• Operations Manager 2007 R2 Installation and Configuration (Step by Step) – Part 10 “Discover Unix\Linux Servers and Deploy Agents”

    Posted over 3 years ago
    by Maged Ezzat}

    In this post series I went through step by step into System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 starting from “Pre-Build”, then I continued with “Installing Operations Manager Database”, followed by another post “Installing Root Management Server”, then “Configure GPO for SCOM”, then followed by “Configuring SQL Reporting Service”, then followed by “Installing Data Warehouse Database”, then followed by “Installing Audit Collection Service” then followed by “Download and Import Management Pack”, and lately followed by “Discover Windows Computer and Deploy SCOM Agents”

    In this post I will go through basic configuration in System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, and the focus in this post will be on Discovering Unix\Linux Servers and Deploy Agents.

    Steps are as the following:

    Step

    Description

    Screenshot
     

    User local administrator privileges to log on to the SCOM 2007 R2 Root Management Server (SCOM) [Member of "OpsMgrAdmins" Group]. This account must also have system administrator privileges on the instance of SQL Server that will host the Operations Manager 2007 R2 database

    		  

    1.

    Open a command prompt as a Local Administrator and execute the following command:

    Winrm set winrm/config/client/auth @{Basic=”true”}

    		 image

    2.

    Open the SCOM console. Highlight Administration and Click Discovery Wizard

    		 image

    3.

    On the What do you want to manage page, Click and select Unix/Linux computers then Click Next

    		 image

    4.

    On the Discovery Method page, Click Add

    		 image

    5.

    On the Define discovery criteria dialog box, do the following:

    · Provide the IP address of the Unix/Linux Server

    · Provide the Credentials

    · Click OK

    		 image

    6.

    On Discovery criteria page, do the following:

    · Select the Management Server

    · Check Enable SSH based discovery

    · Click Discover

    		  

    7.

    On the Discovery results page, Select the computer and click Next

    		 image

    8.

    On the Deployment complete page, Click Done

    		 image

    In the next posts I will continue go through the main configuration areas in Operations Manager 2007 R2, starting with Configure Notification.

     

    Related Posts:

  • Manage your Windows 7 deployment with MAC Addresses

    Posted over 3 years ago
    by Elie BouIssa}

    I have been asked a number of times on the possibility of allowing or denying Windows 7 installation to specific MAC addresses.

    If you are performing a light touch installation (LTI) using MDT, you can append the MAC address to your customsettings.ini file. A sample configuration is shown below:

    [Settings]

    Priority=MacAddress, Default

    [00:15:5D:84:2F:24]

    OSInstall=Y

    [Default]

    OSInstall=N

    The above entries will install the operating system only to the MAC address [00:15:5D:84:2F:24]. Any other MAC address won’t be able to perform the OS installation. When you try to run a task sequence from an unauthorized machine, you will get the below error:

    LTIError

    You could also make use of the SQL Express for dynamic configuration. To do so, expand your deployment share, expand Advanced Configuration, expand Database, right click on Computers and click New Computer.

    Fill in the information to identify the computer machine as shown below and click Apply:

    LTISQL

    Click the Details tab, and scroll down to Miscellaneous section. On the OSInstall value, type NO and click OK:

    LTISQL2

    Right click Database and select Configure Database Rules. On the Configure DB Wizard page, select the first option to query for computer-specific settings only:

    LTISQL3

    Click Next and Deselect All for Location Options. Repeat this for the remaining pages till you reach the confirmation page.

    Check your customsettings.ini and it should look as below:

    LTISQL4

    When you try to run an operating system deployment from an unauthorized machine, you would get a similar error to the one at the top of this article.

    On the other hand, if you are performing a zero touch installation (ZTI) with Configuration Manager, the steps would be similar to LTI but you would need to add a Gather step to read customsettings.ini at the beginning of your task sequence.

    From the configuration manager console, expand Operating System Deployment and click on Task Sequences. Right click your desired task sequence and click on Edit.

    Place your cursor on the Initialization group, click on Add, select MDT and click Gather.

    Select Gather local data and process rules and browse to your Settings package that was created prior to the task sequence creation. On the Rules file field, type CustomSettings.ini:

    ZTI-3

    Machines with MAC address not listed for deployment will get the following error:

    ZTI-1

    You can also deny the installation at the PXE level by adding a string value MACIgnoreListFile to the registry of the PXE server. This key should reference a text file placed on the same server which lists the MAC addresses to be ignored for PXE boot:

    ZTI-4

    On a 32-bit system, the registry key needs to be created at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SMS\PXE. On a 64-bit system, the registry key needs to be created at HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\SMS\PXE.

    Machines listed in the text file would get the following error when booting from the PXE:

    ZTI-2

    Conversely, you can allow only specific MAC addresses to boot from a PXE server. To do so, from the configuration manager console, expand your Site Settings, select your site server, right click your PXE service point and click on properties.

    Under Interfaces, select “Respond to PXE requests on specific network interfaces” and add your MAC addresses as shown below:

    ZTI-5

  • Operations Manager 2007 R2 Installation and Configuration (Step by Step) – Part 9 “Discover Windows Computer and Deploy SCOM Agents”

    Posted over 3 years ago
    by Maged Ezzat}

    In this post series I went through step by step into System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 starting from “Pre-Build”, then I continued with “Installing Operations Manager Database”, followed by another post “Installing Root Management Server”, then “Configure GPO for SCOM”, then followed by “Configuring SQL Reporting Service”, then followed by “Installing Data Warehouse Database”, then followed by “Installing Audit Collection Service” and lately followed by “Download and Import Management Pack”

    In this post I will go through basic configuration in System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, and the focus in this post will be on Discovering Windows Computer and Deploy SCOM Agents,

    Steps are as the following:

    Step

    Description

    Screenshot
     

    User local administrator privileges to log on to the SCOM 2007 R2 Root Management Server (SCOM) [Member of "OpsMgrAdmins" Group]. This account must also have system administrator privileges on the instance of SQL Server that will host the Operations Manager 2007 R2 database

    		  

    1.

    Open the SCOM console. Highlight Administration and Click Discovery Wizard

    clip_image002

    2.

    On the What do you want to manage page, Click and select Windows computers then Click Next

    clip_image004

    3.

    On Auto or Advanced page, do the following:

    · Select Advanced discovery

    · Select Servers Only in the dropdown list

    · Select a Management Server SCOM.contoso.com· Click Next

    clip_image006

    4.

    On the Discovery Method page, Select Scan Active Directory and Click Configure.

    clip_image008

    5.

    On Find Computers dialog box, Select the Role Any and click OK

    clip_image010

    6.

    On the Discover Method page, Click Next

    clip_image012

    7.

    On the Administrator Account page, Check Use selected Management Server Action Account and Click Discover

    clip_image014

    8.

    On the Select Objects to Manage page, select the computers to manage and click Next

    		  

    9.

    On the Summary page, confirm the Agent installation directory, Select Local System and Click Finish

    clip_image016

    10.

    Close the Agent Management Task Status dialog box

    		  

    In the next posts I will continue go through the main configuration areas in Operations Manager 2007 R2, starting with Discovering Unix\Linux Servers and Deploy Agents.

    Related Posts:

  • Master Data Services (MDS)–Overview & Installation- Part1

    Posted over 3 years ago
    by Ahmed AbdAllah1}

     

    Master Data Services, also known as MDS, is one of the key business intelligence features being introduced with SQL Server 2008 R2. The basic goal of Master Data Services is to provide a single authoritative source for information within your enterprise.This information can then be used by other applications and databases so that every application in your environment is always looking at a single authoritative copy of the same information.In this series I will introduce this feature to you and I will share with you our industry standards , my practices and my experience in this area.

    Before you can use Master Data Services, you need to install it. This requires a 64-bit server because the MDS installer in only available in a 64-bit build. Yet , I dedicate this post to the installation for SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services .

     

    Software Requirements

    Operating Systems

    Supported 64 bit operating systems include:

    • Windows Server 2008
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • Windows 7 Professional
    • Windows 7 Enterprise
    • Windows 7 Ultimate
    • Windows Vista Business
    • Windows Vista Enterprise
    • Windows Vista Ultimate
    SQL Server

    Supported 64 bit SQL Server editions include:

    • SQL Server 2008 R2 Data Center
    • SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise
    • SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer
     
    .NET Framework

    Master Data Services requires .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 or later. If you do not already have .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 installed on your computer, Setup will install it before installing the Master Data Services components and tools.

    PowerShell

    If PowerShell 1.0 or above is not installed on the operating system, MDS Configuration Manager will not be able to perform all operations.

    Internet Information Services (IIS)

    If IIS7 or above is not installed on your computer, the Web Configuration selection will be disabled in Configuration Manager.

    Required Web Service (IIS) role and role services

    Master Data Services requires installation of the Web Server (IIS) role and the following IIS role services:

    Common HTTP Features
    • Static Content
    • Default Document
    • Directory Browsing
    • HTTP Errors
    Application Development
    • ASP.Net
    • .NET Extensibility
    • ISAPI Extensions
    • ISAPI Filters
    Health and Diagnostics
    • HTTP Logging
    • Request Monitor
    Security
    • Windows Authentication
    • Request Filtering
    Performance
    • Static Content Compression
    Management Tools
    • IIS Management Console
    Required features

    Master Data Services requires installation of the following features on the host server:

    .NET Framework 3.0 Features
    • WCF Activation
    • HTTP Activation
    • Non-HTTP Activation
    Windows PowerShell
    Windows Process Activation Service
    • Process Model
    • NET Environment
    • Configuration APIs

    Installation Process

    Navigate to the MasterDataServices.msi located in the \1033_enu_lp\x64\setup directory and double click on the file to start the installation and follow the installation wizard per the below screen shots.

    1

    Click Run

    2

    Click Next to continue

    3

    Review the license Agreement and Click Next to continue

    4

    Enter Name and Company

    And then Click Next to continue

    5

    Define the installation path and Click Next to continue

    6

    Click install to start the installation

    7

    8

    9

    Click finish

    10

    Create and configure the Master Data Services database. .

    11

    12

    Click on the Create Database button on the left side

    13

    Click Next to continue

    14

    Enter SQL Server Instance name , select your authentication type and type your user name and password

    15

    Type the Database Name

    16

    Enter the windows account that you will grant permission to the master data services database. this account will be used by the master data services web sites and web services to connect to the database.

    17

    Enter the account that you want to grant permission for administration

    18

    Click Next to continue

    19

    20

    Click Finish to exit the wizard

    • Create and configure the Master Data Manager Web application. .

    • Associate the Master Data Services database and Master Data Manager Web application

    21

    22

    23

    24

    25

    Associate the Master Data Services database and Master Data Manager Web application

    26

    27

  • Removing SCOM Management Pack Dependencies

    Posted over 3 years ago
    by Syed Wasay - MSFT}

    In my previous post (Deleted SCOM Default Management Pack),  I have discussed that how to restore your complete SCOM Console view, if the Default Management Pack is deleted somehow. Here I am discussing how to avoid this deletion and how to remove those Management Packs which have dependencies on Default Management Pack. When you create an override and don’t save it to a custom Management Pack it will by default save to the Microsoft.SystemCenter.OperationsManager.DefaultUser.xml management pack.


    Here is how you can remove the dependencies on a Management Pack. But first of all please take backup you Management Packs.

    1. Download and install Microsoft’s XML notepad
    2. Export the Default management pack to any folder you like. This will export it into an XML file. Back this file up before making changes to it.
    3. Open the XML file in XML Notepad
    4. Expand the management pack in the left window to Management Pack->Manifest->References.

    1. Look in each sub-folder named Reference for the Management pack that you are trying to remove. Once you find it Delete the Reference folder.
    2. Import the Default XML file back into the console.
    3. Now you can delete the required Management Pack.

     

    Related post:

    Deleted SCOM Default Management Pack (http://blogs.technet.com/b/meamcs/archive/2011/08/21/deleted-scom-default-management-pack.aspx)