Changes History Overview

A snapshot of a view is a documentation of a state of a view at a particular time, which is recorded as part of the view history. Configuration Manager automatically records a snapshot of the actual and authorized states of a view at the time of each authorization. In addition, Configuration Manager periodically checks for changes in managed views and takes a snapshot of the actual or authorized state when a change is identified. Snapshots can be useful in problem management by providing accurate information about a system from the time an incident occurred.

An example of an application of snapshots is where a snapshot is taken after an installation, and later compared to the original configuration baseline.

The Changes History module enables you to display a comparison of two snapshots of a view in the actual state. This module enables you to display a comparison of two snapshots in the authorized state. In both modules, the topology map and CI list display all CIs included in the view in either snapshot. The CIs with differences have icons indicating the changes in the CI between the two snapshots.

The snapshots for comparison can be selected from a list of previously saved snapshots as well as the current (actual or authorized) state of the view. For details on selecting snapshots, see Select Snapshot to View Dialog Box.

Note You must have one of the following permissions to access the Changes History module:

  • View permits you to select views.

  • Authorize in CM permits you to select views and save a snapshot.

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