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To achieve these goals, most configuration management relies on a high level of automation. It is for this reason that teams use tools.
Automation makes it easier to add checks and redundant processes, reducing the risk of human error. It also improves the accuracy of maintaining assets in the desired condition.
A single engineer who forgets to update software can cause a system to have an outdated version that contains a vulnerability on CVE.
This vulnerability can be exploited by computer worms or ransomware, among other types of malware. Automating large systems is also valuable because it improves efficiency. Configuration management is applicable to many systems.
But you will be most concerned about:
- Servers
- Databases and other storage system
- Operating systems
- Networking
- Apps
- You can also download the software.
Why is Configuration Management Important?
The probability is that technology drives your business. If you sell SaaS (Software-as-a-Service, technology is the product.
Every company automates their processes, even if they don't use technology.
Configuring these systems is crucial to the success of your organization. The configuration is what makes all your systems work (servers and networks, operating systems, databases, configuration files, assets, IT, etc.).
Configuration management is the process of managing software settings. It is important to track configuration changes and manage them carefully to avoid data breaches, system outages, and data leaks.
Many businesses use a Configuration Management Database (CMDB), a Configuration Management Plan, and a Configuration Manager to achieve successful configuration management.
It is important to keep accurate records about the current state of your system. Baselining an attribute will ensure that formal processes for configuration change control are effective. Version control is, therefore, essential for all IT infrastructure.
This is useful for project management, asset and audit management processes, custom software development process, and debugging.
Configuration management has many other benefits.
- Visibility and tracking of changes to your system reduce the risk of outages or security breaches.
- Reduce costs by knowing all elements of your configuration and avoiding duplication.
- Customers and staff will enjoy a better experience by quickly detecting and fixing configuration errors that may negatively impact performance.
- Control your processes with strict control by defining formal policies and procedures for asset identification, monitoring, and auditing.
- You can provide better service with greater agility and quicker problem resolution.
- Change management is made easier by having a baseline configuration and the ability to see changes in design that will avoid problems.
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Restoration of service is quicker.
You'll be able to recover quickly in the event of an outage, as your configuration will be documented and automated.
- Improved release management with clear status accounting.
DevOps teams have taken over the United States and now the entire world. Software configuration management has been applied to the whole lifecycle of enterprise technology.
You can see in the diagram that it is important to plan, build, manage, and handoff processes, regardless of whether you are doing DevOps.
What Happens If You Don't Use Configuration Management?
A famous advertisement features an auto mechanic who talks about how a costly repair could have been avoided had the owner replaced his oil filter.
The mechanic says: If you don't use configuration management, then you can avoid paying the associated costs. However, it is likely that:
- It takes months to manually determine which components of the system should be changed when the requirements change.
- Implementations that fail because you did not communicate changes in your project requirements to all parties.
- Productivity is lost by replacing system components with new, flawed versions without the ability to revert to a working condition quickly.
- Outages due to incorrectly changing system components because you could not accurately identify which components were affected by the change.
It is included in the list of key practices for systems engineering because it works. This helps you avoid unnecessary costs and allows IT to stop fighting fires.
Good systems engineers have also learned from practical experience that the software pays for itself multiple times. It's simple: don't pay later. Configuration management can be used to prevent fires rather than fighting them.
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What Is An Example Of Configuration Management?
Four pillars make up an exemplary configuration-management framework:
The Issue
The New York Stock Exchange was unable to process stock trades due to a software glitch for nearly 90 minutes.
The Impact
Even beyond the NYSE floor, the financial markets were affected. Trading ceased at the American Stock Exchange, as investors could not calculate market indexes in the absence of NYSE data.
Investors were reluctant to trade on the NASDAQ Stock Market without NYSE data.
The Cause
A new software installation caused the problem. The NYSE installed the software onto 8 of its 20 terminals and tested it the night before the go-live.
On the morning of Sunday, June 8, eight installations did not work correctly. The NYSE attempted to switch back to its old software but was unable to do so before opening the trading session.
Lessons Learned
While you may see this as a failure in the NYSE's process of configuration management, it actually was a successful one.
The NYSE's configuration management tools and processes were robust. Despite the fact that the problem did not occur until just before the start of trading, they quickly identified the issue and resolved it.
The damage to the NYSE was minimal, except for a few red faces. The damage would have been far more serious if the outage had lasted longer than 90 min.
What Is The Cost Of Configuration Management?
Unfortunately, configuration management doesn't come free. You will first need a configuration-management system.
There are many configuration management system options, from open-source projects to commercial products sold by IBM and Microsoft. These configuration management solutions have a 'node-based' pricing structure, with different price points for each type of node, such as servers, databases, mobile devices, and network devices.
Despite paying for the vendor's name and sales team, going with a large vendor is not always worth it.
Second, the cost of configuration is people. This includes staff or contractors, if you have limited internal capability, who are able to implement configuration management tools and processes.
It is also necessary to include the cost of training your current staff in order to integrate configuration management into your business.
What Are The Best Practices In Configuration Management?
Risks are present in the areas of data management, configuration management, and control, including disruptions of application availability as well as corruption or loss of data.
Use these best practices to ensure that your assets are available and configured optimally.
Track Changes
Consider using changesets to track changes related to system configuration and provisioning. Changesets are packaged, consolidated commits that allow you to track changes made to multiple files, the directory structure, unit test comments, and changes to your environment in a single, easy-to-manage commit.
Build managers can see the files that have been changed when assets are updated. They can easily roll back unwanted changes or go back to an older configuration.
Early Testing
By testing often and early, you can detect bugs and other potentially harmful regressions.
Performance Testing
Performance testing provides your DevOps group with insight into the impact of their latest changes on system performance and functionality.
Early And Often Integration Is Key
Integrate new features and changes early and often, along with performance testing. You can then report problems before they become costly and occur in production.
Code fixes: Avoid them
Suppose they are not defined in the configuration management repository. If you don't define the problem, it will be difficult for future reviewers to know if and how the fix was implemented.
This can lead to code conflicts and subtle bug issues.
Configuration Control
Includes all requests for change and proposals, as well as their approval or rejection. This covers the process for controlling changes to the design of the system, its hardware, firmware, and software.
It is just the beginning. There are many more important and useful best practices for the optimal configuration of computer systems. You should have a team that develops a set of best practices to guide and protect your organization in the future.
Your best practices will evolve to meet the changing needs of your company.
SCM Software Can Boost Your Profits
SCM software benefits are largely related to the way data-driven decision-making and automation improve supply chain management.
SCM solutions are a necessity in times of digital transformation.
Supply management software has become popular in response to the changing global economy. Supply chains are becoming increasingly complex for many businesses.
Manual tracking and managing is less efficient and more prone to error. When you invest in supply chain software, it can improve your flow of products and finances. It will also enhance collaboration.
Take a look at these three areas to see the benefits of Supply Chain Management Software.
Also Read: Utilizing Automated Configuration Management Solutions
SCM Software: Benefits For Improved Financial Flow
Costs Reduction
In all likelihood, the question of how to reduce business costs while avoiding negative effects is asked across many industries.
SCM software allows you to eliminate waste and costs without changing how your business is run.
With an SCM tool, you can track every step of the supply chain. You can find inefficient processes and errors and then improve them.
Imagine it as repairing a broken component instead of replacing it.
Reduce Your Overhead Costs
It's now time to manage your expenses better so that you can lower overhead costs. You can manage inventory or raw materials better with supply management software.
You can then determine which materials are essential to your business and which lower your profit margins since the demand isn't as high as expected.
Profit Growth
You can increase your profits by knowing what to cut back on or where to invest to reduce overhead costs. You haven't yet implemented any new solutions.
You can start by evaluating processes and costs, then adjust them and continue from there.
Product Flow Can Be Improved
Improved Product Quality
Knowing the availability of inventory or raw materials allows you to plan supplies and shipments better. You can increase your efficiency by avoiding sudden stock shortages.
A supply chain management process that is effective can also improve product quality. The increased efficiency rate will allow you to optimize your business faster in order to meet changing demands.
Data-Driven Small Capital Management
It's important to note that you can now use the data that you might have otherwise missed with software for supply chain management.
Real-time insights can help you achieve the increased efficiency we mentioned earlier. These insights are difficult to achieve without a tool that makes it simple for you and your staff to translate and capture the data.
Decreased Delays
SCM solutions also improve the flow of products by reducing delays. You can reduce delays by spotting errors and slowdowns in real-time.
You can be notified early if there are any issues, such as a growing demand or a shortage of supplies. This will allow you to take the necessary action.
Collaboration Flow Improved
Improved Collaboration
A better collaboration requires an improved information flow based on data in real-time. It is important to maintain good relationships with clients and vendors.
Shared information between your company and clients, as well as with your business partners, can increase sales. The customers, on the contrary, want to have constant access to information about their shipments. A SCM tool can help you retain customers by allowing them to buy again.
Communication Improvements
Communication can be difficult when you are working with multiple vendors and clients. A large amount of information and incomplete data can cause miscommunications.
Finally, this can lead to a decrease in client satisfaction, which could result in lost sales. You can improve your customer service as well as the retention rate by improving communication within your organization.
Improved Trust And Security
SCM software can also be used to store customer contact information securely. Data breaches can damage your company's reputation and trust.
Focus on protecting the data that you handle immediately, as these can be hard to recover.
What is Software Configuration Management?
Software configuration Management is a tool that's used to manage, track, and change configuration items within the product development process (requirements codes, documents, defects, resources, budgeting software hardware, etc).
In the SCM, project managers, developers, configuration managers, product owners, and testers all participate.
- Planning and Identification Process
- Version Control Process or Baselines
- Change Control Process
- Configuration Release Process
- Configuration Auditing Process
- Review and Status Reporting Procedure
Planning and Identification Process
This is the first level of SCM to plan properly for the development and application of the application. It identifies configuration items according to the scope of the projects.
This process is based on the criteria of conducting kick-off or start meetings and welcoming change requests. This process is based on the project management plan, and the approval of this plan is its exit criteria.
Version Control Process or Baselines
The version control or baselines indicate storing the different versions of development/configuration by changing the scope or requirements or code or software environment.
This process produces multiple versions of the software product.
Change Control Process
In this process, the client will create a new change request to make some changes to the software. As the team receives the request, they will add, remove, or edit the configuration items.
The application will be developed and closed as soon as the team approves the change request.
Configuration Release Process
This is used to verify that the application will be developed according to the project plan and then test/verify it in accordance with the scope.
Software-related documents and release notes of software are inputs that provide a working software application.
Configuration Auditing Process
This process is to check if the software-developed product meets the baselines. We are now going to perform a physical and functional audit of the software.
Review and Status Reporting Procedure
This is a review of the technical aspects of the application, such as the workflow, the process, the configuration items, and the change requests.
The goal is to produce a status report for each phase in the software development cycle. This process involves multiple reviews of an application in order to create documents related to the application, such as a user manual, installation process guide, Do's and Don't Do's, and Release notes.
Software configuration management is a multi-processed activity.
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What Is The Future Of Configuration Management?
The tools and processes that we use to manage configuration are constantly evolving. In general, configuration management has three main goals:
- Identifying all code and configuration that is deployed in production (also called configuration audit).
- Retrieving all configuration items, including code used to achieve a desired state or release.
- Creating an effective sandbox to accommodate bug fixes or change requests without causing regressions to the environment because of missing header files or other errors.
Users will likely be attracted to tools that offer significant improvements in any of these drivers. This implies a culture where CM tools are constantly improving and changing.
Docker is considered the future of configuration-management due to its containerization and change management capabilities, which make it simple to roll back changes to an image. This reduces the configuration management workload by a large amount.
Kubernetes focuses on the configuration of monolithic servers rather than your app. Kubernetes can make it faster and easier to deploy your Docker containers, but moving virtual machine-based apps to Kubernetes will be a more difficult process.Customize allows you to customize your Kubernetes deployment and make it easier to integrate third-party applications.
The introduction of IoT assets will mean that organizations will have to manage a lot more assets, and this will require new tools.
Containerization platforms and the associated configuration management tools will continue to take market share away from virtual machine-based deployments due to their many advantages.
Conclusion
This article will briefly describe the Software Configuration Management process, which is used to manage and control the changes made on configuration items throughout the software development cycle.
In SCM, the self-organized teams are involved in the approval of change requests. Software configuration management tools are available in many forms, including open-source or licensed versions such as GIT (Software Versioning), SVN, SaltStack, IBM Configuration Tool, etc.
Most IT companies use GIT, an open-source software versioning tool.
