IT Configuration Management Database Automation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Large enterprises face challenges in efficiently managing and documenting the configuration of diverse IT resources, leading to labor-intensive and inaccurate processes that hinder the prediction and implementation of changes, affecting the quality of IT services.
Innovation Solution
A configuration management system that utilizes a central repository, or configuration database, to store and maintain institutional knowledge of IT resources over time, enabling integrated process automation, validation, and approval of changes, while ensuring compliance with service level agreements and risk management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If labor-intensive manual processes are used to manage IT resource configurations, then flexibility in handling diverse resources is maintained, but accuracy and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-service through configuration management databases that automatically track, validate, and approve configuration changes without manual intervention. The CMDB automatically discovers IT resources, maintains configuration relationships, and enforces validation rules, replacing labor-intensive manual processes with autonomous system operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical processes of tracking and managing IT configurations are replaced with automated electronic systems. The patent implements computer-based configuration management databases, automated discovery tools, and electronic validation workflows that substitute human manual operations with automated computational processes, dramatically improving both accuracy and efficiency.
2Reliability
If comprehensive configuration tracking is implemented across all IT resources, then impact analysis capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The configuration management system segments IT resources into hierarchical configuration items (CIs) with defined relationships. The patent divides complex IT infrastructure into manageable components such as hardware, software, networks, and services, each represented as individual CIs in the CMDB. This segmentation enables systematic tracking and analysis without overwhelming system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The configuration management database serves as an intermediary layer between IT resources and impact analysis processes. The CMDB automatically discovers and stores configuration relationships, creating a structured intermediate representation that simplifies complex impact analysis. This intermediary database abstracts the underlying complexity while providing reliable data for impact prediction.
3Loss of information
If multiple databases are used to store different configuration information, then data coverage is improved, but information accuracy deteriorates due to data inconsistency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple scattered configuration databases into a unified configuration management database. The CMDB consolidates information from various sources including hardware inventories, software registers, network configurations, and service catalogs into a single integrated repository. This unification eliminates data silos and ensures consistent, accurate configuration information across the entire IT landscape.
Solution Approach 2:
The configuration management database is designed as a universal system that handles multiple types of configuration information through a common data model. The patent implements a multi-functional CMDB that can store and manage diverse configuration data (hardware, software, networks, services) using standardized schemas and relationships, providing both complete coverage and consistent accuracy through a single versatile platform.
Data Source
AI summary
System and method for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise. Embodiments of the present invention gather, store, and maintain institutional knowledge of configurations of IT resources of an enterprise. A configuration database serves as a temporal record of the configurations of the resources. The configuration database can reflect a dimensional model of the enterprise configuration where various configuration items are linked together. A configuration change can be analyzed and approved, and then reflected in a change to a configuration item (CI) which imposes an appropriate change to other configuration items based on upstream, downstream, peer relationships and/or views. A system according to an embodiment of the invention can also include a change database, an inventory database, a problem database, and/or a service level management subsystem to ensure changes to an enterprise's configuration are consistent with service level agreements and/or operating level agreements.