Building and Maintaining a Configuration Management Database
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Slide 1: Building and Maintaining a Configuration Management Database

Narration
Anna: A configuration management database, or CMDB, is the master inventory of systems and services.
Greg: It lists configuration items and how they depend on each other so support teams have the full picture.

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Building and Maintaining a Configuration Management Database

Why an accurate inventory powers ITIL

Slide 2: What is a CMDB?

Narration
Anna: Start by identifying key CIs such as servers, applications and network devices.
Greg: Pull in attributes from source systems and link them together to show relationships.
Anna: For example, the "web01" server might depend on the "db01" database service.

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What is a CMDB?

- Central inventory of systems and relationships

- Example CIs: servers, network gear, SaaS applications

- Tracks versions, owners and dependencies

- Supports reliable ITIL processes

Slide 3: Building the CMDB

Narration
Anna: Building the CMDB focuses attention on a concrete part of the work. Identify key configuration items, Populate attributes from trusted sources, and Map relationships between CIs.
Greg: In practice, ask who owns the work, what evidence proves it happened, and what handoff comes next. Use the supporting details as a checklist: Populate attributes from trusted sources; Map relationships between CIs.

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Building the CMDB

- Identify key configuration items

- Populate attributes from trusted sources

- Map relationships between CIs

Slide 4: Change management integration

Narration
Anna: Change requests should list the configuration items they will modify.
Greg: After approval, update those CI records and compare discovery results to catch any unplanned drift.

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Change management integration

- Reference affected CIs in each change request

- Update the CMDB after approved changes

- Link discovery results to spot differences between approved and observed state

Slide 5: Maintaining accuracy

Narration
Anna: Keeping the CMDB accurate is a continual task.
Greg: Automate discovery and update records after every approved change, then audit regularly to find gaps.
Anna: Compare the observed state from discovery tools against the approved configuration to detect drift.

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Maintaining accuracy

- Update records as changes happen

- Automate discovery where possible

- Compare observed state to approved CMDB records

- Schedule audits to clean up gaps

Slide 6: When records and reality differ

Narration
Anna: Sometimes discovery shows a system in a state the CMDB never approved.
Greg: This can come from emergency fixes, admins bypassing change control, or forgetting to remove retired equipment.
Anna: When observed and authorised states diverge, troubleshooting and audits slow down because teams can't trust the data.

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When records and reality differ

- Unauthorized changes bypass change control

- Manual tweaks create configuration drift

- Discovery finds devices not in the CMDB

- Retired assets linger as phantom entries

Slide 7: Why it matters

Narration
Anna: A well-maintained CMDB accelerates incident troubleshooting and change planning.
Greg: It reduces surprises from hidden dependencies and becomes your single source of truth.

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Why it matters

- Speeds up incident and change analysis

- Reduces risk of unknown dependencies

- Provides a single source of truth