Uniform Comparison of Configuration Management Data Models

The data models of a series of 11 configuration management systems—of varying type and complexity—are represented using containment data models. Containment data models are a specialized form of entityrelationship model in which entities may be containers or atoms, and the only permitted form of relationship is inclusion or referential containment. By using entities to represent the native abstractions of each system, and containment relationships to model inclusion and identifier references, systems can be modeled uniformly, permitting consistent cross-comparison of systems.