Overview

A configuration management database (CMDB) is a database that contains all relevant information about the components of the information system used in an organization's IT services and the relationships between those components. A CMDB provides an organized view of data and a means of examining that data from any desired perspective. Within this context, components of an information system are referred to as configuration items (CI). A CI can be any conceivable IT component, including software, hardware, documentation, and personnel, as well as any combination of them. 

Creating a Configuration Item (CI)

Login in the ServiceNow with your EID

Desktop and Laptop Class

To create a desktop or laptop configuration item, navigate to the configuration application on the application sidebar in ServiceNow, under the category Base Items a Computers category will be listed.  

Alternatively, "computers" can be searched for within the application sidebar.

Click the "New" button to create a new computer configuration item. 

The configuration item form is separated into two parts: Identifying Information and Configuration

The top half of the form contains identifying information such as:

Name (Mandatory), Asset Tag, Serial Number (Mandatory), Model ID, Manufacturer, IP Address, MAC Address, Description, Owner Group, Support Group, Assigned to, System Data Category (ISORA), Classification (ISORA), Department, System Type, Operational Status, and Data Source (Used for Integration to ServiceNow)

The bottom half of the form shows configuration information such as:

Operating System, OS Version, OS Service Pack, Manufactured Date, Date Deployed, Location, Disk Space, CPU Manufacturer, CPU Type, CPU Count, CPU Core Count, CPU Speed (MHz), RAM (MB), Asset (Relating to Asset Management in ServiceNow)

Click Submit to save the configuration item and to return to the configuration item record view, or click Save to save the configuration item and stay within the form.

Server Class

To create a server configuration item, navigate to the configuration application on the application sidebar in ServiceNow, under Base Items a servers category will be listed.  Servers can also be created from the Servers category.

Click the "New" button to create a new server configuration item. The configuration item form is separated into two parts: Identifying Information and Configuration

The top half of the form contains identifying information such as:

Serial Number (Mandatory), IP Address, Vendor, Asset (Relating to Asset Management in ServiceNow), Model ID, Region, Rack Unit, Manufacturer, Owner Group, Support Group, Asset tag, In Service Date, Out of Service Date, System Data Category (ISORA), Classification (ISORA)

The bottom half of the form shows configuration information such as:

Operating System, OS Version, Installed Date, Disk Space, Management IP, Classification, CPU Count, CPU Core Count, CPU Speed (MHz), RAM (MB), Backup Method, and Fully Qualified Domain Name

Click Submit to save the configuration item and to return to the configuration item record view, or click Save to save the configuration item and stay within the form.

Updating a Configuration Item (CI)

To update a configuration item, navigate to the type of class your configuration item is under, i.e. computers, servers and search for the name of the configuration item, or select it from the list of configuration item records.

Update desired fields and click Update to save the configuration item and to return to the configuration item record view, or click Save to save the configuration item and stay within the form.

Changing the status of a Configuration Item (CI)

A configuration management database only tracks operational configuration items. In the case that a configuration item is not deployed to a user, in repair, or is no longer operational, it is best practice to change the state of the configuration item in the CMDB rather than delete the configuration item record. There are four states for a configuration item:

• Operational
• Non-Operational
• Repair in Progress
• DR Standby (Disaster Recovery Standby for High Availability Systems)

To change the Operational Status of a configuration item, simply choose a state from the drop down menu within the configuration item's record

To learn more about configuration items and the configuration management database, visit the following knowledge base article in the ServiceNow - Public Self Help Knowledge Base: ServiceNow Service Catalog/CMDB Deep Dive Training