Configuration Management Explained: Benefits & Implementation Strategies

Unauthorized changes in systems can cause security weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Plus, companies that fail to identify authorized modifications to infrastructure and systems may experience extended outages and other incidents. 

Configuration management is a systematic approach to managing your IT infrastructure, ensuring all components are identified, documented, and tracked throughout their lifecycle. 

In this article, we’ll share the benefits of configuration management — including a ready-to-implement configuration management strategy for your business. 

What is configuration management?

Configuration management (CM) is the practice of maintaining computer systems in a consistent and desirable state. The CM team tracks and manages your organization's software and hardware assets to ensure they are working optimally and are up to date.

Gartner defines CM software as:

CM software includes both stand-alone products and suites of products that can initially provision/configure desktops, servers, or mobile devices and then manage the change of configuration settings, software, and increasingly the files and data on those elements on an ongoing basis.”

Configuration management’s primary goal is to keep systems running efficiently and minimize downtime. With good configuration, you can identify systems that need updating or reconfiguring. When your team configures hardware and software assets to track the performance, they highlight any areas needing attention, such as: 

• Outdated software 
• Hardware that is no longer supported

How configuration management works

Configuration management systematically identifies, tracks, and manages all configuration items (CIs) within your organization.

Previously, organizations utilized a configuration management database (CMDB) for data storage. A CMDB is a single repository that stores all the configuration information. However, the advent of ITILv3 introduced the concept of a CMS.

A CMS is a collection of tools, databases, and procedures used to manage configuration items throughout their lifecycle. The CMS provides central control for managing and tracking all configuration items, including hardware, software, and network components. 

In essence, a CMS is a system of CMDBs that can support information storage or manage multiple CMDBs

Breaking down the configuration management process

The CM process ensures the content of the data repository is validated and verified. An automated or manual audit is conducted to verify the information stored in the CMS is accurate, up-to-date, and consistent.

During the CM process, there may be instances where data is duplicated or inconsistent. To tackle this, your organization should create a plan for removing duplications and merging all data in a single repository.

Even with proper configuration management practices, your organization should always be ready to account for upcoming changes like software updates and OS upgrades.

Pro Tip: Keep making infrastructure changes frequently to tighten security and improve performance because they help identify potential problems and address them before they become serious.

(Looking for ways to manage data? Learn about data pipelines, data platforms and data normalization.)

Configuration management in DevOps

Configuration management helps developers to create, test, and deploy new builds quickly and efficiently.

CM in DevOps involves identifying and managing the changes made to the software and its environments, such as libraries, frameworks, configurations, and dependencies. By tracking these changes, developers can easily reproduce a build, test, and deploy it to production with confidence.

In DevOps, developers take more ownership of the infrastructure, and system administration becomes part of the software development process.

Here’s what good configuration management does:

• Enables developers to work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks.
• Reduces errors and promotes collaboration. 
• Allows for managing different versions of the code and configuration files.
• Testing and deployment of builds are made quicker and easier. 
• Lets developers roll back to a previous version of the software if something goes wrong, reducing downtime and the risk of data loss.

(Learn about the types, use cases, and best practices of DevOps monitoring.)

Configuration management in continuous integration (CI)/continuous deployment (CD)

In Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD), configuration management ensures that code changes are properly tracked and deployed in a desired configuration. 

Build automation is the process of automating the build and deployment of code changes. Configuration management helps to ensure that these code courses are properly tracked and deployed in the correct order.

Version control systems (VCS) track any changes made to the code or configuration and revert them if necessary. Once approved, configuration changes can deploy rapidly following VCS tracking.

Once the build has been completed and tested, it’s reviewed by a team to ensure that it meets the necessary quality standards. If the build passes the signoff, it can be deployed to live servers. 

Why configuration management is so important

Configuration management helps engineering teams build stable and robust systems by providing a consistent and controlled approach to the software development lifecycle. 

But why is configuration management so important? Here are a few key reasons:

Fewer performance issues with dynamic configuration management 

Configuration management prevents performance issues and system inconsistencies. It helps avoid penalties and ensures that customers and end-users have a positive experience with the product. 

CM teams also establish and maintain baselines to ensure that the systems they develop are stable and perform consistently. 

Seamless documentation of complex system 

Documenting large software systems is only possible with configuration management. With a dynamic CM system, you can establish settings and maintain them — helping you keep track of changes, updates and modifications to the software and making them easier to document and understand.

Preventing undocumented changes 

If changes are undocumented, and those changes go unnoticed, significant problems in the system, as it can be tough to identify what changes caused the issues. 

By implementing a proper configuration management plan, your organization can ensure that all changes are documented and that there is accountability for each.

Exploring the benefits of configuration management

Here are some benefits of implementing a proper CM plan:

Protects against system crashes and data losses

When hardware and software systems are improperly configured, problems can arise, leading to system crashes, data loss, and other undesirable outcomes. By implementing a consistent and standardized approach to configuration, your organization is at the least possible risk of errors and can minimize downtime. 

Here’s how your organization can prevent potential security problems: 

• Build a well-documented configuration baseline. 
• Keep it maintained and include all hardware, software, and related dependencies in it.
• Monitor any upgrades and changes needed to modify the configuration baseline.

Maintains consistency in the systems

CM ensures that development, test, and production environments are consistent in your organization. It helps ensure that deployed applications behave in the manner that is expected of them. 

By maintaining consistency, organizations can reduce the risk of errors and ensure that applications are deployed in a known and predictable manner.

Contributes to a stable security posture 

While it's true that configuration management is critical in ensuring the security of an organization's infrastructure, there's much more to it than just setting login credentials, periodic password changes, and establishing network subnets.

CM tools offer valuable insights into your organization's security by identifying potential vulnerabilities or misconfigurations in real time, allowing IT teams to address security risks proactively. 

(Read on for a more detailed overview of ITOps responsibilities.)

Ensures the reliability of the production environment

Good CM lets IT administrators maintain the integrity and consistency of the IT environment by tracking changes and ensuring that all systems work together cohesively.  

By implementing configuration management, you can ensure that changes are implemented in a controlled manner, reducing the risk of unforeseen consequences.

How to implement a configuration management strategy in your organization 

Implementing configuration management in your organization involves several steps — here’s a breakdown of the general strategy: 

1. Collecting all the necessary information 

Configuration managers collect all relevant information about the configuration items (CIs) to initiate the process. Important data is centralized, making it easier to manage and update the data repository. 

2. Building a baseline

The next step is to build a baseline. A baseline is a foundation for change and change management. It is a known state of configuration that operates the dependent software without error. 

Here’s how you can establish a baseline: 

• Define the included configuration items. 
• Document their attributes and relationships. 
• Ensure that they are all properly integrated and tested.

3. Maintaining the current baseline

Once the baseline is established, your CM team should take steps to maintain it. They should monitor the configuration items for changes and ensure that any changes are properly documented and reviewed. Typically, teams detect, log, and report the changes to the CM managers.

4. Audit the current database

Done right, the database audit validates the configuration and ensures that the current environment matches the current baseline. Your team must review and accept any changes applied to the configuration to ensure that they are consistent with the current baseline and that they do not introduce new risks or problems.

Start today

With proper configuration management, you can minimize downtime, reduce the risk of errors and security breaches, and improve the overall performance of your IT infrastructure.