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Configuration Management Database (CMDB)

Using the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), you can manage configuration items, including their identification, recording, and reporting. The CMDB collects and stores the following items as configuration records:

  • Configuration Items (CI) – IT services and their components required for service delivery.
  • CI relationships that specify the type of interactions and dependencies between CIs. See the CI Relationships article to learn more.
  • CMDB classes – groups of CIs based on their parameters.
  • CMDB models – composite templates of CI parameters.
  • CI types that determine the CI business logic and the set of various attributes.

The CMDB structure can be extended in two ways:

Each extension method has its own features of creating configuration items. We recommend extending the CMDB structure with classes and models because this approach offers the following benefits:

  • You will not have to create a separate table for each CMDB model;
  • All configuration items will be added to a single table but you will be able to configure a different structure for each of them;
  • You will be able to view all classes and models created from them in the Class Manager dynamic menu category;
  • Creating the CI structure will be easier because the CMDB classes support hierarchies and inheritance of attributes. For example, to create the Equipment → Network Equipment → Router chain you will need to create three CMDB classes with a correct hierarchy. After that, you will be able to create the attributes common for all the CIs of the Equipment level, and the attributes specific for the child classes. Eventually, both parent class and child class attributes will be available for the child classes. The attributes themselves are created from the CMDB class form, which is easier than creating table columns.
  • You will be able to separate the model and CI attributes. This will allow you to create and preconfigure the values of common model attributes displayed on the forms of all CIs created from the model, and make them read-only. Apart from that, you will be able to create CI-specific attributes that will be filled in by the user on the CI form. The separation is done when an attribute is created from the CMDB class form.

The following roles are used to manage access to the CMDB: cmdb_agent, cmdb_manager, cmdb_read, model_manager, cmdb_admin. See the Role Structure article to learn more.