A Detailed Guide on Configuration Items

Regrettably, misconfigurations are a prevalent problem across the business. Nevertheless, configuration management is one of the most difficult jobs in IT service administration. So, what better method to examine configuration items than to define what we configure? This article is a detailed guide on ITIL configuration items, their characteristics, examples, and how to manage CI. Read this thoroughly to understand how businesses can prevent themselves from such configuration problems. 

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What Are ITIL Configuration Items?

Configuration Item (C)I in the ITIL process is a service component that must be administered for an IT service to be delivered. The intricacy, length, and kind of ITIL configuration items can range from a complete service or system encompassing all hardware, software, and documentation to a particular software component or small hardware component. They can be gathered and controlled as a unit. 

For example, a series of modules can be combined into a package. Each CI Type can be defined with specific Attributes and Relationships that are unique for the CIs classified under them. If your CI Type structure is granulated and possesses various types, you can further drill it down to Sub Types. For instance, CI Type-Server may possess various sub-types such as File Server, Application Server, Database Servers, etc. 

Defining Configuration Items

CI ITIL definition is a configuration item is an item, designated element of a product, or both that fulfills an end-use function, has separate needs, capability, and/or product friendships, and is assigned for unique control in the configuration-management system. Any existing permitted configuration assessment is built on ITIL configuration items and their accompanying product configuration data versions and authorized updates. 

1. A CI is defined in ITIL® 4 as any component that must be managed to deliver an IT service. 

2. CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) Service Value Chain mentioned CI as an aggregation of work products designated for configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management process. 

3. According to ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization) 20000:2018, a CI is any element that must be controlled to provide a service.  

4. SIAM defines configuration as "anything used to deliver or support the services." 

Characteristics of Configuration Items

Each CI has the following characteristics: 

1. A classification, often known as a category, identifies the sort of thing. 

2. Attributes differ by categorization and define the properties of each CI. 

3. A current value describes the CI's current state in the lifecycle utilized for this categorization of CIs. 

4. Relationships show how the CI is connected to other CIs. 

5. An administrator is the one who is in charge of the CI. 

The intricacy, size, and kind of CIs vary. They can range from a complete service to a single program module or basic hardware component. The base unit that can be altered separately from other parts is generally the lowest-level CI. 

ITIL Configuration Item Types Examples 

The ITIL Service Management or ITSM Framework offers six categories of Configuration Items (CIs). Here are the configuration items example list:  

1. Service Lifecycle CI

This kind of CI offers service questions and responds to queries such as: 

• Services 
• How will services be provided? 
• When will the Service be implemented? 
• What advantages are envisioned? 
• What will be the Service Fees? 
• ITIL configuration items examples - Business Case, Service Design Package (SDP) 

2. Service CI

Service CIs includes.

• Service model 
• Service package 
• Release package 
• Service resource assets  
• Service capability assets  

For example- Process, Infrastructure. 

3. Organization CI

Organizational CIs are internal to a company and mostly refer to internal publications.  

For example- marketing strategy, policy, and more. 

4. Internal CI

CIs are supplied by specific projects comprising tangible and intangible assets. 

For example- Items offered by particular configurable items in a project. 

5. External CI

External CIs are committed to providing customers and agreements, supplier deliveries, and external services. 

For example - Customers' needs and agreements. 

6. Interface CI

Interface CIs provide end-to-end service over a Service Provider Interface. 

For example - An escalation matrix and a written procedure for transmitting events between them. 

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Top-level Configuration Items

A top-level configuration item is a CI that serves as the foundation for organizing and propagating a set of similar ITIL configuration items. A computer system is an example of a top-level configuration item. It may contain a large number of child CIs, such as an operating system, application software, and hardware devices. When reviewing a list of CIs in the Configuration Items applications, check the Top-level column to identify which ones are top-level CIs. Understanding which CIs are top-level is critical because when you establish authorized CIs by advancing actual CIs, you must select actual CIs that match the top-level authorized CIs for which promotion patterns have been specified.

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How to Manage Configuration Items?

Managing ITIL Configuration Items needs an organized procedure to control misconfiguration. There are two functions you should consider preventing failures:

• Obtaining and keeping accurate, well-organized CI information 
• Validating and affirming the CI information regularly 

Let us take a closer look at both functions. 

• Keep Accurate, Organized CI Records

The first step in preventing misconfiguration is to collect and keep accurate, well-organized records of the CIs in your environment. Configuration items (CIs) are frequently recorded in configuration management systems or databases. A CMDB is included in most ITSM solutions, which is critical for associating CI data with issues, modifications, requests, deployments, and installations and supporting other activities such as data security and financial and system assessments. 

While these solutions often provide a plethora of information for each CI, the ISO 20000 requirements demand the following details: 

• Type 
• Unique identifier 
• Description 
• Connection with different configuration items 
• Status 

Unless automated, properly administered, and valued inside your business, collecting, monitoring, and matching information on CIs is likely to be viewed as a tedious and low-value task. The consistency necessary is not trivial, and achieving it requires a large level of governance. Some businesses prefer to assign responsibility to the service desk or other roles, but the practice should be held by system administrators who collaborate with other stakeholders associated with service delivery. 

• Verify and Validate CI Information Regularly

Preventing misconfiguration begins with configuration management, but managers must also examine and verify the data recorded in the organization's configuration management system regularly. 

Many firms retain CI information in various repositories, making it incredibly difficult to achieve a unified view of this data. Even if putting all of your apps in the cloud provides simple visibility, up-to-date managing information remains a big challenge when other pressing demands, such as problems and configurable items in projects, are present. 

Governance assists in making individuals realize the importance of regularly checking the trustworthiness of their CI data. This governance should involve gathering baseline data and comparing it to snapshots, which will allow for faster troubleshooting and implementing and monitoring modifications. 

Best Practices in Managing Configuration Items

Configuration management, data management, and control are loaded with dangers, including the chance of program outages and leakage of confidential data. 

Use the following best practices to guarantee your organization's assets are highly accessible and configured optimally: 

1. Track Changes 

Contemplate utilizing changesets instead of single file updates to monitor changes connected to system setup and configuration management. Changesets are bundled commits that capture modifications to a collection of files, directory structure, explanations for change, unit test remarks, and environment changes in a single commit that is simple to handle. This enables build managers to identify which linked files have changed with each important update to your resources, making it easy to roll back undesirable changes or restore to a previous configuration if necessary. 

2. Early Testing 

By checking often and proactively, you can detect flaws and potentially damaging regressions in your configuration management. 

3. Performance Testing 

Performance testing informs your DevOps team about how recent modifications affect performance and system operation. 

4. Integrate Early and Often 

Along with performance testing, incorporate new features or modifications early and regularly to verify they work well with the rest of your environment. It will allow you to report issues before they become expensive in production. 

Importance of Configuration Items

Let us explore the importance of Configuration items: 

1. Configuration policy automation and management for a swift recovery. 

2. Scalability with technologies capable of gradual onboarding a large infrastructure. 

3. Flexibility through various tool capabilities and smooth integration with existing solutions. 

4. Cloud compatibility in a hybrid infrastructure to fulfill the demands of diverse settings. 

5. A system dedicated to configuration policies protects against potential dangers. 

6. The monitoring and analysis of CM transactions provide visibility. 

Conclusion

Businesses can prevent misconfigurations if someone makes an effort to ensure that configurations are carefully reviewed and checked regularly at all levels. Configuration management can appear time-consuming, but it is critical to a successful and comprehensive ITSM. Understanding the importance of ITIL configuration items and the need to engage in CI management may help service providers fulfill the demands of clients and other stakeholders more efficiently and effectively. 

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