Traditionally, configuration management dealt strictly with management and measurement at the component level. Today, service configuration management looks at all stages of the service lifecycle in order to provide information about an organization’s performance.
Managing service configuration is critical in understanding the lifecycle of a service. The Service Configuration Manager correlates views while tapping into discovery and mapping capabilities that provide new insight and visibility into the network, thereby providing the ability to manage the service and its lifecycle.
Service configuration management is composed of:
Configuration Management Database (CMDB): Created by mining various configuration sources. A Configuration Management Database brings related information from multiple sources into one view, to create a CMDB without having to build a physical database.
Service Catalog: Created by modeling business/technology services. A Service Catalog is a systematic list of service definitions and documentation complete with relationship mapping between services delivered as well as their underlying components.
Service Definition: Augments the Service Catalog with dynamic links to underlying technology components.
Reports: Assist with change/impact analysis, capacity planning, reconciliation, auditing, and data center consolidation or license usage.
Business Service: Configuration alerts that foster proactive management.