Which statement correctly describes a configuration item and the configuration management database?
ITIL 4 Foundation, objective 6. Purpose and key terms of 15 ITIL practices hard
Machine-checked — no person has signed for it. This question was read against the source cited below by an automated pass, which found no contradiction. That is a weaker claim than it sounds: the same kind of process wrote the question, so it can confirm its own mistake.
Treat it as a good draft rather than as settled fact, and read the source below before you rely on it. It is not used in mock exams here — only questions a person has signed for are.
How these questions are written — where each question comes from, what the verification ledger records, and what happens when one is found wrong.
The options
Not correct A configuration item is a component that has been deployed to the live environment; a CMDB records which releases contain it
Being live is not part of the CI definition — components in test environments can be CIs. The CMDB holds configuration records, not a release manifest.
Not correct A configuration item is any financially valuable component that can contribute to delivering an IT product or service; a CMDB stores its purchase and depreciation data
Financial value is the test for an IT asset, not a configuration item. Many CIs, such as documentation or a network route, have no financial value, and some assets are not managed as CIs.
Correct A configuration item is any component that needs to be managed in order to deliver an IT service; a CMDB is a database used to store configuration records throughout their lifecycle
Correct. Both definitions match: the CI is the managed component, and the CMDB holds the records that describe CIs and their relationships across their lifecycle.
Not correct A configuration item is any component a user can request from the organization; a CMDB stores the catalogue of available service offerings
This conflates the CMDB with the service catalogue, which lists the offerings users may request. Most CIs — internal servers, network routes, supporting documentation — are never requested by a user and are still CIs, because the test is whether the component must be managed to deliver the service.
Why
The IT asset and configuration item definitions overlap but are not the same, and distinguishing them is the point of this item. Asset is a financial test ('financially valuable'); CI is a service delivery test ('needs to be managed in order to deliver a service'). A leased laptop can be both; a documented procedure can be a CI but not an asset.
Where this comes from
- Cited
- ITIL 4 syllabus clause 6
Practise this
Reading one question is not practice. The trainer will draw a short set from objective 6 and space the ones you get wrong.
More questions on this objective
- A practice is responsible for making new and changed services and features available for use. Which practice is described? machine-checked
- Which statement best describes the purpose of the deployment management practice? machine-checked
- An organization wants to increase how many of its product and service changes succeed, by making sure risk is properly assessed before work is authorized and by keeping an accurate schedule of authorized work. Which practice has this as its purpose? machine-checked
- An organization wants a practice that ensures its suppliers and their performance are managed appropriately, so that a seamless quality of products and services is provided. Which practice is this? machine-checked
- Which practice systematically observes services and service components, records and reports selected changes of state, and establishes the appropriate response to them? machine-checked
- An organization wants a single practice to own keeping the data its business runs on safe from disclosure, tampering and loss. Which practice is that? machine-checked