Introduction to NonStop Operations Management

Introduction to NonStop Operations Management–125507
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Change and Configuration Management
Overview
Systems and software often change. For example, you might add hardware to a system,
update applications, or install a new release of the operating system. These changes can
increase the effectiveness of your operations, or they can create confusion and problems,
depending on how your organization handles the changes. If you establish formal
change-management and configuration-management functions within your organization,
you can ensure that change will proceed smoothly.
This section provides an overview of:
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Change-management and configuration-management functions and goals
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Management responsibilities and staffing requirements
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How to anticipate and prepare for change
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Guidelines for installing and implementing hardware and software changes
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Implementing a change control process
This section ends with a check list that summarizes the main points of change and
configuration management.
What Are Change Management and Configuration
Management?
Change management and configuration management are interrelated functions.
•
Change management is the process of managing the maintenance and growth of
your NonStop system. Change management involves managing all hardware,
software, and procedural changes and includes all of the tasks required to properly
manage change within the operations environment.
•
Configuration management is the process of managing and administering the
configuration of system software and hardware, application subsystems,
communications subsystems, and application software. Configuration management
functions include inventory control, version control, software distribution, and name
management.
Note. The Availability Guide for Change Management defines change management in detail,
providing information on how to manage change in the Tandem environment, indicating which
Tandem tools can be used to make changes, advising how to plan for and perform changes
online, and suggesting how to minimize down time when making changes offline.