Do you want to know to which agents report to a specific Management Server? Just execute the next code in your OpsMgr Command Shell.
Function GetSpecificAgents ([string]$managementserver)
{
write-host ""
write-host "The following servers have $managementserver as their primary management server:"
FOREACH ($i in get-agent)
{
IF ($i.PrimaryManagementServerName -eq $managementServer)
{
write-host $i.name
}
}
write-host ""
}
GetSpecificAgents "[fqdn of management server]"
Pete from SystemCenterForum mentiones that this will also work: get-agent | where-object {$_.PrimaryManagementServerName -eq ‘Mgmt Svr FQDN’} | ft name
Clive Eastwood: On Feb 22nd we shipped the Service Pack 1 of OpsMgr 2007. We made one last minute change to one of the upgrade steps in the upgrade guide which did not make it to the upgrade documentation that was shipped with the SP1 bits.
If you are upgrading from SP1 RC (6246) to SP1 RTM (6278) then you may need to run repair to upgrade the agents rather than approve them from pending management view as agents needing upgrade may not appear in this view. This was not called out in the upgrade document we shipped in SP1. We have updated the web version of the upgrade guide as well as the release notes. Below are the steps that need to be taken after the upgrade if agents to be upgraded do not appear in the Pending Management view.(
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Benefits and Compatibility Overview
Can you feel it!? The anticipation is growing as we count down to the Windows Server 2008 launch. Appropriately, the launch theme is “Heroes Happen Here.”
Heroes are big these days. Just ask my wife how much she has spent on superhero action figures and books for our son this past year.
Of course, with Windows Sever 2008 we are talking about real heroes; IT Professionals. And just like the fictional superheroes, these real IT Pro Heroes have their gadgets and superpowers ready to draw on to make them rise above us mere mortals. This year, the big talk amongst the Hero community is a superhero combination that has everyone else down at the “Hall of Justice” turning green with envy; Windows Server 2008 and System Center.
That’s right. System Center is already being used to help Heroes around the world successfully plan, for the smoothest Windows Server 2008 deployments and upgrades so the most efficient management infrastructure can be in place. Windows Server 2008 and System Center, together, these guys have some serious talent.(
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It's a pretty commonly asked question. People want to use different subject names on the Internet and intranet for their MPs. This isn't hard to do, and it requires something called a Subject Alternative Name, often abbreviated as SAN. The SAN can contain multiple alternate names. The SAN will take precedent over the common name (CN), or the regular subject name for a certificate. This is important because it means that if you have "hostnameA" in the CN, and "hostnameB" in the SAN, "hostnameA" will cause a CN mismatch. You will have to have a SAN for "hostnameA" and "hostnameB" for both to work.
To request certificates with SANs, you have to first configure your CA to support them. On Microsoft CAs, SAN support is not enabled for general requests by default. To enable this, run the following command on your CA server: certutil.exe -setreg policy\editflags +EDITF_ATTRIBUTESUBJECTALTNAME2
You MUST restart Certificate Services after doing this.(
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The command line MOMCertImport command line utility now has a GUI version! A tasty renovation indeed!
If you run in a command prompt with the full syntax momcertimport
, it will still execute from a command line, but if you simply type MOMCertimport with no arguments or double-click the executable, you will get a Gui version.
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 delivers a safe, secure, and reliable platform for running your most mission critical, line-of-business applications. It is the platform for building scalable business intelligence, data warehousing, and transaction processing that allows your business to grow and expand. Learn how System Center Operations Manager 2007, System Center Configuration Manager 2007, and System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 can benefit your SQL Server deployments.
Download Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and System Center datasheet
Using System Center products with Exchange Server 2007 improves the operation of your computing environment and improves your business workflow. Read this datasheet and find out how System Center Operations Manager 2007, Configuration Manager 2007, Data Protection Manager 2007, and Capacity Planner can benefit planning for, deployment of, and management of Exchange Server 2007.
Download Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and System Center datasheet
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is the driving force behind companies building integrated workflow and collaboration systems. With SharePoint, businesses leverage in-house expertise; build teams to accomplish project tasks; and manage content and workflow, regardless of the physical locations of the participants. Read this datasheet and find out how System Center solutions can help deploy, monitor, and protect Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Download Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 and System Center Datasheet
Brian Wren: Considering all my work with OpsMgr management packs and my infatuation with PowerShell, it's surprising that I've never put the two together in a public forum. I keep meaning to, just don't ever seem to get there. I finally committed myself to this blog post while sitting at my local It's a Grind (that's a coffee house to all you Seattle Starbucks fans. It's a Grind was born in Long Beach, and I am fanatically loyal to my home town).
So here's the basic question - can I use a PowerShell script in an OpsMgr management pack? In other words, can I execute a PowerShell script from a rule, monitor, diagnostic, recovery, or task? The answer is absolutely you can, but there are some considerations to keep in mind. First let's cover those considerations, then we'll get to concepts and code. If you just want the modules to copy and paste into your MP, go ahead and jump to the end.(continue at source)
Clive Eastwood: I've seen several questions on this topic both internally and externally so it deserves more of an explanation than the upgrade guide possibly supplies.
If you have installed the SP1 RC Evaluation version or SP1 Evaluation version and need to upgrade to Full version you will require the full license product in order to become fully licensed (Requiring the LicensingWizard tool for Eval to Full is no longer required with SP1) which is currently unavailable since the RTM was only 2/22. It will therefore take some time for the full slipstreamed SP1 media to be available (first week in April I'm reliably informed). Please be patient if you find yourself having to wait. (continue at source)
For System Center Forum readers that might have missed our first blog posts, this is Jalasoft’s fourth article about Xian Io’s functionality in a series of eight. Prior posts discussed the monitoring of network device interfaces, port status, a device’s response time and asynchronous monitoring. On this occasion we’ll talk about the monitoring of processes since it is a fairly useful feature unbeknownst to most of our customers.When monitoring UNIX servers, it is important to continuously monitor hardware components like CPUs, interfaces and memory. However, what to do with applications running in a server that also need to be monitored? Fortunately Xian Io gives you a chance to monitor processes and daemons running on a UNIX server.
But how can Xian users monitor processes in UNIX servers? It is quite easy! When configuring the add device rule in the Xian Io console, besides the IP address and port, you can as well discover daemons and processes. To do so, you must select this option in the “add device wizard” of the Xian Io Console and decide on a search criterion to discover the processes (See figure 1). For example, if you would like to monitor all your processes, set the “*” value as the search criterion. If you need to monitor all your sendmail processes, set “*sendmail*” as a criterion. Finally, if you were interested in monitoring only a single process, set the exact name of this process. On the other hand, to add multiple search criteria, just separate them with commas ‘,’.
This download contains the following documentation for System Center Operations Manager 2007:
• Operations Manager 2007 Deployment Guide:
This guide steps you through the deployment process for System Center Operations Manager 2007.
• Active Directory Management Pack Guide for Operations Manager 2007:
This document includes a Management Pack overview, deployment procedures, and monitoring scenarios for the two Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Management Packs
• Exchange Management Pack Guide for Operations Manager 2007: This guide includes a Management Pack overview, deployment procedures, and monitoring scenarios for the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007.
• SQL Management Pack Guide for Operations Manager 2007:
The SQL Server Management Pack provides both proactive and reactive monitoring of SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 for an enterprise environment.
• Windows Server Operating System Management Pack Guide for Operations Manager 2007:
The Microsoft Windows Server Management Packs monitor the performance, health, and availability of Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
• Windows Client Operating System Management Pack Guide:
The Windows client operating system Management Packs are intended for use in gathering data on client computers or individually monitoring designated mission-critical client computers.
• Operations Manager 2007 Terminal Services Management Pack: This guide includes an overview of the Management Pack, deployment procedures, and monitoring scenarios for the Terminal Services Management Pack.
• Operations Manager 2007 Security Guide:
This guide provides you with security-related information as it pertains to Operations Manager 2007.
• Operations Manager 2007 Management Pack Guide:
This guide includes a Management Pack overview, deployment procedures, and monitoring scenarios for the Microsoft Windows Server Internet Information Services 2000 and 2003 Management Packs for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007.
• Operations Manager 2007 Management Pack Terminal Services:
This guide includes an overview of the Management Pack, deployment procedures, and monitoring scenarios for the Terminal Services Management Pack.
• The Operations Manager 2007 Design Guide:
This guide steps the reader through the steps necessary to develop a complete architectural plan for their OpsMgr2007 implementation.
• Operations Manager 2007 Backup and Recovery Guide:
This guide provides guidance in planning for backup and recovery of System Center Operations Manager 2007 server roles and components. The information in this guide will complement your existing recovery strategy to avoid service disruption.
• Operations Manager 2007 Operations Guide:
This guide s a comprehensive resource that can be used to understand and use your Operations Manager 2007 implementation to your best advantage. It teaches the Operations Manager administrator what to do after successfully deployed a Management Group for the first time.
• Operations Manager 2007 MigrationGuide:
This guide is intended to help you understand the migration process from Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (MOM 2005) to Operations Manager 2007 and the tools that are used in the process.
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 delivers a safe, secure, and reliable platform for running your most mission critical, line-of-business applications. It is the platform for building scalable business intelligence, data warehousing, and transaction processing that allows your business to grow and expand. Learn how System Center Operations Manager 2007, System Center Configuration Manager 2007, and System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 can benefit your SQL Server deployments.
Download SQL_SystemCenter_datasheet.pdf
David from Aquilaweb writes: User roles in SCOM and their scoping are all stored within the MomAuth.xml file which is located at %Program Files%\System Center Operations Manager 2007\SDK Service State. This file can be viewed as you would normally view any XML file using your favourite app or you can view it in more detail using Authorization Manager. This can be accessed as a snap-in within the MMC or by simply running AzMan.msc, once opened you can view the user roles and how they are scoped by selected Open Authorization Store from the Actions menu and selecting your MomAuth.xml file.
The Supported Configurations Guide included with SP1 RTM (ProductDocumentation folder) states the following:
Windows Server 2008 Operating System
Detailed support for The Windows Server 2008 operating system will be published 90 days after the release of Windows Server 2008. This document will be updated on the System Center Operations Manager TechCenter Web site at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=90676.
For additional information on Opsmgr07 Role support as well as MOM 2005 support see http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/archive/...er-2008.aspx
Also applied to SCE SP1
Clive Eastwood: I thought it may be a good idea to drop a copy of the Opsmgr SP1 Upgrade guide here for those planning deployments. Lots of information to take in and a few caveats besides. This can be found on the SP1 RTM CD image in the ProductDocumentation folder. RTM is imminent:)
And don't forget to import the SP1 Management Packs after upgrade.(continue at source)
Microsoft System Center solutions can work together to provide an integrated, end-to-end management solution for your Windows Server 2008 environment. Learn about the benefits of managing Windows Server 2008 with System Center Operations Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, Configruation Manager, and Data Protection Manager.(continue at source)
Find out how Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 delivers best-of-breed, end-to-end monitoring and management of your Microsoft Windows infrastructure. Read about the benefits and core capabilities of System Center Operations Manager 2007 as well as the different Management Packs that will be available for Windows Server 2008.(continue at source)
This list will be an the update to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/944443/en-us (List of issues that are fixed in System Center Operations Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 Release Candidate). This article will be updated shortly to reflect the KB articles applying to the original release which are not fixed in SP1. For additional functionality/improvements please also see the What's New section of the Operations Manager Help online (soon to be published to the TechNet TechCenter too) - See OpsMgr2007.chm in the ProductDocumentation folder of the SP1 RTM expanded image.
Stefan Stranger: Since I started at Microsoft as a Premier Field Engineer I went to quite some customers still using MOM 2005, so for all of you already working with OpsMgr 2007 (SP1) here some "old school" info on Computer Groups and Computer Rules in MOM 2005.
What are Computer Groups?
Computer Groups allow you to group together similar computers so that you can assign rules to group or computer and not individually to each computer.
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Just another of my personal experiences with VMM. I just completed a P2V of a Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller. Actually, it was a V2V as I was using my virtual environment. Anyhow, one of the things to be aware of is that after doing the conversion and bringing the other system online it prompted to reactivate Windows due to the "significant hardware changes".
It also required a system restart due to the same newly detected hardware. Not a big deal, so to speak, but certainly a concern for production environments.
Lastly, I have to admit that the conversion process was not seamless. Because you’re transferring a live server to a virtualised version of the same, there are additional concerns that you have to tend to. Probably the most important of these is the need to properly reconfigure your network settings on the VM. While I updated my virtual machine settings to include the proper IP configuration settings, it actually took yet another restart for those settings to take effect. While I thought this odd, I was too tired and frustrated to try to figure it out. (continue at source)
Language(s): English.
Product(s): System Center.
Audience(s): IT Professionals.
Duration: 90 Minutes
Start Date: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 1:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Event Overview
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 shipped recently, but we are not done yet! This year, we will also release a service pack and an R2. In this session, we cover the changes we are making in the System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) timeframe, in addition to the following System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 release. We briefly introduce System Center Configuration Manager, but our focus is on the new elements to support Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008, in addition to some additional changes for Asset Intelligence and Intel AMT Integration.
Presenter: Jeff Wettlaufer, Senior Technical Product Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Register here.
Describes how the Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 (OpsMgr 2007) was implemented to improve Microsoft IT's infrastructure management service offerings. OpsMgr 2007 provides a centralized monitoring infrastructure with increased reliability and granular rights delegation. By implementing OpsMgr 2007, Microsoft IT improved operational efficiency and reduced the cost of IT lifecycle investments.
Download Implementing System Center Operations Manager 2007 at Microsoft
The System Center Operations Manager 2007 team is excited to announce that System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1 has Released-to-Manufacturing (RTM), and is now available for download! This release of SP1 marks an important milestone for the System Center Operations Manager 2007, making the product easier to support, easier to use, and easier to deploy.
The goals that this Service Pack addresses include:
Address critical customer initiated issues, including a roll-up of all hot-fixes
Improve the ability to deploy and use Operations Manager 2007
Enhance the supportability of Operations Manager 2007
A comprehensive list on what’s included with Service Pack 1 can be found by visiting the What’s New in Ops Mgr 2007 SP1 and What’s Fixed in Ops Mgr 2007 SP1.
Obtaining System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1
System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1 is currently being pushed out to the web, and the following links are being replicated over the weekend (replication is expected to be completed by Mon Feb 25th, if not earlier).
Upgrade: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=EDE38D83-32D1-46FB-8B6D-78FA1DCB3E85&displaylang=en
Evaluation: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C3B6A44C-A90F-4E7D-B646-957F2A5FFF5F&displaylang=en
Need support or assistance?
If you want to discuss the service pack please join the SP1 news group at microsoft.public.opsmgr.sp1 at news.microsoft.com. My fellow MVP, Anders Bengtsson, recommends JetBrains Omea Readers as news group reader, you can download it here. More information about Microsoft news groups here. Or you can visit www.inovativ.nl for INOVATIV, de System Center specialisten, who can help you onsite if you're in The Netherlands.
London, UK - 20 February 08 – 3CX has announced the release of version 5.1 of 3CX Phone System for Windows. The latest version of the award-winning IP PBX has an integrated 3CX Tunnel which simplifies firewall configuration by channeling all VoIP traffic over a single port; making it easy for remote workers to connect to their company’s PBX and for Network Managers to connect different remote PBX systems between them. Traditionally, firewall configuration for remote SIP / VoIP systems and/or extensions can represent a challenge, because it requires many open ports.
Nick Galea, CEO at 3CX said: “We know how important it is for businesses nowadays to have remote workers and branches seamlessly integrated to their company’s phone system, and the addition of the 3CX Tunnel to 3CX Phone System for Windows facilitates this process.
“The 3CX Tunnel, unlike other similar tunneling protocols, is not proprietary and can be used with popular VoIP softphones and hard phones. This is ideal for businesses, as they can use a variety of telephone options with their IP PBX depending on their needs and budget.” (more)
Operations Manager 2007 collects large amounts of data from your environment. By using the Reporting feature, you can create reports based on this data that provide additional information about the health of your environment. For example, you can create a report that shows the amount of time it takes between an alert being raised to its being written in the Operations Manager database. This report can help you identify any network delays and isolate trouble spots. Based on the data in this report, you can then take corrective action.
Download the Operations Manager 2007 Reports Authoring Guide
Suppose you want to create a view to look at performance data that has been collected in OpsMgr. You go to create the view and are prompted for a performance counter name. You copy and paste the performance counter name just as it appears in performance monitor on the system of interest and, you see no data come up. So how do you know if this is normal (because OpsMgr isn't collecting that performance counter) or whether there is a problem? Lets discuss how we can make this determination in the OpsMgr console.
In order to display performance data in a view we must have a RULE to collect data from the specific counter of interest. Notice I wrote RULE in all capital letters. I did that to make a point. In OpsMgr 2007 all data collection (events, perf, whatever) is handled by rules - not monitors. Monitors are solely used for monitoring health state. Rules are used for any data collection. So thats where we need to look - do we have a rule that is configured to collect the peformance counter we are interested in? Assuming we have named all of our performance rules with the name of the counters they collect - all we have to do is search the rule names and see if any rule exists. But, in practical terms, it very likely isn't that easy. Assume, for example, that we have a performance collection rule titled Netlogon Performance Rule 1. That rule is configured to collect data from the new (available with hotfix 928576) 'average semaphore hold time' performance counter. Unless we know this particular rule is the one that collects that counter it is difficult to find. But there is a very easy way to determine all of the performance counters OpsMgr knows about and are configured for data collection - and what rule is actually doing the work to collect the data!(continue at source)
Ever have a performance problem, but don't know what performance counters to collect or how to analyze them? The PAL (Performance Analysis of Logs) tool is a new and powerful tool that reads in a performance monitor counter log (any known format) and analyzes it using complex, but known thresholds (that are provided). The tool comes out-of-the-box with some predefined thresholds defined as high according to the Microsoft consulting/development but those can be adjusted to whatever you like.(continue at source)
Download the entire set of the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Training Videos (in .wmv format) for an offline viewing experience. Version 1.0 download size: 185.6 MB.
Download the training videos
Ben Hunter: I am often asked what the best way is to manage drivers with both BDD/MDT and ConfigMgr. With this in mind I thought I would create two blog posts dealing with this topic. The first post (this one) will cover ConfigMgr and the second BDD/MDT driver management.
Please note this is not the only way to manage drivers, there are many different ways to manage drivers. However this is an approach that I have used many times with much success.(continue at source)
DeploymentMan: This is one of my favorite features/roles in OpsMgr 2007. When I refer to the Gateway Server I am referring to role in OpsMgr which can be used to monitor un-trusted domains/DMZs and not the spotted cow company that builds servers. If you are not leveraging the Gateway Server role then here are my 10 reasons why you should.(continue at source)
With Short Message Service (SMS) you can easily send messages (max. 160 characters) to mobile phones. Messages can be textual (alphanumeric) or binary. The following four steps are required for you to setup notification with SMS:
- Configure a GSM modem
- Configure SMS notification channel
- Configure notification recipients
- Configure notification subscription
(continue at source)
As many of you are aware, last year Microsoft acquired Engyro for its suite of connectors to MOM 2005 and Operations Manager 2007. While many have speculated over what would come of the Engyro offerings after Microsoft removed them from the market, today Steve Rachui annouced on his Manageability blog that Microsoft has decided to release the Engyro suite free of charge!
While we’re still having to wonder how to actually go about obtaining the connectors, at least there is hope of finally having a free solution to turn Operations Manager 2007 into the "single pane of glass" that it was designed to be.
The Engyro Product Connectors include:
# EPC Ops Mgr to Tivoli TEC
# EPC Ops Mgr to HP OVO
# EPC Ops Mgr to Remedy ARS
# EPC High Availability
Asset Intelligence is an important new component that has been added to System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007. This feature set is the only real way to accurately account for assets and ensure that all the software you're using is properly licensed.
Asset Intelligence version 1.0 first appeared as part of Systems Management Server 2003 SP3. The tool was useful but flawed by some critical limitations. Fortunately, the release of Asset Intelligence 1.5 beta just a few weeks ago marks the best edition of the tool to date. Version 1.5 has several new features and improvements that make it a much better product than the original, and more extensive than version 1.1, which shipped with SCCM 2007 RTM.
Good afternoon all my Mobile device managers! I just heard that System Center Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM) 2008 has gone RTM!
You can read about it here: Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008
This is a great release, also in my last few weeks I have delivered a few TechNet Radio Interviews about mobility and we chatted a few times about SCMDM:
Here is some more information about SCMDM:
- Device Management solution that integrates directly into a Windows Server infrastructure
- Full, Over-The-Air device provisioning
- Automatic deployment of targeted applications to devices
- Secure data channel from the device to the corporate network
- Enablement of core LOB scenarios in a mobile environment unlike before
Nick MacKechnie: Here’s a whole heap of information that is now available on System Centre that you may not be aware of:
Microsoft System Center and Windows Server 2008: Better Together
Whitepaper covering how System Center helps better implement Windows Server 2008.
TechNet Virtual Lab: 
