Adding Configuration Items
- Enterprise IT
- Mayuresh Balaji Kamble (Unlicensed)
- Shilpa K (Deactivated)
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):
- Select CMDB > User > New Configuration Item.
On the NEW CI page, select the Tenant and fill in the other required details as described in the following table:
Field
Description
Is Mandatory? System Defined or
User Defined
Editable (Add or Update) Tenant
It helps to map a CI to a department. Select the Tenant from the list.
Yes User Defined No Classification
It helps to map a CI to a particular group. Select the Classification from the list.
Yes User Defined No Criticality
It helps in mapping a priority/importance to a CI. Select the Criticality from the list.
Yes User Defined No Device/ Host Name
It helps in identifying a CI. Type in the device or host name.
Yes User Defined Yes Serial No.
It helps in identifying a CI. Type in the serial number of the CI.
Yes User Defined Yes Owner Workgroup
Helps in mapping CI ownership to a resolver group. Select the Owner Workgroup of the CI.
Yes User Defined Update - Yes. Updating an owner workgroup is possible.
Adding - No. Adding an owner workgroup from this screen is not possible.
Owner
Helps in mapping another existing owner to the CI. Select the owner of the CI.
Yes User Defined Update - Yes. Updating an owner is possible.
Adding - No. Adding an owner from this screen is not possible.
Status
Helps in mapping CI status to Production, Development, Staging or Retired. Select the desired status of the CI.
Yes System Defined Update - Yes. Updating status is possible.
Adding - No. Adding a new status from this screen is not possible.
Customer
Helps in mapping a CI ownership to a department or customer. Select desired customer of the CI.
Yes User Defined Update - Yes. Updating a customer is possible.
Adding - No. Adding a new customer from this screen is not possible.
Life Cycle Status
Helps in mapping CI status to Design,Operational or Retired. Select the desired life cycle status of the CI.
Yes System Defined Update - Yes. Updating a lifecycle status is possible.
Adding - No. Adding a lifecycle status from this screen is not possible.
Figure: NEW CI page- 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.
- Click SUBMIT. A new CI is added.
Field Description
This section describes the fields on the NEW CI page.
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.
Figure: GENERAL Tab
The following table describes the fields under the GENERAL tab:
Field | Description | Is Mandatory? | System Defined or User Defined | Editable (Add or Update) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
IP Address | Helps in identifying a CI. Type in the IP address of the CI. | Yes | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating an IP Address is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new IP Address from this screen is not possible. |
MAC Address | Helps in identifying a CI. Type in the MAC address of the CI. | Yes | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating a MAC Address is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new MAC Address from this screen is not possible. |
Make | Type in the make of the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating a Make is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Make from this screen is not possible. |
Vendor | Helps in identifying a vendor who is servicing the CI. Type in the name of the Vendor of the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating a Vendor is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Vendor from this screen is not possible. |
Model No. | Helps in identifying a CI. Type in the model number for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating a Model No is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Model No. from this screen is not possible. |
Installation Date | Helps in identifying the date on which the CI was commissioned. Select the date of installation of the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Installation Date is possible. Adding - No. Adding a Installation Date from this screen is not possible. |
Managed By | Helps in mapping a CI 's operational/transactional ownership to a workgroup. The Owner workgroup or Managed by can be same or different. Select the team who will manage the CI. For example: IT Service Desk and Enterprise Application. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Managed By to another existing workgroup is possible. Adding - No. Adding Managed By from this screen is not possible. |
Location | Helps in mapping a CI to geographical location. Select the location for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Location to another location is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new location from this screen is not possible. |
Rack | Helps capture the physical RACK number where CI is hosted. Type in the rack name to install the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Rack to another existing rack is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Rack from this screen is not possible. |
Underpinning Contract | Helps in mapping any contract associated with a vendor who is managing the CI. Select the Underpinning Contract applicable for the CI. The Underpinning Contract (UC) is the agreement between an IT Service Provider and a Third Party (Vendor). The Third Party provides Goods or Services that support delivery of an IT Service to a Customer. The Underpinning Contract defines targets and responsibilities that are required to meet agreed Service Level Targets defined in an SLA. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating an Underpinning Contract (UC) to another existing UC is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new UC from this screen is not possible. |
Project | Helps in mapping a CI to a Project. Select the name of the project for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating the Project to another existing Project is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Project from this screen is not possible. |
CIs User Account | Helps in mapping user account that can be used for accessing the CI. Select the user account for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating CIs User Account to another existing User Account is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new User Account from this screen is not possible. |
Test Plan Mandatory | Helps in tracking if a test plan is mandatory during the change for an identified CI. Indicates the status set for testing the linked Change Record (CR).
| No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Test Plan to another is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Test Plan from this screen is not possible. |
SSH Port | Helps in understanding the SSH port that needs to be used for remote connectivity of a CI. Type in the SSH port for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating SSH Port to another existing port number is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new SSH Port from this screen is not possible. |
Telnet Port | Helps in understanding the Telnet port that needs to be used for remote connectivity of a CI. Type in the Telnet port for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Telnet Port to another existing port number is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Telnet port number from this screen is not possible. |
Warranty | Helps in understanding the terms of warranty and timeline associated with Warranty. Type in the warranty conditions for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Warranty to another warranty is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new warranty from this screen is not possible. |
Annual Maintenance Contract | Helps in mapping the contract terms for annual maintenance. Type in the Annual Maintenance Contract set for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating AMC to another AMC is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new AMC from this screen is not possible. |
Version | Helps in tracking the versions of the CI basis the changes introduced to CI. Type in the version details of the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Version to another version number is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new version from this screen is not possible. |
Description | Helps in capturing additional information associated with a CI. Type in a description for the CI. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Description is possible. Adding - No. Adding new description from this screen is not possible. |
Remarks | Helps in capturing additional information associated with a CI. Type in remarks, if any. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating remarks to is possible. Adding - No. Adding new set of remarks from this screen is not possible. |
Active | Indicates the status set for the CI.
| Update - Yes. Updating the Active status to another existing status is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new status from this screen is not possible. | ||
| Service Entitlement | Helps in mapping monitoring parameters to CI. This is useful if one uses SummitAI monitoring tool. | No | User Defined | Update - Yes. Updating Service Entitlement to another existing Service Entitlement is possible. Adding - No. Adding a new Service Entitlement from this screen is not possible. |
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.
Figure: CI RELATIONS tab
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.
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.
|
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.
|
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.
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.
Figure: RELATIONSHIP tab
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.
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. |
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).
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.
|
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 (SERVER, NETWORK, and DESKTOP) are displayed along with the other tabs.
You can specify the network related details about the CI under the 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. |
You can specify the server related details about the CI under the 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. |
You can specify the desktop related details about the CI under the 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. |
You can view the list of Software associated with the CI under the 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.
|
Total Records | Displays the number of software for the CI. |
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.