The Configuration Management Database - The Next Level
With the growing interest in adopting best practices across IT many organizations are deciding to implement a configuration management database (CMDB).
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A CMDB should help IT discover and manage the elements in their IT infrastructure so they can better understand the relationships among components and facilitate changes effectively. This is important because there is a significant business value in having a single "source of record" that provides a logical model of the IT infrastructure to identify, manage and verify all configuration items in the environment.
Since configuration items are at the heart of the CMDB, it's important to understand what they encompass. A configuration item is an instance of a physical, logical or conceptual entity that is part of your environment and has configurable attributes specific to that instance. Examples of configuration items would be a computer system (attributes could include a serial number or IP address) or even an employee (with configurable attributes such as hours worked and department number).
Having reliable data requires more than a database. It requires a well-conceived configuration management strategy; without knowing what's in your environment, you can't hope to control it, maintain it or improve it.
Getting Started: Developing the Right Strategy - Read More >>>