CONDIS IT Service and CMDB
2/17 Table of contents 1. Executive Summary... 3 2. ITIL Overview... 4 2.1 How CONDIS supports ITIL processes... 5 2.1.1 Incident... 5 2.1.2 Problem... 5 2.1.3 Configuration... 5 2.1.4 Change... 5 2.1.5 Release... 5 2.1.6 Service Level... 6 2.1.7 IT Financial... 6 2.1.8 Capacity... 6 2.1.9 Availability... 6 2.1.10 IT Service Continuity... 7 3. CONDIS CMDB Overview... 8 3.1 CONDIS functional modules for IT Service... 8 3.1.1 CONDIS Resource... 8 3.1.2 CONDIS Change... 9 3.1.3 CONDIS Service... 10 3.1.4 CONDIS Fault Adapter... 10 3.1.5 CONDIS CRM Adapter... 10 3.1.6 CONDIS Delivery Manager... 11 3.1.7 CONDIS Order Manager... 11 3.2 Additional CONDIS functional modules... 11 3.2.1 CONDIS Cable... 11 3.2.2 CONDIS Circuit Manager... 12 3.2.3 CONDIS GIS Module... 13 3.2.4 CONDIS Synchronisation Manager... 13 4. Roles of CONDIS CMDB in Telco and IT environment... 14 4.1 CONDIS as CMDB & TelcoDB... 14 4.2 CONDIS as integrated DB with CMDB... 15 4.3 Federated Inventory management with SOA... 16 5. Glossary... 17
3/17 1. Executive Summary A Configuration Bata Base (CMDB) is a repository that contains all relevant information about components of the IT environment and relationships between those components. The CMDB is a fundamental component of the ITIL framework. All information recorded in the CMDB exists solely to support the IT Service (ITSM) processes described by ITIL. CONDIS conforms to ITIL guidelines. The core part of CONDIS is the central database that contains all configuration items. This database serves as central information platform for service, business and operating processes in the IT environment. The flexible approach of CONDIS allows modeling all technologies of the network infrastructure. The modular architecture of CONDIS provides several functional modules supporting IT Service as well as an integration capability with other Service Applications. CONDIS provides a cross domain information management system for IT and Telco environment.
4/17 2. ITIL Overview The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a framework consisting of a set of best practice standards for IT Service (ITSM). ITIL describes platform- and supplier-independent processes for Service. ITIL V2 is mainly focused on Service Support and Service Delivery. Service Support consists of the following processes: Incident Problem Configuration Change Release Service Delivery consists of the following processes: Service Level IT Financial Capacity Availability IT Service Continuity In the context of ITIL, a CMDB is a central data repository which represents all relevant Configuration Items (CI) of an IT environment such as hardware, software, documentation (e.g. SLA, RFC, ) It is the core component of an ITIL framework, providing the foundation for all Service processes Configuration Financial Change Availability Release CMDB Service Level Problem Capacity Incident IT Service Continuity Figure 1: ITIL processes and CMDB
5/17 ITIL V3 puts more emphasis on alignment of IT and business during the whole lifecycle (from planning to production). It is divided into the following areas: Service Strategy Service Design Service Transition Service Operation Continual Service Improvement 2.1 How CONDIS supports ITIL processes 2.1.1 Incident The goal of Incident is to restore normal operations as quickly as possible and to minimize the impact on businesses or users. CONDIS provides tools and interfaces for incident analysis, impact analysis and fault resolution. (CONDIS Resource, CONDIS Fault Adapter). It supports restoring the normal operations by providing alternative routes for services. 2.1.2 Problem The goal of Problem is to minimize the adverse impact of incident and problems caused by errors within the IT infrastructure. Problem management supports the identification and resolving of problems in an efficient way. CONDIS provides tools and interfaces for impact analyzes and alarm enrichment. (CONDIS Resource, CONDIS Fault Adapter) 2.1.3 Configuration The goal of Configuration is to provide accurate information on the IT infrastructure CONDIS provides a central and accurate data repository (CONDIS Resource, CONDIS Synchronization ) 2.1.4 Change The goal of Change is to ensure the usage of standardized methods and functions for efficient handling of all changes to reduce the risk and cost. CONDIS provides powerful change management functionality (CONDIS Change ) 2.1.5 Release
6/17 The goal of Release is to ensure the successful rollout of service relevant SW and HW. CONDIS provides an accurate data repository (CONDIS Resource, CONDIS Synchronization ) as base for release management. It supports the workflow of planning and provisioning processes (CONDIS Order ) within the network and provides integration to configuration and provisioning systems (CONDIS Delivery ) 2.1.6 Service Level The goal of SLM is to ensure the IT service quality specified in the SLA. CONDIS can hold the relevant SLA information and provides a CRM Adapter for integration with CRM systems 2.1.7 IT Financial The goal of IT Finance is to ensure that costs are transparent, and that a positive cost-benefit relationship can be maintained in network infrastructure and processes. CONDIS can hold cost related information that improves material management for e.g purchase orders and provides an interface to ERP systems 2.1.8 Capacity The goal of Capacity is to ensure that all current and future capacity and performance aspects of the business requirements are provided cost effectively. CONDIS provides a powerful functionality for evaluation and planning of capacity (CONDIS Resource, CONDIS Delivery Manager). CONDIS planning tools allow the virtual modeling of planned network changes, so that their impact can be analyzed prior to implementation. 2.1.9 Availability The goal of Availability is to ensure the availability of services when needed and to optimize the capability of the IT infrastructure. CONDIS provides a powerful functionality for evaluation, planning and reservation of availability of the required resources (CONDIS Resource, CONDIS Delivery Manager)
7/17 2.1.10 IT Service Continuity The goal of IT Service Continuity is to support the overall Business Continuity process, by ensuring the recovery of required IT infrastructure as in response to failures or outages.
8/17 3. CONDIS CMDB Overview CONIDS is a modular Inventory System, which, at its core, is a central data repository. Figure 2: CONDIS modular architecture In addition to the core modules, CONDIS offers several functional modules and adapters providing interfaces to applications supporting IT Service processes. 3.1 CONDIS functional modules for IT Service 3.1.1 CONDIS Resource A complete, accurate and up to date documentation of the IT infrastructure is of particular importance for all IT service providers, as it provides a basis for providing services with high quality and in a short time. CONDIS offers a simple and efficient method for accessing all types of information about the IT environment and all of its components from a central consistent data repository (CMDB). This CMDB contains information about single components as well as the relationships between these components. In addition to this, CONDIS also manages service-relevant and commercial information, such as service instances, subscribers, customer data, contract data, service level agreements, supplier data, etc. Based on the information stored in the CMDB, CONDIS provides a integrated and clear representation of the different components of the IT environment (like Servers, PCs, other terminal equipment) as well as the components of the communication network which connects the IT System
9/17 (like Routers, Hubs, Racks, Patches, Cables ) The information can be displayed in graphical views (Rack View, Topology View, Network View ) or in textual views, like lists or tables. CONDIS enables the user to create quick, easy and consistent reports about the network configuration. Based on this information, the planning and implementation of extensions or reconfigurations are simplified and become faster and less error-prone. All this information is accessible via a user-friendly Web GUI. 3.1.2 CONDIS Change Change is a big challenge in complex IT environments. Due to permanently changing requirements to the IT environment, regular updates and modifications are necessary. CONDIS supports the planning and implementation of changes in IT environments. As a CMDB, CONDIS provides support for analysis, and impact-minimization during the planning phase, essential for efficient Change and Order processes. CONDIS Change Manager generates change records to document designs, resulting from the planning process, and at the same time reserves the resources necessary for the in-network implementation of the planned configuration. This information is used as input data to generate work orders for manual configuration. Alternatively, CONDIS Change Manager can export the information in XML, or another format, to an activation management system or network management system in order to implement the new configuration within the network. CONDIS Change Manager provides an interface to service/network configuration applications for the activation of the planned changes within the network. CONDIS Order Manager supports the workflow of planning and provisioning processes within the network. In order to reach a planned configuration, several subtasks usually need to be created and accomplished. CONDIS manages these subtasks to control the progress of the work steps and their action items. CONDIS Order Manager offers the functionality to automatically create a list of subtasks necessary to create the communication relationships in a circuit. These process steps can be automatic, for example, performed by other systems, or can be manual activities. For example, several subtasks, both automatic and manual, are necessary to install a 2 MBit connection. By using templates, CONDIS can speed up the planning and configuration of common items, like racks and shelves. Templates represent common configurations of such entities, and can be copied whenever a specific instance is to be planned for deployment. Planned tasks are split into steps that can be assigned to persons or groups, and the progress of the overall task can thereby be controlled and supervised.
10/17 3.1.3 CONDIS Service CONDIS Service Manager manages all of the service-relevant and business information, such as service layers, users, contracts, delivery data, etc. Therefore, CONDIS Service Manager enables focused Service Problem and is capable of significantly reducing problem resolution time. An integrated data repository, which understands all of the complex interrelationships between entities in the network, simplifies the identification of the cause of reported problems. Selecting the service, on which a problem is noticed, allows all the resources it depends on to be identified, narrowing down the possible location of the fault. Similarly, just by selecting the resource causing a problem, a list of all affected services and customers can be obtained, enabling pre-emptive action. CONDIS Service Manager is the CONDIS Inventory module used for service modeling and provides the means to associate physical and logical resources to a specific customer service. Customer and service entities can be browsed through, reported or visualized in the same manner as any other object. Standard views/displays offered for a service include the service s physical trace and the circuit hierarchy on which the service itself is based. CONDIS Service Manager and CONDIS Resource Manager cooperate to link the technology-based information to all other types of commercial, logistic, organizational information, etc. related to the entities of the network infrastructure. This allows the network to be placed in a wider business context, for example, related to its ownership, the parts of the organization each part of the network supports, and so on. In addition to the traditional network inventory management functions, CONDIS Service Manager provides access to, and the management of, information about manufacturers, orders, licenses, contracts, locations, topology, contacts, etc. 3.1.4 CONDIS Fault Adapter Fault management is an integral part of any OSS environment. The CONDIS Fault Adapter provides integration between CONDIS Inventory Resource Manager, and the fault management products. The result is a rapidly deployed and powerful capability for multi-technology service assurance. CONDIS provides the integrated view on physical equipment cabling and geographical locality and automates the provisioning of services across the network, based on a unified inventory platform. A fault management system monitors the network for faults and provides real-time views of service availability. Fault management system integration to CONDIS addresses the challenge of network and service assurance by providing visibility of the affected customers and associated services and the link to the inventory information necessary such as hardware and location details. 3.1.5 CONDIS CRM Adapter
11/17 CONDIS provides flexible interfaces to allow access to other systems. For this reason, CONDIS offers CONDIS CRM Adapter, a flexible and generic platform for supporting various interface protocols. This is the base for integration with different CRM systems, etc. CONDIS CRM Adapter provides various a standard interfaces for integration with CRM systems. 3.1.6 CONDIS Delivery Manager CONDIS Delivery Manager provides support for the integration of CONDIS to configuration management systems. CONDIS can provide configuration and network activations systems information about the resources and technologies required to implement desired plan. It allows the operator to move towards an inventory-centric OSS, where OSS processes are based on up-to-date network information and service hierarchies. It streamlines the network configuration process and reduces network and service roll-out times and increases customer satisfaction. 3.1.7 CONDIS Order Manager CONDIS Order Manager can optimally manage all types of provisioning and planning jobs. Network and service orders can be exchanged with external workflow or order management systems. CONDIS Order Manager supports the workflow of planning and provisioning processes within the network. In order to reach a planned status, several subtasks usually need to be created and accomplished. CONDIS manages these subtasks to control the progress of the work steps and their action items. CONDIS Order Manager offers the functionality to automatically create a list of subtasks necessary to create the communication relationships in a circuit. A process step defines a specific, also manual work step, e.g. several subtasks necessary to install a 2 MBit connection. With its flexible template functions, CONDIS also enables fast planning and configuration of antenna locations by making copies of the existing ones. Planned tasks are split into partial steps that can be assigned to persons or groups and the progress can thus be controlled and supervised. 3.2 Additional CONDIS functional modules CONDIS offers network operators a couple of functional modules which are not directly related to ITIL and CMDB provides a simple and efficient method for managing all types of information about the network and all of its components from a single consistent data repository. In addition to the Service tasks CONDIS supports the network operator in managing detailed technical information regarding the network. Therefore CONDIS provides some additional tools like Cable Manager, Circuit Manager, GIS 3.2.1 CONDIS Cable
12/17 CONDIS Cable significantly speeds up all processes having to do with the installation, modification, enhancement and maintenance of cabling infrastructures. Cable management based on CONDIS Cable improves network availability, increases service levels, and considerably cuts total cost of ownership for the cabling infrastructure. Having a complete and always up-to-date documentation of the cabling infrastructure is of strategic importance to network operators, as network and service provisioning as well as fault management call for a sufficiently detailed knowledge of the network's cabling infrastructure and the means to effectively handle this infrastructure. CONDIS Cable can be used both in corporate networks (in-house and outside plant) and in carrier networks. It offers functions for cable infrastructure management for any kind of cabling and network architectures. CONDIS Cable ensures the consistent and transparent visualization of a communication network including all active and passive components, cables, cable routes, etc. CONDIS Cable can document any physical segments of a connection, such as all types of cables, splices, patches, microwave links, leased lines, etc. CONDIS Cable is a flexible and open system, an ideal tool to optimize the planning and operation of heterogeneous cabling infrastructures. CONDIS manages not only technical information, but also a multitude of other types of information relevant for network infrastructure components. In addition to traditional network inventory management functions, CONDIS offers management of information concerning vendors, orders, contracts, locations, topologies, contacts and organizations. CONDIS Cable provides a broad range of functions for managing cablingspecific information and processes. CONDIS supports managing and updating of basic data on active and passive network components as well as of geographic and organizational information. Based on this information, CONDIS Cable can then make optimized suggestions for patches, connections, addressing schemes and routing information, etc. and offer functions such as line trace, physical and logical port allocation, statistics information and user-defined reports. 3.2.2 CONDIS Circuit Manager CONDIS Circuit Designer helps you to save a significant amount of time when enhancing or modifying your network infrastructure. CONDIS Circuit Designer delivers optimal support in the design of end-to-end routes throughout the network. It provides input parameters for search criteria in a route search, e.g. available capacity, number of hops, distance, load balancing, physical independence and others. CONDIS Circuit Designer uses wizards to speed up and simplify network and service provisioning processes. Standard workflows become simpler
13/17 and more consistent. Wizards control the processes according to complex rules inherent to the respective technology. CONDIS Circuit Designer guides you step-by-step and simultaneously writes a log of the whole design. 3.2.3 CONDIS GIS Module CONDIS GIS Module (Geographic Information System) provides a powerful map layer that is completely integrated into CONDIS. It enables the exact geographical positioning of network and service maps bringing enhanced perspectives for network planning, as well as fast and efficient problem localization and resolution. CONDIS GIS Module lets you access all of its functions using a standard web browser. It uses a specially designed high quality and low bandwidth graphical user interface (GUI) to access geographical information and CONDIS generic functions such as reporting, network exploring, and network views. CONDIS GIS Module is capable of using a map server for retrieving the geographical maps, and can integrate the data of different geographical information tools or planning systems to retrieve the coordinates of locations, cabling and equipment. 3.2.4 CONDIS Synchronisation Manager The main task of an inventory management system is to provide a correct and precise representation of the network at all times. For this reason, CONDIS Synchronization Manager offers a flexible and generic platform for quick and inexpensive integration of other systems into CONDIS. CONDIS Synchronization Manager is the technology and vendor independent solution for the synchronization of data from network and element management systems. CONDIS Synchronization Manager provides a complex function of cardinality checking, which is designed to help in the implementation of new interfaces. The reconciliation process between CONDIS Resource Manager and the external system is based on pre-defined rules and the interfaces can be created with different levels of automation. In every CONDIS project, a number of different systems are integrated to synchronize data.
14/17 4. Roles of CONDIS CMDB in Telco and IT environment In the real world Service has to deal with all domains of a customer network. These domains are based on different standards, processes and models. Figure 3 Overview However, the distinction between Telco DB and IT DB is not so clear and precisely. A Telco DB can store IT network data as well as a CMDB can store Telco network data. Because of different reasons (e.g.: already existing solutions) also a coexistence of Telco DB and CMDB has to be considered This chapter describes the different integration variants of CONDIS to this complex environment and to existing customer solutions. Since the data model and interfaces of CONDIS are extremely flexible it is capable of supporting different integration levels. 4.1 CONDIS as CMDB & TelcoDB CONDIS database and modules fulfill both telco and CMDB requirements and can store SID based data and IT configuration items in one physical database. CONDIS in this scenario provides one physical database for telco and IT data management that ensures better consistency due to fully object oriented approach. All dependencies and constraints within the data schema is modeled as objects and model is "as is" present in the database. CONDIS functional modules and interfaces to other management applications provide required support for etom and ITIL based processes.
15/17 Figure 4 CONDIS as CMDB & TelcoDB 4.2 CONDIS as integrated DB with CMDB CONDIS synchronizes with CMDB and provides cross domain data integration over telco and IT. However, master of the IT data is considered to be the CMDB. This approach ensures minimized impact to legacy infrastructure but increases the cross domain data and end to end visibility through CONDIS. Figure 5 CONDIS as integrated DB with CMDB
16/17 4.3 Federated Inventory management with SOA In this approach CONDIS and CMDB provides information management as services in Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) layer. SOA layer virtualized the actual data storing between CONDIS and existing CMDB(s) and exposes Telco and ITIL data management as business processes. CONDIS provides Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) compliant web service framework for performing operations as part of business processes. The framework offers the possibility of a quick implementation of web services that meet the requirements of customer. CONDIS Web Services implement an open, well defined (WSDL) and technology independent (HTTP/ SOAP) interface to the CONDIS Inventory Information base in a highly distributed and virtualized environment. Having this interface, the customer is able to simply integrate the CONDIS Inventory Information Base into his business processes, coupling Telco and IT data management products to provide business services. In figure it is illustrated how SOA layer exposes common data model (also called canonical data model design pattern) to drive the business processes. SOA layer takes a one service request in and breaks it to multiple requests to underlying information management products and provides one consolidated result back to the requester. This approach benefits in avoiding the data duplication and high flexibility in customizing both the processes and data with high reusability for existing system investment. Figure 6 Federated Inventory management with SOA
17/17 5. Glossary CI CIM CMDB CRM DMTF ESB etom GIS ITIL ITSM NGOSS RFC SID SLA SOA WS-I Configuration Item Common Information Model Configuration Data Base Customer Relationship Distributed Task Force is the industry organization leading the development of management standards and integration technology for enterprise and Internet environments. Enterprise Service Bus Enhanced Telecom Operations Map - documents the Business Process Framework for NGOSS and is in wide use within the industry. Geographical Information System IT Infrastructure Library IT Service New Generation Operations Systems and Software Request For Change Shared Information/Data model provides the industry with a common vocabulary and set of information/data definitions and relationships used in the definition of NGOSS architectures. Service Level Requirement Service Oriented Architecture Web Service Interface