the existing ITAM documentation.

Device Ignore Rules allow you to skip the discovery of specific assets that do not need to be tracked in your CMDB, such as network printers, fax machines, or IP phone systems. These rules completely bypass the discovery of matching devices, preventing them from consuming license seats or cluttering your inventory.

Note: Ignore rules do not delete or affect data already discovered. They only apply to discovery jobs run after the rules are created.

This article provides an overview of how to exclude specific assets from discovery processes to ensure your inventory remains focused on relevant infrastructure.

Prerequisites

You need the following before managing ignore rules:

• Access to the IT Asset Management module in your Freshservice instance.

• Administrator privileges to modify discovery settings and ignore rules.

Add a device ignore rule

To create a global exclusion rule for future discovery jobs, follow these steps:

1. Go to Admin > Asset Management > Custom Fields > Device ignore rules.

2. Click Add new.

3. In the Ignore device based on dropdown menu, select the attribute the system should evaluate:

   • Device name

   • Device type (selecting this reveals additional Device Type and Physical Subtype fields)

   • OS name

   • Mac address prefix

   • Hardware model

   • Tag

4. In the Ignored text field, enter the specific character string you want the system to match.

5. Select one of the following values from the Text length match type dropdown menu to define how the system compares the string length:

   • Exact match: The attribute must exactly match the length and characters of the ignored text.

   • Partial match: The system ignores the device if the attribute contains the ignored text string anywhere within it.

   • Begins with / Ends with: The system ignores the device if the attribute starts or finishes with the specified string.

6. Select one of the following values from the Text case match type dropdown menu to determine if the rule is sensitive to capitalization:

   • Case sensitive: The rule triggers only if the capitalization matches exactly (for example, "SERVER" does not match "server").

   • Case insensitive: The rule triggers regardless of capitalization (for example, "SERVER" matches "server").

7. Click Save.

Add ignore rules from a device list

You can create ignore rules directly from your inventory to exclude specific assets from future scans. To do it, follow these steps:

1. Go to IT Asset Management > Inventory from the left navigation pane.

2. Select the checkboxes for the devices you want to exclude.

3. Click the More options (three vertical dots) icon and select Ignore devices from autodiscovery.

4. In the Choose device attribute dropdown menu, select the attribute (such as Device name or OS name) that should trigger the rule.

5. Refine the rule using the Choose case match type attribute and Choose length match type attribute dropdown menus.

6. Click Create new device ignore rules.