Matt Goedtel on Operations Management

When you launch the Operations Console on your workstation or even on the management server (or RMS for that matter), the data from the Operations Manager database is cached locally in the file "momcache.mdb." By default, the console will poll the SDK Service on the RMS every 15 seconds to update the local cache.  Depending on the number of agent managed systems that are in the management group, potential size of the database will be (as indicated by the Product Group): 

• 100 server deployment = 300 MB
• 1000 server deployment = 600 MB
• 5000 server deployment = 1 GB

The database file is located in %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\MIcrosoft\Microsoft.Mom.UI.Console. 

For my small lab environment with only 12 servers being actively monitored by Operations Manager with many core and custom management packs, the file size is 34 MB (as an example).

So if you are intending or are already hosting the console on a Terminal Server or Citrix Server, you will need to factor this in to ensure you don't impact the volume supporting other shared applications. 

So I'll be heading out to Las Vegas tomorrow to attend MMS 2008 and assist in staffing the event.  It will be great to get out there and help provide my experience and guidance to those attending and I look forward to meeting new people. If you are looking to place a face with the name, I'll be proctoring the Hands-on Labs for 4/28 between 1:30 and 4:30 and then on 4/29 between 10:15 and 1:00.

Hope to see you there and you leave feeling well served with solid information!

In continuation of my prior blog post a couple of weeks ago (see - http://blogs.technet.com/mgoedtel/archive/2008/03/18/verifying-mp-workflow-on-agent.aspx), I  realized this evening there is another method that is much easier and more straight forward.  While Walter Chomak recommended checking the Operations Manager Event Log on the agent managed system, by looking for Event ID 1201 specific to the Management Pack itself (See here to read Walter's Blog Post - http://wchomak.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F56EFE25599555EC!896.entry) most customers that I engage with are looking for a more centralized approach. 

My initial thought was that the Event Collection Rule - Collect Health Service Configuration Updated Events from the System Center Core Monitoring MP would have captured this particular event, but after inspecting it I was wrong.  It only looks for Event ID 1210 from the Health Service and not any of the ones we are more interested in.  I uncovered this particular Event Collection rule by reviewing the Dashboard View  - Operations Manager\Health Service Configuration\Config Update Events and reviewing the "Received and Activated New Config." 

Since this Event Collection Rule does not look for Event ID 1201, I figured I would create a custom rule and view to be able to monitor this from the Operations Console.  So in order to do this, perform the following:

1. Create an Event Collection Rule and call it "Collect Health Service MP Update Events" with a Rule Category of "EventCollection" and the Rule target being "Health Service."
2. The Log name is "Operations Manager" and the Expression is Event Source "HealthService" with EventID 1201.
3. Save this in a custom Management Pack and not the Default Management Pack.
4. Under the Monitoring view, create a Event View and call it "Config Update Events (Agent) - Management Packs" or something logical that meets your needs.
5. The Criteria for the view is the following:  "with a specific event number 1201" and from a specific source "HealthService."  The target should be "Agent" under the Show data related to drop down list.

Once you carry out those steps, from the console you can view when an agent receives a new Management Pack.

The Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007 has been updated (version 6.0.6278.5) and is now available for download - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9FF454F4-6D34-4FB9-9E0B-F5B68C6EDC4F&displaylang=en&displaylang=en

 The minor update includes:

• Fixed an issue with OWA monitoring using custom URLs so that the Management Pack now looks for the CustomUrls registry key instead of the CustomOwaUrls registry key (consistent with previous versions of the Management Pack)
• Fixed an issue with data collection rules for mailbox or public folder size in MB. On monitored servers running Exchange 2003 and using regional settings that are not English (United States) an issue can occur where the size of the mailbox or public folder is reported incorrectly.  This will also affect the associated reports.

Today we released the Exchange 2007 SP1 management pack for MOM 2005 to MS downloads:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=30EEBC7C-A35A-41AE-9CD1-2047847FDE85&displaylang=en

In this MP, you’ll find:

·         Renamed some event rules to better reflect their purpose

·         Improved some report descriptions

·         Updated for performance counter name changes

·         Fixed PowerShell issue when one or more necessary parameters are not passed to a cmdlet

·         Updated many reports to use a 90%-100% scale rather than dynamic scale to gain visual fidelity in that range. Affected reports are as follows:

o   ActiveSync Internal Service Availability

o   Mailbox Service Availability

o   Mailflow Local Service Availability

o   Mailflow Remote Service Availability

o   Outlook Web Access External Service Availability

o   Outlook Web Access Internal Service Availability

o   Unified Messaging Local Fax Service Availability

o   Unified Messaging Local Voice Service Availability

o   Unified Messaging Remote Voice Service Availability

·         Added/Modified Event Rules:

o   Added: Transport message rejection because of lack of disk space

o   Added: Transport message rejection because of memory consumption exceeding the configured threshold

o   Added: 10 error level event rules for Active Directory directory server Rights Management Server (RMS) in the Bridgehead Agents Messaging Policies health manifest

o   Added: 3 error level event rules for the Transport receive connector in the Bridgehead Transport common health manifest

o   Modified: Escalated “The STARTTLS certificate will expire soon” from warning to error alert

·         Removed many miscellaneous outdated event rules

·         Enabled collection of performance data for reporting in Test-WebServiceConnectivity ScriptResponseRule

·         Added support for Test-ReplicationHealth cmdlet; removed numerous event rules made redundant by this addition

·         Added support for Test-POPConnectivity cmdlet execution through the management pack and monitoring service

·         Added support for Test-IMAPConnectivity cmdlet execution through the management pack and monitoring service

·         Changed all outdated references from “Bridgehead” to “Hub Transport”

·         Added ‘From’ and ‘MediaSecured’ property support for Test-UMConnectivity for the monitoring service

·         Added ‘LightMode’ property support for Test-ActiveSyncConnectivity, Test-WebServicesConnectivity and Test-OWAConnectivity

·         Added ‘LightMode’ property support for Test-POPConnectivity and Test-IMAPConnectivity

·         Updated all reports to use provided client language for localized dates

Just posted is an updated version of the Windows 2003 Cluster Management Pack. This update resolves several customer initiated issues. This update also includes some changes in order to prepare for the Windows 2008 Cluster MP.

Here is a link to the download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AC7F42F5-33E9-453D-A923-171C8E1E8E55&displaylang=en&displaylang=en

Due to the nature of the changes you will need to first uninstall the previous version of the cluster management pack. The steps are documented in the MP Guide which is part of the download package. The MP guide also has a complete list of changes.

So I came across this a week or so ago but forgot to install and play with it until today.  PowerGUI is a freeware product from Quest that provides an IDE for working with PowerShell on your systems, and has integration with Operations Manager 2007, in addition to Active Directory and Exchange Server 2007.  I just started to poke around with it on my Management Server, and it is actually pretty cool because it can help you in learning how to leverage the power of PowerShell integration in managing your Operations Manager environment.  Coding in PowerShell is one area I have not been able to devote enough time to, but I see how this tool can somewhat reduce that learning curve.

It is a bit basic, but it's a start and the developer is looking to provide additional features in the near future. 

You can learn more about it and download it from here - http://www.powergui.org/index.jspa

So I have finally found some free time to devote to updating my blog this evening.  Today as I was giving a presentation at my customer regarding Management Pack Lifecycle Management, they approached me with some good questions on the topic.  Specifically around "how do I verify 1) that the MP imported successfully, and 2) that once the Management Pack is imported, the agent actually received the rules and is running them?" 

The first question is pretty straight foward, the import wizard will inform you of success or failure immediately.  If that is not enough to satisfy the most anal individuals, then if it imported successfully go into the Operations Console and under the Administration view, select the Management Pack node and verify the MP is listed.  And if that is not enough, then run the pre-canned report "Microsoft ODR Report Library\Management Packs."   That will triple verify the MP is installed in the MG.  Now onto the second part, validation of agent recieving rules which are:

1. Run the Effective Configuration Viewer Reskit tool for Operations Manager 2007, which can be downloaded from here - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=A9DB4DCA-6716-478D-89B9-42F27EBC76A8&displaylang=en.  Once you install it on your MS, RMS, or desktop with the Operations Console, you can execute it and select an object, such as a computer, and then view a list of monitors and rules.  In my testing of this tool thus far, you are not going to see the same results as you would if you ran the task I highlight in option 2.  I am still playing with this to understand why this is, so bear with me because I just started to sink my teeth into this Reskit tool. 
2. From the Operations Console, select the Monitoring view and target the Agent Health Service (this can be accomplished a couple of different ways, but the default OOBE is expand Operations Manager\Agent node in the left pane, and select the Active Alerts dashboard view).  Highlight an agent and select the Task - Show Running Rules and Monitors for this Health Service.  When you execute it and it displays the results, take note in the Task Output the tag "Count" as this will inform you as to how many are actually running against the agent.  This is a bit crude, but effective as a "quick and dirty" approach.
3. From the Command Shell, run a script provided by my colleague Boris Yanushpolsky that retrieves rules and monitors for a specific target, found here - http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/11/21/retrieving-rules-and-monitors-targeted-to-a-particular-class-target.aspx.

I am actually thinking of seeing if I can create a Report that would provide you with this information also.  If  can find the time in the very near future, I just may see if I can knock it out.

The Operations Manager 2007 Reporting Authoring Guide is now available for download - http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/4/d/74deff5e-449f-4a6b-91dd-ffbc117869a2/OpsMgr2007_RprtGuide.doc.

This document provides an in-depth understanding of the reporting feature, such as:

• Working with published and linked reports
• Developing custom reports
• Schema of the Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataWarehouse.Report.Library.xml (Reporting Management Pack)
• Scheduling reports (example documented is for e-mail) but now with SP1 we support publishing to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.

and much more.

Here is a link to TechNet that outlines the key improvements and features included in Operations Manager 2007 Service Pack 1:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb821996.aspx

The new Operations Manager 2007 Management Pack Authoring Guide is now publicly available for download. The complete document in Microsoft Word format is available here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/4/d/74deff5e-449f-4a6b-91dd-ffbc117869a2/OM2007_AuthGuide.doc

Today the product group has announced that Operations Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 has officially RTM'd and has been released to the web.  You can download the upgrade package from here - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ede38d83-32d1-46fb-8b6d-78fa1dcb3e85&DisplayLang=en and here is the download for Operations Manager 2007 SP1 Product Evaluation - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c3b6a44c-a90f-4e7d-b646-957f2a5fff5f&DisplayLang=en

The release of this service pack is important as it improves the performance, functionality, and capabilities of Operations Manager. 

A colleague, Clive Eastwood has posted the Upgrade Guide for SP1 here - http://blogs.technet.com/cliveeastwood/archive/2008/02/22/operations-manager-2007-service-pack-1-rtm-upgrade-guide.aspx

As part of the continuing effort to focus technical readiness activities, Microsoft holds an internal employee event twice a year called TechReady with events focused on technical readiness.  The objective of this event is to make sure we are provided with consistent and up-to-date product and technology information to better serve the customer.  This is a week long event that is held in the Seattle Convention Center in downtown Seattle. 

The great part about it is since we are always on-site with a customer and collaborating or communicating virtually, we get together face-to-face (for the first time or since the last event), and that includes some of the developers or Program Managers in the Product Group as well.   This morning Steve Ballmer gave a really energizing speech of which I have not seen in some time (somewhat reminiscent of the old Steve Ballmer just yelling and showing real enthusiasm).  The zeal he displayed really invigorated us where it hightened our passion for our customers and the company. 

 Well, gotta get rested up for tomorrow's events. 

Since I did not see a way to publish both files with my one post, here is the Extended Windows Server Operating System Management Pack.

Nothing like learning something on the fly :)

Recently I have been engrossed in the development of a custom Management Pack for both Active Directory and also Windows Server Operating System.  I decided to undertake this endeavor for a couple of reasons:

1. Learn to develop a MP on Operations Manager
2. Focus on monitoring scenarios that are not provided with the current releases.  Based on experience with customers, and also on what we review with customers during a health check.

So the first custom MP I worked on was Active Directory.  I called it the "Extended Active Directory Management Pack" because it augments the existing Management Pack by monitoring for such things as:

• Monitor Domain Name System (DNS), which the default rules that were in the MOM 2005 MP did get carried over during the conversion to the Operations Manager version of the MP. (It will be for the next release of the ADMP however, tentatively scheduled for release 2nd half of 2008).
• Monitor the Windows Time Service (W32Time) for time synchronization issues with authoritative time source.
• Monitor for clients not authenticating against a local domain controller, indicating site boundaries are not properly defined or scoped.
• Monitor for expensive or inefficient LDAP queries performed against a DC (either summary or detailed events).
• Monitor for FRS related events that affect the health and availability of the SYSVOL shared directory and its replication on a domain controller.
• Monitor for specific performance characteristics of a domain controller with respect to Free System Page Table Entries and Database Name Cache hit rate.
• Includes two Tasks to remotely shutdown and reboot of a domain controller from within the Operations Console.

The Windows Server Operating System Management Pack monitors for one specific event on a Windows Server 2003 Member Server:

• Monitors for the demotion of a domain controller to a Windows member server (because of the model that Operations Manager uses, if a server role changes, then rediscovery will identify those changes and under this situation, the new alert for DC Demotion by the ADMP will be deleted shortly after it is created.  Thereby causing confusion and lack of effective audit trail).
• Includes two Tasks to remotely shutdown and reboot of a domain controller from within the Operations Console

Each Management Pack is sealed and provided in a ZIP file along with a Deployment Guide and can be downloaded from the link accompanying this entry.  The requirements for using these Management Packs are simple, you need to be running Operations Manager 2007 RC SP1.

Please feel free to provide your feedback, if you find these rule to be beneficial and relevant, and if you have any suggestions for the next version I intend on developing shortly.