The CMDB is the Configuration Management Database. It is an overview of all infrastructure, documentation and relationships in the organization. The CMDB gives you an overview of all hardware, software, equipment, locations and user groups. The CMDB is flexible and can also be used for documentation for other operational organization units than IT, like caretaker services, buildings, roads, ventilation or completely other things.
The CMDB provides a unique overview of how the infrastructure is interrelated and the way in which the different items objects in the infrastructure depend on each other.
The CMDB also contains services and service catalog, preferably with relationships to other itemsobjects, to see which supporting configuration items objects (CI) the services are dependent depending on.
The CMDB contains mainly 4 things:
- Items Objects (this may be services, servers, PCs , customers, software , networks, etc. ) -
- Information about the items objects (Service, maintenance, surveillance reports, status, responsibility, price, date of purchase, pictures, etc.) -
- Relationships / dependencies (parent, subordinate, used by, installed on, etc.) -
- Documentation, pictures, notes Items
Objects can be entered automatically from inventory tools, via import or manually.