From Saturday the 24th of December 2011 until the 3rd of January 2012 this blog will be silent since I am on vacation.
I want to thank you all for visiting my blog, your comments, time and advices. 2012 will be a special year since many new revamped System Center products will go RTM. So there’s enough to blog about!
For now I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
What’s a LINKED Report?
A Linked Report isn’t a Report at all but a reference to the report definition of an existing Report, plus any settings and properties that one defines for a Linked Report. (This information is to be found here as well).
Basically this explains why a Linked Report can’t be exported directly as a RDL file. Since it’s simply not a RDL file but some kind of shortcut with some predefined parameters. And out of the box, Linked Reports can’t be exported to another SSRS instance.
Along came Jasper Smith
Who is he? Good question! He’s a UK based SQL MVP and runs a blog of his own, all about… SQL! He made a great tool, Reporting Services Scripter (2.0.0.17), which enables one to export all items from a SSRS catalog.
The tool came to be in 2005 and has been developed ever since. The last version is built in 2009 and works with SQL Server 2008 R2 as well. I tested it myself and everything goes fine!
Some issues to reckon with
Even though the tool explains it self and comes with a good help file, there are some issues to reckon with:
All credits go to Jasper Smith for building AND sharing such a magnificent tool! Thank you Jasper!
Tool can be found here.
For some weeks now the second beta of Savision Live Maps for OM12 RC is publicly available. I have installed it in one of the OM12 RC LAB environments (since the product is beta it’s advised not to install it in a OM12 RC environment which runs under the TAP program!) and it works perfectly. For now I can’t really say anything has changed under the hood.
Which is basically good since it enables one to export the Maps created in earlier versions of Savision Live Maps. In a posting soon to come I’ll tell you how to do that.
When you have OM12 RC running in a lab environment I advice you to install Savision Live Maps Beta 2 as well. Since this software really adds so much value to your OM12 environment, even with the new Widgets and Dashboard functionality by default present in OM12. Now you can test drive migrations from Savision Live Maps SCOM R2 environments to OM12 environments.
For download go here and select the last option (highlighted in yellow): 
One has to enter some information like a valid email address and the name of the OM12 RC MG. After that one can start the download and install it in a couple of seconds.
Beta 1 is actually Beta 2…
Since it’s a beta product there are still many things under construction. When one double clicks the file LiveMapsV6_BETA2.exe, this screen will be shown: 
But don’t let it fool you. It’s really Beta 2.
When all components are installed and one opens the Live Maps Authoring Console, it will still show the Beta 1 text. However, pay attention to the version number 6.0.2.0 which tells it’s Beta 2: 
Beta 1 has version number 6.0.0.18465 and was valid until 31st of December 2011. Beta 2 expires on the 1st of March 2012.
Mind the ‘RC’ bit please since things still might change when OM12 goes RTM.
The excellent posting can be found here.
Cameron, thanks for sharing! Next time we meet I’ll buy you a huge bottle of Tabasco :).
Issue
When installing OM12 RC Reporting one has to enter the name of the SQL Server Instance: 
After that a red cross is shown and the installation stops. No error messages are shown at all.
Cause
The SQL Server Agent on the SQL Server hosting the SSRS instance isn’t running. Therefore the ‘scheduled operations cannot be created’. These scheduled operations are scripts and the lot which are part of the OM12 Reporting installation.
Solution
Start the SQL Server Agent on the SQL Server hosting the SSRS instance and the installation will run now.
Background information
For myself I haven’t seen this issue because when I install the SQL server required for SCOMR2/OM12 I always set all SQL related services to start automatically. This has saved me the above mentioned issue. 
But I can imagine situations where the SQL server is already provisioned by the DBA’s. In that case ask them to set all related SQL services to start automatically.
KB2655633 tells the cause of this issue and how to solve it.
The names on the cover were totally new and unknown to me. At that moment I didn’t expect to meet them in the flesh nor to become a MVP as well. At that time I even didn’t know what a MVP was :).
Much has changed! And now I have the honor to be a contributor for the new book, System Center 2012 Operations Manager Unleashed, as well! Wow! I am really honored to be part of the team which is writing this book. Already learning a great deal. Thank you Kerrie, Cameron and John for having me in this special group of people!
Want to know more about this book? Kerrie has written more about it, to be found here.
Also good to know, another much respected Dutch SCOM MVP writes the chapter about Management Pack authoring. For me personally he’s Da Master of MP Authoring: Oskar Landman. Deep respect man!
KB2651766 tells the cause of this issue and how to solve it.
However, looking at 2012 it will be an important year for Microsoft and the System Center Suite as a whole. Many SC products will be revamped and launched in H1 of 2012, among them Microsoft System Center 2012 – Operations Manager or OM12.
Even though the RC is publicly available and shows many new features it’s still the infrastructure. What makes any SCOM (R2) or OM12 environment ‘tick’ is the Management Pack. IMO, the MP is key to the success of any SCOM R2 /OM12 environment.
Therefore I am curious about what YOU think about the Management Packs delivered by Microsoft. So I have created an online survey to be found here. This survey is limited and accepts only the first 250 responses, so be quick!
And of course, I will post the outcome in January 2012.
Thank YOU for participating in this survey.
Sometimes organizations tend to think that implementing SCOM is the most important phase and covers it all or at least 80% of it. Just some more work to be done but nothing special. Actually, that’s not true.
01 – Basic Monitoring
The implementation of SCOM itself is a straight forward process. Of course, whether or not Gateway Servers are required, monitoring of non-Windows based servers, making the SCOM environment itself high available can make it a bit more of a challenge. But still, at the end one gets a SCOM environment which covers the basics. And now another process kicks in, CONNECTING SCOM to the organization.
02 – Permissions and Notifications
Connecting SCOM to the organization starts out easy: Creating User Roles, related View and permissions. What is one allowed to do, see and act upon in certain Role, like DBA for instance? Also deciding what Alert gets out (as an e-mail message for instance, aka the Notification Model) to whom and when, is configured in this phase. Besides that tuning starts as well. What Alerts are OK and what Alerts require additional tuning?
This is an ongoing process which can take up considerable time when the SCOM environment is freshly installed or a MP gets an update. Afterwards, the time required for this tuning takes up an hour per week when performed by well trained staff.
Phases 1 and 2 are still – IMHO – the basics of SCOM. When these phases are covered, one has basic monitoring in place. And for many organizations this is a good starting point to evolve to the next level, Extended Monitoring, also referred to in this posting as the extended layer.
03 – Extension 1
In this phase additional MPs are loaded and configured, like MPs for covering Oracle, BlackBerry Enterprise Servers, extensive network monitoring. Also additional dashboards are created by using the Visio Add-in or 3rd party Software like Savision LiveMaps, with or without SharePoint Integration. And on top of it all, customized Reports are created. Reports which really have added value to your organization.
As you can see, in this phase the first steps are made in order to close the gap between SCOM and the organization. And also notice SCOM is the one who is closing the gap, and not the organization. Basically the technology is adjusting itself to adapt itself more into the organization.
04 – Extension 2
In this phase applications, which are business critical to your organization are being covered by SCOM. Some on a component per component basis, others E2E (end-to-end). But it doesn’t stop here. These applications also need some means of visualization, like comprehensive dashboards (Quality level: Single-Glance-and-You-Know-It) and some good reports (availability, performance, SLAs and the lot).
This can be a process which takes up some time. First of all you must know what to monitor, how to monitor it, where to monitor it. Then you must look into SCOM. Are the Objects already there or are additional MPs required? Or is some basic or deep MP authoring required? What kind of Reports are required? Does SCOM cover those or is additional Report Authoring required? And when chains of Objects are to be put together, does a couple of DAs cover it or we need many DA’s? And how to tie them together in order to make sense and to represent the application which requires monitoring?
Basically, phase 4 repeats itself per application. And per application it can be covered in a few days up to a few weeks depending on how the application is build (web server, front- and backend, client-, server application), what building blocks does the application use (Windows only (haven’t seen that a lot), or other mainstream building blocks like Oracle, Unix, Java and the lot) and what the requirements are.
But the more you find yourself in Phase 4, the more SCOM enters the organization and is tied into it. Dashboards are to be found not only at the desks of the system engineers, but also at the desks of the application owners, service managers and ICT managers as well. Reports flow on a regular basis to the stake holders so they know about their ICT environment all there is to know.
For some more clarification I have included this picture with the four phases and two ‘layers’, Basic and Extended. And ask yourself this question: At what level am I?
When you find your self at Level 1 or 2, take your time to complete those levels before you step to level 3 or 4. Because like a house, without any solid foundations, one can’t build anything good on top of it.
Certainly every SCOM Admin can use these tips and advices. Want to know more? Go here.
In the third posting of this series I will describe in more detail Phase II, the actual migration from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 . When you haven’t read the first and second posting of this series please do so now since otherwise you’ll be missing out the big picture here.
For the completeness here is the list of questions/steps which make up Phase II:
As stated before, it won’t be a detailed step-by-step guide , but I will highlight the most crucial steps. In the list above the steps which are printed in blue will be explained by me in more detail. Let’s start since there is a lot to share.
Step 2
The SCOM R2 Reporting functionality must be removed now. Of course we KEEP the OperationsManagerDW database!
Open the SSRS server hosting the SCOM Reporting component and log on with admin permissions. Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs and select System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 Reporting Server > Remove > Yes: 
The removal of SCOM R2 Reporting takes a few minutes. When it’s finished it won’t show a dialogue. The ‘installer screen’ just disappears. Open the SCOM R2 Console and the Reporting Wunderbar should be gone now:
Step 7
Restoring the SCOM R2 databases to the new SQL 2008 R2 SP1 Server: Use the same medium for this procedure as you used for creating the backups. In this case SQL Server Management Studio. Connect to SQL instance and log on with an account which has sufficient permissions.
Click right on Database > Restore Database. A Wizard is started now. Select the option From device and click on the selection button (red circle): 
Select for Backup Media File > Add. Select the backup file of the OperationsManager database > OK > OK 
Select the option Restore. Option To database: select from the dropdown menu OperationsManager. Option: To a point in time select Most recent possible > OK. 
Restore runs for a while and when all is OK: 
Repeat the same steps for the Data Warehouse database: 
Step 8
Adjustment of registry keys on the RMS so the correct SQL Server is referred to:
Log on to the RMS with local admin permissions and open the registry editor. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Operations Manager\3.0\Setup.
Change the key DatabaseServerName so the new SQL Server is referred to: 
‘Save’ the changes and close the registry editor.
Step 10
Adjustment of some tables in both SCOM databases so the correct SQL Server is referred to. Open SQL Server Management Studio, logon with admin permissions on the SQL instance.
OperationsManager database
Go to Tables > MT_ManagementGroup > click right and select the option Edit Top 200 Rows. Search for record SQLServerName_6B1D1BE8_EBB4_B425_08DC_2385C5930B04 
Modify it so it refers to the new SQL Server: 
Close the table.
Enabling CLR on the OperationsManager database
Select the database > click right > new query > copy this code
| sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1; GO RECONFIGURE; GO sp_configure 'clr enabled', 1; GO RECONFIGURE; GO |
> Execute: 
OperationsManagerDW database
Go to Tables > MemberDatabase and search for the record ServerName
Modify it so it refers to the new SQL Server: 
Close the table, but stay in SQL Server Management Studio.
Step 11
Enabling SQL Broker Service: See this posting of mine, Step 2.
Step 15
Installing SCOM R2 Reporting:
First and foremost, check the correct working of SSRS by opening this URL on the SSRS instance in IE (running with elevated permissions!): http://localhost/Reports: 
When this screen is shown all is well. Otherwise fix any issues before continuing.
Before starting the installation first go through the steps mentioned in KB2425714. Otherwise the installation of SCOM Reporting won’t succeed.
Run the installation media of SCOM R2 with elevated permissions and an account which has admin permission locally on the SSRS server, within SCOM and permissions within the SQL instance hosting the Data Warehouse database. Otherwise the installation will fail… 
Go through the setup wizard but don’t forget to DESELECT the Data Warehouse database: 
Enter all the required information and later on SCOM R2 Reporting is installed successfully: 
And:
Step 17
Checking the successful upload of data into the Data Warehouse on the RMS and MS servers:
Check the OpsMgr event log on these servers for this kind of events: Category: Data Warehouse, EventID: 31554 (there are others as well). 
Events like these indicate successful uploads of data into the Data Warehouse.
Step 18
Recreating the custom folders in SSRS and uploading the RDLs of the custom reports:
Recreate the custom folders in SSRS by using the web interface for SSRS http://localhost/Reports. Create the required folders: 
Upload the RDL files of the custom Reports into the correct folders. This is also done within the web interface for SSRS.
Conclusion
As you can see, migrating from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 CU#2 isn’t something to be taken lightly. However, it can be done and in a good manner as well.
Planning and preparation are key here. And don’t hesitate to practice it in a lab environment. No licenses are required since you can download all the required software as trial versions and have a go at it. Test it, document it and try it. So you get the hang of it and know what you’re doing.
This way you can migrate safely to SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 CU#2 for SCOM R2 without too much hassle.
In the last posting of this series I will describe the last steps, like cleaning up the ‘mess’ :).
Suppose you want to play around with a SQL Cluster, based on Microsoft Failover Clustering. In production environments this won’t do. There isn’t any space left neither in the test labs of your company so you need an alternative. However, at home you don’t have any more a real lab as well (when the first kid was about to arrive I emptied my own personal data center in order to restyle it into a baby room…).
All you’ve got is a pc with 8 GB RAM, some really fast disks and a quad core CPU. Nowadays a basic configuration. The system also runs Windows 7 since it’s the home pc as well. So installing Windows Server 2008 R2 for Hyper-V isn’t an option since some people, who’re also using the pc for their home stuff, won’t like that at all.
So now what? And YES, the SQL Cluster must be build. No matter what. Performance isn’t key here.
Hmm. Gladly enough I had a license for VMware Workstation 8.0. (I really love my own network :) ). So I downloaded it, installed it and now it was time for some good searching on the internet. Soon I bumped into these postings, all about creating a SQL Cluster based on VMware Workstation, 3 VMs (one of them DC and a virtualized iSCSI SAN based on Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3):
And guess what? It all works very well. One advise though: when creating the virtual iSCSI SAN, there is an additional Step required in order to make it work:
But now I can build my SQL Cluster:
It’s funny to see that the software of two companies who are fighting each other for market share can work so good together and produce very good results :).
But suppose the SCOM Admin Group is by accident deleted from AD. How do you gain access again to your SCOM environment?
Microsoft has published KB2640222 article about this kind of scenario and how to solve it in most cases.
sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1; GO RECONFIGURE; GO sp_configure 'clr enabled', 1; GO RECONFIGURE; GO |
As far as I have seen this isn’t any different with Microsoft System Center 2012 – Operations Manager (OM12). However, with this version some folder locations are changed and when one is running SQL Server 2008 R2 the same issue is happening as well. Therefore this posting contains the updated folder locations, based on OM12 RC.
My personal guess is the folder locations won’t change in OM12 RTM but NEVER assume ALWAYS check and double check!
This posting is based on another posting, to be found here.
Processes
Before excluding any process from being scanned by your antivirus software know what you’re doing. As Kevin stated it on his blog (adjusted it to OM12 servers):
“…Excluding by process executable is very dangerous, in that it limits the control of scanning potentially dangerous files handled by the process, because it excludes any and all files involved. For this reason, unless absolutely necessary, we will not exclude any process executables in AV configurations for OM12 servers…”
For OM12 it’s still the same process: monitoringhost.exe. However, the location differs, per functionality:
Folders
These folders are advised to be excluded from scanning by your antivirus software:
Extensions
These extensions are advised to be excluded from scanning by your antivirus software:
Kevin Holman and Larry Mosley have therefore written a couple of addendum MPs which address this issue. However, DON’T just download these MPs and import them. First READ the blog posting of Kevin from top to bottom in order to get a full understanding of the consequences and (perhaps) the additional work they involve.
Want to know more? Go here.
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:
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.
When disaster strucks and renders your RMS useless, there is a way to promote (temporarily) a MS server to RMS in order to have your SCOM environment back in working condition. For this the Encryption Key is crucial. Without it, no promotion of a MS to RMS. (Yes, I know, there are some workarounds since R2 but you don’t want to go there.)
So far so good.
Q: But how about it in OM12? Do you still need to backup the Encryption Key?
A: Well, the RMS is gone with OM12 (thank you Microsoft) since the RMS functionality is now shared among ALL OM12 Management Servers. Along with it the requirement to backup the Encryption Key as well. The tool to run a backup of the Encryption Key isn’t present anymore. So no more backups of the Encryption Key in OM12.
Q: But what if I only run a single OM12 MS server and it dies?
A: Never ever install ONE OM12 MS server. Install at least TWO of them. And in the same period of time. So when you install your OM12 environment, install at least TWO OM12 MS servers on the same day before you proceed any further. Of course, for lab environments one OM12 MS server could do, but even there, TWO are the way to go since pools of OM12 MS servers are used by OM12. So with a single OM12 MS server, your lab environment would be way off compared to normal production situations (perhaps it’s the time to ask for a better lab environment??).
11-15-2011 Update
Yesterday evening McAfee released Patch 1 for McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.8:
- McAfee Downloads site - http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads
- ServicePortal - https://mysupport.mcafee.com11-14-2011 Update:
Got this from a McAfee expert: This issues only occurs when you have VSE8.8 installed AND disabled scriptscan. When that component is enabled, the issue mentioned in this posting won’t occur. McAfee also published a workaround for it, to be found here: https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=KB71660,
Got this one from a respected colleague of mine:
McAfee 8.8 and SCOM/OM don’t mix well together. It turns out that almost ALL Discovery scripts run by the SCOM/OM12 Agent are blocked, even when you exclude the SCOM/OM Agent folders from scanning. 
Because of that you will see screens like this in your OM12 RC environment: 
However, in your SCOM environment you’ll see the same issue!
This issue will be solved with the release of Patch 1 which is available from today (11-15-2011). Or perhaps time to migrate to Microsoft Forefront :).
Much is changed AND improved, checkout the new LOOK: 
Try OM12 RC now!!! But keep this in the back of your mind:
“Upgrades from RC to RTM in *any* scenario will not be supported by Microsoft support unless the customer is part of the TAP program for the specific product that they are trying to upgrade. Only TAP customers are licensed to run pre-RTM software in production.”
All documentation about OM12 RC can be found here.
Taken directly from the website where OM12 RC can be downloaded as well:
Feature Summary
