The Configuration Management System (CMS) in ITIL is a collection of tools and data used to collect, store, manage, update, analyze, and present data about all configuration items and their relationships. A CMS can manage multiple physical configuration management databases (CMDBs). Its underlying structure is defined by the Configuration Model, a logical model of the service assets of the IT organization.

Let's first look at definitions from official sources (for example, the ITIL Glossary):
CMDB (Configuration Management Database) - A database used to store configuration records throughout their life cycle. The CMS maintains one or more CMS databases, each database stores CI attributes and relationships with other CIs.

CMS in ITIL is part of the general knowledge management system for services, includes tools for collecting, storing, managing, updating, analyzing and presenting information about all configuration items and their relationships. The ITIL CMS can also include information about incidents, problems, known bugs, changes and releases. The CMS in ITIL is supported by the Service Asset and Configuration Management process and is used by all IT Service Management processes.

SKMS (Knowledge Management System for Services) - A set of tools and databases that are used to manage knowledge, information and data. The service knowledge management system includes a configuration management system, along with other information systems and database toolkits. A service knowledge management system includes tools for maintaining, managing, updating, and presenting all the information that an IT service provider needs to manage the entire IT service lifecycle.

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It follows from the definitions that:

CMDB is part of ITIL CMS and CMS is part of SKMS. WhereinCMDB contains information about CUs and the relationships between them (and not necessarily about all CUs that are taken into account as part of the Configuration and Service Assets management process)The CMS contains CMDB, records of incidents, problems, known bugs, changes and releases (and here there is already information about all CUs that are taken into account as part of the Configuration and Service Assets management process)SKMS contains the CMS in ITIL, as well as all the tools and databases that we use to manage the provision of the service in the required form and on the required conditions.

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And now about life. Personally, I see implementations like this in the real world:

CMS is, for example:

Option 1. ITSM-System, which includes CMDB, and also allows you to work with records of incidents / problems / changes, etc. For example, this one or this one, but not this one (because there is no CMDB in it);

Option 2. A set of different CMDBs and ITSM-system (or even just a bug-tracking program);
Option 3. Just one CMDB, provided that it contains all the CUs taken into account in the process of managing configurations and service assets, and all the information necessary for them;
etc.

CMDB is, for example:

Option 1. Exel-file with a list of all servers, information systems and licenses, as well as with records of which IP is on which server and which license belongs to which IP;
Option 2. A more complex program for accounting KE and their connections like this one;
etc.

SKMS is, for example:

Option 1. Just an ITSM system, if this is enough to manage support, development and delivery of our services;
Option 2. ITSM system, knowledge base, several monitoring systems, some kind of portal for service users, billing system, labor accounting system and anything else that is needed to manage support, development and provision of our services;
etc.

ITIL CMS / CMDB - Configuration Management System, Configuration Management Database Model The CMS is used to store information about all configuration items (CIs) under the control of configuration management.
CIs can be of different types: CMS almost always covers IT services and infrastructure, but can also cover other types of items such as policies, project documentation, employees, vendors, etc

The configuration management system (CMS) is a set of tools and databases for managing the configuration data of an IT service provider. The CMS also contains information about incidents, problems, known bugs, changes and releases; and can contain data on employees, suppliers, locations, business units, customers and users. The CMS includes tools to collect, store, manage, update and present data on all CIs and their relationships. The CMS is managed by the configuration management process and used by all IT service management (ITSM) processes.

Configuration Management Database (CMDB), CMS, and ITSM are definitions introduced by the IT Information Library (ITIL), a set of best practices for IT. ITIL was first developed in 1989 by the British Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and is currently in version 3. ITIL can broadly be viewed as a set of guidelines for the management and operation of IT. The ITIL v3 model emphasizes services and processes as well as the interactions and transitions between them. Service operations are the set of interacting processes that culminate in the provision and availability of a service. Services can include a number of core processes and other services. ITSM is the set of processes that manage service operations. For example the maintenance, updating and repair of service components.

CMS functions

A CMS offers the following functions:

Item Configuration - This function enables the identification and control of configuration items (CI).
Service configuration: With this function, collections of configuration items can serve as a model of a service that can be controlled and configured as a whole.
Federation and Integration: This function provides integration, mapping, modeling and data discovery functions and provides APIs for providing and using configuration data between providers and consumers.
CMDB and CMS

In terms of ITIL v3, the CMDB in one of the many Managed Data Repositories (MDRs) is out of date - the "CM" part is deleted so that more or less the "DB" part remains. However, the v3 definition omits a critical functionality level from the CMDB definition that is not yet defined in the "CM" part. Example: Service Asset and Configuration Management (SACM). A CMDB is more than an MDR. Valid CMS solutions still have CMDB-like components to provide this expected additional functionality, which includes:

A data integration hub that provides channels for consumers and suppliers to exchange configuration data. These ladders are implemented as federation adapters, APIs, web services, or other I / O methods.
Analytical functions such as impact analysis, comparison of gold masters, audit and compliance and other forms of reporting.

A CI model that can represent business and IT services and components (such as infrastructure, applications, networks, databases, business processes, and business services) and the relationships and dependencies between these services and components.

Configuration management requires an investment to enable the value chain. Configuration management can be a manual process that uses no technology, or it can rely on non-specific tools like Excel spreadsheets. Customers need to understand the value chain in order to optimize their configuration management investments.

This investment can be justified as enabling technology that supports another use case such as Closed Loop Incident Process (CLIP) or Change, Configuration and Release Management (CCRM). Alternatively, vision-based companies can invest directly in configuration management as a strategic basis to meet the general use cases of ITSM and SACM.

Business books: Top Picks

Best Business Management books

#1ITIL Foundation: 4th edition

The fourth edition of ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) was presented by Axelos in February 2019. The ITIL v4 (PDF and other versions available) focuses on practical aspects of IT management and provides a holistic approach with emphasize on Agile, DevOps and digital transformation topics.

#2Read People Like a Book

Read People Like a Book: How to Analyze, Understand, and Predict People’s Emotions, Thoughts, Intentions, and Behaviors (How to be More Likable and Charismatic).

#3The Intelligent Investor

One of the greatest investors of the twentieth century, Benjamin Graham, proposed his philosophy of “value investing” that could protect investors from dramatic errors and teaches them to develop long-term strategies. This approach is exhaustively explained in The Intelligent Investor (PDF download available) book, which remains the stock market bible since its first […]

#4How Money Works

Money is the oil that keeps the machinery of our world turning. By giving goods and services an easily measured value, money facilitates the billions of transactions that take place every day. Without it, the industry and trade that form the basis of modern economies would grind to a halt and the flow […]

#5Business Communication

Everyday Business Storytelling: Create, Simplify, and Adapt A Visual Narrative for Any Audience. Communication is one of the basic functions of management in any organization and its importance can hardly be overemphasized. It is a process of transmitting information, ideas, thoughts, opinions and plans between various parts of an organization. Good and effective […]

#6How Business Works

Every type of business has to choose an ownership structure. Although there are variations globally, most countries offer similar types of legal entities, from a single- person private enterprise to a massive organization trading on a stock exchange. There are three key considerations: how big the venture is expected to grow; the complexity […]

#7The Essential Manager’s Handbook

The step up to a managerial role can be an exciting, but daunting, new challenge. Suddenly, you are responsible for making sure your team is working together, achieving results, and that overall your department is running smoothly. There is no single technique to becoming an excellent manager, but the Essential Manager’s Handbook provides […]

#8Operations Management

Operations Management is important, exciting, challenging, and everywhere your look! Important, because it’s concerned with creating all of the products and services upon which we depend. Exciting, because it’s at the centre of so many of the changes affecting the world of business. Challenging, because the solutions that we find need to work […]

#9Where Are the Customers Yachts

In 1940 Fred Schwed, a stockbroker whose father had lost everything as a short seller on Wall Street during the Roaring Twenties, published this timeless classic on how the stock market really works. Schwed, a pleasure-loving, cultured man who had been expelled from Princeton University in his final year for entertaining a lady […]

#10Corporate Finance 11th Edition

Corporate Finance, Eleventh Edition This book has been written for the introductory courses in corporate finance at the MBA level and for the intermediate courses in many undergraduate programs. Some instructors will find our text appropriate for the introductory course at the undergraduate level as well.

Best books for entrepreneurs

#11ISE International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace

The 13th edition provides a complete solution that is relevant (timely, comprehensive), practical (focus on applications of concepts), integrated (integrated progression of topics) and the most up-to-date on the market. Available with Connect: Our highly reliable homework and learning management solution that embeds learning science and award-willing adaptive tools to improve student results.

#12Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness

Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness (Tim Grover Winning Series) From the elite performance coach who wrote the international bestseller Relentless and whose clients included Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade, comes this brutally honest formula for winning in business, sports, or any arena where the battle is relentless.

#13Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy

From the creator of Valuetainment, the number one YouTube channel for entrepreneurs, comes a practical and effective guide for thinking more clearly and achieving your most audacious business goals. Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. […]

#14Your Next Five Moves

Your Next Five Moves: Master the Art of Business Strategy (Hardcover / Audio / Kindle). Creator of Valuetainment, the # 1 YouTube channel for entrepreneurs and “one of the most exciting thinkers” (Ray Dalio, Principles author) in business today, provides a practical and effective guide to thinking more clearly and getting the most out […]

#15Finding the Winning Edge

When those who chronicle the history of the game list the individuals who had the greatest impact on the National Football League, Bill Walsh will clearly be among the names of Halas, Lombardi, Brown, Landry, Noll and Shula. But when you consider who has impacted the game most in terms of those who […]

#16International GAAP 2020 2021

Generally Accepted Accounting Practice under International Financial Reporting Standards. The content of this book takes into account all accounting standards and other relevant rules issued up to September 2020. Consequently, it covers the IASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting and authoritative literature listed below. References in the main text of each chapter to […]

#17Schweser FRM Part I Secret Sauce

This review book is a valuable addition to the study tools of any FRM exam candidate. It offers concise coverage of exam topics to enhance your retention of the FRM curriculum. We suggest that you use this book as a companion to your other, more comprehensive study materials.

#18We Should All Be Millionaires

We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman’s Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power. Are you ready to fill your life with more peace, power and joy? We Should All Be Millionaires details a realistic, achievable and step-by-step path to create the support, trust and plan you need to master […]

#19THE BUSINESS ANALYST’S HANDBOOK

In my previous life in chemical engineering, I used to carry around Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook—a working reference book containing every table and tool the professional might need to refer to in carrying out his or her role. When I began working as a business analyst, I looked for a similar handbook for […]

#20Trading Price Action Trends

There is a reason why there is no other comprehensive book about price action written by a trader. It takes thousands of hours, and the financial reward is meager compared to that from trading. However, with my three girls now away in grad school, I have a void to fill and this has […]