CMDB relationships and dependency views
Quick answer
Relationship types, direction, and reading a dependency map without guessing.
Key takeaways
- Direction defines impact, not just association
- Dependency views are the fastest sanity check
- Automated relationships stay fresher than manual ones
- Unrelated CIs cannot show impact
Relationships have direction
A relationship record has a parent, a child and a type such as Runs on or Depends on. Direction matters: reversing it changes impact calculation, so a database that Runs on a server is not the same as a server that Runs on a database.
Dependency views
The dependency map renders relationships around a CI, with filters for depth and relationship type. Use it to sanity check a service model before trusting impact analysis in a major incident.
Keeping relationships honest
Relationships decay faster than attributes.
- Let Discovery and Service Mapping create relationships where possible
- Review manually created relationships periodically, they go stale
- Use suggested relationship types rather than inventing new ones
- Watch for CIs with no relationships, they are invisible to impact analysis
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Check your understanding
What does a relationship record store besides parent and child?
- A. A schedule
- B. A type with direction
- C. An SLA
- D. A discovery pattern
Show answer
B. A type with direction
Type and direction define the meaning of the link.
Which CIs are invisible to impact analysis?
- A. CIs with many relationships
- B. CIs with none
- C. CIs discovered last week
- D. CIs in a scope
Show answer
B. CIs with none
Impact is computed across relationships, so isolated CIs show nothing.