SCOM R2: Monitoring non-Windows servers and the WS-MAN 1.1 maze

When one wants to monitor non-Windows servers (like RHEL and SLES for instance) one requires the presence of WS-MAN on the SCOM R2 Management Servers, or at least on the SCOM R2 Management Servers to which these monitored non-Windows servers report to.

But what is WS-MAN? And where to find it? What version do I need? And does one need to install it on Windows 200x servers or not? In this posting I'll try to shed some more light on this topic. So let’s start.

1. What is WS-MAN?
   WS-MAN, aka WinRM aka Windows Remote Management is a new remote management standard, enabling people and processes to remotely manage and execute programs on remote (windows) systems.
   
   
2. OK, I see. But why needs SCOM WS-MAN?
   Windows Servers and non-Windows Servers are two different worlds. In order to make them talk together, some enablers for this kind of communication need to be in place. One of these ‘enablers’ is WS-MAN which is present in both worlds. For clarification, look at underneath picture, taken from a slide deck used by Barry Shilmover with Tech-Ed Barcelona 2008 when he gave a presentation about SCOM R2 and monitoring X-plat:
   
   
   
3. What version do I need?
   Depends on the Server OS you are running. When you run Windows Server 2003 WS-MAN 1.1 will do. When you run Windows Server 2008 or higher, WS-MAN 2.0 is required. When Windows 8 will come out it is to be expected to see a new version of WS-MAN as well.
   
   
4. Where do I find it and do I need to install it on all Windows 200x servers?
   That’s a funny thing. When you run Windows Server 2003, you need to download it from here (make sure you choose the correct architecture!) and install it (Next > Next > Finish).
   
   When you run Windows Server 2008 or higher, it’s already there! So no need to install it again. Open the Windows Services mmc and look for Display Name Windows Remote Management (WS-Management). The service name is WinRM :).
    
   
   You only need to install it (when not running Windows Server 2008 or later that is!) on the SCOM R2 Management Server to which the non-Windows based servers report to. But as a best practice, it is advised to install it on all SCOM R2 Management Servers, so one can switch easily to another SCOM R2 Management Server for the non-Windows servers to report to.
   
   
5. Do I need to configure it in any kind of way?
   Yes, for SCOM R2 you’ll need configure WS-MAN for allowing basic authentication by running this command from an (elevated) cmd-prompt:

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

   
   When you don’t do this, the Discovery of the non-Windows Servers will fail.
   

Used Resources for this posting

• WS-Man 1.1 requirement; http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd827187.aspx
• Installation and config of WS-MAN on W2K03 servers: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384372(v=vs.85).aspx
• What is WinRM? http://clintboessen.blogspot.com/2010/01/what-is-winrm.html