Adding Configuration Items

You can add a new Configuration Item (CI) to the CMDB if you are a Configuration Manager or user with appropriate access. You can also create Child, Parent, and Peer relations between CIs (see: CI Relations).

To add Configuration Items (CIs):

  1. Select CMDB > User > New Configuration Item.
  2. On the NEW CI page, select the Tenant and fill in the other required details as described in the following table:

    Field

    Description

    Tenant

    Select the Tenant from the list.

    Classification

    Select the Classification from the list.

    Criticality

    Select the Criticality from the list.

    Device/ Host Name

    Type in the device or host name.

    Serial No.

    Type in the serial number of the CI.

    Owner Workgroup

    Select the Owner Workgroup of the CI.

    Owner

    Select the owner of the CI.

    Status

    Select the status of the CI.

    Customer

    Select the customer of the CI.

    Life Cycle Status

    Select the life cycle status of the CI.


    New Configuration Item page
    Figure: NEW CI page

  3. Type in the other required fields under the GENERAL, CI RELATIONS, VERSION HISTORY, RELATIONSHIP, DOCUMENTS, and ADDITIONAL INFORMATION tabs. For information about the fields under these tabs on the NEW CI page, see Field Description. 
  4. Click SUBMIT. A new CI is added.

Field Description

This section describes the fields on the NEW CI page.

 GENERAL

You can provide details, such as the device or host name, MAC address, Owner Workgroups, model numbers, installation date, location, and Vendor under the GENERAL tab.

GENERAL Tab
Figure: GENERAL Tab

The following table describes the fields under the GENERAL tab:

Field

Description

IP Address

Type in the IP address of the CI.

MAC Address

Type in the MAC address of the CI.

Make

Type in the make of the CI.

Vendor

Type in the name of the Vendor of the CI.

Model No.

Type in the model number for the CI.

Installation Date

Select the date of installation of the CI.

Managed By

Select the team who will manage the CI. For example: IT Service Desk and Enterprise Application.

Location

Select the location for the CI.

Rack

Type in the rack name to install the CI.

Underpinning Contract

Select the Underpinning Contract applicable for the CI.

Project

Select the name of the project for the CI.

CIs User Account

Select the user account for the CI.

Test Plan Mandatory

Indicates the status set for testing the linked Change Record (CR).

  • If selected, it is mandatory to test the linked CR and have at least one successful test result before implementation.
  • If not selected, it is not mandatory to test the linked CR.

SSH Port

Type in the SSH port for the CI.

Telnet Port

Type in the Telnet port for the CI.

Warranty

Type in the warranty conditions for the CI.

Annual Maintenance Contract

Type in the Annual Maintenance Contract set for the CI.

Version

Type in the version details of the CI.

Description

Type in a description for the CI.

Remarks

Type in remarks, if any.

Active

Indicates the status set for the CI.

  • If selected, the CI is enabled to display on the other pages of the application.
  • If not selected, the CI  is inactive and is not displayed on the other pages of the application.
 CI RELATIONS

You can create Child, Parent, Peer, Backup or any configured relations (see: Configuring CI Relation Types) between the CIs using the Link list under the CI RELATIONS tab (see: CI Relations). All the linked CIs are displayed in a Tile view. The basic information about the CIs is displayed along with the Event Correlation status (Correlated). Event correlation is a method used to identify the few events that should be analyzed and corrected from a large number of events that are triggered. For example, if there are two CIs, one is a parent CI and the other one is a child CI. If the Parent CI goes down, an event is created. If the Parent CI goes down and the Child CI also goes down, the event created for the Child CI is suppressed if the Correlated status is YES. The event triggered by the Parent CI is analyzed, and corrected. 

  • Parent CI: A CI is identified as a Parent CI if one or multiple CIs depend upon it. Any major impact on the Parent CI has an impact on the Child CI.
  • Child CI: The availability and performance of a Child CI has a dependency on the Parent CI.
  • Peer CI: A CI of similar nature is considered as a Peer CI. There is no impact on the CI if the Peer CI goes down.
  • Backup CI: A CI is identified as a Backup CI if it provides backup to another CI. It means if the CI goes down, the Backup CI performs in place of the affected CI, significantly reducing the impact of the affected CI.
  • Services: The Services linked to the CI are displayed.

CI RELATIONS tab
Figure: CI RELATIONS tab

 VERSION HISTORY

You can view the version history about a CI under the VERSION HISTORY tab. After a CI is developed and moved to the production, the version history is generated for the CI and the details of the CI is changed to view/read mode. To edit the details of the CI, the Analysts must create a Change Record (CR) and it should be approved by the CAB member and Authorizer.

VERSION HISTORY tab
Figure: VERSION HISTORY tab

 The following table describes the fields under the VERSION HISTORY tab of the NEW CI page:

Field

Description

Current Version

Displays the current version of the CI.

Version

Displays the version number of the CI.

  • Major:If the previous version was Version 1.0, the next version of the CI is Version 2.0
  • Minor: If the previous version was Version 1.0, the next version of the CI is Version 1.1.
  • Small/ Update: If the previous version was Version 1.0, the next version of the CI is Version 1.01.

Note: Based on the selected Category in the related Change Record (CR), the version number changes. For example: The initial CI is at Version 1.0.

Change Request ID

Displays the CR ID.

CR Status

Displays the status of the CR.

Baseline

Select the check box to specify the version as the baseline version.

Note: User can go back up to the baseline version to view the previous records of a CI.

Created On

Displays the created date of the CI.

Created By

Displays the name of the Analyst who has created or modified a CI.

Revert to Previous Version

Displays if the CI has been reverted to the previous version.

  • Yes: Indicates that the CI has been reverted to the previous version.
  • No: Indicates that the CI is of the current version.

Get Previous Version

Click to revert to the previous version of the CI. You can roll back up to the baseline version of the CI using this icon. For example, currently if you are working on a CI of 5.0v and if the baseline of this CI is set as 2.0v, you can go back, version by version, in the order it is modified, and up to the baseline version, which is 2.0v, and view the previous version details.

 To reverse the CI to the previous version, see Reversing CI to Previous Version in the following section.

You need to revert the CI configuration to previous version only if the CR implementation for the CI fails. The Revert to Previous Version option in the CR should be set as Yes (see: P.I.REVIEW). Or, you must create a new CR. To create a new CR from the NEW CI page, go to the RELATIONSHIP tab, click the Create list and select Change Record. A new CR is created (see: Creating Change Records). After the approval of the CR under the P.I. REVIEW tab (see: P.I.REVIEW), the Approver must update the Revert to Previous Version option as Yes and save the CR . Open the associated CI and go to the VERSION HISTORY tab. Click the Get Previous Version button to revert to the previous version of the CI. You can revert CI configurations till the last baseline version set for the CI.

 RELATIONSHIP

You can link related Incidents, Problem Records (PRs), Assets, CIs, Events, and so on to the CI using the Link list. You can also create new Incidents, PRs, SRs, and so on to link to the CI using the Create list.

RELATIONSHIP tab
Figure: RELATIONSHIP tab

 DOCUMENTS

You can add the related documents for the CI under the DOCUMENT tab. Fill in the required details for the document and click ADD to associate it with the CI.

DOCUMENTS tab
Figure: DOCUMENTS tab

The following table describes the fields under the DOCUMENTS tab of the NEW CI page:

Field

Description

Document Name

Type in the document name.

Version No.

Type in the version number of the document.

CI Location

Type in the CI location.

Attachment

Click the Upload icon to attach the related document.

User Name

Type in the user name for the document.

Password

Type in the password for the document.

 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Under the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION tab, you can specify additional information under SLA MATRIX BY CI, COST DETAILS, and custom fields (if configured from the FORM BUILDER page).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION tab
Figure: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION tab

The following table describes the fields under the ADDITIONAL INFORMATION tab:

Field

Description

SLA MATRIX BY CI

Priority

Select the Priority for the SLA Matrix.

Overridable

Select if the SLA Matrix should be allowed to be overwritten.

SLA

Select the SLA for the SLA Matrix.

Active

Indicates the status of the SLA Matrix.

  • If selected, the SLA Matrix becomes an available option on the other pages of the application.
  • If not selected, the SLA Matrix becomes a inactive value. The inactive cost details is not displayed on the other configuration pages of the application or in the SLA Matrix by CI list.

COST DETAILS

Cost Type

Select the cost type.

Remarks

Specify remarks if any.

Currency

Select the currency.

In addition to the above tabs, based on the Classification selected for the CI, any one of the following tabs is displayed.

  • If you select a Server device in Classification, the SERVER tab is displayed along with the other tabs.
  • If you select a Network device in Classification, the NETWORK tab is displayed along with the other tabs.
  • If you select Desktop in Classification, the DESKTOP tab is displayed along with the other tabs.
  • If you select Others in Classification, all the tabs (SERVERNETWORK, and DESKTOP) are displayed along with the other tabs.

 NETWORK

You can specify the network related details about the CI under the NETWORK tab,

 NETWORK tab

Figure: NETWORK tab

The following table describes the fields displayed under these sections under the NETWORK tab:

Field

Description

No. of Slots

Type in the number of slots available in the respective card.

Subnet mask

Type in the subnet mask to configure the CI.

Slot Numbers

Type in the slot number of the CI.

Gateway

Type in the gateway number.

Ports

Type in the number of ports available in the CI.

Card Type

Type in the card type.

Circuit Id

Type in the identification number of the circuit.

VLAN

Type in the VLAN.

ISO/ Software

Type in the details, if any.

Memory (Flash)

Type in the details of the flash memory.

Memory (DRAM)

Type in the details of the DRAM memory.

Access List

Type in the details of the access, if any.

Routes

Type in the details of the route, if any.

A End Description

Type in the start point details.

B End Description

Type in the end point details.

A End IP

Type in the start point IP.

B End IP

Type in the end point IP.

 SERVER

You can specify the server related details about the CI under the SERVER tab.

 SERVER tab

Figure: SERVER tab

The following table describes the fields displayed under these sections under the SERVER tab:

Field

Description

CPU

Type in the capacity/speed, and the company name of the Hard Disk Drive.

HDD

Type in the capacity/speed, and the company name of the Hard Disk Drive.

RAM

Type in the speed of RAM.

NIC

Type in the details of the network card.

Network

Type in the details of the network that is connected to the server.

RAID Level

Type in the details of the RAID level.

RAID Card

Type in the details of the RAID card.

Backup State

Select the check box to specify if backup is required.

Backup Details

Type in the backup details.

Operating System

Type in the details of the operating system that is installed on the server.

Service Pack

Type in the details of the Service packs that are installed on the server.

Installed Applications

Type in the details of the software applications that are installed on the server.

Patches

Type in the details of the patches of the software application.

 DESKTOP

You can specify the desktop related details about the CI under the DESKTOP tab.

 DESKTOP tab

Figure: DESKTOP tab

 The following table describes the fields displayed under these sections under the DESKTOP tab:

Field

Description

CPU

Type in the capacity/speed, and the company name of the Hard Disk Drive.

Hard Disk Drive

Type in the capacity/speed, and the company name of the Hard Disk Drive.

RAM

Type in the speed of RAM.

NIC

Type in the details of the network card.

Network

Type in the details of the network that is connected to the CI.

Operating System

Type in the details of the operating system that is installed on the CI.

Service Pack

Type in the details of the Service packs that are installed on the CI.

Installed Applications

Type in the details of the software applications that are installed on the CI.

Patches

Type in the details of the patches of the software application.

 SOFTWARE

You can view the list of Software associated with the CI under the SOFTWARE tab.

 Software Tab

Figure: Software Tab

The following table describes the fields on the SOFTWARE tab:

Field

Description

Type

Select the required option in the drop-down list.
The available options are:

  • Summary
  • Detail

Total Records

Displays the number of software for the CI.
You can also set the number of software to be displayed in a page.
Click on the drop-down box and select the required option.

Software Name

Displays the name of the software.

Vendor

Displays the vendor for the software.

Version

Displays the version of the software.

Note: The SOFTWARE tab is not available for Network CIs.


ACTIONS

This section explains all the icons displayed on the ACTIONS panel of the NEW CI page.


CI LIST

Click CI LIST to view the list of CIs configured. For information about viewing list of CIs, see Viewing List of CIs.