CMDB Rule Management for Compliance Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data processing systems face challenges in ensuring compliance with changed resource rules across hard-coded applications, leading to difficulties in enforcing new security policies, such as password strength requirements, due to lack of centralized management.
Innovation Solution
A Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is utilized to manage and enforce resource rules, transmitting rule changes to resource managers and tracking compliance through certification entries, ensuring all resources adhere to new policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a centralized rule management system is implemented, then compliance tracking and rule enforcement become automated and efficient, but the system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Configuration Management Database (CMDB) as an intermediary component that sits between the rule control logic and the resources. The CMDB stores configuration items (CIs) that represent resources and their attributes, enabling centralized rule management without requiring direct modification of each resource's code. This intermediary layer automates compliance tracking by maintaining a repository of resource configurations and rule implementations, thereby improving productivity while managing system complexity through a dedicated intermediate structure.
2Reliability
If rule changes are transmitted to all resources, then compliance with new policies is ensured, but the time and overhead for implementing and verifying changes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by creating configuration items (CIs) in the CMDB that represent resources and their current rule implementations before actual rule changes occur. When a rule change is detected by the rule control logic, the system can proactively notify resource managers and track compliance through pre-established certification entries in the CMDB. This preliminary structuring of resource information enables faster rule change propagation and verification, as the CMDB already has the framework in place to receive and record compliance certifications without requiring time-consuming ad-hoc assessments.
3Reliability
If hard-coded applications are modified to comply with new rules, then security standards are met, but the difficulty and cost of maintenance and updates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts rule management functionality from hard-coded applications by introducing a separate rule control logic component and CMDB infrastructure. Instead of embedding rule enforcement directly in application code, the system extracts rules into a centralized management layer that can be updated independently. The CMDB stores configuration items that represent resource configurations and rule implementations, allowing security policies to be modified and propagated without requiring changes to the underlying application code or resources, thereby maintaining security compliance while simplifying maintenance.
Data Source
AI summary
A Configuration Management DataBase (CMDB) is utilized when determining if resources, which are modeled in and managed by the CMDB, are in compliance with a new resource rule that affect how the resource operates. In one embodiment, the computer-implementable method includes the step of, in response to detecting a rule change, transmitting a new rule to a rule control logic in a resource management database, wherein the rule change changes a rule for an attribute of a resource in a data processing system, and wherein the resource management database describes attributes of resources in the data processing system. The method may include the further step of transmitting the new rule from the rule control logic to a resource manager, wherein the resource manager is a person who has the capacity to implement the new rule in a resource in the data processing system