Getting Started with Microsoft System Center Operations Manager

Table of Contents

Getting Started with Microsoft System Center Operations Manager

Credits

About the Author

About the Reviewers

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Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. Introduction to System Center Operations Manager

System Center overview

Introducing Operations Manager

IT as a Service explained

Operations Manager core features

Management group

Operational database

Data Warehouse database

RMS Emulator

Management Server

Reporting Server

Gateway Server

Agents

Consoles

Management packs

Application Performance Monitoring

Network device monitoring

Audit Collection Services

Agentless Exception Monitoring

Minimum installation requirements

OpsMgr Sizing Helper tool

Virtualization support

Database requirements

Operating system requirements

Web console requirements

Firewall requirements

Windows agent requirements

UNIX/Linux agent requirements

Summary

2. Installing System Center Operations Manager

Designing the environment

Design examples

Single server design

Small distributed server design

Medium distributed server design

Large distributed server design

Creating the service accounts

Creating an OpsMgr security group

Tips for deploying SQL

SQL features and collation setting

SQL Server authentication mode

SQL Server administrators

Configuring SQL memory allocation

Configuring the prerequisites

Operations console prerequisites

Web console prerequisites

Granting Local Administrator rights

Installing your first Management server

Introducing our example organization

Installing additional Management servers

Installing the Reporting server

Deploying the Web console

Deploying a Gateway server

Summary

3. Exploring the Consoles

Operations console overview

Deploying the console

Connecting to the console

The Monitoring Overview page

Navigating the workspaces

Exploring the Monitoring workspace

Understanding folders

Working with Views

Alert View

Event View

State View

Performance View

Diagram View

Task Status View

Web Page View

Dashboard View

Exploring the Authoring workspace

Management Pack Templates

Distributed Applications

Groups

Management Pack Objects

Introduction to the Reporting workspace

Exploring the Administration workspace

Connected Management Groups

Device Management

Management Packs

Network Management

Notifications

Operations Management Suite

Partner Solutions

Product Connectors

Resource Pools

Run As Configuration

Accounts

Profiles

UNIX/Linux Accounts

Security

Creating a New User Role

Settings

Agent: Heartbeat

General: Alerts

General: Database Grooming

General: Privacy

General: Reporting

General: Web Addresses

Server: Heartbeat

Server: Security

Getting personal with My Workspace

Favorite Views

Saved Searches

Introduction to the Web console

Summary

4. Deploying Agents

Agent-based monitoring

Agentless monitoring

Deploying Microsoft Windows agents

Windows agent requirements

Using the console to deploy agents

Using a Gateway Server to deploy untrusted agents

Manual agent deployment

Active Directory Integration

Working with multiple Management Groups

Configuring multihoming

Push installation method

Manual configuration method

Removing multihoming

Agent management

Agent actions explained

Properties

Change primary management server

Repair

Uninstall

Delete

Opening agent views

Deploying UNIX/Linux agents

UNIX/Linux agent requirements

Creating a resource pool

Deployment process

Summary

5. Working with Management Packs

Management packs overview

Sealed management packs

Unsealed management packs

What's inside a management pack?

Classes (Object types)

Relationships

Hosting relationship

Containment relationship

Reference relationship

Discoveries

Monitors

Unit monitors

Dependency rollup monitors

Aggregate rollup monitors

Rules

Views

Tasks

Console tasks

Agent tasks

Diagnostic tasks

Recovery tasks

Reports

Groups

Finding management packs

MP Wiki

OpsMgr MP Catalog

Downloading management pack guides from the catalog

Updates and Recommendations

Get MP action

Get All MPs action

View Guide action

View DLC Page action

More Information action

Locating non-Microsoft management packs

The 'Unofficial' System Center catalog

SystemCenterCentral.com

SystemCenterCore.com

Importing management packs

Extracting the files

Deploying the management pack

Creating a custom overrides management pack

Management pack dependencies

Verifying discoveries

Configuring Run As profiles

Agent proxy not enabled

Exporting unsealed management packs

Deleting management packs

Managing management packs

Boris's OpsMgr tools

MP Viewer

Override Explorer

Proxy Settings

Override Creator

Editing and authoring tools

Notepad++

Silect MP Author

Visual Studio Authoring Extensions

Summary

6. Managing Network Devices

Network monitoring overview

Multi-vendor support

Multi-device support

Multi-protocol support

Additional SNMP monitoring options

Requirements and considerations

Resource pools

Firewall rules

Management packs

User roles

Understanding network discovery

Discovery rules

Discovery types

Explicit discoveries

Recursive discoveries

DNS resolution of network devices

Run as accounts

Run as profiles

Discovery stages

Probing

Processing

Post-processing

Discovering network devices

Network Device Discovery Failure

Managing network monitoring

Network monitoring folder

Working with node tasks

Ping

SNMP Get

SNMP Walk

Telnet console

Traceroute

Monitoring interfaces

Working with network adapter groups

Advanced network adapters group

Critical network adapters group

Managed computer network adapters group

Relay network adapters group

Interface stitching

Dashboards

Network Summary Dashboard

Network Vicinity Dashboard

Network Node Dashboard

Network Interface Dashboard

Reports

Device reports

Interface reports

Summary

7. Configuring Service Models with Distributed Applications

Distributed applications overview

Creating distributed applications

Understanding distributed application templates

.NET 3-Tier Application template

Line of Business Web Application template

Messaging template

Blank (Advanced) template

Modeling your IT service

Configuring health rollup policies

Creating service level objectives

Editing distributed applications

Building synthetic transactions for websites

Creating a TCP port monitor

Updating the service model

Adding distributed application views

Creating a Diagram view

Creating an Alert view

Creating an SLA view

Summary

8. Alert Tuning the Easy Way

Alert tuning overview

Defining an alert management process

Choose your Management Packs wisely

Read the Management Pack guides

Work with the infrastructure and IT service owners

Alert resolution states

Creating a custom resolution state

Working with alerts generated by monitors

Overriding monitor generated alerts

Closing versus disabling alerts generated by monitors

Working with alerts generated by rules

Overriding rule generated alerts

Closing versus disabling alerts generated by rules

Sky Blue to the rescue!

Using the alert widget

One script to 'Rule' them all

Get the full picture with Health Explorer

Using the Health Explorer navigation bar

Reset Health

Recalculate Health

Refresh

Properties

Help

Overrides

Using custom tasks to tune alerts

Creating the 'Google It!' task

Creating the 'Run Remote Desktop Connection' task

Creating the 'Run PuTTY' task

Contextual Tuning with distributed applications

Tuning with the Alert Data Management feature

Managing overrides

Working with the Overrides view

Using reports to manage alerts and overrides

Summary

9. Visualizing Your IT with Dashboards

Exploring dashboard layouts and templates

Column Layout

Object State Dashboard template

Service Level Dashboard layout

Summary Dashboard template

Widgets

State Tiles widget

Contextual widgets

Performance widgets

Detail widgets

Image widget

SLA widgets

PowerShell widgets

Impressing your boss with the Topology Widget

Creating a dashboard image with Microsoft Visio

Microsoft workload dashboards

Unlocking the hidden datacenter dashboard template

Community dashboard resources

Third-party dashboard solutions

Savision

SquaredUp

OpsLogix

Summary

10. Creating Alert Subscriptions and Reports

Alert notifications overview

Working with alert notification channels

E-mail (SMTP)

Configuring the Windows Integrated Authentication Account

Instant Message (IM)

Text message (SMS)

Command

Adding Subscribers

Configuring Subscriptions

Creating Subscriptions from the Administration workspace

Scoping Subscriptions from the Monitoring workspace

Testing Subscriptions

Managing Subscriptions

Enabling and disabling Subscriptions

Stefan Roth's MAS Tool

Copying subscriptions

Reporting overview

Configuring SQL Reporting Services

Scoping the Report Operators role

Working with reports

Running reports

Linked reports and views

Use targeting to save time

Saving reports

Accessing reports from the Web console

Exporting reports

Scheduling reports

Publishing reports

Useful Microsoft reports

Windows Server Operating System Reports

Availability reports

SLA reports

Community reports

Veeam report library for System Center

SCOM Health Check Reports V3

Summary

11. Backing Up, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

Backing up and recovering OpsMgr

Backing up the databases with SQL

Backing up unsealed management packs

Backing up other important OpsMgr files

Recovering the OpsMgr databases

Working with Maintenance Mode

Manually enabling Maintenance Mode

Scheduling Maintenance Mode with OpsMgr 2012 R2

Scheduled Maintenance Mode in OpsMgr 2016

Using SQL queries for maintenance

The Self Maintenance Management Pack

Database grooming and maintenance

Operational database free space requirements

Grooming the Operational database

Grooming the Data Warehouse database

Deploying update rollups

Troubleshooting common OpsMgr issues

Working with the Operations Manager management pack

Introducing System Center Internal Task Library

Agent troubleshooting

Gray health states

Clearing the agent cache

Using the HSLockdown tool

Useful troubleshooting reports

Summary

Index

Getting Started with Microsoft System Center Operations Manager

Getting Started with Microsoft System Center Operations Manager

Copyright © 2016 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: June 2016

Production reference: 1240616

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.

Livery Place

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Birmingham B3 2PB, UK.

ISBN 978-1-78528-974-3

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Credits

Author

Kevin Greene

Reviewers

Abhilash V Menon

Randall Smith

Sridhar Vishwanatham

Commissioning Editor

Amarabha Banerjee

Acquisition Editor

Vinay Argekar

Content Development Editor

Mamata Walkar

Technical Editor

Nirant Carvalho

Copy Editor

Sneha Singh

Project Coordinator

Kinjal Bari

Proofreader

Safis Editing

Indexer

Hemangini Bari

Graphics

Kirk D'Penha

Production Coordinator

Shantanu N. Zagade

Cover Work

Shantanu N. Zagade

About the Author

Kevin Greene is a Microsoft MVP in the Cloud and Datacenter Management space and has been working in the IT industry since 1999. He is employed as a Cloud Technologies Consultant at Ergo in Dublin, Ireland; in this role, he works with clients to deliver enterprise grade solutions using System Center, Windows Server, and Azure.

On the Microsoft certification track since the nostalgic days of Windows NT 4.0, he holds qualifications that include MCSE, MCSA, MCITP, MCP, and MCTS. Kevin is an active participant in the System Center and Cloud OS community through his blog at http://kevingreeneitblog.blogspot.com and he can also be found hanging around Twitter as @kgreeneit.

A regular speaker at local and international events, he has also co-authored a number of books including Mastering System Center 2012—Operations Manager (Sybex, 2012) and Mastering Windows Server 2012 R2 (Sybex, 2013).

Kevin lives in Sallins, Co. Kildare, Ireland with his wife, Laura, and his two sons, Matthew and Dylan. When he's not working on his laptop, he spends his free time with his family and supporting Manchester United. He also holds a second-degree black belt in freestyle kickboxing and although he is not as involved in the sport as he used to be, he's still an avid follower of the martial arts.

About the Reviewers

Abhilash V Menon was born in a beautiful village called Puthuvely in Kerala, India. From childhood, he was curious about everything came into his way. He was crazy about exploring them until he could solve the puzzle. One day, a desktop computer came into his way. He started exploring it as usual. He noticed that whenever he put a piece of puzzle in its place, there are hundreds of other new pieces popping up around him. He is still putting them together, every day, hoping one day he could design a piece by himself.

He wanted to become a programmer when he was doing his graduation, but when he saw the industry closely, that changed his mind.

He realized that spending entire life in doing programming in a certain language is not what he likes. He wanted to learn something new, and entirely different every day. So he elected Infrastructure Monitoring as his career, as there is a wide opportunity to learn both latest and oldest technologies every day.

He enjoys sharing knowledge a lot. He believes that hiding knowledge is a crime. He learns new things till late night and share them to his friends and colleagues in the day time.

He had worked on a number of leading infrastructure monitoring tools like Microsoft SCOM, BMC Proactive Net, CA Spectrum, HP OpenView and Nagios. Now he is a Senior SCOM Engineer and Management Pack Developer at Datacom New Zealand. He could literally monitor anything from the status of your server to the brightness of your bedroom lamp through SCOM! He introduced a term called SCOMification which he defines as "The process of discovering and monitoring a mission critical real world business scenario in Microsoft SCOM.

In such a way that it can be discovered automatically, monitored flexibly, notified to different technical towers, presented to different business level people in different format which make sense to them, and the data could be stored in data warehouse for historical analysis and business intelligence."

He recently started a blog for upcoming SCOMifiers, which is intended to help them SCOMify anything they want for FREE.

You can access the blog at http://scomifyit.com.

You can read more about him at http://abhie.me or contact him directly through his email .

I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Asha Puthusseril and our little bundle of joy Advik Menon, for their endless motivation and support.

I would also like to thank my parents Viswanadhan and Usha, brother Akhilesh Menon, my uncle Biju and my mentor Ajish Kumar Sir, for making me like this.

Finally I would like to thank You for buying this book and making our effort worthy.

Randall Smith is a Sr. Systems Administrator for Adams State University. He has been administering Windows, Linux, and BSD systems since 1999.

Randall has been active in helping other SysAdmins solve problems and making their jobs easier though his blog, IRC, and social media. He has presented at the Colorado Higher Ed Computing Organization and Educause conferences, on topics such as Linux KVM, and the Ceph storage system.

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Preface

System Center Operations Manager (OpsMgr) is Microsoft's flagship solution for monitoring private, public, and hybrid cloud environments. Its a best-of-breed monitoring tool for Microsoft operating system and application workloads; it also has the ability to monitor datacenter hardware components, such as servers, network devices, SAN's, UPS's, and even air-conditioning units, along with a wide range of cross-platform UNIX and Linux operating systems.

Without a proper understanding of how all these monitoring capabilities can come together centrally within OpsMgr, you will find administering it becomes a complex challenge. The aim of this book is to address that challenge and break down the barriers of complexity to help you get up and running with your monitoring scenarios within a relatively short space of time.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Introduction to System Center Operations Manager, aims to provide an overview of the System Center suite of datacenter management components, including an introduction to OpsMgr and its core features.

Chapter 2, Installing System Center Operations Manager, covers the design and deployment of your first OpsMgr management group.

Chapter 3, Exploring the Consoles, walks you through the various views and settings that can be found across the different workspaces in both the Operations console and the Web console.

Chapter 4, Deploying Agents, focuses on deploying and managing Windows agents in single or multiple management groups. This chapter also demonstrates how to deploy cross-platform agents to your UNIX/Linux computers.

Chapter 5, Working with Management Packs, includes an overview of what a management pack is, some tips on where to download them from as well as walk-through's to show you how to import, export, and manage them.

Chapter 6, Managing Network Devices, provides information about the out-of-box network monitoring capability of OpsMgr, which can use SNMP or ICMP communications to monitor your network devices.

Chapter 7, Configuring Service Models with Distributed Applications, takes an often under-utilized feature of OpsMgr and provides step-by-step information to help you create models of your IT services for maximum monitoring visibility.

Chapter 8, Alert Tuning the Easy Way, presents process-driven methods and real-world tips to ensure excessive alert noise is kept to a minimum and your alert views stay manageable.

Chapter 9, Visualizing Your IT with Dashboards, shows how to configure and populate built-in dashboard templates with the various widgets on offer as well as introducing you to some hidden dashboard treasures that will maximize the visibility of the IT services monitored within your organization.

Chapter 10, Creating Alert Subscriptions and Reports, covers the creation of alert notification channels, subscribers, and custom subscriptions. In this chapter, we also dive into the powerful reporting feature of OpsMgr to help you create and customize the type of reports that your senior-level IT managers and teams request on a regular basis.

Chapter 11, Backing Up, Maintenance and Troubleshooting, focuses on backing up and optimizing your OpsMgr environment. You will also discover how to work with Maintenance Mode, deploy update rollups, and troubleshoot common OpsMgr issues.