1. A method comprising:
- receiving, through a user interface, at least one selection relating to at least one element of a compliance rule for a composite configuration item, wherein the composite configuration item comprises a collection of configuration items that are related to each other, and wherein each of the configuration items represents a configuration of an information technology component; and
- determining, by a computer system, whether the composite configuration item satisfies the compliance rule, the elements of the compliance rule being compared to the corresponding configuration items of the composite configuration item as part of the determining.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the at least one selection relating to the at least one corresponding element of the compliance rule comprises receiving the at least one selection through a graphical user interface screen having user-selectable fields.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the at least one selection comprises receiving a selection relating to a type of composite configuration item to which the compliance rule is to be applied.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the at least one selection comprises receiving a filter to be applied for filtering composite configuration items that are to be compared to the compliance rule.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the at least one selection comprises receiving an indication of a time interval over which the compliance rule is to be applied to composite configuration items.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the compliance rule comprises receiving a baseline configuration item hierarchy that includes a hierarchical arrangement of configuration items.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the baseline configuration item hierarchy is based on an existing composite configuration item that is known to be compliant with the compliance rule.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the baseline configuration item hierarchy is manually created.
9. The method of claim 6, wherein comparing the elements of the compliance rule to the corresponding configuration items of the composite configuration item comprises comparing attribute values associated with the configuration items of the baseline configuration item hierarchy to corresponding attribute values of the configuration items of the composite configuration item.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:
- matching, using a matching module, the configuration items of the baseline configuration item hierarchy to corresponding configuration items of the composite configuration item,
- wherein the comparing comprises comparing the attribute values of the configuration items of the baseline configuration item hierarchy to attribute values of corresponding matched configuration items of the composite configuration item.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
- presenting a view of a topology of composite configuration items, wherein the composite configuration item compared to the compliance rule is part of the topology.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
- displaying, in the view, at least one indicator regarding which of the composite configuration items in the topology have breached the compliance rule.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
- receiving user selection of a particular one of the composite configuration items associated with at least one indicator; and
- in response to receiving user selection of the particular composite configuration item, presenting in a result section of a graphic user interface (GUI) screen the compliance rule that has been breached by the particular composite configuration item.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:
- displaying information regarding a reason for the breach of the compliance rule in the GUI screen.
15. A computer system comprising:
- at least one processor; and
- a composite configuration item compliance module executable on the at least one processor to:
- receive a definition of a compliance rule that includes a baseline configuration item hierarchy having an arrangement of related configuration items;
- compare configuration items of a composite configuration item to corresponding configuration items of the baseline configuration item hierarchy, wherein the composite configuration item includes an arrangement of related configuration items, and wherein each configuration item of the composite configuration item represents a configuration of an information technology (IT) component; and
- based on the comparing, provide an indication of whether the composite configuration item has breached the compliance rule.
16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the IT components corresponding to the configuration items of the composite configuration item include components selected from among:
- an electronic device;
- an electronic device portion;
- a software component; and
- a database component.
17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the composite configuration item compliance module is executable on the at least one processor to further:
- present a graphical user interface (GUI) screen having fields to receive the definition of the compliance rule, wherein the fields are selected from among a first field for identifying a type of composite configuration item subject to application of the compliance rule, a second field defining a filter specifying which composite configuration items are to be validated against the compliance rule, and a third field specifying a time interval during which the compliance rule is to be applied.
18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the composite configuration item compliance module is executable on the at least one processor to further:
- present a view of an arrangement of composite configuration items, wherein at least one indicator is associated with one of the composite configuration items in the view for indicating that the corresponding composite configuration has breached the compliance rule.
19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the GUI screen is to further depict details regarding reasons for breach of the compliance rule.
20. An article comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that upon execution cause a computer system to:
- receive, in fields of a graphical user interface (GUI) screen, a definition of corresponding elements of a compliance rule for a composite configuration item, wherein the composite configuration item comprises a collection of configuration items that are related to each other, wherein each of the configuration items represents a configuration of an information technology component, and wherein the compliance rule is a baseline composite item hierarchy having a hierarchy of configuration items; and
- determine whether the composite configuration item satisfies the compliance rule, wherein the determining comprises:
- matching the configuration items of the composite configuration item to corresponding configuration items of the baseline composite item hierarchy; and
- comparing attribute values of the configuration items of the composite configuration item to attribute values of corresponding matched configuration items of the baseline configuration item hierarchy.
