The main idea behind CMDB is to build an asset repository that can be uniquely identified, controlled and managed.
What will the CMDB have?
CMDB should contain information on all the critical components of the business.
• People: User name, departments they belong to, location...and so on
• Assets: All assets that are part of business such as workstation, desktop, routers, printers
• Software: All commercially licensed software installed in your IT environment
The assets and components in the CMDB are known and Configured Items (CIs).
The FedEx quote is so true for CMDB
“Information about a package is as important as the package itself “- Mike Glenn, Fedex.
Where should I Start?
The first thing you need to implement a CMDB is a plan. Here are a few process guidelines that can help you
draft a good plan.
Understand the Spirit of CMDBAlso, remember that the goal of CMDB is to build an asset repository with all the information about the assets.
An asset repository can be logical and distributed. Building a CMDB does not mean trying to have everything in one big physical database.
A Definitive Software Library (DSL) is essentialWith software releases every quarter and security patches every week, it is important to include the copies of software in a live environment. If one of your important servers crashes and you have the version number ofthe software, but not a copy of the exact same version with you, you could land yourself in a big problem.
Have a Baseline ConfigurationBaseline configuration is a snapshot of CMDB. In every IT environment there are so many systems with different configurations, software, memory, processors and what not. When you have so many variables, you have to make sure that any change you make supports all versions. Otherwise, it is simply inviting trouble. IT managers have to plan and reduce the number of variables so that you have them under control. You could standardize on a stable operating system and version of browser, and ensure that everyone is on the optimum configuration baseline.
Eg: You can define a baseline with the following parameters to ensure that all business applications run normally ITIL Heroes Handbook 23
• Standard OS – Windows xp
• RAM – 1 GB
• Processor-Intel Mobile Centrino
• Supported Browser – IE 7
Now you can generate the list of users who meet the standards and fall below the standard and you have a program to move users below the baseline to meet the baseline so that issues and fixes can be applicable to all.