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Configuration and Backups

Unit: 8 Lesson: 1

what if something goes wrong?

Configuration management means identifying and documenting all the infrastructure and devices installed at a site. It's a systematic approach to ensuring that the desired state of an IT system is maintained throughout it's lifecycle.

Service Assets

Things, processes, or people that contribute to the delivery of an IT service. Each asset must be identified by a label.

Configuration Items

Assets that require specific management procedures for it to be used to deliver the service. They are defined by their attributes.

Configuration Management System

The set of tools and databases that collect, store, manage, update, and present information about CIs. Small networks use spreadsheets and graphs, but larger CMSs might use dedicated applications/platforms.

Configuration States

  • Configuration Baseline - The theoretical state of a system
  • Production Configuration - The actual state of a system in production, which may drift from the baseline
  • Backup Configuration - A copy of the production configuration taken at some point

Backup Types

  • State/Bare metal - A snapshot of the image of the entire system. Can be redeployed to any other device as a form of system restore

  • Configuration File - Stored in a structured format, like an XML file. Redeployed in two stages, where you restore the original OS and then apply the configuration file

  • [i] Sometimes network appliances hold information that isn't logged and that won't be captured in the configuration file. Some examples are the MAC tables used in NAT or firewalls. That's when you would use a bare metal backup, i.e. taking a snapshot of the entire system image and using that.

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