Problem
Once the Crawl phase has given every Server an owner, a support group, and at least one Service Instance, the next gap is usually that the server still isn't positioned in the technology service and business layers above it. Teams can say who's responsible for a server day to day, but not which technology service formally manages it, what hardware it runs on, or which business application ultimately depends on it — leaving impact analysis, hardware lifecycle planning, and business-to-infrastructure traceability incomplete.
The Walk blueprint closes this by requiring a Server to carry a defined Hardware Model and a path to the Technology Management Service Offering that manages it, while keeping the Crawl-phase links to Service Instance and Business Application context intact.
What the Blueprint Includes
The blueprint puts Server at the centre, keeps the Crawl-phase ownership and support model intact, and extends it with the hardware, technology-service, and business-application context needed for Walk-phase maturity.
- Server – Root entity representing physical or virtual server assets. The blueprint scopes it to records that are not end of life (life_cycle_stage != End of Life, or empty).
- User – Assigned as Owned by or Managed by, so each Server has a clear accountable owner and a day-to-day operational contact.
- Group – Assigned as Support Group or Managed By Group, both scoped to active groups, so incident and change routing has a defined target.
- Hardware Model – The physical or virtual model the Server is built on, linked through Model ID.
- Service Instance – The running service instance hosted on the Server; required, since every Server must relate to at least one Service Instance.
- Dynamic CI Group – An alternative, query-based way for the Technology Management Service Offering to reach the Server when it isn't linked to it directly.
- Technology Management Service Offering – The technical service that manages the Server, scoped to records classified as a Technical Service.
- Technology Management Service – A parent service for the Technology Management Service Offering.
- Business Application – Consumes the Service Instance, giving the Server business-level traceability beyond its immediate technical context.
Considerations
This blueprint builds on a completed Crawl foundation and adds the technology-service and hardware context needed before deeper CSDM maturity work. Use it once Server ownership and Service Instance links from the Crawl phase are already reliable.
- Choose one path through the “Server Alternative” link group. The Technology Management Service Offering reaches the Server either directly (Contains) or indirectly through a Dynamic CI Group (Service Configuration Item Association). Pick whichever matches how your CMDB is populated, and avoid relating the same Server to more than one Offering through a Dynamic CI Group — conflicting Support Group, Managed By, and Change Group data can overwrite itself.
- Keep ownership and groups active and populated. Owned by, Managed by, Support Group, and Managed By Group should all resolve to active records — carried forward from the Crawl phase, this remains the most common source of broken routing.
- A Service Instance is still required. Every Server must relate to at least one Service Instance, and Business Application context flows from that Service Instance via Consumes — don't let this Crawl-phase link lapse as you add the Walk-phase layers.
- Relationships to Service Instances and Service Offerings can be direct or indirect. The blueprint author's notes call out that both paths — to Service Instance and to Service Offering — may run directly or indirectly depending on your overall CMDB model; once the model is clear, stick to it.
- Second level relationships are optional - In this blueprint, most of the second level relationships, like the one between Service Instances and Business Applications, is defined as optional and produces informative audit messages when relationships are missing. This model assumes that you have separate blueprints for Service Instances, Service Offerings etc. that maintain relationships starting from those classes.
- Review the Server class filter. Adjust which server types (Windows, Linux, Unix, ESX, etc.) are in scope before rolling this blueprint out broadly.
- Field Setup provides a starting point. An example Field Setup is included for the most important Server attributes (Name, Fully Qualified Domain Name, Life Cycle Stage, Life Cycle Stage Status, Description, Operating System, Serial Number) — review the fields per requirements.
- Stay in Walk until it's solid. Get hardware, technology-service, and business-application context reliable across the server estate before extending into deeper Service Portfolio or Run/Fly-stage maturity.
Benefits
When this blueprint is maintained well, Servers stop being infrastructure with just an owner and become assets fully positioned in the technology and business service layers.
- Full accountability chain. Owned by, Managed by, Support Group, and Managed By Group — carried forward from Crawl — keep day-to-day responsibility clear.
- Hardware traceability. A defined Hardware Model on every Server supports lifecycle and asset-level reporting.
- Technology-service alignment. A clear link to the managing Technology Management Service Offering, direct or via Dynamic CI Group, gives incident and change a reliable technical-service target.
- Business context preserved. The Service Instance and Business Application links show which business capability ultimately depends on each Server.
- A solid base for Run and Fly. With hardware, technology-service, and business context in place, the model can extend into Service Portfolio and later CSDM maturity stages without rework.
Related Information
Check other templates related to the Service Delivery.
See also the Server template for the Crawl phase.
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How to Get This Blueprint?
If you’re already a Data Content Manager Customer, you can download the Blueprint from the Knowledge Base. You will need your login credentials to access the blueprint download page.
