Which process efficiently, effectively, and securely handles system configurations to maintain a desired state and to track configuration changes over time?

Which process efficiently, effectively, and securely handles system configurations to maintain a desired state and to track configuration changes over time?

• A. Configuration Management
• B. Change Control
• C. Asset Management
• D. Versioning

Answer: (A)

Configuration management is the practice of establishing and maintaining the consistency of a system’s configurations with a defined desired state, while capturing and tracking changes over time. It uses automated, repeatable processes to apply and enforce configurations across systems, so each component ends up in the intended state and stays there. This includes defining a baseline, using declarative templates or infrastructure-as-code to apply configurations, detecting drift when systems diverge, and keeping an audit trail of all changes for accountability and rollback if needed. It also emphasizes secure handling through controlled access, authenticated changes, and tamper-resistant records, ensuring configurations are managed safely and reproducibly. Change control deals with approving and governing changes rather than continuously enforcing a desired state across the environment. Asset management focuses on inventory of hardware and software rather than the configuration state itself. Versioning deals with labeling and managing different versions of artifacts but doesn’t by itself enforce or track the live system’s configurations over time.

Configuration management is the practice of establishing and maintaining the consistency of a system’s configurations with a defined desired state, while capturing and tracking changes over time. It uses automated, repeatable processes to apply and enforce configurations across systems, so each component ends up in the intended state and stays there. This includes defining a baseline, using declarative templates or infrastructure-as-code to apply configurations, detecting drift when systems diverge, and keeping an audit trail of all changes for accountability and rollback if needed. It also emphasizes secure handling through controlled access, authenticated changes, and tamper-resistant records, ensuring configurations are managed safely and reproducibly.

Change control deals with approving and governing changes rather than continuously enforcing a desired state across the environment. Asset management focuses on inventory of hardware and software rather than the configuration state itself. Versioning deals with labeling and managing different versions of artifacts but doesn’t by itself enforce or track the live system’s configurations over time.