System Center Operations Manager 2007

Script: List all Performance Monitors & their Thresholds

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:35:16 GMT

Courtesy of Brain Wren: http://blogs.technet.com/brianwren/

Initiate Maintenance Mode from an Agent (no extras installed)

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:33:26 GMT

Courtesy of Derek Harkin: http://derekhar.blogspot.com/2008/02/initiate-maintenance-mode-from-agent-no.html

OpsMgr 2007: The Operations Manager 32-bit agent is supported on 64-bit Operating Systems

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:40:37 GMT

http://blogs.technet.com/smsandmom/archive/2008/07/22/opsmgr-2007-the-operations-manager-32-bit-agent-is-supported-on-64-bit-operating-systems.aspx | Comments

I get asked this every once in a while and since I couldn't find it mentioned anywhere I thought it might be a good idea to post it here. Under certain circumstances it may be necessary to install the OpsMgr 32-bit agent on a 64-bit operating system to monitor a 32-bit application. This is a supported configuration but the 32-bit agent must be installed manually and both the 32-bit and 64-bit OpsMgr agent cannot be installed simultaneously. It may also be necessary to install the OpsMgr 32-b

SQL Reporting Services error browsing localhost/reports "The XML page cannot be displayed"

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:39:08 GMT

http://CameronFuller.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!A231E4EB0417CB76!1416.entry | Comments

SQL Reporting Services error browsing localhost/reports “The XML page cannot be displayed”

I ran into a new issue during a recent installation of System Center Operations Manager 2007 on Windows 2003 with SQL 2005 SP2. I’m not sure if it was the order of what prerequisites were applied, or some other spatial anomaly, but the end result was an inability to install the reporting components for Operations Manager 2007. As a background, checking to make sure that the two sql reporting services websites function is a really good idea before attempting to install the OpsMgr reporting components. Checking the likely issues I browsed to http://localhost/reportserver and http://localhost/reports on the server I was trying to install the OpsMgr components.

The reports website was failing with a new error: “The XML page cannot be displayed”.

After digging through search engines and trying a variety of different methods to resolve the problem, I found that the following fixed the website:

· From the command prompt, moved into the c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework64\v2.0.50727 directory (this was occurruing on a Windows Server 2003 x64 platform so the framework was in the framework64 directory versus the framework directory for x86 systems)

· Ran an aspnet_regiis –u (to remove the v2 version of asp.net)

· Ran an aspnet_regiis –i (to re-add the v2 version of asp.net)

· Ran an iisreset to reset the websites, and re-browsed to the http://localhost/reports and http://localhost/reportserver directories.

The reports virtual was now working correctly. I ended up also needing to use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to apply the default settings to the Report Server Virtual directory to get the http://localhost/reportserver virtual working. Within the Reporting Services Configuration tool check for any errors. It should be green for the Server Status, Report Server Virtual Directory, Report Manager Virtual Directory, Windows Service Identity, Web Service Identity, Database Setup, Initialization and Execution Account. It was blue for my SharePoint Integration and Encryption Keys, and yellow for my Email Settings.

Once this was done, the installation of the reporting components for Operations Manager 2007 installed without an issue.

Windows Server 2008, Windows Firewall and SQL 2005

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:38:38 GMT

http://CameronFuller.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!A231E4EB0417CB76!1427.entry | Comments

Windows Server 2008, Windows Firewall and SQL 2005

Several of us were building out a POC Configuration Manager 2007 environment which had a single ConfigMgr server and a separate SQL 2005 database (shared with Operations Manager). The ConfigMgr server was running on ConfigMgr 2007 SP1/Windows Server 2008 and the SQL Server was running SQL 2005 SP2/Windows Server 2008. ConfigMgr server would not pass the prerequisite checks because it could not connect to the SQL Server.

Prior to making any changes, the ConfigMgr server could ping the SQL Server but we could not connect via the SQL Administration tools. Debugging on this consisted of pinging the SQL server and trying to telnet (we had to install the feature through the Server Manager application on the ConfigMgr server so that we could use the telnet to test this connectivity). We were unable to connect on port 1433 via telnet from the ConfigMgr server, and validated that the SQL server could connect to itself with “telnet localhost 1433”.

So, logically enough it looked like the Windows Firewall was blocking the connection to the SQL Server from the ConfigMgr Server. As a background, the Windows Firewall on Windows Server 2008 is activated by default as shown below.

To attempt to get communication, we did a stop of the Windows Firewall service on the SQL Server (net stop “Windows Firewall”). Little did we know what a mistake this was. Once this change was made we could no longer ping from the ConfigMgr server to the SQL Server. The SQL Server could however ping other systems on the network. So communication to the SQL Server was restricted (inbound) but communication from the SQL Server was not restricted (outbound). Once we started the Windows Firewall service on the SQL Server, we could ping from the ConfigMgr server to the SQL Server.

With the Windows Firewall service running on the SQL Server we did a port scan against the SQL Server (using the Advanced Port Scanner which is a great tool). The results were five open ports which were detected as shown below (ports 53, 88, 135, 139 and 445).

After we started the Windows Firewall service on the SQL Server we re-ran the port scan against the SQL Server. The results confirmed a sinking suspicion. No open ports were detected as shown below when the Windows Firewall service was shut down.

When we changed the firewall state to off (see the first graphic for where this is turned on/off), we could then successfully ping from the ConfigMgr server to the SQL Server and we could now connect on port 1433.

As additional roles are added in Windows 2008, changes are made to the firewall rules to allow the new role to function. SQL 2005 is not a role, and doesn’t make firewall changes so this makes sense. One of the big benefits to Windows Server 2008 is the new firewall functionality, so it is not a optimal to shut down this function. To get SQL 2005 to be able to be remotely connected to via the ConfigMgr server we created a new Inbound rule which allowed port 1433 access for TCP as shown below (the new rule is highlighted below).

Once the new rule was in place, we could connect from the ConfigMgr server to the SQL server on port 1433 even when the Windows Firewall was running.

Lessons learned:

1) Do NOT stop the Windows Firewall service either via commandline (net stop “Windows Firewall”) or via the services (services.msc). Stopping this service while the firewall is still active locks down all inbound communication. If you need to disable the Windows Firewall use the Server Manager application –> Configuration –> Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, right-click and go to properties. Change the firewall state to Off.

2) For SQL 2005 Servers running on Windows 2008, either disable the Windows Firewall (not preferred) or add a rule which allows inbound access to port 1433 (recommended) so that remote servers can communicate with the SQL Server database. If instances are used, a rule will need to be defined for the port of each instance.

Auditing on Alerts from the Data Warehouse

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:45:34 GMT

http://blogs.technet.com/kevinholman/archive/2008/07/21/auditing-on-alerts-from-the-data-warehouse.aspx | Comments

Do you want auditing information on how many alerts are being closed or modified by your OpsMgr users?

You can use the following queries to get this information from the data warehouse, and I have attached some reports below as well:

To get all raw alert data from the data warehouse to build reports from:

select * from Alert.vAlertResolutionState ars
inner join Alert.vAlertDetail adt on ars.alertguid = adt.alertguid
inner join Alert.vAlert alt on ars.alertguid = alt.alertguid

To view data on all alerts modified by a specific user:

select ars.alertguid, alertname, alertdescription, statesetbyuserid, resolutionstate, statesetdatetime, severity, priority, managedentityrowID, repeatcount
from Alert.vAlertResolutionState ars
inner join Alert.vAlert alt on ars.alertguid = alt.alertguid
where statesetbyuserid like '%username%'
order by statesetdatetime

To view a count of all alerts closed by all users:

select statesetbyuserid, count(*) as 'Number of Alerts'
from Alert.vAlertResolutionState ars
where resolutionstate = '255'
group by statesetbyuserid
order by 'Number of Alerts' DESC

In the reports I have attached, you can pick a date and a time window, and run these same basic queries

Files attached below:

This post contained the following enclosures and/or attachments:

http://blogs.technet.com/kevinholman/attachment/3092141.ashx

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Windows PowerShell in System Center Operations Manager

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:50:25 GMT

http://www.systemcenterforum.org/windows-powershell-in-system-center-operations-manager/ | Comments

Powershell MVP Marco Shaw has written an excellent article on the Command Shell in Operations Manager 2007. Of particular interest are his review of agent deployment from the Command Shell in SP1, as well as the bulk installation of management packs from the Command Shell.

Read the full article at

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc671178.aspx

Sealing a Management Pack

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:16:23 GMT

http://wmug.co.uk/blogs/aquilaweb/archive/2008/07/03/sealing-a-management-pack.aspx | Comments

By default when you create a new management it is created as unsealed so it has a .xml extension and allows for the management pack to be edited. Within the support tools of Operations Manager there is a tool called mpseal.exe which can be used to seal the management pack so it can not be edited but still allow for customization of the applied settings with the use of overrides in seperate management packs. This can be very useful if distributing out to third parties. To seal a management pack i

Changing the look & feel of Reports

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:16:21 GMT

http://wmug.co.uk/blogs/aquilaweb/archive/2008/07/07/changing-the-look-amp-feel-of-reports.aspx | Comments

Ever wanted to get rid of that poor quality System Center Operations Manager 2007 banner from across the top of all the default reports? Original Banner It's really quite simple..... As all the default SCOM reports use the same JPG image files as their header, all you need to do is update those files with your lovely company logo banner. So, open a web browser and navigate to SSRS (http:///Reports), this will open the reporting services home page. On this page will be banner_landscape.jpg and...

SQL 2005 Log Shipping Part II

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 13:16:19 GMT

http://wmug.co.uk/blogs/aquilaweb/archive/2008/07/01/sql-2005-log-shipping-part-ii.aspx | Comments

Following on from my SQL 2005 Log Shipping guide and I have created a Part II guide which covers restoring and configuring the secondary database as well as updating the configuration of Operations Manager to use it. Available for download under Guides ....(read more)

Recommended antivirus exclusions for OpsMgr

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:04:54 GMT

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/rtrent/archive/2008/07/18/recommended-antivirus-exclusions-for-opsmgr.aspx | Comments

We’ve dealt with AV exclusions for SMS and ConfigMgr for a long time, so having information about recommended exclusion practices for OpsMgr 2007 is definitely welcome. While not officially documented, the OpsMgr teams recommends the following: For the application side: I. Operations Manager Server: “\Program Files\System Center Operations Manager\…\Health Service State” and all sub-directories ‘%windir\temp%’ or other directory depends on the directory store for the ETL files (defined in

New administration packs Service Level Dashboard and ISA Server 2006 for OpsMgr 2007

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:47:25 GMT

http://blogcastrepository.com/blogs/mayki/archive/2008/07/18/new-administration-packs-service-level-dashboard-and-isa-server-2006-for-opsmgr-2007.aspx | Comments

Salut, ISA Server 2006 : Le pack d'administration supervise ISA Server 2006 et inclut les moniteurs et rôles traçant la performance, la disponibilité des composants d'ISA Server. Avec des informations d'alertes détaillées, il est possible de rapidement identifier et résoudre les conflits liés à ISA Server, et ainsi diminuer le temps de résolution quand un problème survient. Télécharger le pack d'administration Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 pour OpsMgr 2007 Service Level D

Tools: ACS Database and Disk Calculator for Operations Manager 2007

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:12:40 GMT

http://www.systemcenterforum.org/tools-acs-database-and-disk-calculator-for-operations-manager-2007/ | Comments

I posted a copy of an ACS Database and Disk Calculator tool we presented in the ACS Master Series from SecureVantage that provides a utility to ease the process of estimating Audit database sizing and growth, as well as appropriately sizing your disk subsystem of your Audit Collection Services deployment. In keeping with MS best practices, the calculator is based on the procedural guidance contained in the Operations Manager Performance and Scalability Guide, making it unique among other similar aids posted in the past.

It goes a step beyond existing guides to provide a tool that helps administrators negotiate the sizing formulas of the Perf and Scalability Guide. Download the ACS Database and Disk Calculator Tool HERE.

Find links for past sessions and register for future sessions of the ACS Master Series by clicking HERE.

OpsMgr++ : Automating port monitoring using PowerShell

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:12:25 GMT

http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/06/20/automating-port-monitoring-using-powershell.aspx#comments

OpsMgr 2007 Reporting - Moving the Reporting Server

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:43:09 GMT

OpsMgr 2007 Reporting is comprised of two central components, the data warehouse and the reporting server. The data warehouse is a SQL 2005 database named OperationsManagerDW and the reporting server is an instance of SQL 2005 Reporting Server, also known as SRS. It is not uncommon to deploy both these components on a single server. It is also a common practice for deploying them on their own dedicated server. Regardless, there may be a time when you need to provision a new SRS. There are many reasons, the most common being scalability and hardware upgrade. So how do you do it? Surprisingly, it is relatively straight forward:

1. On the existing Reporting Server, stop and disable the SQL Server Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER)

2. On the existing Reporting Server, take off-line both the ReportServer and the ReportServerTempDB databases.

3. On the new Reporting server, install SQL 2005 SP2 w/ SQL Reporting Services.

4. On the new Reporting server, run the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Prerequisite checker for Reporting only. Make all necessary changes.

5. Install Operations Manager 2007 Reporting. Be sure to deselect Data Warehouse and only install Reporting Server

6. You will need to specify the RMS as well as the Data Warehouse Read and/or Write accounts.

7. Restart the following services:

Note: Use this syntax in a batch files, makes for quick and easy work:

net stop healthservice (RMS)

net stop omcfg (RMS)

net stop omsdk (RMS)

net stop reportserver (SRS)

net start healthservice (RMS)

net start omcfg (RMS)

net start omsdk (RMS)

net start reportserver (on the SRS)

iisrest (SRS)

The Reporting tab will initially be empty but will quickly populate with all you reports.

Now the cool thing is this is completely reversible. Let’s say for whatever reason you need to restore the original configuration:

1. On the new Reporting Server, stop and disable the SQL Server Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER)

2. On the new Reporting Server, take off-line both the ReportServer and the ReportServerTempDB databases.

3. On the original Reporting Server, bring on-line both the ReportServer and the ReportServerTempDB databases.

4. On the original Reporting Server, re-enable and start the SQL Server Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER)

5. Most important, launch the Operations Console and go to Administration / Settings / Reporting and change the reporting server URL back to the original server name. It will have the name of the new server:

6. Restart the following services:

Note: Use this syntax in a batch files, makes for quick and easy work:

net stop healthservice (RMS)

net stop omcfg (RMS)

net stop omsdk (RMS)

net stop reportserver (SRS)

net start healthservice (RMS)

net start omcfg (RMS)

net start omsdk (RMS)

net start reportserver (on the SRS)

iisrest (SRS)

7. After restarting, you may need to wait 5 minutes or so before everything is sync’d up.

Nothing new but I thought a tested procedure might help out anyone tasked with moving the SRS. My next post will include SRS and the Data Warehouse.

Service Level Dashboard FIx Released

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:15:44 GMT

Courtesy of Raghu Kethineni . Please download the latest msi from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=67EF9823-631B-49B7-9D7F-9F125BDF27AE&displaylang=en&displaylang=en

The "Exchange Server Configuration" report doesn't return any data

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:39:27 GMT

http://blogs.technet.com/kevinholman/archive/2008/07/15/the-exchange-server-configuration-report-doesn-t-return-any-data.aspx | Comments

I figured out why - and instead of just posting about the workaround... I thought I'd take a moment and post on the process I used to determine the how and the why:

When you run the "Exchange Configuration Report" per the guide, you are supposed to add objects of type "Exchange 2003 Role". Well, if you do this - the reports will never return any data.

So - to try and look at the SQL code... I went to the RDL file in the reporting website.... http://reportingservername/reports

I browsed over to the report - which I found at: Home > Microsoft.Exchange.Server.2003.Monitoring > Report.Exchange.ExchangeServerConfiguration. Select the "Properties" link.... and normally there would be an "Edit" button here... where I could download the RDL (report definition) file.... but instead - I see this is a linked report:

Aha! It is linked to: /Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataWarehouse.Report.Library/Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataWarehouse.Report.CustomConfiguration

Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataWarehouse.Report.Library is the Generic Report library.... so off I go looking for a generic report.

Found it:

So - I simply run this report.... and immediately I can see something different... I am now offered a new parameter area... called Report Fields. So, I add the Exchange 2003 Roles instance to the report as an object.... and now I can pick and choose from a whole list of discovered attribute data.... and customize the order I want it to show up in:

Here I am running the report for the same object... and now I get to pick the cool things I want to see:

Now.... if I want to run this report in the future... and add more servers, etc... I simply save it to my favorites. Then - on future runs of the report, I can drop the parameter header back down and make any changes I want.

Gateway and OOMADS

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:13:51 GMT

http://ianblythmanagement.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/gateway-and-oomads/ | Comments

I just did a Gateway server install last week and really appreciated the new SP1 MOMCertImport tool which brings up a GUI and shows the certificate. You just need to highlight it and press OK. Much better than before with all the exporting and command line stuff.

I did notice that the two DCs had errors and a quick check confirmed that the AD Helper objects (oomads.msi) had not been installed. As there were only 2 DCS I installed them manually. So it was nice to see that Kevin Holman just posted an article on the same issue. I did not see that problem mentioned in the documents I have about installing the Gateway server. In fact Microsoft’s own Deployment white paper does not even mention oomads.msi which is strange for a paper on deployment. Hopefully another one to add to the fix list for SP2.

Another helper object is MOMAspNet.msi but it only exists in the x86 directory and not the AMD64 directory. I have not found much information on this and when it should be used - especially when doing manual installs. So if anyone has info on this I would appreciate it. Thanks.

Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 Management Pack for OpsMgr 2007

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:34:06 GMT

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techlog/~3/335765797/microsoft_internet_security_an | Comments

This management pack monitors ISA Server 2006 and includes monitors and rules to track the performance, availability, and reliability of ISA Server 2006 components. With detailed alert information, you can quickly identify and troubleshoot ISA Server 2006 issues, minimizing time-to-resolution when problems occur. You can collect and analyze performance trends and metrics, and obtain performance information that allows you to manage bottlenecks, identify capacity requirements, and proactively manage your ISA 2006 deployment to resolve issues before problems occur.

Download Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2006 Management Pack for OpsMgr 2007

Implementing System Center Operations Manager 2007 at Microsoft

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:33:43 GMT

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techlog/~3/335765796/implementing_system_center_ope | Comments

Describes how the Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 (OpsMgr 2007) was implemented to improve Microsoft IT's infrastructure management service offerings. OpsMgr 2007 provides a centralized monitoring infrastructure with increased reliability and granular rights delegation. By implementing OpsMgr 2007, Microsoft IT improved operational efficiency and reduced the cost of IT lifecycle investments.

Download Implementing System Center Operations Manager 2007 at Microsoft

Photo Album: Blog Images

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:37:06 GMT

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Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:01:47 GMT

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Blog list: Blog list

Thu, 08 May 2008 11:32:13 GMT

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