This scenario hinges on how the Identification and Reconciliation Engine (IRE) in ServiceNow evaluates identification rules.
The identification rule for the Apache Web Server class includes Version as part of the identifier criteria, along with Class and Configuration file. Identification rules must match all criterion attributes exactly for an incoming record to be identified as an existing CI and reconciled.
Yesterday's discovery created an Apache Web Server CI with a specific version value. When Apache is upgraded and discovery is rerun, the Version attribute changes. Because Version is part of the identifier, the incoming record no longer matches the existing CI's identifier entry. As a result, the IRE cannot identify the existing CI as the same configuration item.
When identification fails and no matching identifier entry is found, the IRE proceeds to insert a new CI record rather than updating the existing one. This behavior is intentional and protects the CMDB from incorrectly reconciling records that no longer meet identification criteria.