Microsoft Exchange 2000 Operations Guide — Version 1.0
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which connectors will be affected by taking a server running Exchange offline for mainte-
nance, only to find when they actually examine the servers that different connectors are
present.
The configuration management database is initially populated by an inventory of your
existing hardware, software, tools, and processes. The configuration management database
contents change over time as the result of implemented changes of all kinds. You will want
to periodically (perhaps annually) audit the configuration management database against
reality to ensure that the configuration management database and your IT environment are
in synchronization.
To ensure that the database is maintained with accurate information, the following areas
must be tightly controlled:
◆
Change management
◆
Ownership of the configuration management database
◆
Security of the configuration management database
◆
Backup of the configuration management database
To be effective, the configuration management database must be operated as though it is a
central component of your IT environment.
Change Management
As already mentioned, change management and configuration management are intrinsi-
cally linked. If the configuration management database is to be accurate and up to date,
then no aspect of change to configuration items may be carried out without that change
also being recorded in the configuration management database. For this reason, RFCs are
recorded in the configuration management database and are the driving force behind
change in the configuration management database. By adding and modifying entries in the
RFC part of the configuration management database you will also modify the components
that act as dependencies.
Ownership
If your configuration management database is going to remain fully accurate, you must
ensure that there is ownership of each part of the configuration management process. The
configuration manager should ensure that the configuration management database is
always kept fully up to date and that only authorized personnel can modify it. Exactly who
modifies the configuration management database depends on nature of the relationship
between change and configuration management, but in many cases different configuration
items have different owners (often the corresponding change owner).
