50Microsoft Exchange 2000 Operations Guide — Version 1.0
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).
