The CMDB imperative : how to realize the dream and avoid the nightmares

Implement Configuration Management Databases that Deliver Rapid ROI and Sustained Business Value

Implementing an enterprise-wide Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is one of the most influential actions an IT organization can take to improve service delivery and bridge the gap between technology and the business. With a well-designed CMDB in place, companies are better positioned to manage and optimize IT infrastructure, applications, and services; automate more IT management tasks; and restrain burgeoning costs. Now, there's an objective, vendor-independent guide to making a CMDB work in your organization. The CMDB Imperative presents a start-to-finish implementation methodology that works and describes how the CMDB is shifting to the superior Configuration Management System (CMS).

Expert CMDB industry analyst Glenn O'Donnell and leading-edge architect and practitioner Carlos Casanova first review the drivers behind a CMDB and the technical, economic, cultural, and political obstacles to success. Drawing on the experiences of hundreds of organizations, they present indispensable guidance on architecting and customizing CMDB solutions to your specific environment. They'll guide you through planning, implementation, transitioning into production, day-to-day operation and maintenance, and much more. Coverage includes

Defining the tasks and activities associated with configuration management Understanding the CMDB's role in ITIL and the relationship between CMDBs and ITIL v3's CMS Building software models that accurately represent each entity in your IT environment Ensuring information accuracy via change management and automated discovery Understanding the state of the CMDB market and selling the CMDB within your organization Creating federated CMDB architectures that successfully balance autonomy with centralized control Planning a deployment strategy that sets appropriate priorities and reflects a realistic view of your organization's maturity Integrating systems and leveraging established and emerging standards Previewing the future of the CMDB/CMS and how it will be impacted by key trends such as virtualization, SOA, mobility, convergence, and "flexi-sourcing"

Foreword xi

Prologue xiii

Chapter 1: The Need for Process Discipline 1

Chapter 2: What Is a CMDB? 25

Chapter 3: Planning for the CMS 57

Chapter 4: The Federated CMS Architecture 91

Chapter 5: CMS Deployment Strategy 133

Chapter 6: Integration--There's No Way Around It! 177

Chapter 7: The Future of the CMS 197

Chapter 8: Continual Improvement for the CMS 241

Chapter 9: Leveraging the CMS 265

Chapter 10: Enjoy the Fruits of Success 297

Glossary 313

• Foreword p. xi
• Prologue p. xiii
• Acknowledgments p. xv
• About the Authors p. xxi
• Chapter 1 The Need for Process Discipline p. 1
• A Credibility Crisis for IT p. 2
• How IT Can Redeem Itself p. 3
• The Power of Process p. 5
• A Brief Review of Configuration in the ITIL Processes p. 6
• The Configuration Management Process p. 16
• Why the Term "CMDB" Must Go Away-and It Is...Slowly! p. 21
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 22
• Summary p. 24
• Chapter 2 What Is a CMDB? p. 25
• The Birth of the CMDB p. 26
• Configuration Items p. 27
• How Much Data Does a CI Need? p. 40
• A Brief Explanation of CMDB Federation p. 40
• CIs as the CMDB "DNA" p. 43
• Reconciliation p. 45
• The CMS Arrives p. 47
• Population the CMS p. 48
• CMS as an Integration Mechanism p. 50
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 52
• Summary p. 55
• Chapter 3 Planning for the CMS p. 57
• Do You Need a CMS and Why? p. 59
• Reality: What Is the State of the CMS Market? p. 61
• Acceptance: Selling the CMS to the Organization p. 68
• Structure: How Will the CMS Fit In? p. 74
• Quantity: How Many CMDBs Are Needed in the CMS? p. 76
• Accountability: Who "Owns" the CMS? p. 78
• Reuse: What Incumbent Tools Can Be Leveraged? p. 81
• Schedule: What Timelines Are Realistic? p. 84
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 88
• Summary p. 89
• Chapter 4 The Federated CMS Architecture p. 91
• Turning Data into Useful Information p. 91
• The Relationships Are Critical p. 92
• Where Is the Data? p. 94
• Link Data into Information Using Metadata p. 98
• The Distributed CMS in Practice p. 105
• Navigating the CMS Information Chains p. 125
• Why Federation Makes More Sense Than a Monolithic CMDB p. 125
• Integrating External Domains in the Federated Model p. 128
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 129
• Summary p. 131
• Chapter 5 CMS Deployment Strategy p. 133
• Getting Your Hands Dirty p. 135
• What Comes First? p. 137
• Building Service and Application Infrastructure Models-It's What Matters p. 146
• Wait for the "Uber-CMDB/CMS" Technology... If You Can p. 152
• Attack the Domains p. 157
• Leverage Incumbent Tools p. 168
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 174
• Summary p. 175
• Chapter 6 Integration-There's No Way Around It! p. 177
• Standards: Past, Present, and Future p. 178
• Vendor Readiness p. 188
• CMS Object Modeling p. 189
• Software Engineering and Development Skills p. 191
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 194
• Summary p. 195
• Chapter 7 The Future of the CMS p. 197
• Dynamic Technologies and Services Fuel the CMS Imperative p. 197
• The Extra Dimension of Time p. 216
• ITIL v3 and the CMDB Shift p. 224
• The Service Catalog and the CMS p. 228
• Object Modeling Technologies Need to Mature p. 233
• CMS: The Lifeblood of Every IT and Business Service Function p. 234
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 238
• Summary p. 239
• Chapter 8 Continual Improvement for the CMS p. 241
• Metrics for the CMS p. 241
• The Cyclic Nature of Improvement p. 244
• Begin with Small Steps and Build Out p. 248
• Statistical Quality Control p. 253
• Maintain Data and Information Accuracy p. 256
• Evolve Based on Customer Requirements p. 259
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 262
• Summary p. 263
• Chapter 9 Leveraging the CMS p. 265
• Inbound CMS Data p. 266
• Outbound CMS Data p. 280
• The Complete Circle p. 294
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 295
• Summary p. 296
• Chapter 10 Enjoy the Fruits of Success p. 297
• Measuring Success p. 297
• Evangelizing Your Success p. 304
• Frequently Asked Questions p. 311
• Summary p. 312
• Glossary p. 313
• Index p. 325

Prologue This discussion comes from many years of experience in this field, watching companies start and stop their initiatives for a variety of reasons, most of which had some merit but almost all of which were simply postponing the inevitable. Some have survived punitive outsourcing by fighting against the tide of adoption. How much longer they can prevail depends upon their continued vigilance. We hope this book helps all companies succeed by giving them a guide to this vigilance. As authors of this book, we began to form our vision together, discussing the concepts of federation, leveraging of the DMTF CIM models and usage patterns in 2003 and 2004. We won't reveal who first suggested it, but one day during one of our usual exchanges, we decided to write this book. We both heard the same questions and concerns about the CMDB and always found ourselves giving the same responses. It was clear that a comprehensive and authoritative guide was needed and that no books existed to offer the pragmatic view. The timing of ITIL v3 and the CMDB Federation Working Group appearing on the scene told us this was the right time to do it. In hindsight, we now think we were right even more than we did then. We hope you agree. We are excited that aspects of our vision are starting to become a reality but are also very disappointed that more companies didn't move faster to address systemic foundational problems within their organizations. We have seen, and in some cases been directly impacted by, the failure of companies to address some of these systemic issues. Our mission is to help prevent such nightmares. The CMDB (more accurately, the CMS) holds great promise as one of the greatest forces toward the dream of disciplined IT service management. We trustThe CMDB Imperativewill help you to realize this dream and avoid the nightmares. (c) Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved. Excerpted from The CMDB Imperative: How to Realize the Dream and Avoid the Nightmares by Glenn O'Donnell, Carlos Casanova All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.