Introduction to SCM

Server Configuration Monitor (SCM) helps you detect configuration changes, identify configuration drift, and maintain compliance across your server infrastructure.

Download the PDF: SCM Product Guide (formerly known as Administrator Guide)

What you monitor

Organizations rely on consistent server configurations to maintain application availability, security, and compliance. Over time, planned updates, unauthorized changes, and configuration drift can introduce risk and make troubleshooting more difficult. SCM helps administrators detect, analyze, and report on configuration changes across monitored systems, providing visibility into changes that affect operational stability and compliance.

SCM enables administrators to monitor and manage the following capability areas:

• Nodes and managed systems

• Configuration changes

• Configuration profiles

• Configuration comparisons

• Compliance monitoring

• Alerts and events

• Reporting and historical data

Node management

SCM monitors configuration data on managed nodes throughout your environment. Administrators can add, manage, and organize monitored systems to ensure configuration data is collected from the servers most critical to business operations. For details about managing monitored systems and their configuration data, see Node Management.

Monitor configuration changes on a node in SCM

Configuration changes can affect application availability, security, and compliance. SCM tracks changes detected on monitored systems, helping administrators understand what changed, when the change occurred, and whether further investigation is required. To investigate changes detected on monitored systems, see Monitor configuration changes on a node in SCM.

Server Configuration profiles in SCM

Configuration profiles provide a baseline for expected system configurations. By comparing current settings against established profiles, administrators can identify configuration drift and maintain consistency across monitored environments. To create and manage configuration baselines, see Server configuration profiles in SCM.

Compare configurations over time in SCM

Historical configuration comparisons help administrators analyze trends, investigate unexpected changes, and determine when a configuration was modified. SCM enables side-by-side comparisons of configuration states captured at different points in time. To identify differences between historical and current configurations, see Compare configurations over time in Server Configuration Monitor (SCM).

Monitor compliance with the SCM policy engine

Compliance monitoring helps organizations identify systems that deviate from established standards and policies. The SCM policy engine continuously evaluates monitored configurations and highlights systems that require attention. To evaluate monitored systems against compliance policies, see Monitor compliance with the SCM policy engine.

Alert on SCM data

Alerts help administrators respond quickly to configuration changes and compliance issues that may require immediate action. SCM can generate notifications when monitored conditions meet user-defined criteria. To configure notifications for configuration and compliance issues, see Alert on SCM data.

Events in SCM

SCM records configuration-related events to provide historical visibility into activity across monitored systems. Reviewing event data helps administrators investigate changes and understand how configurations evolve over time. Use Events in Server Configuration Monitor (SCM) to review configuration activity and systems events.

Report on SCM data

Reporting provides insight into configuration trends, compliance status, and changes across monitored systems. Administrators can use reports to support audits, compliance initiatives, and operational reviews. To analyze historical configuration and compliance data, see Report on Server Configuration Monitor (SCM) data.