A first embodiment of the invention includes a computer program product including machine executable instructions stored on machine readable media, the instructions for providing an installation plan for installing at least one application in at least one processing system, by implementing a method. The method includes loading a configuration management database (CMDB) for the processing system, the CMDB including a pre-requisite relations knowledge database and a configuration information database. The method also includes receiving installation data for an installation of the at least one application and determining one or more installation plans for the installation of the application based upon the CMDB and the installation data. The method further includes displaying the one or more installation plans to a user, including an indication of a best installation plan.