Turning Chaos into Clockwork. Harnessing the Power of TeamDynamix Assets/CIs and Knowledgebase Modules to Build your CMDB

Transcription

1 Turning Chaos into Clockwork Harnessing the Power of TeamDynamix Assets/CIs and Knowledgebase Modules to Build your CMDB

2 8:30 9:30 Room 423 8:30 /05 ITIL concepts: CMDB, Asset & Configuration Management, CIs 8:35 /05 CMDB: Benefits vs challenges & pitfalls; Strategies 8:40 /15 Overview of TeamDynamix Assets/CIs module - Assets vs. Configuration Items in TDX 8:55 /10 UWindsor CMDB 9:05 /05 New features in version 9.5 9:10 /10 Product ideas 9:20 /10 Questions

3 Quick Poll How many people are familiar with ITIL? Who thinks that CMDB is a great thing to have? Who thinks that CMDB s limitations outweigh its benefits? How many people have implemented CMDB?

4 I.T. Infrastructure Library (ITIL) A set of best practices for I.T. service management (ITSM) that aligns business needs with IT services. The most widely accepted foundation framework used by companies to manage I.T. services. 50% worldwide, 40% in the US 1) Some organizations implement only parts of ITIL. The three processes with best adoption rate 2) : Incident Management (95%) Change Management (88%) Problem Management (77%) 1) 2014, 2) 2016, management-software/has-it-service-management-adoption-hit-a-plateau.html

5 ITIL 5 modules

6 ITIL 26 processes 4 functions

7 ITIL Asset and Configuration Management Configuration Management Database

8 CMDB Configuration Management Database Central to other ITIL processes

9 CMDB (not CMS!) CMDB = Configuration Management Database A centralized repository that acts as a data warehouse for information technology infrastructure. It holds all relevant data about the components of IT infrastructure, as well as descriptive relationships between those components. Provides an organized view of data and a means of examining it from any desired perspective.

10 Configuration Management, CIs The processes of configuration management seeks to specify, control, and track configuration items and any changes made to them in a comprehensive and systematic fashion. Within this context, components of an information system are referred to as configuration items (CIs). A CI can be any conceivable I.T. component, including: hardware, software, documentation, and personnel, as well as any combination of them.

11 Configuration Management The four major tasks of configuration management are: 1. Identification of configuration items (CIs) to be included in the CMDB 2. Control of data to ensure that it can only be accessed and changed by authorized individuals 3. Status maintenance, which involves ensuring that current status of any CI is consistently recorded and kept updated 4. Verification, through audits and reviews, of the data to ensure that it is accurate.

12 BENEFITS VERSUS CHALLENGES vs.

13 Benefits Removes IT silos; everyone has (controlled) access to a full picture Reduces redundancy and duplication of efforts; bridges the gap between IT silos (same information documented in several different places, managed by several people/teams) Allows organization to make better I.T. Decisions, especially related to assets Helps with project and budget planning (reporting)

14 Benefits Single source of truth authoritative source of information Reconciles multiple alias names for the same component Reduction in occurrence of errors and mistakes Helps avoid/minimise downtime while planning/implementing changes Helps to assess and manage risks

15 Challenges, Pitfalls CHALLENGE New way of thinking, change of culture Traditional approach: mixture of systems, tools, spreadsheets and tribal knowledge. Individual staff members have a vague notion of IT infrastructure outside of the silo in which they operate. ITS more concerned with the financial value of the environment than with the operational value of information about the environment. Political barriers are harder to overcome than technical. STRATEGY Assign the job to someone who believes in it, not someone who was told to do it. One person to oversee, but many involved in contributing. Not optional. Demonstrate value and importance of tool and create reason for change. Proper communication, education and training makes a big difference. Driven by other infrastructure projects or specific problem areas. Need a strong project sponsor.

16 Challenges, Pitfalls CHALLENGE Things change; hard to keep up. Highly dynamic environments, such as VMs frequently being VMotioned to other devices Additional overhead; can doom the project to fail. Resource (people, financial) constraints and competing priorities. STRATEGY Determine a strategy to identify, populate, and maintain CMDB information Process or journey, not one-time-thing Adjust operational processes to properly maintain quality of data. Assign roles. Periodic audits. Designate as authoritative source, share CI identification across all systems

17 Challenges, Pitfalls CHALLENGE Things change; hard to keep up. Highly dynamic environments, such as VMs frequently being VMotioned to other devices. Additional overhead; can doom the project to fail. STRATEGY Carefully adjust the scope, start with top-level CIs (Applications/Systems) Expand the scope incrementally; target new areas one at a time. To store, or not to store, that is the question Natural inclination is to record everything. Unmanageable; Performance issues.

18 Challenges, Pitfalls CHALLENGE Lack of native functionality and tools to autopopulate CMDB (auto discovery) STRATEGY Version 9.5 introduced external Configuration Item sources and integration with Kaseya: External Item Configuration Sources /ArticleDet?ID=22037 Kaseya Asst Source /ArticleDet?ID=22058

19 CMDB vs TeamDynamix Assets/CIs

20 CMDB vs TDX There is no distinct CMDB app/module in TDX. A combination of Assets/CIs and Knowledge Base Core functionality comes from CIs portion of Assets/CIs module TDX CIs is a framework for building your own CMDB Powerful and flexible, but at the same time not yet on par with the rest of TDX Version 9.5 addressed some limitations Assets and Services are a subset of CIs by default

21 Configuration Items Assets Services Other (admin defined) Configuration Items Services Assets

22 Quick Poll Who uses Assets/CIs module in TDX? Who does not use Assets/CIs module in TDX? Who implemented only Assets but not CIs portion?

23 Assets/CIs Module Allows users to easily add and categorize assets, configuration items, vendors, contracts, and locations allowing an institution to track and maintain hardware and software assets, in addition to other configuration items, cost-effectively.

24 Assets/CIs Module Allows users to easily add and categorize assets, configuration items, vendors, contracts, and locations allowing an institution to track and maintain hardware and software assets, in addition to other configuration items, cost-effectively. Main focus is on Assets. Enter buildings/rooms Capture vendor info Define product types Enter product models Create asset records

25 Assets/CIs Module Allows users to easily add and categorize assets, configuration items, vendors, contracts, and locations allowing an institution to track and maintain hardware and software assets, in addition to other configuration items, cost-effectively. Main focus is on Assets. Enter buildings/rooms Capture vendor info Define product types Enter product models Create asset records

26 Assets/CIs Module Allows users to easily add and categorize assets, configuration items, vendors, contracts, and locations allowing an institution to track and maintain hardware and software assets, in addition to other configuration items, cost-effectively. Not as mature and robust as Assets

27 Assets/CIs Module Allows users to easily add and categorize assets, configuration items, vendors, contracts, and locations allowing an institution to track and maintain hardware and software assets, in addition to other configuration items, cost-effectively. Reporting is a must.

28 Contracts Place to store contract info: Hardware warranties/maintenance Software licensing Can be searched and reported on Assets can be linked to contracts

29 Maintenance Schedules Allows to define maintenance windows and assign them to Assets and CIs When tickets are linked to Assets/CIs, dates are checked against assigned schedules

30 Maintenance Schedules Allows to define maintenance windows and assign them to Assets and CIs When tickets are linked to Assets/CIs, dates are checked against assigned schedules

31 Assets vs. Configuration Items LIMITATIONS OF CONFIGURATION ITEMS

32 Assets vs. Configuration Items ASSET FORM Custom attributes show on every asset record Tabs (General, Users, Relationships, Contracts, Tickets, Attachments) Can attach files Can link to users Can link to contracts Can link to location Can comments Serial Number and Tag attributes 9.5 CONFIGURATION ITEM FORM Custom attributes can be linked to CI Types Sections (Details, Relationships, Tickets, Feed) Cannot attach files Cannot link to users Cannot link to contracts Cannot link to location 9.5 Cannot comments Name attribute

33 Assets vs. Configuration Items ASSETS Search bar + filer Filter has many options Run Update on multiple items Import feature Great reporting Group by and column selection Parent-Child relationships Statuses not shared CONFIGURATION ITEMS Filter only Filter has limited options No Update button/feature No import feature No reporting 9.5 Not available Not available Statuses not shared

34 Configuration Items

35 Adding CIs Prerequisite - TDX Admin must define: Relationships

36 Adding CIs Prerequisite - TDX Admin must define: Relationships Types

37 Adding CIs Prerequisite - TDX Admin must define: Relationships Types Attributes

38 Adding CIs Prerequisite - TDX Admin must define: Relationships Types Attributes Assign permissions

39 CI Form

40 CI Form

41 CI Form

42 Asset Form

43 Asset Form

44 CIs: Relationships Admin must define first Add > Relationship Asset from CI from Service form

45 CIs: Relationships Admin must define first Add > Relationship Asset from CI from Service form

46 New Features VERSION 9.5

47 Attributes Name New Asset attribute in 9.5 Previously only available on CI form. Used to identify assets where S/N is not available If value exists, used in place of S/N & Tag Tag Renamed to Service Tag Location and Owner attributes added to CI form

48 CI Reporting Introduced in version 9.5 Similar to Asset Reporting Not possible to report on relationships

49 External CI Sources TDX partnered with Kaseya Open Kaseya LiveConnect directly from a TDX Asset record to remotely diagnose and repair

50 Duplicate Asset Prevention Check the serial number, service tag or external ID for duplicates: Do not allow duplicates Allow duplicates Allow duplicates with confirmation dialog

51 UWindsor CMDB Build it and they will come.

52 CMDB 1.0 Originally Lotus Notes based app Build interface, write code, and populate with data No reporting Lotus Notes replaced by Office 365

53 CMDB 2.0 Assets migrated to TeamDynamix Other CIs manually re-entered into TeamDynamix Duplicated the CI hierarchy Still work in progress

54 CMDB 2.0 Assets migrated to TeamDynamix Other CIs manually re-entered into TeamDynamix Duplicated the CI hierarchy Still work in progress

55 CMDB 2.0 Assets migrated to TeamDynamix Other CIs manually re-entered into TeamDynamix Duplicated the CI hierarchy Still work in progress

56 CMDB 2.0 Assets migrated to TeamDynamix Other CIs manually re-entered into TeamDynamix Duplicated the CI hierarchy Still work in progress

57 I.T. Rooms Also known as wiring or networking closets Each building has one or more Each room has one or more racks Each rack has one or more switch stacks or switches Each switch stack has multiple switches Each switch has multiple ports

58 CI Type Asset Type CI Type Asset Type I.T. Rooms Switch Also known as wiring or networking closets Each building has one or more Each room has one or more racks Each rack has one or more switch stacks or switches Each switch stack has multiple switches Each switch has multiple ports I.T. Room Rack Rack Switch Stack UPS Switch Stack UPS Switch Switch Switch Switch

59 CIs: Custom Attributes Description Knowledge Base Articles Administrators Network Info

60 Enhancement Requests Product Ideas Address CI/Asset discrepancies Extend Forms and cascaded attributes to Assets/CIs Contract expiry alerts Integration with other tools, eg. systems monitoring Service as CI ability to exclude (checkbox)

61 Enhancement Requests Product Ideas Link CIs to KB articles (like Services) Associating Issues with Assets/CIs Assets/CIs Favourites list (like services) Make Projects Systems to be top-level CI object Maintenance Schedules conflict checking

62 Thank you! uwindsor.ca/itshelp Q & A