http://www.techlog.org/index.php Microsoft related news and issues en maarten@goet.net Copyright 2010 Pivot Pivot - 1.30.2: 'Rippersnapper' Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:37:48 +0100 60 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/08/opsmgr_agent_installation__man http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/08/opsmgr_agent_installation__man#comm When designing an System Center Operations Manager infrastructure, depending on the situation you should make a decision on how you are going to deploy the agents to the servers (and perhaps even workstations) you are going to monitor.

In this article I will give an overview of the different installation options, and try to summarize the advantages and advantages of using them. This is important because the method used to deploy your agents will what you can do with the agent once deployed.

System Center Operations Manager provides several ways to deploy Agents to your servers, you can use a manual installation which covers the following scenario's:

• Start the Operations Manager Agent installation from the SCOM 2007 setup media (SetupOM.exe)
• Run the MomAgent.msi on each server from the AgentManagement subfolder of the SCOM installation folder an a RMS or MS.
• Script an automatic installation, which uses the MomAgent.msi, and deploy it using your Software Distribution mechanism (SCCM, SMS, Altiris, Tivoli etc..), you can check this article for all the command line options available.
• Deploy the agent using AD group policies

You can also use the console push though, which gives you the ability to either discover "to be installed" resources from your AD, or provide a list of computers on which you want to push the agent. And you can initiate an install from the Operations Manager console in order to deploy the agent to the server using by default the Management Server Action account or an account provided with enough rights to install the software.

Depending on the infrastructure available you should pick an installation method that meets your needs, below is an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of each option which can help you to determine the best option for your environment.

Console Installation

Advantages
• Easy method to install agents using discover
• Automatically approved
• Repair option available
• Prerequisites automatically installed

Disadvantages
• Additional Firewall rules must be enabled in order for discovery and installation of agent to work
• No active directory integration
• Failover automatic but to any Management Server available.

Manual Installation

Advantages
• Implement in server staging procedure (SCCM, Altiris etc..)
• Implement in current software distribution method
• Make use of Active Directory information to determine (predefined) backup management server and provide automatic failover
• Further automation possible (script Agent installation in case of non AD joined servers )

Disadvantages
• No Change Primary Management Server from console
• No repair from console
• No uninstall from console
• No upgrade from console
• MSXML not automatically installed
• AD MP helper object not automatically installed if target is Domain Controller and AD MP is not already installed.

Other things to consider:
• Domain Controllers can't make use of Active Directory integration, so when using manual installation you should use other options when it concerns DC's



Conclusion:

Keep in mind that the method you use to install your OpsMgr agents has consequences on what you can do with the agent once deployed. Therefore choosing an installation method should really be considered in the design phase, and tested before implementing the solution to all your servers.

Please contact me, if you see any additional advantages or disadvantages, I will integrate it into this document so that it can serve as a reference.

References:
• Experiences from my colleagues at INOVATIV
• Ways to Deploy Agents in SCOM by Clint Boessen
• Getting and keeping the SCOM agent on a Domain Controller – how do YOU do it? By Kevin Holman ]]> 4198@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:24:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/03/dfs_namespaces_management_pack http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/03/dfs_namespaces_management_pack#comm The DFS Namespaces Management Pack monitors servers running Windows Server® 2008, Windows Server 2003 R2, and Windows Server 2003. It can also be configured to monitor the health of DFS Namespaces from client computers running Windows Vista® or Windows® XP. This management pack monitors events that are recorded in the System event log by DFS Namespaces. It also monitors the overall health of DFS Namespaces and alerts you to critical issues.

Download: DFS Namespaces Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007 ]]> 4197@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Wed, 03 Feb 2010 08:01:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/02/application_compatibility_tool http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/02/application_compatibility_tool#comm The Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector (ACT Connector) assists administrators with collecting the necessary computer and application compatibility information to help plan for a Windows deployment.act and vista

With this connector update, Administrators will be able to utilize valuable Application Compatibility information right from within the Configuration Manager console.

Download: Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector Update ]]> 4196@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:52:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/01/microsoft_management_summit_20 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/02/01/microsoft_management_summit_20#comm The annual Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) is the premier event of the year for deep technical information and training on the latest IT Management solutions from Microsoft, Partners, and Industry Experts. In a year packed with new management product releases, MMS 2010 will provide the latest technical updates on Desktop, Datacenter, Device and Cloud management features and solutions from Microsoft. The event will share more expert knowledge and information than ever, covering current System Center products as well as Windows platform management solutions for Virtualization of servers and desktops and applications.

From executive keynotes providing product overviews and detailed roadmaps for 2010 and beyond to deep technical sessions packed with new solutions and best practices, there's something for everyone at MMS 2010, no matter what your IT Management specialty. MMS 2010 will again feature more than 8,000 Hands-on Lab places during the week, with most being led by experts providing a guided tour of the latest management releases and technologies.

Meet the Experts. MMS 2010 will offer face-to-face access to Microsoft and industry IT management experts through a variety of networking opportunities. With Birds-of-a-feather, Speaker Q&A, and the Microsoft Experts pavilion there are many opportunities to speak 1:1 with experts from Microsoft and the industry at large. In addition, the MMS 2010 Expo will host over 60 sponsors and exhibitors showcasing their latest management products, services, and solutions. (more) ]]> 4195@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ hoofdartikel Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:35:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/29/operations_management_pack_for http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/29/operations_management_pack_for#comm Now available for download, the Operations Management Pack for Windows Server 2008 R2 Direct Access Server supports a rich set of Alarms, Monitors and Agent Tasks that can be used to successfully and efficiently manage a Direct Access server.

Download: Operations Management Pack for Windows 2008 R2 Direct Access Server ]]> 4194@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:52:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/29/configmgr_2007_how_to_move_the http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/29/configmgr_2007_how_to_move_the#comm This article describes how to move the Site Database in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 from a computer that is running Microsoft SQL Server 2005 to another drive on the same computer, or to another computer that is running SQL Server 2005.(continue at source) ]]> 4193@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:50:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/29/review_microsoft_system_center http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/29/review_microsoft_system_center#comm Backup is one task in IT that no one looks forward to, so if you've been looking for a comprehensive, low maintenance solution, Data Protection Manager (DPM) from Microsoft might just be the ticket.

DPM is specifically designed to protect Microsoft workloads: Exchange, SharePoint, SQL Server, AD and Hyper-V. It also follows the paradigm shift for data protection sweeping through the IT industry: rely on hard disks for backup and recovery; only use tape for long-term archiving.(continue at source) ]]> 4192@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:38:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/file_services_management_pack_ http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/file_services_management_pack_#comm The File Services Team is proud to announce the beta release of our File Services Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007. This management pack provides health monitoring for SMB shares, NFS shares, DFS Namespaces, DFS Replication and File Server Resource Manager including the File Classification Infrastructure.

Download Instructions

1. Log on to Microsoft Connect and create a profile if you have not already created a profile
2. Navigate to Connection Directory
3. Search for  File Services and Storage and select Apply Now
4. Fill-out application survey
5. Log on to File Services and Storage connection
6. Click the announcement: Beta release of SCOM Management Pack for File Services in Server 2008 R2
7. Follow instructions to download the Management Pack

]]> 4191@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:26:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/opsmgr_scripting_wywinnwyg http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/opsmgr_scripting_wywinnwyg#comm Vincent Dipippo: "What You Write Is Not Necessarily What You Get"

OpsMgr 2007 has a fairly substantial library of discovery module types and monitor types that ship with it. Even with that library, it seems that the single most important extensibility point in OpsMgr today is the ability to use custom scripts to perform discovery and monitoring tasks. As I've developed scripts for OpsMgr, I have learned a great deal about how OpsMgr processes scripts. This article describes some important concepts regarding how scripts are processed by OpsMgr. (continue at source) ]]> 4190@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:55:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/system_center_essentials_2010_ http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/system_center_essentials_2010_#comm The Release Candidate of Essentials 2010 is now available.

What’s New in the Release Candidate?

Based on your feedback, the following new functionality is included in the RC:

* Support for Hyper-V Clusters and Live Migration
* Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) Tips
* Virtualization Jobs Status
* Improved Updates and Software Overview Pages

For information on known issues in the release candidate, please refer to the release notes.

Updated documentation for the RC:

* Deployment Guide
* Operations Guide

Download: Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 RC ]]> 4189@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:53:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/how_it_works_automatic_client_ http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/23/how_it_works_automatic_client_#comm This post is intended to explain how client approval works when a Mixed Mode Configuration Manager 2007 site is configured to automatically approve clients in trusted domains and to offer insight into how to troubleshoot scenarios where this is not working as expected.(continue at source) ]]> 4188@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Sat, 23 Jan 2010 20:49:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/16/cumulative_update_1_for_system http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/16/cumulative_update_1_for_system#comm This update contains fixes for Windows roles since the release of System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2.

From KB974144:

* The Product Knowledge tab is displayed as the Company Knowledge tab after you import a Language Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2
* An agent cannot be removed successfully from a windows cluster server node
* The Heathservice.exe process on a Windows Cluster Server passive node may exhibit excessive CPU utilization
* The Healthservice.exe process may crash when using the OLEDb module
* Workflows using the OLEDb datasource may unload if the underlying provider returns a null or empty string
* A MonitoringHost.exe instance may cause a leak in non-paged pool
* Notification subscriptions will not work when configured to parse a CustomField or an AlertOwner
* The Operations console loses the current object focus when a search filter is applied
* The SRSUpdateTool.exe returns an error that states “Failed while updating registry entry for reporting code MSI component” when attempting to upgrade SQL Reporting
* Services 2005 to SQL Reporting Services 2008
* The Operations Manager UI can crash when the Connector and Forwarding Status columns are added to an Alert view
* Agents may re-process old Windows event log entries generating Alerts for monitored events
* Health state reliability fixes and improvements
* The ADTServer service fails to start on an ACS Collector when the operating system is upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2
* In an exported performance report, the list of object instances is not displayed

Download: Cumulative Update 1 for System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 ]]> 4187@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:02:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/14/service_manager_will_launch_wi http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/14/service_manager_will_launch_wi#comm System Center Service Manager will be released in Microsoft management suites this spring along with cross-platform, IT automation software from recently acquired Opalis Software.

The two new server management capabilities will be available through Microsoft's Server Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) and Server Management Suite Datacenter (SMSD) licenses for inflated prices that take effect in July, Microsoft's System Center team said this week.(continue at source) ]]> 4186@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:40:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/12/using_opsmgr_class_inheritance http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/12/using_opsmgr_class_inheritance#comm Robert Hearn: I got an email the other day from a customer who asked if we were planning on supporting Red Hat desktop anytime soon. It seems that they’ve installed the desktop versions on their servers instead of the server versions, and since the Management Packs included with Operations Manager R2 support only Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and are geared to discovering that specific OS, their desktop systems won’t get discovered properly. It seems the agents get pushed out and installed properly, but none of the discoveries are working, so the machine sites there not being monitored.

Well, since I was already working on my other article on porting a Red Hat MP to work for CentOS, I thought it was an opportune time to see if I could generate a quick MP extension to make this work. I thought that the real problem was that the initial computer and OS discoveries were not working (because it was RHED instead of RHEL), but all the other monitors, rules, diagnostics and recoveries should be exactly the same. So, I worked on a hunch that if I could get OpsMgr to discover these systems and then act like they were actually RHEL machines (discover them using the RHEL classes), everything would work. My hunch worked, and the systems began getting discovered properly, so I thought I’d share the MP I created.(continue at source) ]]> 4185@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:50:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/12/try_system_center_operations_m http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/12/try_system_center_operations_m#comm Management Packs allow users to monitor SharePoint 2010 with System Center Operations Manager. SharePoint Foundation Management Pack and SharePoint Server 2010 Management Pack enables monitoring of SharePoint Foundation 2010, SharePoint Server 2010, Search Server 2010 (These is separate management pack for FAST search), Project Server 2010 and Office Web Apps. Once management pack is imported to System Center console, based on console configuration it automatically discovers what SharePoint bits or servers are installed in the environment that is being monitored and start monitoring those components.

These 2010 management packs will be released to System Center Operations manager catalog and will also be released to web along with SharePoint 2010 RTM.(continue at source) ]]> 4184@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:47:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/12/microsoft_forefront_threat_man http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/12/microsoft_forefront_threat_man#comm This MP monitors Forefront TMG and includes monitors and rules to track the deployed topology & features, performance, availability, and reliability of Forefront TMG components. With detailed alert information, you can quickly identify and troubleshoot Forefront TMG 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 Forefront TMG deployment to resolve issues before problems occur.

Download: Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010 Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007 ]]> 4183@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:44:00 +0100 http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/09/the_next_wave_of_client_manage http://www.techlog.org/archive/2010/01/09/the_next_wave_of_client_manage#comm Jeff Wettlaufer: Today we are announcing the opening of the Technology Adoption Program nominations for the next release of System Center Configuration Manager.

The Technology Adoption Program is designed to provide a consistent experience for Microsoft customers to obtain real-world customer feedback on Microsoft pre-release products. (continue at source) ]]> 4182@http://www.techlog.org/pivot/ default Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:38:00 +0100