Add a new Settings to the Configuration Item, in the list of different Setting choices click Scripts you will see the layout changing. I thought to my self omg there’s no limit to what one can do with this and that is probably the case there’s some caveats also. Compliance is evaluated against the baseline and reported back to ConfigMgr. Unless automated, diligently administered, and appreciated within your organization, chances are good that your staff views the act of recording, tracking, and correlating information on CIs as a laborious and low-value activity. For example, if a router goes down the firm has immediate access to a list of impacted services and customers. The Configuration Item should be evaluated as part of the login process, similar to a login script. Without a clear definition of what qualifies as a CI, you will constantly struggle with deciding whether to put certain kinds of data into the CMDB. The Configuration Management process establishes and maintains the consistency of a system’s functional, performance and physical attributes with its requirements, design and operational information and allows technical insight into all levels of the system design throughout the system’s life cycle. Microsoft blocks access to network drives for security reasons. A list of common service level objectives. RM. Without a clear definition of what qualifies as a CI, you will constantly struggle with deciding whether to put certain kinds of data into the CMDB. SLM.AUM.caM.ST SD. Source: Checklist "Configuration Item - CI Record" from the ITIL Process Map V2. Governance helps in getting people to understand the need to constantly check the reliability of your CI data. In ITIL, Configuration Items (CIs) are those Service assets which are configurable and can be managed through Change Management. IT services are typically made up of a bunch of individual components — things like servers, software and middleware, and unique configuration information. All rights reserved. Reproduction of materials found on this site, in any form, without explicit permission is prohibited. Specify the Operating System you want this to run on. Some organizations choose to delegate the role to the service desk or other roles, but, in my opinion, the practice should be owned by system administrators working hand in hand with other stakeholders involved in the service delivery activities. Two incidents caught my attention recently. Checklist Category: ITIL Templates - Configuration Management . RM. CIs vary widely in complexity, size, and type, ranging from an entire service or system including all hardware, software, documentation, and support staff to a single software module or a minor hardware component. Cookies help us deliver our site. Step 4. This is used to automatically determine the impact of failures. I have used ConfigMgr Configuration Items from Group Policy Object (Convert-GPOtoCI) a number of times. SAP, expense account, payroll software) or a corporate service (e.g. Report violations, 31 Types of Information Technology Services. Telecom. … For example, configuration items in the area of requirements management could vary from each individual requirement to a set of requirements. The company phones customers to tell them their service is down before they typically notice. User deployment works as well. A telecom firm maintains a configuration management database that includes relationships between components. Here are common examples of CIs: CIs may be grouped and managed together. Understanding the value of CIs and the need to invest in CI management can go a long way in helping service providers meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders in more efficient and effective ways. Here are common examples of CIs: CIs may be grouped and managed together. Attention: Do not modify any of these attributes in the dictionary. The solution. Attributes in the Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] class, which extends the Configuration Item [cmdb] class. Configuration Items. The representations of these entities in the CMDB are Configuration Items (CIs). Configuration Item Attributes SD. Best practice: Establish CI governance for routine data checks, which trickle into easier troubleshooting and clearer change affects. Identifiable entities that can be changed independently. In other words, version numbers and configuration item registration codes help in uniquely identifying configuration items. For example, a set of components may be grouped into a single release. In other words, version numbers and configuration item registration codes help in uniquely identifying configuration items. Visit our, Copyright 2002-2020 Simplicable. Establishing rigorous configuration control enables the … For example, if a router goes down the firm has immediate access to a list of impacted services and customers. Configuration items (CIs) are the focal point of a CMDB. Configuration items can overlap and exist at many levels of granularity. If you enjoyed this page, please consider bookmarking Simplicable. Here are common examples of CIs: CIs may be grouped and managed together. SLM.AUM.caM.ST stock. RM. In databases, this is described in the schema. Add a new Settings to the Configuration Item, in the list of different Setting choices click Scripts you will see the layout changing. source: Chambers & Associates The figure above depicts the configuration of an underground railway environmental control system. A telecom firm maintains a configuration management database that includes relationships between components. A top-level configuration item is a CI used as the starting point for organizing and promoting a set of related configuration items. Step 3. The discipline required is no small matter, and it takes a significant amount of governance to make this happen. ChM. It can have many child CIs, such as an operating system, application software, and hardware components. This governance should include capturing baseline data and comparing with snapshots, which also support easier troubleshooting and implementing and tracking changes. A Configuration Item (CI) represents the entities in the system.It is a structural unit that combines heterogeneous data into an object, treated as a single entity. The definition of social stability with examples. Compliance is evaluated against the baseline and reported back to ConfigMgr. The definition of sociology with examples. Specify the Operating System you want this to run on. The first was in New York City, where 14,000 parking meters rejected credit card payments due to an anti-fraud security setting that disabled the feature on January 1, 2020. Configuration Items can be deployed to Devices or Users. The first step in preventing misconfiguration is to collect and keep accurate and organized records of the CIs in your environment. In this context, it is very important to remember that all CIs are service assets, … Avoiding misconfiguration starts with configuration management, but it also requires administrators to regularly verify and validate the information stored in the organization’s configuration management system. The common functions of application management. A top-level configuration item is a CI used as the starting point for organizing and promoting a set of related configuration items. Almost all organizations keep CI information in separate repositories and, as a result, getting a common view of this information is extremely challenging. The definition of social structure with examples. Such Items may be composed of other smaller Configuration Items that they depend on and … Convert-GPOtoCI by Sam Roberts ^. Let’s look at how configuration items (CIs) are defined by some leading ITSM sources: Based on these definitions, you might realize that there is no discernible difference between CIs and assets. His specialties are IT Service Management, Business Process Reengineering, Cyber Resilience and Project Management. Managing CIs requires a systematic approach in order to prevent misconfiguration. See an error or have a suggestion? SLM.AUM.caM.ST Configuration items, their versions, and their changes form the basis of any configuration audit. When viewing a list of CIs in the Configuration Items or Actual Configuration Items application, you can see which ones are … However, it is important to note that while all CIs are assets, not all assets are CIs. For example, do not modify the type of the location attribute from reference to list. Attributes in the Configuration Item [cmdb_ci] class, which extends the Configuration Item [cmdb] class. It can export a Group Policy or Resultant Set of Policy (RSOP) result either directly to a configuration item or to a … ©Copyright 2005-2020 BMC Software, Inc. Simply put, a CI is an instance of an entity that is part of your environment and has configurable attributes specific to that instance. Your approach should consider two functions: Let’s look at both activities in more detail. The RTU is an example of an aggregate configuration item. The company phones customers to tell them their service is down before they … The definition of institution with examples. Configuration items (CIs) are the focal point of a CMDB. In ITIL, Configuration Items (CIs) are those Service assets which are configurable and can be managed through Change Management. If you search for configuration baseline and powershellyou will encounter a few post about how it doesn’t work or that it works in very odd ways sometimes and that is true, i have had my ow… Example characteristics of configuration items include author, document or file type, programming language for software code files, minimum marketable features, and the purpose the configuration item serves. Step 4. Non-compliance can be remediated to bring devices back into a compliant state – super cool, super powerful and really easy to set up. Configuration Item: In information technology, a configuration item is a component of a system that can be identified as a self-contained unit for purposes of change control and identification. 1. Configuration Items are created, set to a Configuration Baseline (CB) which is then deployed to a collection. It can have many child CIs, such as an operating system, application software, and hardware components. Configuration Items vary widely, but include anything related to your account that you want to track. ChM. Configuration Items are created, set to a Configuration Baseline (CB) which is then deployed to a collection. Examples of Configuration Items include software and applications, locations and offices, employees and customers, documentation, hardware and companies, and even your incidents, changes and customers. Telecom. While these solutions usually have myriad fields for each CI, at a bare minimum the ISO 20000 standards requires the following fields: Collecting and recording CI information sounds simple, but the practical application is something else. The difference between incidents and problems explained. Let's understand this with an example of a Desktop Application: Generally, Desktop applications will be of 2 tier or 3 tier, here we will consider a 3 tier Desktop application which is developed usingAsp.Net and consists of Client, Business Logic Server and Database Server where each component supports below-mentioned platforms. PM. Any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT Service. Configuration items have an element of control required to deliver services, and this is not usually a preserve for all assets. In other words, SACM is a combination of two important processes: … Missing Network Drives. Each of these configuration items are evaluated upon a defined schedule for the purpose of reporting on compliance and for auditing purposes. Give the Configuration Item a name, and maybe assign some categories to it. code module) or an aggregate of other CIs (e.g. ITIL v3 describes Configuration Item (CI) as a subset of service asset that has a direct impact on service delivery and needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.. In this context, it is very important to remember that all CIs are … Configuration items for devices managed with the Configuration Manager client. A CI may be a primitive system building block (e.g. An example of a top-level CI is a computer system. In ITIL, Service Asset and Configuration Management, or SACM, is about properly planning and managing (and even being able to report and audit) the relationships and attributes of all of these components, across every service in your infrastructure. servers, routers), an application (e.g. For example, a CI may be a Dell Laptop with attributes that include: These postings are my own and do not necessarily represent BMC's position, strategies, or opinion. Most ITSM solutions come with a CMDB, which is essential for correlating CI information with incidents, changes, requests, releases and deployments, plus supporting other practices such as information security and financial and systems audits. Simply put, a CI is an instance of an entity that is part of your environment and has configurable attributes specific to that instance. I paraphrase a quote from the VeriSM publication: Configuration management is referred to as the ‘unicorn’ of service management – everyone has heard of it, everyone knows what it is, but no one has seen it in real life! Each station has: 1. CIs vary widely in complexity, size, and type, ranging from an entire service or system including all hardware, software, documentation, and support staff to a single software module or a minor hardware component. The system has a central operation control centre and many railway stations. I have, however, had some issues with this. Effective configuration management supports the establishment and maintenance of the functional, allocated and product baseline. 5.3 Configuration Items. Examples of configuration items. Step 2. An overview of patch management with examples. This is used to automatically determine the impact of failures. They can be physical things, information technology elements or concepts. A definition of devops with an outline of its components. ITIL v3 describes Configuration Item (CI) as a subset of service asset that has a direct impact on service delivery and needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service.. The set of Configuration Item Records for a project is often referred to as a configuration library. PM. Each element in the IT environment is an individual entity requiring accurate capture of its attributes. Ser… A local control pr… Use of this site signifies your acceptance of BMC’s, 9 Pressing IT Security Challenges – and How to Mitigate Them, MTBF vs. MTTF vs. MTTR: Defining IT Failure, Discovery for Disaster Recovery: CMDB Need Not Apply, IT Project Management: Process, Templates, & Best Practices, Help Desk Interviews: 7 Tips for Interviewing and Hiring Help Desk Professionals, Collecting and maintaining accurate, organized CI records, Regularly verifying and validating your CI information. Configuration Baselines. A definition of service level agreement with a few examples. SD. His passion is partnering with organizations around the world through training, development, adaptation, streamlining and benchmarking their strategic and operational policies and processes in line with best practice frameworks and international standards. For more information about configuration item revisions, see Management tasks for configuration data. Taxonomy of Key Configuration Item Types or Categorizations; Description: The following represents a linear or flat taxonomy of the different Configuration Item types that are tracked and managed as part of the Configuration Management discipline and its related set of processes. Overview. By clicking "Accept" or by continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies. To learn some basics about compliance settings, read Plan for and configure compliance settings to implement any necessary prerequisites. The term "configuration item" can be applied to anything designated for the application of the elements of configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration-management system. Then Microsoft disclosed that over 250 million user analytics records were exposed on five ElasticSearch servers following a change to its security rules early in December 2019. Best practice: Automate configuration management and include several stakeholders in its upkeep. Selected items of system hardware or software (or combinations of hardware and software), in which the Government or acquiring activity has configuration management concern, are designated as Configuration Items (CIs). SLM.AUM.caM.ST SD. The most popular articles on Simplicable in the past day. ChM. PM. A configuration item is a software entity that shows up on planning time-lines and which requires a certain amount of documentation. Example criteria for selecting configuration items at the appropriate work product level include: By Vangie Beal In ITIL terminology, configuration items (CI) are components of an infrastructure that currently is, or soon will be under configuration management. All Rights Reserved. It is also used for tracking development progress. They resolved the issue on the last day of the year. Configuration Baseline Remediation to the rescue! Device deployments are not strange. A list of common high availability techniques. Client Platform - Windows XP, Window7 OS, windows 8 OS , etc 2. Configuration management can tell us these answers. Give the Configuration Item a name, and maybe assign some categories to it. For example, a CI may be a Dell Laptop with attributes that include: Before you start, read Get started with compliance settings. The Gartner Magic Quadrant for ITSM is the gold-standard resource helping you understand the strengths of major ITSM software vendors, insights into platform capabilities, integration opportunities, and many other factors to determine which solution best fits your needs. From core to cloud to edge, BMC delivers the software and services that enable nearly 10,000 global customers, including 84% of the Forbes Global 100, to thrive in their ongoing evolution to an Autonomous Digital Enterprise. So I’m not really sure where to start but when i first learned about configuration baseline and that you could use script and specifically powershell i was totally stoked. I’ll use my original 2013 problem as the example for how to create a Configuration Item, but the steps are universal, so you can use them to create any Configuration Item. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or translated. a sub-system is an aggregate of software units). The Configuration Item Records can take a number of formats, including: Document, spreadsheet or database; Entry in a project management tool. The difference between Service Level Agreements and Service Level Objectives. Please let us know by emailing blogs@bmc.com. Step 2. In determining the root causes of the Microsoft and New York City incidents, it is no surprise that both incidents could have been avoided if only someone took time to ensure that configurations were well validated and regularly reviewed at all levels. A Configuration Baseline in ConfigMgr is a collection of one or more conditional checks called Configuration Items. An overview of long term goals with examples for job interviews, employees, businesses and students. Each of these configuration items are evaluated upon a defined schedule for the purpose of reporting on compliance and for auditing purposes. Records of configuration items are usually held in configuration management systems or databases. Joseph is a global best practice trainer and consultant with over 14 years corporate experience. Configuration baselines in Configuration Manager can contain specific revisions of configuration items or can be configured to always use the latest version of a configuration item. Non-compliance can be remediated to bring devices back into a compliant state – super cool, super powerful and really easy to set up. The station CI is another aggregate configuration item. So, what better way to look at configuration items than by defining what is it that we configure? The individual CI contained within a CB can consist of any combination of the following types, more often than not these days though a PowerShell Script will … → see also: ITIL Checklist CMS/ CMDB, enhanced with many additions ITIL Process: ITIL V2 Service Support - Configuration Management. Configuration Identification: Configuration identification is a method of determining the scope … Source: Checklist "Configuration Item - CI Record" from the ITIL Process Map V2. ChM. For example each logic file that is loaded into the RTU has a unique identifier and version number. The following are illustrative examples of configuration items. A CI is a software model that contains the attributes of the represented entity. For any configuration item—whether physical or conceptual—associated attributes will be tracked, including identification code, name, descriptions, CI owner, location, status, and documentation. A configuration item (CI) is an infrastructure component provided by an organization to its customers.It may be an item of equipment (e.g. Learn more about BMC ›. RM. PM. Configuration Item: In information technology, a configuration item is a component of a system that can be identified as a self-contained unit for purposes of change control and identification. Even though hosting all your applications on the cloud might provide easy visibility, the management of up-to-date information remains a significant hurdle when there are other pressing needs, such as incidents and projects. So, for example, knowledge or furniture can be classified as assets for your company. The definition of IT services with examples. There are two methods that you can use to create configuration baselines: 1. Checklist Category: ITIL Templates - Configuration Management . All configuration items (CIs) are uniquely identified by CI registration codes and version numbers. Though configuration management may sound tedious, it is essential to successful and holistic ITSM. Other ITSM practices such as incident, problem, change, request, release, and deployment management can never be effective if configuration items are not properly recorded and the information shared visibly and accurately to all stakeholders. CIs are the basic units of configuration management. A Configuration Baseline in ConfigMgr is a collection of one or more conditional checks called Configuration Items. For any configuration item—whether physical or conceptual—associated attributes will be tracked, including identification code, name, descriptions, CI owner, location, status, and documentation. Both scenarios were attributed to configuration errors, with Microsoft stating that “Misconfigurations are unfortunately a common error across the industry.” Indeed, managing configurations is one of the more challenging activities in IT service management. © 2010-2020 Simplicable. For example, do not modify the type of the location attribute from reference to list. CIs may be a single module such as a monitor or tape drive, or more complex items, such as a complete system. In this article, we’ll define CIs and look at real-world examples. Select the configuration items and the work products that compose them based on documented criteria. That hopefully paints a clearer picture of the problems that configuration management is trying to solve. An RTU CI release is an aggregate of firmware, configuration and logic CIs. To start the Import Configuration Data Wizard, in the Configuration Items or Configurat… Examples of configuration items CIs vary widely in complexity, size, and type, ranging from an entire service or system including all hardware, software, documentation, and support staff to a single software module or a minor hardware component. An example of a top-level CI is a computer system. Attention: Do not modify any of these attributes in the dictionary. Step 3. Import configuration data from a file. → see also: ITIL Checklist CMS/ CMDB, enhanced with many additions ITIL Process: ITIL V2 Service Support - Configuration Management. Their definition is intentionally broad so that a wide number of industries can model things they change with the same set of tools. But they are not CIs, as they are not controlled for purposes of delivering services.