how do you create a cmdb in the real world?

Pink Elephant – Translating Knowledge into Results

How do you create a CMDB

in the real world?

Presented by: Peter Hubbard

Pink Elephant EMEA Ltd

Think Differently. Think Pink

How do you create a CMDB in the real world? © Pink Elephant, 2014. All Rights Reserved. ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of Axelos.

Introduction – Peter Hubbard

Principal ITSM Consultant

Worked in ITSM for over15 years

Regular speaker at industry events

Worked in all sorts of organisations, large and small.

Has created multiple CMDBs

City of

London

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How do you create a CMDB in the real world? © Pink Elephant, 2014. All Rights Reserved. ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of Axelos.3

IT System Management

I want email

98%

available!

Network Apps Firewall DesktopServers

We got

98%!Us too! And us! Same!

Then why is my

email forever

falling over?!


IT Service Management

I want email

98%

available!

Network Apps Firewall DesktopServers

The email service

as a WHOLE was

available 90% of

the time

And the problem

was that THAT

firewall was only

85% available

E-mail Service


Configuration Management System

How do you create a CMDB in the real world? © Pink Elephant, 2014. All Rights Reserved. ITIL® is a Registered Trade Mark of Axelos. 6

This is what your actually asking for


How much resource do you

have assigned to support your

ERP toolset (such as SAP)?

Question


How much resource do you

have assigned to support your

CMDB?

Question


Know the workload - Creation

Company Infrastructure

Services x 100

Physical Servers x 150

Virtual Servers x 300

Server based Software x 75

Network Kit x 300

Desktops / Laptops x 4000

Ipads x 1000

Blackberries x 1000

Desktop Software x 500

Printers x 500

= 7925

Actual Workload

Each service needed approx 6 technicians

to map the service to the required level of

detail

So for 79 services that’s

6 people x 3 hours for each service x 79

services = 338 man days to populate the

CMDB

But we have tools that can auto discover

right?


A typical Object model in a CMDB

You need more than just an indication

that something is connected. You want

to know what that connection does


Relationships

11


Know the workload - Ongoing

Company Infrastructure

Services x 100

Physical Servers x 150

Virtual Servers x 300

Server based Software x 75

Network Kit x 300

Desktops / Laptops x 4000

Ipads x 1000

Blackberries x 1000

Desktop Software x 500

Printers x 500

= 7925

Actual Workload

Each device has approx 35 attributes on it

(Name, location, status, etc)

This means that there are 277,375 bits of

connected data

In addition there were more than 10,000

relationships to maintain

Each week approx 110 changes were made.

Each change affected (on average 3 Cis)

That means each month 550 Cis were being

altered.

That’s approx 7% of the database.

Each month!

CMDB Golden Rule: No Use = No

Value.

Quickest way to make sure no one

uses it is to provide untrustworthy data


So your saying that the CMDB is not

worth my time?


Service Level Mgmt.

Service Level Mgmt.

Serv

ice L

evel M

gm

t.S

erv

ice L

evel M

gm

t.

Change Mgmt.

Information Security Mgmt.

Providing the basis for Process Integration

Configuration Mgmt.

Relationships

Inventory

What/Where

Asset

£ TCO

Capacity

Mgmt.

Availability

Mgmt.

Service Continuity

Mgmt.

Financial

Mgmt. For IT

Problem

Mgmt.

Release &

Deployment

Incident

Mgmt.

Service

Desk

Demand

Mgmt.

Event

Management

Supplier

Mgmt

Service Portfolio

Mgmt.

Service Catalogue

Mgmt.

Access

Mgmt.


Personal CMDB examples

An IT Department in the higher education sector supporting 4000+ users in various locations supported 8000 Pcs and laptops but could not locate or account for over 2000 of them.

An insurance company implemented Configuration Management and gained a better view on charging for its IT services: 80% correctly charged (was 50%)

In addition they gained a 10% cost reduction for hardware and software contracts through better license management.

An IT department for a pharmaceutical company had to force every RFC to go through full CAB approval, no matter how small, as it was the only way to find out what the implications were. This caused a backlog of changes to build up.

Upon implementing ITIL aligned Configuration Mgt one airline found that over 16% of their assets were not actually located where they thought they were.


Service Asset and Configuration

Management

Consultancy example

The IT Dept of a UK Regional Health Authority had 177 incidents per day:

70% of these incidents were related to failed Changes: 124 per day

25% could be avoided by proper impact/ risk assessment using

Service Asset and Configuration Management: 31 per day

On average each incident took 2 hours to recover: 62 IT man hours per day

Average IT man hour cost is £35: 62hrs x £35p.h. = £2170 per day

NHS is 24 x 7 x 365

Conservative cost savings from Service Asset and Configuration

Management with Change Management are: 365 x £2170

= £792,050 pa


So how do I make one that works?


CMDB has 3 choices

Go big! (SAP)

Go small (Focussed)

Go home (Fail)

The CMDB is body armour…

You don’t cover your whole body in armour, you cant

move! You only pick the important parts to protect.

Body armour protects what you told it too, knives go

through flak vests. Machine gun bullets laugh at flak

vests. Its protection. Not invulnerability!

$630

$6.31m


What Is Service Asset and Configuration

Management?

Relationships

Location information

Asset Tagging

Base Information

Financial Attributes

Life Cycle tracking

Enhanced Information


You don’t need full on Config for EVERYTHING


Goal

Considerations

Who will use this?

What will they use it for?

What is the goal of the CMDB?

To Support Change Mgt?

To underpin security?

Is your CMDB going to be offline trusted state? Or an up to the minute

reflection of the live environment?

The goal feeds your scope so make sure you get it clear in your mind

what the point of this tool is going to be!

23


CMDB Creation – High Level Approach

Defined

Goal of

CMDB

Who will use the

CMDB?

What will they

use it for?

What Cis are

required to meet

that goal?

How will those

Cis be ranked?

How will CIS be

linked to each

other?

Where will that

information

come from?

Build a test

service with the

defined

information.

Implementation

What

information

about those Cis

are required?


Approach Timeline

Build a test

service

Using the

previous work

map out a

test service

Hint. You

WILL find

mistakes and

issues with

previous work

You now

have a

PROVEN

theory

Define Goal

Who will

use it

What will

they use it

for?

What will

they use it

for?

Is the

CMDB an

offline true

state? Or a

reflection of

current

state?

CI Selection

What items

allow the

CMDB to assist

in its goal?

Be ruthless!

Understand

difference

between

Inventory,

Asset & CI

CI Attribute

Selection

What

information

about those Cis

is needed?

Be ruthless!

EACH attribute

has to be

controlled! Know

what your getting

in to?

How will update

be handled?

CI Attribute source

Define WHERE

each attribute will

be sourced from

Estimate accuracy

of that data

Incorporate results

into your

verification process

later

You now have a

Config THEORY!

Creation Activities

CI Ranking

How many

Tiers?

4 is normal

Implementation

Hand that

documentation

to toolset

vendor

As for

confirmation it

covers what

they need

Pre-work

Assess current status of information

repositories

Assess current discovery tools status

Investigate current change process

scope


CI Selection

What items do you want to include?

What will you exclude?

Don’t just data dump!

The right frame of mind is to look at CMDB and say ‘What else can I take

out and it still be useful?’

NOT

‘What else can I add into it?’

26


7 Pitfalls of CMDB Implementation

Pitfall 1: Failing to identify the goals and benefits of a CMDB.

If you fail to properly define the goals and quantify ROI, you may

have difficully gaining management approval.

Pitfall 2: Turning your CMDB into a metadata dumping ground.

The CMDB cannot, and should not, manage every asset, document,

or process throughout your entire enterprise. Your CMDB should

contain only those CIs that you plan to actively manage.

Pitfall 3: Ignoring the need for effective change management.

Without an effective change management process, a CMDB will

soon be out of sync with reality. Avoiding this requirement will place

the CMDB implementation on a downward spiral to failure.



Pitfall 4: Proceeding without buy-in from key stakeholders.

If key stakeholders are not involved from the beginning and if they

don’t buy in to the true value that a CMDB can deliver then the

information gathering and relationship building is almost impossible.

Pitfall 5: Attempting too broad an implementation.

Starting out with a controlled pilot project such as the

implementation of a single clearly defined business service is key.

Pitfall 6: Skimping on process and training.

A CMDB is only as good as the people who use and maintain it. If

people aren’t trained in proper use and maintenance procedures

the CMDB will be under-utilised and the contents will quickly

become out-of-date and inaccurate



Poorly Scoped CMDB

Well Scoped CMDB

Scope of Change Mgt


Final Thought


Questions?

[email protected]

www.pinkelephant.co.uk

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