* Why configuration management databases are in
While the end of 2004 brought a flurry of high-profile vendor acquisitions, at a much lower volume were two announcements with their own significance: Compuware’s partnership with Collation, followed by Managed Objects’ partnership with nLayers.
Both Collation and nLayers offer robust capabilities for dynamically discovering and tracking application ecosystems – and all of their systems, network and software components. Compuware is a leader in infrastructure performance and life-cycle application management, and Managed Objects has focused on managing infrastructure for business alignment.
In both instances, Managed Objects and Compuware spoke about leveraging these new partnerships to support a configuration management database (CMDB), as a core enabler and market differentiator.
So what is a CMDB? Well, first of all, whether you have no idea, or think you might know what it is, or have read copious pages about it, the question is a very good question to ask. Among other things, a CMDB is one of the core enablers to manage across infrastructure seams. The term has emerged from the literature of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL), the leader in defining best practices for managing IT services. ITIL is process-oriented, but it nevertheless posits a CMDB to enable both management processes and, of necessity, management applications in support of those processes.
According to ITIL, “Many organizations are already using some elements of configuration management, often using spreadsheets, local databases, or paper-based systems. In today’s large and complex IT infrastructures, configuration management requires the use of support tools, which includes a [CMDB].”
ITIL suggests that the CMDB should capture both the interrelationships and relevant histories across all system components, including incidents, problems, known errors, changes and releases. In addition, it should incorporate information about employees, IT staff, suppliers, locations and business units. ITIL recognizes the need for relevant software tools to support enhanced levels of automation in areas such as discovery, inventory and audit.
The only problem is that ITIL is process-oriented, and the CMDB, to actually exist, must be an architected entity. The chance for creating a monster in moving from a process-centric ideal to an architected reality – given the breadth of the CMDB vision – is all too real. Consider the need for a well-tuned set of federated databases and policy definitions to work together like a well-oiled machine, supporting, presumably, multiple software brand choices, and you should assume years and possibly decades of technology and industry evolution.
Coincidentally, Enterprise Management Associates for many months has been debating the relevance of a “universal topology” – recognizing that dynamic topologies and configuration information are natural enablers for everything from root-cause analysis, to inventory and asset management, to change management, to service-level management, to IT governance and information security. The question EMA has been examining is to what degree these interrelationships should be brought together in a single place.
Now that ITIL’s notion of a CMDB is sweeping the industry – with clear commitments from all major players such as BMC, Computer Associates, HP and IBM – EMA has decided to focus its discussions and research in the direction of the ITIL CMDB and its many industry proponents.
EMA is introducing an issues-oriented report this month, and in coming months will provide details on the management landscape – who’s doing what and why. In this report, EMA will look primarily at the vendor community, but will also examine IT innovations in the direction of the CMDB. Finally, EMA will provide a report with a look at how the industry is likely to evolve in the direction of a CMDB – by whatever name.
In this, we are very interested in getting your perspectives and welcome your thoughts and insights. If you’re moving in the direction of a CMDB from an IT perspective, let me know. What are your priorities for the near- and long-term? Or if you’ve thought about it and decided not to move in that direction, let me know that as well. Contact me at mailto:drogseth@emausa.com
