Configuration Management - Process and Management

Scope & Goal

The scope of OIT's configuration management process covers the creation and ongoing maintenance of OIT's Configuration Management Database (CMDB) including describing policy relating to the CMDB itself and the Configuration Management System (CMS) used to support it. The major goals of OIT's CMS are to:

• Account for all IT assets managed by OIT that are used to deliver its services.
• Document and provide accurate information on all support system configurations used to deliver services.
• Provide a central repository for configuration information used for Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Project Management, and other service management functions.
• Verify the configuration records against the actual infrastructure and correct any exceptions.

• Provide decision support by maintaining accurate configuration information mapped to service management processes.

CMS Practices and Guidelines

To meet goals defined for OIT's configuration management, the configuration data must be accurate (which means it must be updated frequently), and it must be available to all systems that need it. For this reason, some measure of governance and change management is employed against the CMDB. Configuration items (CIs) are maintained by a configuration or asset manager who makes decisions about when to update the information, what information should be included, and how the information is made available. Life cycles are documented for each asset class so everyone understands how the related CIs are generated and how they move through their expected life cycles.

Where ever possible, OIT uses proven and industry accepted ITIL-based practices, although in some cases these practices are modified to better suit the local environment. Use of these practices assures that the configuration information meets the needs and remains accessible to those who use it.

OIT's CMS includes policies that define the structure and content of the configuration tables, and procedures for maintaining and making the content available.

Use the index in the right navigation panel to access the information you need to understand and use the Configuration Management System.