Active TopicsActive Topics  Display List of Forum MembersMemberlist  CalendarCalendar  Search The ForumSearch  HelpHelp
  RegisterRegister  LoginLogin


 One Stop Testing ForumSoftware Testing @ OneStopTestingVersioning & Configuration Management @ OneStopTesting

Message Icon Topic: Configuration Management

Post Reply Post New Topic
Author Message
Mithi25
Senior Member
Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: 23Jun2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 288
Quote Mithi25 Replybullet Topic: Configuration Management
    Posted: 03Jul2009 at 6:02am
onfiguration management (CM) is the detailed recording and updating of information that describes an enterprise's computer systems and networks, including all hardware and software components.

Such information typically includes the versions and updates that have been applied to installed software packages and the locations and network addresses of hardware devices. Special configuration management software is available. When a system needs a hardware or software upgrade, a computer technician can accesses the configuration management program and database to see what is currently installed. The technician can then make a more informed decision about the upgrade needed.

An advantage of a configuration management application is that the entire collection of systems can be reviewed to make sure any changes made to one system do not adversely affect any of the other systems

Configuration management is also used in software development, where it is called Unified Configuration Management (UCM). Using UCM, developers can keep track of the source code, documentation, problems, changes requested, and changes made.

All the activity areas in configuration management share metadata for items placed under configuration management. Metadata is a database concept that means data about the data stored in the database. So metadata in this context describes the configuration items. Metadata for a configuration item may include its name, the name of the person who produced the item, the production date, and references to other related configuration items.


Change control uses metadata—for example, the trace information for a configuration item for which a change is suggested. Change control does not in itself contribute to metadata, because information produced during change control will be present only if a configuration item is affected by a suggested change. A configuration item can exist without change control information, but it can't exist without metadata.


Configuration management interacts with quality assurance, as illustrated by the item approval process that accompanies a configuration item from production to storage.


The item approval, which may be a written quality record or verbal, is a product of quality assurance. Some see it as a product of configuration management, but it's actually the gateway from production to configuration management, provided by quality assurance.

Auditing is included in some definitions of configuration management. An audit ensures that the product—the configuration item released for use—fulfills the requirements and is complete as delivered.


This includes configuration management information, so that everything required is delivered in the expected versions and that the history of each item can be thoroughly accounted for. This activity area is not considered part of configuration management in this book. It's viewed as an activity area under general quality assurance, which partly concerns the products and partly the processes, rather than a configuration management activity area.

This may be a controversial point of view, but the idea of audits is a legacy from the Department of Defense origin of configuration management. Today there is a much broader understanding in the software industry of the importance of quality assurance and, therefore, also of configuration management.

Auditing uses configuration information extensively in the form of status reports, but it also uses quality assurance techniques and methods, such as reviewing and test. In practice, people involved in configuration management also carry out the audit.

ClapClapClap
Clap




Edited by Mithi25 - 03Jul2009 at 6:04am



Post Resume: Click here to Upload your Resume & Apply for Jobs

IP IP Logged
Post Reply Post New Topic
Printable version Printable version

Forum Jump
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum



This page was generated in 0.609 seconds.
Vyom is an ISO 9001:2000 Certified Organization

© Vyom Technosoft Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions
Job Interview Questions | Placement Papers | Free SMS | Freshers Jobs | MBA Forum | Learn SAP | Web Hosting