Configuration Items in Service Manager
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 (CIs) 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 Domain Services (AD DS), 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 About Importing Data from Configuration Manager 2007 and About Importing Data from Active Directory Domain Services.
Note
When you open a view to display a large number of items, typically more than five thousand, the view can take a few minutes to display complete results.
In This Section
- About Creating Configuration Items
Describes how to manually create configuration items, how to create a server, and how to create a view for imported configuration items.
- Deleting Configuration Items
Describes the 2-step process required to delete configuration items.
- Managing Configuration Items
Describes how to add, browse, and delete related configuration items and how to manually add a user.
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