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Configuration items (CIs) are components of the ITIL method for managing change, stored in a configuration management database (CMDB). CIs can be anything necessary for management monitoring, and once entered into the CMDB, become configuration records detailing parameters and relationships. The identification of CIs varies, and the CMDB is periodically audited to ensure accuracy.
A configuration item (CI) is a component of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL®) method for managing change. It is the smallest main component of the configuration management system (CMS), which is stored and monitored within the so-called configuration management database (CMDB). The collection of configuration items in the database is used by an information technology (IT) manager to track relationships with other items and monitor the lifecycle of an IT project or service. Configuration items can be anything identified in the IT service as necessary for management monitoring, including computer hardware, software, protocols, and processes.
Once a configuration item is identified and entered into a CMDB, it becomes a configuration record. The record details the parameters of the CI, as well as its relationship to other CIs. Since virtually anything can be a CI, there can be some confusion regarding potential granularity. Configuration items can be higher-level concepts, such as a description of the process that needs to be maintained for changes over time. Within that process, however, secondary components such as computers or people implementing the process can be further identified as CIs.
This tiered structure typically finds CI records in a number of databases, perhaps even managed by different tiers in an IT service offering. For example, a help desk service with a process for onsite hardware replacement will have that process placed in the help desk CMDB as a configuration item. Hardware items for replacement, such as a hard drive, are also stored in the CMDB as a CI, along with personnel that move around the organization and perform the physical replacement. In this scenario, the top level CI is the help desk, below which is the hardware replacement process, then another level for the hardware, and so on.
The identification of configuration items varies greatly depending on a myriad of factors. Typically, most of the components related to starting a project are included, but modifications may be required as the project lifecycle progresses. Recognition of new CIs for the system is assessed for need and their interrelationships, while older CIs receive periodic audits to ensure their continued validity. This way, the CMDB is kept clean of unnecessary records and further requirement analysis can occur based on accurate data.
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