How do I know if I have the latest Management Packs installed?

This continues to be a common issue.  Many people think they have the latest MP's but often don't.  I will attempt to document the process to ensure you have the most recent MP and MP guides.

There are two sources for Management Packs:

1.  The original media (that you installed OpsMgr from) and SP1 media.

2.  The MP Catalog on the web:  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/scp/opsmgr07.aspx

The issue is... the web catalog is usually the place to go for the latest MP's.  However - some of the MP's got an updated version for SP1.... and are on the SP1 media, in the \ManagementPacks directory.

To make matters worse - if you get your MP from the SP1 media - they don't come with a guide there.

So - the best process is this:

1.  Decide which MP's you are planning on importing.

2.  Download the MP from the web catalog.  This will also include the guide.

3.  CHECK and see if there is an updated MP (with a newer version) on the SP1 media.  All SP1 MP's are 6.0.6278.0.  If the SP1 version is present, and is a larger number than the web catalog version.....use the SP1 media MP... and use the guide from the web catalog download.

4.  Import your MP, knowing you have the most recent version and most recent guide.

Reference info:

The most common MP's on the SP1 media are:

Base OS for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000

IIS for Server 2003 and Windows 2000

Active Directory for Server 2003 and Windows 2000

Exchange 2003

SQL 2000 and SQL 2005

As of 5-22-2008.... the MP's above that have been stricken out....  already have been updated to a version newer than SP1 media version.... so you can see the need to check both places, or at least inspect the versions.

There are the full list of optional MP's that exist on the SP1 media:

Microsoft.Exchange.Server.2003.Discovery.mp
Microsoft.Exchange.Server.2003.Monitoring.mp
Microsoft.Exchange.Server.Library.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.CommonLibrary.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Office.2003.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Office.2007.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Office.XP.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Windows.Explorer.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Windows.InternetExplorer.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Windows.MediaPlayer.mp
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Windows.OutlookExpressandMail.MP
Microsoft.InformationWorker.Windows.WindowsAndMSNMessenger.mp
Microsoft.SharePointPortalServer.2003.mp
Microsoft.SharePointPortalServer.Library.mp
Microsoft.SQLServer.2000.Discovery.mp
Microsoft.SQLServer.2000.Monitoring.mp
Microsoft.SQLServer.2005.Discovery.mp
Microsoft.SQLServer.2005.Monitoring.mp
Microsoft.SQLServer.Library.mp
Microsoft.SystemCenter.ASPNET20.2007.mp
Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataWarehouse.Reports.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Client.2000.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Client.BusinessCritical.xml
Microsoft.Windows.Client.Library.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Client.XP.mp
Microsoft.Windows.InternetInformationServices.2000.MP
Microsoft.Windows.InternetInformationServices.2003.MP
Microsoft.Windows.InternetInformationServices.CommonLibrary.MP
Microsoft.Windows.Server.2000.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.AD.2000.Discovery.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.AD.2000.Monitoring.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.AD.2003.Discovery.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.AD.2003.Monitoring.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.AD.ClientMonitoring.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.AD.Library.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.Library.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.TerminalService.2000.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.TerminalService.2003.mp
Microsoft.Windows.Server.TerminalService.Library.mp
Microsoft.Windows.SharePointServices.2003.mp
Microsoft.Windows.SharePointServices.Library.mp