What is Configuration Management?
For IT systems, having the latest software version, firmware
and hardware configuration is key to getting the best
performance. However, as systems grow more complex and increasingly large, ensuring this is a challenge.
Configuration management (CM) allows the automation of this process to ensure that we get the best from our IT
systems.
It is especially important in products where there are multiple elements that must work together to deliver the
functionality required. By adopting a CM approach, all elements, including software, hardware, firmware and
documentation are monitored and updated as required.
A good example is in larger organizations with multiple departments. As an IT team, updating software for possibly
hundreds of computer systems would be time consuming, costly and slow, but with CM, we can automate the process and
not only speed it up, but avoid costly human error too.
What are Configuration Management Tools?
If we imagine our scenario of software upgrades across hundreds of installations, doing this manually, even with
some way of monitoring and recording the progress, would be extremely challenging. Configuration management tools
are used to control and manage these kinds of IT changes for you. By automating the upgrades, it can be accomplished
faster even over huge numbers of instances, standardizing the updates and providing clear reporting on all events
for seamless oversight.
There are a number of such tools available for us to use, including Puppet, Ansible, Chef and SaltStack (which is
what we use). To oversee
significant changes across a large IT environment, the use of these tools is essential, ensuring that the system
continues to deliver the functionality and performance required while tracking and implementing necessary updates.
CM Tools in Practice — Telematics
Telematics makes use of a wide variety of technologies
and concepts to deliver the essential performance and
features needed, and one of those is configuration management. Known as a Vehicle Telematics , this
tool configures and manages a fleet of vehicles
and allows us as fleet managers to set various
parameters for each
vehicle, such as speed limits, routes and maintenance scheduling , which the system then
enforces.
It uses data collected from various sensors and systems on each vehicle, giving real-time data about the vehicle and
driver, including fuel efficiency , driving style and
so on. With that, we can then adjust various settings to
optimize vehicle use, maintain safety standards and manage operational costs. With the CM tool making sure that our
settings are applied and maintained, we can achieve performance goals quickly and easily. Without such automation,
and relying on manual updates to each vehicle, it would be almost impossible for us to achieve.
Software Configuration Management
A variant of configuration management dedicated to overseeing the software development process, SCM is an essential
tool for any software project. It has dedicated tools for tracking software changes, version verifications and other
essentials, so that the entire development process can be tracked and audited as needed.
One of the most famous examples of a software configuration management tool, or any CM of any kind, is GitHub, the
online SCM that has been used to develop thousands of software projects for decades.
Configuration Management Database
When building IT infrastructure, it is important to remember that the people that create it may not always be the
ones managing it. Even in cases where they are, some IT infrastructure becomes so large that no one can
realistically oversee all aspects of it and its upkeep.
To ensure that your IT environment can be managed correctly and effectively, a record of all relevant data about
each component, whether software or hardware, and the interdependencies between them all, is recorded in the
configuration management database, as part of the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL).
Conclusion
Being able to track and automate updates and configurations makes it easier to manage both complex and large IT
environments. It eliminates our human errors, which can cause serious failures, and ensures system integrity and
efficiency are maintained. Without configuration management tools, it would be difficult if not impossible, for us
to effectively manage many systems in use today.
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