Let’s now understand the goals and objectives of Service Asset and Configuration Management process. We will also understand some of the key concepts in Service asset and configuration management, that is to say:
Ø Definitive media Library or DML
Ø Logical Configuration Model and
Ø Relationship between Configuration Management database i.e. CMDB and Configuration management system i.e. CMS and Service Knowledge Management Database i.e. SKMS in short.
Service Asset and Configuration Management: Goals and Objectives:
No organization can be fully efficient or effective unless it manages its assets well, particularly those assets that are vital to the running of the customer’s or organization’s business. This process manages the service assets in order to support the other Service Management processes.
The goals of service asset and configuration management are to provide a logical model of the IT infrastructure correlating IT services and different IT components which could be physical, logical et cetera needed to deliver these services.
The objectives of the Service Asset and Configuration Management (also called SACM) process are to define and control the components of services and infrastructure and maintain accurate configuration records. This enables an organization to comply with corporate governance requirements, control its asset base, optimize its costs, manage change and release effectively, and resolve incidents and problems faster.
Service Asset and Configuration Management: Basic Concepts: CMDB:
A key concept in Service Asset and Configuration management is that of a Configuration Management database or CMDB. A Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is a database used to store configuration records of CIs. One or more CMDBs can be part of a Configuration Management System.
CMDB provides a logical model of the IT infrastructure as it captures Configuration Items (CIs) and the relationships that exist between them.
Similar to CMDB, there are two libraries defined as a part of the Configuration Management system. These Libraries are used for controlling and releasing components throughout the service lifecycle, for example in design, building, testing, deployment and operations.
A secure library is a collection of software and electronic CIs example documentation, of a known type and status. As a part of the secure library, The Definitive Media Library or DML is a secure store where the definitive, authorized and approved versions of all media CIs are stored and monitored. Access to items in a secure library is restricted.
And a secure store is a secure location where IT assets like PC’s, Server and other hardware are stored. In the Secure store definitive spares are kept. Definitive spares are spare components and assemblies that are maintained at the same level as the comparative systems within the live environment.