System and Method for Managing the Configuration of Resources in an Enterprise
First Claim
1. A method of managing a configuration of resources in an enterprise, the method comprising:
- defining configuration changes based at least in part on previously stored data contained in a configuration database, wherein the configuration database further comprises a plurality of configuration items describing the configuration of the resources in the enterprise;
releasing a configuration change from among the configuration changes subject to an analysis of an impact of the configuration change and to an approval from within the enterprise; and
registering the configuration change in the configuration database so that the plurality of configuration items in the configuration database maintains currency and can be used to define future configuration changes.
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Abstract
System and method for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise. Embodiments of the present invention gather, store, and maintain institutional knowledge of configurations of IT resources of an enterprise. A configuration database serves as a temporal record of the configurations of the resources. The configuration database can reflect a dimensional model of the enterprise configuration where various configuration items are linked together. A configuration change can be analyzed and approved, and then reflected in a change to a configuration item (CI) which imposes an appropriate change to other configuration items based on upstream, downstream, peer relationships and/or views. A system according to an embodiment of the invention can also include a change database, an inventory database, a problem database, and/or a service level management subsystem to ensure changes to an enterprise'"'"'s configuration are consistent with service level agreements and/or operating level agreements.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of managing a configuration of resources in an enterprise, the method comprising:
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defining configuration changes based at least in part on previously stored data contained in a configuration database, wherein the configuration database further comprises a plurality of configuration items describing the configuration of the resources in the enterprise;
releasing a configuration change from among the configuration changes subject to an analysis of an impact of the configuration change and to an approval from within the enterprise; and
registering the configuration change in the configuration database so that the plurality of configuration items in the configuration database maintains currency and can be used to define future configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer program product for managing a configuration of resources in an enterprise, the computer program product comprising a medium including computer program code, the computer program code further comprising:
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instructions for defining configuration changes based at least in part on previously stored data contained in a configuration database, wherein the configuration database further comprises a plurality of configuration items describing the configuration of the resources in the enterprise;
instructions for receiving an analysis of an impact of a configuration change and to an approval from within the enterprise for the configuration change; and
instructions for registering the configuration change in the configuration database so that the plurality of configuration items in the configuration database maintains currency and can be used to define future configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. Apparatus for managing the configuration of resources in an enterprise, the apparatus comprising:
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means for defining configuration changes based at least in part on previously stored data contained in a configuration database, wherein the configuration database further comprises a plurality of configuration items describing the configuration of the resources in the enterprise;
means for receiving an analysis of an impact of a configuration change and to an approval from within the enterprise for the configuration change; and
means for registering the configuration change in the configuration database so that the plurality of configuration items in the configuration database maintains currency and can be used to define future configuration changes. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for managing the configuration or resources in an enterprise, the system comprising:
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a configuration database further comprising a plurality of configuration items forming a dimensional model of the configuration of resources in the enterprise; and
a change database operably connected to the configuration database, the change database to maintain records of configuration changes in support of the updating of the configuration database. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A computer readable storage medium encoded with a data structure representing a dimensional model of an enterprise configuration, the dimensional model further comprising:
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a plurality of configuration items arranged in an array;
wherein at least some of the plurality of configuration items are linked together through at least one of an upstream relationship, a downstream relationship, a peer relationship, and a view so that a configuration change related to a configuration item (CI) imposes an appropriate change to other configuration items based on the relationships within the array. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification