What Is a Configuration Management Database And Why Is It Important?
A configuration management database (CMDB) is a database type consisting of data related to all data system components in an organization and the relationship between these components. A CMDB helps identify the various components of an information system and the respective configuration and then stores the data in a metadata form. Below is an expert guide into the configuration management database and its uses.
How Does CMDB Work?
The more IT infrastructure becomes complex, the more the importance of tracking and understanding the data within the IT environment. CMDB use is recommended for IT organizations that need to identify and verify their infrastructure components to manage and improve it more.
Configuration management specifies, controls, and tracks configuration items and any changes implemented on them comprehensively and systematically. A CMDB captures the benefits of configuration items, for instance, their importance, ownership, and identification code.
It also information about the relationships between configuration items, which is a valuable tool if implemented accordingly.
Characteristics of a CMDB
The main features of a configuration management database include;
- Seamless dashboard with CI analytics and metrics
- Compliance features that give detailed records and visibility for auditors into the different changes, incidents, and the current state of CIs
IT service mapping
- Support for federated data sets, for instance, normalization and reconciliation of configuration items and their data.
- Access controls that allow access levels to various people and to link any changes to their sources in case of incidents.
- Creation of configuration items and timely population of their data supported across various methods that include integrations, manual input, and discovery tools.
Benefits of CMDB
1. CMDB is crucial in IT decision-making permitting users to determine relationships among applications, people, processes, and IT infrastructure to find possibilities for change, quicker resolution of incidents, and fewer errors.
2. A CMDB serves as a compliance requirement linked with personal data privacy.
3. Spot-on configuration management provides its users with an efficient glance of their organization servers and assets with their inter-dependencies on how they are functioning on other organizational resources.
4. CMDBs elevate an organization’s security health.
5. A CMDB supports lesser risk assessment for new deployments and modifications.
6. It acts as a focal point for IT infrastructure and assets, managed under a unified system of all software and servers.
7. It is fundamental database storage that stores configuration data, promoting legibility and visibility of assets, and sets the foundation for efficient Information Technology Infrastructure Library.
8. CMDBs elevate decision making and real-time data.
9. The latest CMDB function as a valuable fact used to improve management operation.
10. CMDB enables visibility among different users.
Challenges of CMDB
A good percentage of organizations achieve meaningful value from their CMDB investments, leading to a problematic reputation linked to technology. Fortunately, the reasons for failure are preventable and are classified into the following categories
Culture
Culture and team commitment are the most crucial factors in whether new tech and processes achieve the desired success levels. According to this study by HBR, 93% of execs claim that the most formidable challenge in data-driven digital transformation is processes and people.
Relevancy
A CMDB should have focused, useful data supporting internal processes like change management. Ensure your CMDB contains a clearly defined value objective and ways to update the information to reflect all angles.
Centralization
When it comes to developing and maintaining an accurate CMDB, the most common challenges include the absence of automation rules, infrequent running of discovery tools, or reliance on manual inputs.
Process
Organizations have created the impression that CMDBs are used to model legacy infrastructure and software instead of the new cloud and software-defined stack and modern workflows that they host.
Tools
It is paramount to choose the right tool to avoid the above challenges. For a successful CMDB, you need tools that account for new asset types and can quickly change.
Summary
Understand that there is no single universal answer to which configuration items you should manage. Failure to use a configuration management database may result in unexpected outages from inaccurately modifying system components since you failed to determine the components impacted by a change accurately. Lastly, cloud services should be considered in the design of a CMDB model. Both SaaS and IaaS offerings can be represented as configuration items as needed.
