Version Control and Configuration Management and Theory

Version Control and Configuration Management and Theory – that is a mouthful, well what it really means is should you have versions or variants and how should this be controlled?

Version Control and Configuration Management and Theory – Versions and Variants

Although the same CI cannot be used in more than one location on an IT infrastructure, it is quite possible to use a slightly different version of what could otherwise be regarded as the same CI. This slightly different version would have a different version number, and such CIs are called 'variants'. Don’t forget that CI’s can be copies of other CI’s!

I think the best example of versions versus variants can be in Standard operating environments (SOE). Let’s say we have version 1.0 across our organization but in department x they need to have a particular application installed so instead of 1.0 they have 1.0 variant A. This isn’t a version change. When it is a version change is when the next update to the SOE comes along and it is 1.1.

Version Control and Configuration Management and Theory – trade off

There is normally a trade-off involved. The use of variants can result in fewer CIs to manage and may make it easier to identify items for commonality of treatment, be this in error handling or for the implementation of Changes. The use of variants will, however, introduce extra complexity to the Configuration Management system, and/or other systems such as Problem Management that rely on it.

General guidance is thus: if a CI can be regarded as slightly different from another related CI, and Problems affecting one are likely to affect the other, or Changes made to the one will probably have to be made to the other, then use of a variant should be considered; otherwise, a different CI should be used.