System Center Operations Manager (OpsMgr) 2007 R2 Unleashed: Supplement to System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed »

Kerrie Meyler is an independent consultant and trainer with 15+ years of IT experience, including work as a Senior Technical Specialist at Microsoft. Cameron Fuller is a Principal Consultant for Catapult Systems, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. He focuses on management solutions and has 15+ years of infrastructure experience. John Joyner is Senior Architect at ClearPointe, a leading provider of remote server management and hosted Network Operations Center services based on OpsMgr. He was Track External Advisor for TechEd 2009’s Virtualization track. Andy Dominey is Principal Operations Manager Consultant at 1E, a Microsoft Partner specializing in Windows management. He has made substantial contributions to high availability in OpsMgr 2007. The authors are experienced Operations Manager administrators, have been recognized as OpsMgr MVPs, authored System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed, and present at TechEd and MMS.

This up-to-the-minute supplement to System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed brings together practical, in-depth information about System Operations Manager 2007, including major enhancements introduced with the R2 release, as well as essential information on other products and technologies OpsMgr integrates with and relies upon.

Drawing on their unsurpassed deployment experience, four leading independent OpsMgr experts with a half dozen leading subject matter experts show how to take full advantage of new Unix/Linux cross platform extensions, Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 integration, PowerShell extensions, and much more. They also present in-depth coverage of using OpsMgr with virtualization, authoring new management packs, and maximizing availability.

A detailed “OpsMgr R2 by Example” appendix presents indispensable tuning and configuration tips for several of OpsMgr R2’s most important management packs. This book also contains the world’s most compre- hensive collection of OpsMgr R2 reference links.

• Discover and monitor Linux and Unix systems through OpsMgr with the new Cross Platform Extensions
• Utilize Microsoft’s upgraded management packs and templates for monitoring operating systems, services, and applications
• Monitor your system with the Health Explorer and new Visio add-in
• Create OpsMgr 2007 R2 reports and queries utilizing SQL Server 2008
• Understand how Windows Server 2008 and OpsMgr integrate
• Use PowerShell and the OpsMgr Shell to automate common management tasks
• Efficiently manage virtualized environments (Hyper-V or ESX vCenter)
• Author your own OpsMgr custom management packs
• Implement advanced high availability and business continuity management
• Use targeting to apply the appropriate monitoring to each component
• Master advanced ACS techniques for noise filtering, access hardening, and auditing

Chapter 1 Introduction and What’s New 1

Licensing Updates 2

Licensing Changes to the System Center Server Management Suite 3

Licensing of Cross Platform Applications 4

New in Service Pack 1 4

SP 1 Highlights 4

Gateway Enhancements 5

Clustered RMS Enhancements 6

RMS Encryption Key Backup 6

R2 Highlights and Capabilities 7

Importing Management Packs 9

New and Updated Templates 11

User Interface 13

Run As 14

IIS 7 and ASP.NET 64-Bit Apps 14

Large-Scale Monitoring of URLs 15

Maintenance Mode 15

32-Bit Performance Counter Support on 64-Bit Systems 15

Web Console (Health Explorer) 15

Notification Subscription Wizard 16

Service Level Monitoring 17

Reporting Enhancements 19

Recalculating and Resetting Monitor States 21

Power Consumption Monitoring 22

Summary 22

Chapter 2

Unix/Linux Management: Cross Platform Extensions 23

Supported Platforms and Requirements 23

Preparing to Discover Unix/Linux Computers 27

Name Resolution 28

Account Information Gathering 28

Update WinRM 29

Configuring Accounts and Profiles 30

Importing the Unix/Linux Management Packs 36

Discovering and Monitoring Unix/Linux Computers 39

Discovering 39

Manually Installing the CrossPlat Agent 45

Notes on Unix Commands 48

Common Agent Deployment Errors 50

Additional Reference Material on CrossPlat 51

Monitoring (Where Do You Find Everything?) 53

Integrating Unix/Linux Computers in OpsMgr 54

OpsMgr Console 54

Health Explorer 56

Reports 57

Tasks 58

Integration with Distributed Applications 59

Bridgeways Management Packs 61

The Bridgeways VMware ESX Management Pack 62

The Bridgeways Apache Management Pack 68

Novell SUSE Management Pack 70

Logical Disk Volume Recovery 72

Cron Service Recovery 73

Performance Collection 76

Custom Scripting in the SUSE Management Pack 77

Management Pack Templates 83

Unix/Linux Log File Template 83

Unix/Linux Service Template 84

Connectors 86

Summary 96

Chapter 3

Operations Manager 2007 R2 and Windows Server 2008 97

Installing Operations Manager 2007 R2 97

Hotfixes 98

Prerequisite Changes 99

Roles and Features 99

The Windows 2008 Firewall 103

After Installation 106

Upgrading to Operations Manager 2007 R2 109

Upgrading to OpsMgr 2007 R2–Currently on Windows 2008 109

Upgrading to OpsMgr 2007 R2–Currently on Windows 2003 111

Upgrading to OpsMgr 2007 R2–Known Issues 111

Additional Windows 2008 Considerations 112

Windows Server 2008 SP 2 112

Windows Server 2008 R2 112

Server Core 113

Windows Server 2008 Updated or New Management Packs 114

Summary 116

Chapter 4

Using SQL Server 2008 in OpsMgr 2007 R2 117

Core OpsMgr Component Support 117

High Availability with Standard and Enterprise Editions 119

Database Maintenance with Standard and Enterprise Editions 120

Setup 121

Hardware Best Practices 121

Upgrading Databases from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 123

SQL 2008 Reporting Services 128

Post-Installation Steps for SQL Server 131

Operations Manager 2007 R2 Reporting 133

Architecture 133

Enhancements 135

Database Maintenance 138

Operational Database Maintenance 139

Data Warehouse Maintenance 144

Useful SQL Queries 145

Operational Database SQL Queries 146

Data Warehouse Database SQL Queries 148

Miscellaneous SQL Queries 149

Summary 151

Chapter 5

PowerShell Extensions for Operations Manager 2007 153

Windows PowerShell Basics 153

Installing and Accessing PowerShell 154

General PowerShell Concepts 155

Basic Navigation and Functionality 157

Cmdlet Structure 157

Getting Started 159

Special Variable $_ 161

Comparison Operators 162

Filtering Cmdlets 162

Sorting and Selecting Cmdlets 165

Formatting Cmdlets 166

Conditional Statements 167

Looping Statements 170

Providers 171

Profiles 172

Using the Operations Manager PowerShell Shell 173

Monitoring:\ Provider 174

Listing OpsMgr Shell Cmdlets 175

Commonly Used Cmdlets 175

Get-Alert and Monitoring:\ 177

Incorporating the Operations Manager SDK 179

PowerShell Performance 180

PowerShell and Operations Manager Examples 181

General PowerShell Examples 181

Operations Manager Examples 184

PowerShell Best Practices 191

Summary 191

Chapter 6

Management Solutions for Small and Midsize Business 193

Windows Small Business Server 2008 194

SBS 2008 Native Management Features 194

Remote Operations Manager Scenarios for SBS 2008 197

Windows Essential Business Server 2008 198

EBS and Essentials 198

EBS with Remote OpsMgr 200

Preview of System Center Essentials 2010 202

Essentials 2010 Setup Experience 203

Using the Essentials 2010 Virtualization Features 205

Other New Essentials 2010 Features 208

Summary 211

Chapter 7

Operations Manager and Virtualization 213

The Case for VM Management 213

Virtualization Challenges and Rewards 214

VM Management Standards: Cloud Computing Enabler 215

Managing VMs without VMM 216

Choosing Not to Deploy Virtual Machine Manager 217

Monitoring Virtual Server 218

Monitoring Windows Server Hyper-V 219

Monitoring VMware ESX with OpsMgr 220

Installing VMM and Connecting It to OpsMgr 221

Installing Virtual Machine Manager 222

Integrating Operations Manager with VMM 225

The VMM Management Pack 227

ESX vCenter Integration 232

Adding a VMware Virtualization Manager 232

Managing ESX Hosts and Guest VMs 234

Performance and Resource Optimization 236

Enabling PRO Tips 236

VMM Native CPU and Memory PRO Feature 237

PRO-Enabled Vendor Management Packs 239

Using VMM in DMZs and Untrusted Domains 240

OpsMgr and VMM Agent Alternate Security Modes 240

VMM and OpsMgr Agent Architecture Differences 243

Virtualizing OpsMgr 2007 and VMM Components 244

Summary 246

Chapter 8

Management Pack Authoring 247

What’s in a Management Pack? 248

MP Authoring Tools 248

The Authoring Console 249

The Operations Console 249

An

A Script Editor 250

Scripting in OpsMgr 2007 251

Preparing Your Development Workstation 251

Types of Scripts in OpsMgr 2007 Management Packs 252

Nuts and Bolts of the OpsMgr Scripting API 253

Logging an Event 254

Scripting for Health Monitoring and Displaying Performance 255

Using a Script in Discovery 256

Designing Your Management Pack 259

Identifying Application Components (Classes) 260

How the Components Are Related (Relationships) 260

Defining the Health Model (Health Rollup) 261

Design Best Practices 262

Design Worst Practices (AKA Good Stuff NOT to Do) 262

Discovering Application Components 262

Discovery Best Practices 264

Discovery Worst Practices 264

Building Your Management Pack 264

The Point-of-Sale Batch Processing Application 265

Naming Conventions 265

Classes and Relationships 267

Service and Health Model in the POS Batch Processing Application 268

Using the R2 Authoring Console to Create Object Classes and Relationships 269

Creating the Object Classes and Relationships 270

Object Discoveries 272

Monitoring 277

Product Knowledge 280

Modules: The Building Blocks of Workflows 280

Data Source 281

Condition Detection 281

Write Action 281

Probe Action 281

Workflow Summary 282

Advanced Authoring: Creating a Custom Workflow 283

Step-by-Step: Creating a Custom Workflow with Cook Down 284

Create the Custom Data Source 285

Create the Monitor Type 286

Create the Custom Unit Monitor 289

Create the Performance Collection Rule 290

Create a Performance View 292

Verifying Cook Down 296

Troubleshooting Cook Down 298

Reports 303

Tips for a Successful MP Authoring Experience 305

Summary 305

Chapter 9

Unleashing Operations Manager 2007 307

Distributed Environments 307

Explaining Distributed Environments 307

Distributing Management Servers and Gateways 309

Agent Deployment and Management 314

Remote Operations 317

High Availability 320

Clustering the OpsMgr Components 321

Root Management Server High Availability 323

Advanced Cluster Configurations 325

Clustering Alternatives 326

Business Continuity 327

Backup and Recovery 328

SQL Log Shipping and Database Mirroring 332

Visio Add-In for OpsMgr 2007 332

Beyond the Basics of ACS 338

ACS in OpsMgr 2007 R2 338

ACS Noise Filtering 340

ACS Access Hardening 341

Auditing SQL Server 2008 344

Auditing Cross Platform 347

Secure Site Log Replay 348

Community Resources 349

Network Monitoring Using Distributed Applications 350

Monitoring Redundant LAN Links 350

Using the Distributed Application Designer 351

Targeting 356

Objects in OpsMgr 2007 356

What You Can Target 358

Using Management Pack Templates 366

Using the Authoring Console to Create a Target 371

Summary 389

Appendix A

OpsMgr R2 by Example 391

Active Directory MP 391

How to Install the Active Directory MP 391

Tuning/Alerts to Look for in the Active Directory MP 394

Active Directory Management Pack Evolution 407

Exchange 2007 MP 407

How to Install the Exchange 2007 MP 408

Exchange MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 409

SQL Server MP 410

How to Install the SQL Server MP 410

SQL MP Optional Configuration 411

SQL MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 411

SQL Server Management Pack Evolution 415

Windows Server MP 416

How to Install the Windows Server MP 416

Windows Server MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 417

Windows Server Management Pack Evolution 420

Operations Manager MP 420

How to Install the Operations Manager MP 420

Operations Manager MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 420

DNS MP 427

How to Install the DNS MP 427

DNS MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 428

DNS Management Pack Evolution 433

Group Policy MP 433

How to Install the Group Policy MP 433

Group Policy MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 434

Group Policy Management Pack Evolution 436

DHCP MP 436

How to Install the DHCP MP 436

DHCP MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 437

DHCP Management Pack Evolution 439

Print Server MP 439

How to Install the Windows Print Server MP 439

Windows Print Server MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 440

Print Server Management Pack Evolution 440

SharePoint MP 441

How to Install the SharePoint MP 441

SharePoint MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 441

Configuration Manager MP 443

How to Install the Configuration Manager MP 443

How to Configure the Configuration Manager MP 444

Configuration Management MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 447

TMG MP 447

How to Install the TMG MP 447

How to Configure the TMG MP 448

TMG MP Tuning/Alerts to Look for 453

Appendix B

Reference URLs 455

General Resources 455

Microsoft’s OpsMgr Resources 464

Blogs 467

OpsMgr Shell 469

PowerShell Information 470

Cross Platform 471

Connectors 471

The System Center Family 472

Public Forums 473

Appendix C

Available Online 475

SQL Server Resources 475

Authoring Resources 476

ACS Resources 476

Reference URLs 477

Index 479