Introduction to Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

Introduction to Configuration Management Database (CMDB)


What is a CMDB?   

Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a centralized repository that stores information about all significant entities in your IT environment. It acts as a data storehouse and is the heart of IT Service Management (ITSM).
The CMDB includes Configuration Items (CIs) that are critical resources to your organization. They constitute hardware, software applications, documents, business services, and even people who are part of your IT system. It is by analyzing the CIs that you determine the necessity for implementing a change.

Not all assets, users, departments, and services are CIs. Only those critical to your organization are CIs.  Previously, all assets were considered as CIs. Learn more about the behavior changes in the CMDB module.

Impact of CMDB in an Organization    

  1. CMDB and the related configuration management activities together act as a hub of modern IT operations, allowing the organization to manage critical IT components that are vital for business operations at one place.
  2. CMDB is a vital tool for decision-making, improving cost, quality, and performance of the IT services offered by the organization.
  3. CMDB supports the organization in performing service management activities such as incident management, change management, and problem management.
  4. You can analyze how a CI impacts business, use relationship maps to assess the impact before implementing a change, and conduct a root cause analysis of an incident.
  5. You can track of all pending requests, changes, etc. raised for the CIs.

How Does CMDB Work?   

CIs within the CMDB are classified under different CI Types. Each CI Type is represented with:
  1. Fields: Data elements that describe the characteristics of CIs under a CI type.
  2. Relationships: The link between two CIs that identifies the dependency or connection between them.
Example: Consider the CI types Web Server, Database Server, and File Server that inherit the CI Type Server. They might comprise fields such as Model, Service Tag, Processor Name, etc, and might be connected by relationships such as Managed By, Runs on, etc.
 

Asset Management VS CMDB   

Asset management is different from the configuration management database (CMDB). While both may include the same asset, the purpose of these is different. An asset database simply contains a list of assets, whereas the CMDB is designed to support a vast and critical IT infrastructure and understand relationships between the components.  
Asset Management
Configuration Management (CMDB)
Assets are self-contained, autonomous entities that provide intrinsic financial value to the organization.
CMDB is a database that holds assets, data centers, storage devices, etc, which are critical to the organization.
Deals with financial & lifecycle aspects of assets.
Deals with Configuration Items (CIs) and their relationships.
The main users are people who are in-charge of inventory and the life cycle of assets.
The main users are service providers, who use this as a decision-making tool to provide improvements to the existing IT services.
 

List of Components Associated with CMDB    

  1. Configuration Item (CI): The fundamental block of CMDB. CIs are the critical resources of your organization. They can be categorized under different CI types, and CI to CI relationships can be defined. For example, Business Service, Marketing Service, and Customer Service.
  2. Configuration Item (CI) Type: Categorizes a group of CIs with similar properties. The CI types contain fields which are specific to all the CIs under that type. For example, Assets, Data Center, Storage Device, Storage, Computer, Department, People, etc.
  3. Association Type: Defines the nature of the relationship between CIs and CI types. A relationship type comprises a name and its inverse name. For example, consider a relationship where the 'Tomcat server is Hosted In Linux Server'. In the other way, we can say the 'Linux Server Hosts the Tomcat Server'. Here, 'Hosted In' is the direct relationship type and 'Hosts' is the inverse relationship type.
Previously, Association Type was referred to as Relationship Type. 
  1. CI Type to CI Type relationship: These relationships, defined by the SDCMDBAdmin, are the suggested relationships between CI types. The SDCMDBAdmin decides the relationship type, the target CI type, and the cardinality.
  2. CI to CI relationship: Defines how one CI is connected to another CI. CI to CI relationships can be either custom or suggested.
  3. Relationship Map: Presents a visual representation of the dependencies between different CIs and the system flow. The relationship map can be used to perform an impact analysis of a Change on any CI.
 The relationship map represents the relationships between only the CIs and not the CI types.  
  

Characteristics of Configuration Items (CIs) 

Each Configuration Item (CI) is defined with specific characteristics:
  1. CI Type: Indicates the category or nature of the item (server, application, etc.).
  2. Fields: Varies by the CI Type and describes the unique attributes of a CI.
  3. Relationships: Defines how the CI is connected or dependent on other CIs.
 
CIs differ in terms of complexity, size, and type. They can range from a complete service comprising hardware, software, documentation, etc. to a single program module or even a minor hardware component, such as a keyboard. Based on these factors, CIs are grouped and managed under different CI types.


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