Matt Goedtel on Operations Management : SCOM 2007

Extended SQL Server MP Released on OpsManJam

mgoedtel — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:39:00 GMT

As promised, I finally finished and submitted the Extended SQL Server 2005/2008 Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007 and it is now available for download on OpsManJam.

This management pack augments the existing Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 management pack by monitoring for the following change in your environment:

A database mirroring event has been detected on the principal server, affecting replication of the database transaction logs between principal and its mirroring partner based on user-defined performance thresholds for that mirrored database instance.
Performance collection of key database mirroring performance counters for viewing in performance views inculded with this management pack, or referencing in a performance report.

This management pack was developed referencing the latest version of the Operations Manager 2007 SQL Server Management Pack, version 6.0.6569.0.

After my short break, I'll begin working on the next version of this management pack, which will include a health model and monitoring of the health of a mirrored database. Hopefully I can turn this around withina reasonable timeframe. As always, I encourage and appreciate your feedback.

Moving the Health Service State Store

mgoedtel — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 04:48:00 GMT

So yesterday a question was presented internally between my colleagues and I with respect to a situation a colleague was facing. Suppose by chance you are installing the first management server, which happens to be the Root Management Server, in the management group and you install it to the %SystemDrive% volume. Later you realize that as time goes on, the free space on the system volume decreases and you 1) wonder why and 2) discover it is due to Operations Manager.

After doing some further diagnosis, you identify the Health Service ESE database as the culprit and therefore, decide you want to move it to a different volume with ample free space to support it for the long haul. It is installed by default in %ProgramFiles%$\System Center Operations Manager 2007\Health Service State. This procedure is not currently documented in the Operations Manager Operations Guide, On-line Help, Knowledge Base, etc. However, this solution I am about to provide you with was presented to the product group and they acknowledged it is approved and supported. In order to move the Health Service State folder structure to a different volume, perform the following steps:

Stop the following services - OpsMgr Health Service, OpsMgr Config Service, OpsMgr SDK Service.
Create on the destination volume the directory you want to move the Health Service State directory to. I recommend maintaining consistency and naming it - "Program Files\System Center Operations Manager 2007\Health Service State."
Move the source "Program Files\System Center Operations Manager 2007\Health Service State" directory to the destination folder you created in Step 2.
Verify the ACL permissions are at a minimum, set to Administrators (Full Control) and System (Full Control) on the directory and sub-directories.
Warning: Editing the Registry incorrectly can result in your operating system or applications failing to function normally. Be sure you backup the system before you proceed with this step. Open the Registry Editor and under HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\HealthService\Parameters key modify the following value "State Directory" with the destination path you have moved the source to.
Close the Registry Editor.
Restart the following services - OpsMgr SDK Service, OpsMgr Config Service, and OpsMgr Health Service.
Open the Event Log and in the Operations Manager Event View, verify there are no errors from the source Health Service, Health Service Modules, and Health Service ESE Store.

These steps are also applicable for the Agent, management server, and Gateway Server.

Disk Space Requirements for the Operations Console

mgoedtel — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:31:00 GMT

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.

Operations Manager 2007 SP1 Release Candidate Available!

mgoedtel — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 06:24:00 GMT

The release candidate for Service Pack 1 for Operations Manager 2007 is ready for download from http://connect.microsoft.com/systemcenter.

The high level themes of this service pack are:

Address critical customer initiated issues including roll-up of all hotfixes
Make the product easier to support
Make the product easier to use
Make the product easier to deploy

Key things to note:

Read the release notes and upgrade guide included with this release and carefully follow the instructions
This is a fully supported release - support is available through the standard Microsoft Support channels and also via our newsgroup microsoft.public.opsmgr.sp1
The release candidate will be fully upgradable to the final RTM release of SP1 (currently scheduled for mid-February 2008)

I'll be pounding on this over the next few days, so stay tuned for updates from me of interest!

Operations Manager 2007 Backup & Recovery Guide Released

mgoedtel — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:10:00 GMT

On 6/29/2007 we released the highly sought after System Center Operations Manager 2007 Backup & Recovery Guide. This guide provides guidance on understanding how to compliment your current disaster recovery strategy in support of Operations Manager 2007. Such topics covered are:

Understanding what to backup and why.- covers all key components and services of Operations Manager 2007.
Effects of Failure - Summarizes impact to your Management Group and high-level steps in recovering that component or service.
How to backup and restore the OperationsManager database.
How to move the OperationsManager database to a different SQL Server.
How to backup the Root Management Server - specifically the Secure Encryption Key..
Backup and restoring the IIS 6.0 metabase.
Backup Custom Management Packs

This is the first version of this guide and we intend on continuing to update it with new information such as:

Move the OperationsManagerDW (Reporting Data Warehouse) to a different SQL Server.
Move the OperationsManagerAC (Audit Collection Database) to a different SQL Server.

Other scenarios that you would encounter in your enterprise will be covered as well. After I take a short break from getting this out the door (as I was one of the key authors on this document), I'll start working on the next version.

You can download it from here - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/opsmgr/bb498235.aspx

Stay tuned and be sure to provide your feedback once you review the document.

Thanks!