As with most information, the CMDB is most useful when it is current and correct. When the CMDB was initially loaded, the best data available was used and an ongoing effort was initiated to steadily improve data quality over time. This will require constant monitoring of CIs and defined relationships to ensure they represent the actual configuration as accurately as possible. A major effort in maintaining the quality of the CMDB is to periodically review CIs to make sure they correctly describe the OIT assets they represent. With respect to maintenance of CIs, there are two major types:
Discoverable CIs are those that can be found using automated scanning processes that maintain current configuration information. This includes classes such as servers, databases, Web servers, Web sites, and many others.
Nondiscoverable CIs are those that must be maintained manually. This includes business services, application software, and physical items that cannot be queried automatically (equipment racks, data centers, PDUs, etc.).
The discoverable CIs will be updated automatically while the nondiscoverable CIs will require review and updating by the support teams for the CIs. This review must be completed at least once every six months. Review consists of opening a CI record, reviewing the data fields, and making any necessary updates or corrections.
ServiceNow generates a monthly report showing CIs that have not been reviewed sometime in the previous six months. This report (CIs not Reviewed in the Last 6 Months) is distributed via email to the leaders of all teams that support any CIs that need review. If a team's CIs are all up-to-date then none of the team's supported CIs will be listed and no action is necessary. The report will look like the following:
If your name appears in the Manager column then you will see a number in one or more of the CI Class columns to the right. Select any of these numbers to produce a list of CIs in that class that need to be reviewed. You can also select the number in the Count column to review CIs from all classes at once.