Configuration Mgmt

Configuration Management

- Premanand Lotlikar 17th July, 2007

Agenda • • • • • • • • • •

Introduction Objective of CM Basic Concepts Benefits Relationship with other processes Activities in CM Process Control Key Performance Indicators Cost Possible Problems

Introduction • Every IT organization has information about its IT infrastructure • Art is to keep the information up-to-date • Information includes not only about individual component but how they relate to one another • If implemented properly, it can provide information about:

Product Policy • Which IT components are we currently using? How many of each version? How long have we had them? • What are the current trends in the various product groups? • Which IT components can be phased out and which require upgrading? • What licenses do we have and are they adequate? • Which maintenance contracts should be reviewed?

Troubleshooting information & Impact assessment • Which IT components are affected by a change? • Which RFCs are under consideration for IT components? • What IT components are responsible for known errors? • Will the disaster recovery plan still be effective if the configurations are modified?

Difference b/w CM and Asset Mgmt Asset Mgmt • Accounting process for monitoring assets • Records purchase price, depreciation, business unit and location

Configuration Mgmt • Goes beyond asset mgmt • Additionally keeps relationships b/w CI’s • Also monitors feedback about current information of CI’s

Objectives of CM • Account for all the IT assets and configurations within the organization and its services • Provide accurate information on configurations and their documentation to support all the other Service Management processes • Provide a sound basis for Incident Mgmt, Problem Mgmt, Change Mgmt • Verify the configuration records against the infrastructure and correct any exceptions

Basic Concepts • Configuration Items (CI’s) – IT components and the services provided with them – PC hardware, all kinds of software, active and passive network components, servers, central processors, documentation, procedures, services and all other IT components

Basic Concepts • Configuration Mgmt Database (CMDB) – Keeps track of all IT components, their versions and status and the relationships between them.

Benefits • • • • • • • • • •

Managing IT components High quality IT services Effective problem solving More rapid processing of changes Better control of s/w & h/w Improved security Compliance with legal requirements More precise expenditure planning Better support for Availability Mgmt & Capacity Mgmt Solid foundation for IT service Continuity Mgmt

Relationship with other processes • Incident Mgmt needs information across the whole infrastructure • Configuration Mgmt helps to: – To determine the CI’s location and owner – To determine if there is a problem or a known error with work around – To know which customers and services are impacted – To know the relevant SLA

Relationship with other processes • Problem Mgmt needs information about the complexity of the infrastructure. • Configuration Mgmt helps to: – To link problems & known errors to CI’s – To use CMDB data to analyze incidents and problems – To identify the deviation b/w the authorized configuration and the actual configuration

Relationship with other processes • Change Mgmt needs to identify the impact of the changes done. • Configuration Mgmt helps to: – To associate changes with the relevant CI’s

• Change Mgmt provides major input for updating the CMDB

Relationship with other processes • Service Level Mgmt (SLM) needs information about services along with the relationships b/w services and the underlying infrastructure CI’s. • Service levels (gold, silver, bronze) can be recorded against the CI’s

Relationship with other processes • Availability Mgmt uses CMDB for Component Failure Impact Analysis (CFIA). • It uses CMDB to identify the weakest CI in the chain of CI’s providing a service.

Relationship with other processes • Capacity Mgmt uses CMDB – To plan optimization of IT infrastructure – To allocate workload – To develop a capacity plan

Relationship with other processes

Activities in CM • • • •

Planning Identification Status Accounting Verification and Audit

Planning • The aim, scope, and priorities of Configuration Mgmt have to be defined within Service Management and should be aligned with the business objective.

Identification • The general questions for determining information to be recorded: – Which components should have their status and status history recorded? – What are the current and future needs of the other processes? – What information do we require for changing purpose? – What requirements are associated with the provision of SLA? • Decision to be made on – Scope (breadth) – Level of Breakdown (depth) – Level of Detail (detail)

Detailing the Scope • What part of the infrastructure be controlled by Configuration Mgmt? • This scope affects the scope of: – Diagnoses by Problem Mgmt – Impact Analysis by Change Mgmt – Verifiability of SLA – Analysis & Planning by Availability Mgmt

Detailing the Scope Scope CI # 1

Service A

IT Infrastructure

Service B

CI # 2

CI # 3

Application A

CI # 4

Module A CI # 5

LAN 2

PABX

CI # 6

System 21

Line 1

CI # 7

NIC 12

Line 2

Modem 5

Line 3

Module B CI # 8

Depth – Level of Breakdown IT Infrastructure

Hardware

Suite 2

Suite 1

Program 1-1

Network

Software

Program 1-2

Program 1-1

Program 1-3

Program 1-2

Documentation

Level of Detail (Attributes) ATTRIBUTE

DESCRIPTION

CI number/label

Unique identification of the CI.

Serial Number

Supplier’s identification number in the form of serial number

Model Name

Full model name E.g. PIV MMX 933 MHz

Manufacturer

Manufacturer of the CI

Category

Classification (H/W, S/W, Documentation)

Warranty expiry date

Date when warranty expires

Version number

Version number of CI

Location

Location of CI

Owner responsible

Name and designation of the owner or person responsible for the CI

Status

Current state of the CI E.g. ‘under test’, ‘live’

Cost

Cost of acquisition

Residual value

Current value of CI after depreciation

Comment

Other comments

RFC Number

RFC number open for the CI

Relationships

Relationship b/w the CI and other CIs

CI Relationships • Relationship b/w CIs useful for: – Diagnosing errors – Predicting availability of services

• Relationships can be: – Logical • Is a copy of: Copy of a standard model • Relates to: A procedure, SLA, customer area • Is used by: CI needed for providing a service

– Physical • Forms part of: FDD forms part of a PC • Is connected to: PC connected to LAN • Is needed for: H/w needed to run application

CI Relationships (example)

Baselines • Snapshot of group of CI’s taken at a specific point in time • Baseline can be used as: – For recording cost information – Starting point for development and testing of new configurations – Back-out if there is are problems with new configuration after change – Standard for supplying configurations (E.g. standard workstation)

Status Accounting • The process of recording state changes to a CI • Most common states: – – – – – –

On order Received, pending testing Under test Installed to production, Operational Under repair Disposed

• This information is also useful for problem management, especially for detecting devices with high incidents of repair or long repair periods

Verification and Audit • Used to verify if the current situation still reflects the details in CMDB • Audits may be carried out in following situations: – After implementing a new CMDB – Before and after major changes – After disaster recovery – At any convenient time

Verification and Audit • Following questions are asked during audit: – Are all RFCs recorded in CMDB? – Is the CMDB still up-to-date? If not, why? – What is the impact on Change Mgmt? – Are baseline configurations recorded correctly? – Does naming of the new CI’s comply with naming convention?

Process Control • Critical Success Factors: – Information in the CMDB should be up-to-date • Change Mgmt must be strictly enforced • Stakeholder for information

– Implementation of CMDB must be divided into correct stages • Extensive scopes of CM at once generally fails

– Recording must be given to person having not only the reqd skill but the right attitude!

Key Performance Indicators • Number of deltas • No of occasions when configuration was found unauthorized • No of occasions when recorded configuration could not be found • Time need to process a request for recording information • List of CI’s where more than a given no of incidents/changes were recorded • Statistical information about the structure and composition of IT infrastructure • Growth data about IT infrastructure

Cost • Largely depends on the scope and level of the detail • Cost include H/w, S/w and personnel cost • H/w, S/w cost depend on: – Additional H/w & S/w required and its configuration – Application and DB design, population, customization & implementation – DB maintenance

• Personnel cost depends on the size of the organization and level of detail of CMDB

Possible Problems • • • • • •

Wrong CMDB scope or CI level of detail Inadequate manual systems Affect of urgent changes Over ambitious schedules Management acceptance Bypassing the process

Thank you!