About Creating Configuration Items

Applies To: System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1

Configuration items are a way to store information in the Service Manager database about services, computers, software, software updates, users, and other undefined imported objects. You can then select configuration items when you submit forms, such as an incident form, a change request form, or a work item form.

A service is a special kind of configuration item that includes both technical and business data. It supports troubleshooting and impact analysis by showing critical dependencies, settings, and areas of responsibility to other configuration items. The key benefit of using services is that you can easily see when incidents affect configuration items because services are viewed as a map, or hierarchy, of items. A service also identifies service owners, key customers, and users. Because a service maps the relationships between configuration items and work items, you should use services to help you manage work items.

You can use connectors to import a large number of configuration items from Active Directory, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1, and Operations Manager 2007, or you can manually create single configuration items. You can also use the Operations Manager CI connector to import distributed applications in Operations Manager as a service. For more information about importing configuration items, see Using Connectors to Import Data into Service Manager.

Did you find this information helpful? Please send your suggestions and comments about System Center Service Manager documentation to scsmdocs@microsoft.com.