selecting multiple configuration items

[Paul131]

Hi Everyone, 

I have a dilemma I hoping to get some assistance with, please forgive me in advance I'm not a developer , I am a change manager trying to improve upon our process.

I'm looking to implement conflict detection for change requests, and obviously  configurations items have to be selected to determine if there is a conflict against one or more of them, the issue I'm running into is our Windows Server team finds it too much of a lift to select all of the servers they wish to patch on any given day, so they only attach one CI to a Change, we recently had an outage and it was related to one fo the servers that was patched but not listed in the change request.

In an effort to coerce them into adding all the CI's being patched to the Change request, I thought about adding a field to our server build request to determine which patch group they want to patch and then be able to filter the specific patch group and add them to or create a change from them. They believe this is still too much effort  and want to be able to use Active directory to determine the machined being patched. 

have any of you encountered such resistance? if so how did you solve it? 

is it possible to have some sort of filtering hook into Active directory?

are there any other options that I simply haven't thought of?  

thanks for taking the time to read this (first time posting)

Paul

[Ratnakar7]

Hi @Paul131 ,

Here are a few suggestions that may help:

1. Work with the Windows Server team to understand why they find it too much of a lift to select all of the servers they wish to patch. Perhaps there is a specific reason or concern that can be addressed. For example, maybe they are worried about missing a server, or maybe they feel that the process is too time-consuming. Understanding their perspective can help you to address their concerns and find a solution that works for everyone.

2. Consider automating the process of selecting the configuration items to be included in a change request. You could use a script or a tool that pulls information from Active Directory or another system to automatically populate the configuration items in the change request. This could save time and reduce the risk of errors.

3. If the Windows Server team is resistant to adding all of the servers to a change request, you could try to build in additional safeguards to detect conflicts. For example, you could implement a system that monitors system logs or network traffic to identify potential conflicts or anomalies. This could help to identify issues even if not all of the servers are included in the change request.

In terms of filtering Active Directory to identify the machines being patched, there are tools available that can help with this. For example, you could use PowerShell to query Active Directory and retrieve a list of machines based on specific criteria, such as the patch group or operating system version. You could then use this list to populate the configuration items in the change request. However, keep in mind that this approach would still require some effort from the Windows Server team to define and manage the patch groups in Active Directory.

If my response was helpful in resolving the issue, please consider accepting it as a solution by clicking on the ✅Accept solution button and giving it a thumbs up 👍. This will benefit others who may have a similar question in the future.

Thank you!

Ratnakar

[Community Alums]

Hi @Paul131 ,

Here is one of the tip from my side,

If your CMDB is matured and the relationship is built appropriately, the affected CI's get automatically updated in the Change Request. Have you considered this as an option? This is the OOTB functionality. The functionality clearly identifies the upstream and the downstream affected CI's and itself updates the affected CI list in the Change request related list. However, this to work, your CMDB data should be matured and relationship should be built so the system identifies the affected CI's. With this automation, this should help you to overcome your current situation and improvise your process better. I see this would be a win-win situation to zou and your windows server team.

This is a change property and below screen shot is to enable the functionality.

Please mark helpful/like if the solution is in line with your expectation.

Regards,

Gagan k