CMDBn

CMDBn is a term used in information technology service management to describe a concept of a configurable, network-centric configuration management database. It is not tied to a single vendor or formal standard; definitions vary and the term is used mainly in discussions of scalable, modern CMDB architectures.

The intended purpose of a CMDBn is to store configuration items (CIs) and their attributes, along with the relationships that capture dependencies among infrastructure, applications, services, and processes. It supports automated discovery, real-time or near-real-time updates, and change impact analysis, with the aim of enabling service mapping, incident response, and compliance reporting.

In practice, CMDBn implementations typically include a central repository, data connectors to discovery tools, service or topology maps, and open APIs for integration with IT service management, monitoring, and automation platforms. The data model can be graph-based or hybrid, enabling representation of complex relationships such as “is hosted on,” “depends on,” and “provides service to.” Emphasis is often placed on data provenance and versioning to support audit trails.

Interoperability and standards for CMDBn are not universally formalized. However, the approach is commonly designed to work with ITSM ecosystems and discovery tools. Some projects reference federation or exchange standards such as CMDBf to enable data sharing across tools and environments.

Adoption of CMDBn-like solutions aims to improve visibility, change governance, and impact analysis, but they face challenges including data quality, duplication, scalability, and governance. Success depends on clear ownership, disciplined data lifecycle management, and robust automation.

See also: CMDB, ITSM, CMDBf, IT asset management, service mapping.