Glossary

The following list of terms might help you understand the terminology related to CMDB, its activities, processes, and so on.

CI (Configuration Item)

Any asset or device in a company, such as computers, peripherals, servers, air conditioning units, software applications, or the organization itself.

CMDB

A configuration management database (CMDB) is the ITIL terminology for a database used by organizations to store information about all the hardware, software, and logical entities called configuration items (CIs) or assets.

CMDB Portal

The user interface to manage and configure jobs (Atrium integrator, normalization, and reconciliation), CIs, data model, federation, datasets and so on.

dataset

A collection of data within the CMDB from multiple data sources such as BMC Helix Discovery, BMC Client Management, and Atrium Integrator.

In CMDB, the dataset is grouped by a common value in the DatasetID field of a CI.

discovery applications

Tools that identify systems in a network and provide relevant data, directly to the import dataset or via applications such as BMC Helix Discovery or BMC Client Management.

drift

The unplanned or unauthorized changes to attributes or state of a CI that deviate from its expected or baseline values, potentially impacting system stability or compliance.

federated data

External data linked to the CMDB but stored and managed outside it, that is accessed in real-time without duplication.

Examples are related information and detailed attributes.

identification

The process of identifying a CI as a unique task during a reconciliation job. The identification activity assigns a unique ReconciliationIdentity(REID) to the CI before it is moved to the production dataset.

identification group

Rules for processing a CI with a non-zero reconciliation ID from the target dataset in a Merge activity.

import dataset

Unprocessed data that needs normalization and reconciliation before use in ITIL processes.

ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)

ITIL is an internationally accepted set of standards and best practices for IT service management aimed at helping organizations to align their IT services with their business needs.

managed CIs

CIs added to the CMDB via automated processes, such as BMC Helix Discovery.

merge

Combining duplicate instances of CIs from multiple datasets into a single unique CI in the production dataset, typically in BMC.ASSET.

new class

Classes in the parallel hierarchy denormalized by converting them to categorization subclasses.

normalization

The process of standardizing CI data by aligning it with predefined naming conventions and values in the Product Catalog.

Normalization ensures consistency and accuracy with the product names, versions, impact relationships, and customized attributes.

orphan CI

An orphan CI is a CMDB configuration item with weak or no relationships with other CIs, making it disconnected from the overall dependency model.

parallel hierarchy

A duplicate of the existing CDM hierarchy where denormalization changes are tested first.

precedence group

Weightage assigned to data values to prioritize their importance during a Merge activity.

precedence set

Dataset references with weightage assigned by the associated precedence group.

production dataset

The dataset that contains CIs that have gone through the normalization and reconciliation processes and are considered fit for consumption by other applications such as Incident management, change management, or other ITSM applications.

This data provides insights into the IT environment and its impact on business services, especially during changes.

purge

A process that permanently removes CIs and their related data from the CMDB based on predefined rules or conditions, typically when the CIs are no longer relevant, are outdated, or flagged for deletion during reconciliation.

reconciliation

The process of identifying, merging, and maintaining unique configuration items (CIs) from multiple data sources by comparing attributes, resolving duplicates, and applying precedence rules to maintain data consistency and integrity across the CMDB.

ReconciliationIdentity (REID)

An attribute for uniquely identifying CIs across multiple data sources. This non-zero ID is assigned after a CI undergoes a reconciliation process.

refresh class

Classes that are immediate child classes of denormalized classes.

regular CI

CIs created directly under the standard classes that are provided in the Common Data Model.

relationship

Defines the connection between two CIs, normalized with common names, impact directions, and cardinality.

sandbox dataset

A testing environment for containing the changes made to the CIs before they are implemented in the production dataset. This is necessary for maintaining data integrity in the production dataset.

soft deleted

Records marked for deletion that are permanently deleted through a purge activity. After they are deleted or purged from the database, they are considered hard deleted.

UDDI

A platform-independent framework for locating and registering web services on the internet.