OM12: Unsealed MPs are still VERY important, so EXPORT them on a regular basis

With OM12 Unsealed MPs still play a vital role, so it’s very important to export them and put them into the regular backup plan as well.

For SCOM there is a PS script available which enables one to create a Scheduled Task for it. It works great since it’s really Set & Forget. And every day one has a fresh export of all Unsealed MPs available.

I for myself use this script in every SCOM environment I bump into since it really adds so much value. And I run this script on ALL SCOM Management Servers, RMS and MS servers that is. This way – even when people forget to backup the export files of the Unsealed MPs – there are multiple locations where these files reside. And these files don’t take that much disk space so no issues there either.

But how to go about it in OM12? The good news is, this script still works! Even though one has to specify the RMS (duh!) it runs like clockwork. The only thing one has to take into account is that one targets the OM12 MS server which is installed first in the new OM12 MG. Since that server typically hosts the RMS Emulator role for backward compatibility with SCOM R2.

How the PS script works? Very straight forward. It consists out of two components: the PS script itself and a small cmd-file which contains the required parameters. I have attached the cmd-file and PS script at the end of this posting.  This is how one can configure it:

1. Create a folder on the OM 2012 server, like C:\_Backup;
2. Create within that folder two sub-folders: Scripts and UnsealedMPs;
3. Copy the PS script and cmd-file into the folder C:\_Backup\Scripts;
4. Modify the cmd-file so it contains the correct OM12 server which hosts the RMS Emulator role (<FQDN RMS EMULATOR>);
5. Testdrive the cmd-file in order to see all is well and the Unsealed MPs are indeed exported to the folder C:\_Backup\UnsealedMPs’
6. When all is OK, save the cmd-file;
7. Create a Scheduled Task which runs on a daily basis early in the morning;
• Select the SDK account for the Scheduled Task to run under so you’re sure it has the required permissions to access OM12.
8. Test the Scheduled Task in order to see all is well;
9. Repeat Steps 1 to 8 on every OM12 MS server and you’re fine;
10. Make sure the regular backups also take the folders C:\_Backup on all OM12 MS servers into account.

PS script and cmd-file can be downloaded from my SkyDrive.

Credits
I didn’t write these PS and cmd-files but found them years back on the internet. My guess is they came from SystemCenterForum.org so all credits go to them.