# Discovery

Reply CMP Discovery maps your cloud estate across providers and keeps a live CMDB of resources, relationships, and changes over time.

```{note}
Discovery is read‑only. It inventories resources via provider APIs and never modifies your cloud configuration. To create resources, use {ref}`Provisioning <features/provisioning>`.
```

## Quick start

1) Open Discovery from the left navigation.  
2) Use the category tabs (Compute, Serverless, Database, Network, Storage, Other) or stay on All.  
3) Filter by Provider, Connection, Tags, Groups, or Type.  
4) Click a resource to open its details (overview, links, properties, graph, history).

```{tip}
Use the search bar to find resources by name, tag value, or type. Combine with filters to narrow large estates quickly.
```

## How it works

- Multi‑cloud: Unifies Azure, AWS, and GCP resources in a single view.  
- CMDB: Stores configuration, relationships, and a time‑stamped change history for each resource.  
- Relationships: Builds a graph of dependencies so you can trace upstream/downstream impact.  
- Data collection: Uses your configured connections and provider monitoring/management APIs.

```{note}
Manual refresh is available per connection. Scheduled crawls keep the CMDB current; you can trigger a refresh whenever you need the latest state.
```

---

## Browse and search

The list view includes:
- Filters: Provider, Connection, Tags, Groups, Type  
- Columns: Resource name, Provider, Category, Resource Type, Region, Discovered on  
- Actions: Refresh, Export, Discover (manual crawl)

```{tip}
Export the current view to share inventories with teammates or to load into external tools.
```

---

## Resource details

Open any resource to see:

### Overview
- Name, Region, Type, First discovered / Last updated  
- Connection card  
- Provider link (quick jump to the provider console)  
- Provisioned link:  
  - If the resource was created by Reply CMP, you’ll see the deployment/resource mapping with a link back to {ref}`Provisioning <features/provisioning>`.  
  - If not, it’s labeled “Not provisioned via CMP.”

### Properties explorer
- Full configuration as JSON with inline search.  
- Copy snippets for reviews or change requests.

### Resource graph
- Visualizes relationships (for example, NIC → VM → Subnet → VNet).  
- Navigate the graph to inspect neighbors without leaving the page.

### History
- A timeline of changes with the option to compare two snapshots side‑by‑side.  
- Highlighted diffs help you spot what changed and when.  
- AI‑generated rollback suggestions can provide example commands (for example, az CLI or Terraform) you can run in your environment after review.

```{warning}
Rollback suggestions do not change your cloud automatically. Review carefully before executing in your environment.
```

---

## Data freshness

- Discovery updates run on schedule (twice per day) and on demand (per connection).  
- Adds new resources, updates changed ones, and marks deleted resources accordingly.  
- Provider API limits and large estates can extend crawl duration; recently changed items may appear after the next refresh.

---

## Troubleshooting

- Resource missing: Ensure the correct connection and region are selected; run a manual refresh.  
- Empty properties: Some services require specific permissions; verify the connection’s role can read resource details.  
- Relationships incomplete: The graph improves after the first full crawl; refresh if dependencies were added recently.  
- “Not provisioned via CMP”: The item exists in your cloud but wasn’t deployed through Reply CMP (still fully discoverable).

---

## FAQ

**Does Discovery affect my resources?**  
No. Discovery is read‑only and uses provider APIs.

**Can I export the inventory?**  
Yes. Use Export from the list view to download the filtered set.

**How far back does history go?**  
From the moment the resource was first discovered by Reply CMP; each crawl adds a new snapshot when changes are detected.

**Where are costs?**  
Costs and budgets live in {ref}`FinOps <features/finops>`. Use the resource name or tags there to analyze spend.

**How often should I refresh?**  
Resources are refreshed automatically twice per day; trigger a manual refresh when making frequent changes or before audits.

---

## Glossary

- CMDB: Configuration Management Database storing resources, relationships, and change history.  
- Connection: The configured binding to a provider scope (subscription/account/project).  
- Relationship graph: The dependency map built from discovered links.  
- Snapshot: A version of resource properties captured at a specific time during discovery.