What is Configuration Management Database (CMDB)?

Definition of Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

Configuration Management Database (CMDB) refers to the database that keeps data on all IT assets within the enterprises. These assets can be physical, virtual or logical — they can be hardware devices, such as servers and routers, or software tools, such as databases, networking components and applications.

A CMDB contains information on the configuration of a system and its relationship to other systems. This allows users to determine how changes to one component of a system will affect the overall configuration. For example, a user may need to understand what impact an upgrade of software will have on the system as a whole before implementing it.

Essentially, CMDB is the single source of truth for information including:

• Application Services
• Assets
• Business Services
• Configuration Items (CI)
• Contracts/SLAs/OLAs
• Documents
• Incidents
• People/Organizations

Purposes of CMDB

The goal of a CMDB is to give the CIO a single source of truth about the assets managed by IT, which allows for rational decision-making and fast problem resolution. The CMDB is a subcomponent of configuration management (CM), which is a set of processes that allow for the identification, analysis, control and verification of changes made to IT components in order to improve efficiency and reduce the occurrence of incidents.

A CMDB can be seen as a single "system of record" for all the configuration items (CI) within an organization's IT environment. The data in a CMDB is typically stored in a relational database and organized hierarchically, with each CI being represented as a collection of attributes and relationships. CMDBs have been used since the late 80s by large enterprises to manage their IT infrastructure.

The primary goal of a CMDB is to provide an authoritative source for all of the enterprise's information about its CIs, which can then be utilized in support of multiple business processes, including:

1. Change management
2. Configuration management
3. Problem management
4. Release management
5. Service asset and configuration management

The CMDB serves as the core of an IT Service Management framework, providing information that is essential for managing all components in the infrastructure. It enables users to manage the entire life cycle of an IT asset, including procurement and discovery, from provisioning and utilization, to decommissioning and disposal.

A CMDB framework consists of three components:

1. A data model that stores attributes or properties of each component along with their relationships with other components;

2. An application or software that supports the management of each component;

3. A process or workflow that manages the lifecycle of each component, covering all processes such as procurement, deployment, maintenance, and disposal.

Benefits of CMDB

CMDB or Configuration Management Database is the data warehouse of a company's IT environment. It is the central repository of information that is essential for an organization to manage, control and monitor its IT assets.

The biggest advantage of CMDB is that it helps in visualizing the relationships between the IT components. The top-down approach to IT management helps in understanding how the changes in an IT component can impact others and thus ensures that any change doesn't adversely affect the overall functionality of the company's network.

• A single source of truth about IT assets.
• Better support for business processes through improved service availability and continuity.
• Better service-level agreement (SLA) compliance.
• Lower costs from greater efficiencies in provisioning and support processes.
• Faster identification and resolution of incidents.
• Saves money - because it helps to reduce costly errors
• Reduces the amount of time spent on resolving issues - by giving you quick access to detailed information about your IT infrastructure
• Improves your organization's overall security - because it gives you better control over which users have access to which IT services and applications
• Improved visibility of the IT infrastructure
• Increases efficiencies in managing IT infrastructure changes
• Better alignment between IT and business goals
• Improves ability to maintain service availability