New Challenge! Again?!

Even though I changed jobs quite recently things didn’t work out as expected. To make a long story short I decided to leave that company and start a new challenge at Insight24.

A small company but with a lot of power, knowledge and experience all aimed at enabling companies to get the most out the System Center 2012 product. Another good thing is that the company has to be shaped further for which my input is required as well. A challenge I love to meet!

So from February the 1st I’ll join forces with Insight24, a company all about System Center 2012 and how to integrate it into the business and its related processes:

‘…Insight24 is specialised in manageability of IT. Our approach to manageability of IT differs from that of most parties. We take an organizational and informational approach instead of a technological. Tooling is important, but it is an instrument to automate workloads and collect information to deliver quality IT services to support business processes…’

I am looking forward to make the best of it. Awesome!

OM12 SP1 Known Issue: Data Warehouse Database Gets Funny Names & Placement

Even though the Release Notes for OM12 SP1 are clear about the file names for the Data Warehouse when running a clean install of OM12 SP1, there is another caveat to reckon with as well.

The Caveat
In situations the SQL Server isn’t using the default locations for the databases, log files and temporary database, the previous mentioned issue goes a bit further.

At a customers location the SQL file locations were customized like this:

• User database directory: D:\SQLDatabases;
• User database log directory: E:\SQLLogs.

Normally when OM12 is installed a Data Warehouse database is created with the name OperationsManagerDW. The files are placed in the correct folders. But now this happened:

• The database file was named: SQLDatabases.mdf and located in the folder D:\SQLDatabases;
• The log file was named: SQLLogs.ldf and located in the folder E:\SQLLogs.

Ouch! That isn’t nice at all. Yes, OM12 SP1 functioned correctly but it’s not the way it should be. So it was time for a remediation.

The Remediation
This is a straight forward procedure. However, when you’re not familiar with SQL Server don’t hesitate to involve a colleague who has more knowledge and experience with it. Watch and learn so you can perform similar tasks like these in the future.

High level steps:

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio with SA permissions;
2. Select the Data Warehouse database (OperationsManagerDW) and run a backup of it using these settings:
   1. General: Full backup;
   2. General: Backup to disk;
   3. General: File name: OperationsManagerDW.bak;
   4. Options: Overwrite all existing backup sets;
   5. Options: Reliability: Verify backup when finished (this one is VERY important since it tells you whether the backup is valid or not).
3. When the backup and the verification are ended successfully, go to all OM12 SP1 Management Servers and stop the OM12 services:
   1. System Center Data Access Service;
   2. System Center Management;
   3. System Center Management Configuration.
4. Remove the Data Warehouse database (OperationsManagerDW) in SQL Server Management Studio by right clicking it and selecting delete;
5. Wait until the database is removed successfully. Now it’s time to restore the backup made in Step 2;
6. In the Restore database screen select the page Files. Checkmark the option Relocate all files to folder. (This is how it looks in SQL Server 2012 SP1, in SQL Server 2008 R2 it might look different!)
   
   The correct locations should be shown now. Otherwise correct them manually;
7. Now it’s time to modify the filenames since these are still wrong:
   
8. You can adjust them by typing the correct names:
   
9. Restore the database as you normally would restore a SQL database;
10. When finished successfully, restart the OM12 services you stopped earlier in Step 3. Check the OpsMgr event log on the OM12 Management Servers but they should be fine.

Recap
Since this is a known issue, run this procedure right after you’ve installed the very first OM12 SP1 Management Server. Saves you a lot of hassle and since OM12 SP1 is still under construction it won’t affect any thing. The procedure is straight forward and not any kind of rocket science.

Update
Fellow MVP and much respect friend Bob Cornelissen has also written a posting about how to solve this issue. He uses another approach (drop and re-attach). Want to know more? Go here. Thanks Bob for sharing!

Orchestrator Installation Fails When Testing Service Account

This situation is either amusing or sad. Since I try to look on the bright side of things in life I try to smile about it…

Situation
I was installing a new Orchestrator environment based on SP1 media on a Windows Server 2012 VM in a Windows Server 2012 domain. As backend a SQL Server 2012 SP1 server would host the Orchestrator database.

The related Service Account for Orchestrator was created as stated by the customer thus complying with their naming conventions. The account name is: SVC_SCOrch_Management. But the setup program kept on nagging me with this message when testing this service account:

No matter what I did or tried, the same message came back, biting me…

The cause
And this is a bit sad I guess. I checked the account in ADUC and then as a last resort I looked at the pre-Windows 2000 user logon name:

Since the account name is a bit long (in compliance with the account policies this customer has in place) the pre-Windows 2000 user logon name drops the last character, the ‘t’. So the user logon name becomes SVC_SCOrch_Managemen.

Let’s try it in the installer:

BINGO!

Recap:
Even though System Center 2012 SP1 Orchestrator installs on Windows Server 2012 with SQL Server 2012 SP1 all in a Windows Server 2012 domain, a pre-Windows 2000 user logon name is REQUIRED for the installer of Orchestrator SP1 to make it work?!

I laugh about it….

THANK YOU Catapult Systems & System Center Universe 2013

Some days ago I received a package. It came from Dallas, Texas USA.

So that was really exciting. Many years ago I watched the series ‘Dallas’ and never forgot about JR Ewing (RIP), Southfork Range or Ewing Oil.  All fictional names (except for the range) but this package was real. And the senders were Catapult Systems and System Center Universe 2013 (SCU 2013).

The content of this package really surprised me. Since a single picture is worth a thousand words:

(Yes, yes I know. I put it all on my kitchen stove, but it was late and wanted to make a picture of it in a fast manner…)

Especially the USB HUB shaped like the Tardis is really a geeky gift! And the 4(!) 16 GB thumb drives are always welcome. And last but not least, a T-shirt and a bag with SCU 2013 logo. Awesome!

What I also appreciate is the card with a personal message from Catapult Systems. Impressive!

It’s really special to know to be appreciated so much by a consulting firm with a very solid track record which is thousands of miles away from the Netherlands. When I would be living in the USA I most certainly would apply there for a position!

So THANK YOU Catapult Systems and System Center Universe 2013 for these gifts as ‘a’ token of appreciation.

System Center Universe 2013 (SCU 2013)

Irving Texas is going to be THE System Center hotspot on 1/31/13.

Why? That day the System Center Universe 2013 (SCU 2013) will take place.

Which is an AWESOME event!

As the website states: ‘...the second annual System Center Universe, a one-day globally available technical event featuring Microsoft product gurus and community experts who will highlight the interaction of the System Center 2012 suite and other Microsoft-based products and solutions. It’s System Center 2012 with new galaxies!…’

It’s hosted by Catapult Systems and they’ve created an impressive agenda with good topics and top notch speakers:

Also good to know, Catapult Systems takes this event very seriously and prepares hard for it:

All I can say: When you have the opportunity join this event in person since there is much to be told and much to be learned. Also good for your personal network .

Say what? You don’t live near Irving Texas and your private jet is receiving maintenance that day? Or you gave your pilots that day off?

Private jets are so hopelessly 2012! Nowadays we can attend events like these virtually! And even better – my Dutch roots do kick in now – for FREE!

Want to know more about attending this AWESOME event virtually? Go here.

As you can see there aren’t valid excuses anymore why you DID NOT attend this event. Whether in person or virtual .

Cross Post: Advanced Troubleshooting of the SharePoint 2010 MP

Tim McFadden has written a very good posting all about advanced troubleshooting the SharePoint 2010 MP.

Like a true Sherlock Holmes (‘…when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth’…) he dissects the issue and finds the cause.

Since the SharePoint 2012 MP can be a challenge to make it work properly, I recommend this posting highly to anyone using this MP since it contains tons of good information.

Credits
All credits go to Tim McFadden. Thanks for sharing Tim!

Installing SP1 For OM12: Patience Is A Virtue…

The System Center 2012 – Operations Manager Engineering Team has posted a blog article about an issue you might bump into when upgrading OM12 RTM environments to SP1.

In this article they tell you to be PATIENT when running this upgrade for the first time in any Management Group.

Why?

The Issue
When upgrading the first Management Server in a Management Group, some changes are made to the Operational database.

Since all Management Servers share the same database, those changes only need to be made the first time you install SP1 on the first Management Server of any given Management Group. So when SP1 installation is started, it communicates with the Operations database to determine if it’s the first installation or not. When it is, the changes will be applied to the Operations Database.

Basically meaning to be patient with the installation of SP1 and to WAIT for the first Management Server to have SP1 installed before starting the next installation. If you don’t the Operations database will get the same treatment twice and issues are most likely to occur…

I couldn’t wait so I started theSP1 installation on multiple Management Servers at the same time… 
Ouch! When you’re out of luck changes are the Operations database isn’t happy any more. How to know that for sure?

1. When trying to view the Task Status in the OM12 SP1 Console you’ll get an error message;
2. When right clicking an any Alert you get another error message;
3. The Management Server Health Service Watcher State is gray for all Management Servers.

OK, now what? A total reinstall?!
Gladly enough this situation is recognized by the System Center 2012 – Operations Manager Engineering Team. In this posting they tell you how to solve this issue.

Recap
Run the SP1 upgrade per server and only upgrade the next server when the previous upgrade has ended successfully. Otherwise changes are you bump into issues like the one mentioned here.

Updated MP: Hyper-V, version 6.2.6640.0

Yesterday Microsoft released the latest version of the Hyper-V Management Pack, version 6.2.6640.0. This MP requires OpsMgr 2012 (RTM/SP1). 

Taken directly from the website:

This management pack provides the following functionality:

• Management of critical Hyper-V services that affect virtual machines and host server functionality;
• Management of host server logical disks that affect virtual machine health;
• Full representation of virtualization in a single Hyper-V host server, including virtual networks, and virtual machines;
• Monitoring of virtual machine hardware components that affect availability.

MP can be downloaded from here.

SC2012 SP1 Is General Available!

Even though SC2012 SP1 RTM was available for some weeks to TechNet/MSDN subscribers and volume licensing customers, it wasn’t General Available (GA).

Yesterday Microsoft announced the general availability of System Center 2012 SP1. As the System Center Team states on their blog: ‘…The System Center 2012 SP1 release is chock full of new features to light up the new functionality found in Windows Server 2012.  The combination of System Center 2012 SP1 with Windows Server 2012 provides the foundation of what we call the ‘Cloud OS’…’

Want to know more about the Cloud OS and how System Center fits into the solution? Read these articles written by Microsoft:

• What is the Cloud OS?
• Transform Your Datacenter with System Center 2012 SP1
• Official System Center 2012 SP1 Release Announcement
• Cloud OS Vision

Want to know more about SC2012 SP1 and download trials? Go here.

And yes, VHDs are also downloadable for evaluation:

• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 - Configuration Manager – Evaluation (VHD)
• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 – Service Manager – Evaluation (VHD)
• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 – Service Manager (Data Warehouse) – Evaluation (VHD)
• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 – Operations Manager – Evaluation (VHD)
• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 – Orchestrator – Evaluation (VHD)
• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 – Data Protection Manager – Evaluation (VHD)
• System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 – Virtual Machine Manager – Evaluation (VHD)

The SC2012 SP1 bits can be used to install the SC2012 SP1 components from scratch, or to upgrade existing SC2012 RTM installations. For information how to upgrade to SC2012 SP1, go here.

Want to know what’s new in SC2012 SP1? Read this TechNet article.

One last thing. With SC2012 RTM there were way too many different hard- and software requirements per SC 2012 RTM component. Which broke down the (marketing) message SC2012 being ONE product…

Microsoft has worked hard with SP1 in order to address that issue. So now with SP1 the hard- and software requirements are much more unified, mainly focused at the Server Operation System and SQL Server. Which makes me very happy. Read this TechNet article about those new and UNIFIED requirements.

Advice
When you have SC 2012 licenses, FORGET about the RTM bits and go for the SP1 bits instead. They’re covered by the same SC2012 licenses, and save you a lot of hassle.

OM12 SP1 Upgrade: Beware For The Corrupt ISO!!!

Bumped into this issue at a customers location.

The issue
A fairly new OM12 RTM UR#3 environment in place, two OM12 Management Servers and one dedicated SQL Server. All by the book. So time for an upgrade to SP1 for OM12.

However it went totally wrong. On the first OM12 Management Server the installer died on me:

The cause???
The log told me this: ~\Setup\AMD64\Server\OMServer.msi returned error 1603.

I checked this posting written by Tim McFadden, but that issue wasn’t at play here. Went trough the log file over and over but only this error stood out. So not much to go on.

The ISO file I used was the same one I already used to upgrade about 4 OM12 RTM environments, all without a problem. Time for a second trial. But the same error! Time for another approach.

The solution
Since it really bothered me I checked everything over and over only to conclude all was fine with the OM12 RTM servers to be upgraded. But somehow, somewhere the installation kept on failing on me.

The only thing I could think of was to download the SP1 bits again from TechNet and run it from the new bits. Even though the ISO file which was causing issues had been used 4 times already without any issues at all. But sometimes the most obvious is too easy overlooked..

And now everything with the new ISO file went fine! Without a glitch! The upgrade ran like clock work:

Recap
Whenever an upgrade fails and the cause is really puzzling, just download the SP1 bits again and run the SP1 upgrade from those new bits. Changes are you’re in good shape now.

REMINDER
Always make backups and snapshots before performing an upgrade. This time it was really a life savior for me.

SC2012 SP1 Troubleshooting Wiki

With SP1 many ‘hidden features’ present in SC2012 RTM are solved. On top of it, many new features are added.

But as myITForum.com® states: ‘…However, there are a ton of reports coming in that SP1 is causing some frustrating issues in those companies that have decided to deploy it already…’

Therefore has myITForum® created a wiki which ‘…serves to capture the issues in a central location to ensure everyone is aware of them and their potential workarounds until Microsoft releases fixes…’

This is really a good initiative. A screen dump showing a small piece of found issues/challenges:

Want to know more? Go here.

New MP: Windows Server Backup MP

Yesterday Microsoft released a new MP for monitoring the status of windows server backup and recovery scheduled on the remote server machine. This MP works only on Windows Server 2012 and is targeted at OM12.

What the MP does? Good question! Taken directly from the website:

This monitoring pack will allow you to monitor status of windows server backup and recovery scheduled on the remote server machine.
Alerts are generated when error or warning is reported in the scheduled backup/recovery operation. Alert is marked Red when action completes with error. Similarly, alert is marked Yellow when action completes with warning. Events monitored are:

• Backup cancelled
• Backup failed
• Backup failed due to snapshot
• Backup partially succeeded
• Backup succeeded with skipped files
• Recovery failed
• Recovery succeeded with warnings

MP can be downloaded from here.

Upgrades: System Center 2012, SQL Server 2012 (SP1) and Windows Server 2012

With Service Pack 1 for System Center 2012 the latest technologies will be supported as well: SQL Server 2012 SP1 and Windows Server 2012.

But how to go about it? What do you upgrade first? The Windows Server OS? SQL Server? Or the System Center 2012 component? Since a single picture clarifies it all, I have made a diagram in PowerPoint:

This single diagram tells it all:

1. System Center 2012 RTM (with or without the Update Rollups) runs on SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1;
2. System Center 2012 RTM (with or without the Update Rollups) DOESN’T run on SQL Server 2012 (SP1) or Windows Server 2012;
3. When System Center 2012 RTM is upgraded to System Center 2012 SP1, SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 are still supported;
4. When System Center 2012 RTM is upgraded to System Center 2012 SP1, SQL Server 2012 (SP1) or Windows Server 2012 are supported.

Based on that information, the order of the upgrades is like this:

1. System Center 2012 RTM > System Center 2012 SP1;
2. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 > Windows Server 2012;
3. SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 > SQL Server 2012 (SP1).

In this list Steps 2 and 3 can be switched when it fits your situation more.

Blog postings I have written about the various upgrades:

1. OM12 RTM > OM12 SP1;
2. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 > Windows Server 2012;
3. SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 > SQL Server 2012 SP1.

Please also take note of this posting: OM12 SP1 Upgrade Schema & Say Hello To tAP.

SCOM SP1 & SCOM R2 Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-003

Yesterday Microsoft published Security Bulletin MS13-003.

This security bulletin contains fixes for ‘…two privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft System Center Operations Manager. The vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if a user visits an affected website by way of a specially crafted URL. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit such a website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to visit the website, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the affected website…’

Affected software
- SCOM SP1
- SCOM R2

Taken directly from the same security bulletin
’…Microsoft recommends that customers apply the update at the earliest opportunity using update management software, or by checking for updates using the Microsoft Update service…’

Want to know more? Go here.

HOT HOT! Update Rollup 1 For SC 2012 SP1 Is Available!

Even though SP1 for System Center 2012 isn’t GA yet, Update Rollup (UR) #1 is already available on TechNet!

So Microsoft is moving FAST and shows huge dedication towards the SC 2012 product and it’s related components.

Want to know more? KB2785682 describes UR#1 for SC 2012 in more detail.

Issues fixed for OM12 SP1 (taken directly from the website):

• Issue 1
  Agentless Exception Monitoring (AEM) in Operations Manager may provoke an increase in reporting threads and choke points.
• Issue 2
  After the Alert Attachment Management Pack (Microsoft.SystemCenter.AlertAttachment.mpb) is imported, you create a dashboard that contains an alert widget. When you click an alert, the Operations Manager console may crash.
• Issue 3
  When a Windows PowerShell module uses the Monitoringhost.exe process on an x86-based client that is running Windows 8, more than 800 megabytes (MB) of memory may be consumed.
• Issue 4
  After an application domain is created, adding another application domain may be unsuccessful.

CU#7 For SCOM R2 Is Available

Yesterday Microsoft released CU#7 for SCOM R2.

Issues fixed by this CU (taken directly from the website):

KB2783850 describes this CU in more detail. CU#7 can be downloaded from here.

OM12 SP1: Upgrading SQL Server 2008 SP1 To SQL Server 2012 SP1

In a previous posting I wrote about the challenges when upgrading SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 hosting the OM12 SP1 databases to SQL Server 2012 SP1. I checked with Microsoft (they’re very busy since I haven’t got an answer yet) but one of my fellow MVPs, Daniele Grandini told me he had successfully run this upgrade.

High level steps Daniele mailed me:

1. Remove OM12 SP1 Reporting;
2. Reset SSRS;
3. Upgrade SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 to SQL Server 2012 SP1;
4. Reinstall OM12 SP Reporting.

So it was time to test this in one of my test labs. Let’s start!

Detailed steps in one of my test labs:

1. Backup the OM12 SP1 databases (OperationsManager, OperationsManagerDW & ReportServer);
2. Snapshot the VM(s) hosting the SQL Server instance(s). When the server(s) is(are) physical make a complete backup(s) of the server(s) so a rollback can be done when required;
3. Only when required: Backup customized Reports using this tool;
4. Remove OM12 SP1 Reporting from the SQL Server hosting the SSRS instance for OM12 SP1;
5. Remove the OM12 SP1 Agent as well since it might block the installation of OM12 SP1 Reporting later on;
6. Run the tool ResetSRS.exe found on the installation media of OM12 SP1 (~:\SupportTools\AMD64);
   1. Syntax: ResetSRS.exe MSSQLSERVER for the default SQL Server instance;
   2. Provide the account for setting up the database connection <ENTER>;
   3. Provide the password <ENTER>;
   4. Account and password will be validated. When OK the SSRS instance will be reset (the OM12 SP1 security extensions will be removed);
   5. After a while SSRS will be reset successfully. When failed retry and when it fails again, remove SSRS and reinstall it using this posting of mine;
   6. Browse to http://localhost/reports in order to check the health of the SSRS instance. Normally you should see the web interface of SSRS. When an error is shown fix it or remove and reinstall SSRS using this posting of mine.
7. Now all is OK for the upgrade to SQL Server 2012 SP1. Insert the installation media of SQL Server 2012 SP1 and run it;
   1. SQL Server Installation Center screen will be shown after a while > Installation > Upgrade from SQL Server 2005, SSQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2;
   2. Setup Support Rules will be loaded. When all is done > OK;
   3. Enter the product key > Next;
   4. Accept EULA and choose whether or not to send feature usage data to Microsoft > Next;
   5. SQL Server will check for product updates to SQL Server 2012 SP1. When there is no internet connectivity you’ll get an error message. Luckily you can still continue the upgrade when that happens > Next;
   6. SQL Server Setup Files will be installed now > Next;
   7. Select the SQL Instance to be upgraded > Next;
   8. The related Features to be upgraded will be shown as well > Next;
   9. Instance Configuration is shown now. Modify ONLY when required > Next;
   10. Disk space requirements will be checked > Next;
   11. Server Configuration will be shown with the related service accounts > Next;
   12. Full-Text Upgrade. I have chosen the default option, Import > Next;
   13. Error Reporting. Choose what’s default for the company you’re working for > Next;
   14. Upgrade Rules will be processed now. When all is done > Next;
       1. Now stop the OM12 SP1 Management Servers since SQL Server will upgraded in the next step. During that process no data will be written to the OM12 SP1 databases. Therefore it’s better to shutdown the OM12 SP1 Management Servers. Communicate this with the end-users of OM12 SP1.
   15. Ready to Upgrade screen will be shown. Check the summary. When all is OK > Upgrade;
   16. Upgrade Process screen is shown now. Be patient, it will take a while;
   17. When the upgrade is finished it will show whether all SQL instance features and components were upgraded successfully. There is also a summary log file. Check it and when all is OK > Close.
8. Browse to http://localhost/reports in order to check the health of the SSRS instance. Normally you should see the web interface of SSRS. Please note, this web interface is based on SQL Server 2012;
9. Restart the OM12 SP1 Management Servers and when they’re running start the OM12 SP1 Console in order to see all is really OK;
10. Now it’s time to reinstall OM12 SP1 Reporting. Open the OM12 SP1 installation media on the SQL 2012 Server and run Setup.exe;
11. Install > select Reporting Server > Next > select installation location > Next > Next > Accept EULA > Next;
12. Specify an OM12 SP1 Management Server > Next > select the SQL Server DB instance which is the local SQL Server instance > Next > Enter the credentials for the Data Reader Account;
13. Select whether or not to join ODR > > Select Next whether or not to use Windows Update for OM12 SP1 Reporting > Next;
14. Installation Summary screen is shown. Check and when all is OK > Install;
15. After a while OM12 SP1 Reporting is successfully installed. Within an hour the Reports, present in the imported MPs, will be uploaded to SSRS;
16. Only when required: Restore customized Reports using this tool;
17. Reinstall the OM12 SP1 Agent on the SQL server.

And now SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 hosting the OM12 SP1 databases is successfully upgraded to SQL Server 2012 SP1. Nice!

Thanks Daniele for sharing your personal upgrade experiences. Much appreciated! I owe you a beer!

OM12 SP1 Console Is Empty After Upgrade To Windows Server 2012

Bumped into this strange issue in one of my lab environments.

Both OM12 SP1 Management Servers were upgraded to Windows Server 2012. All went just fine. But when the OM12 SP1 Consoles were launched on both servers, these Consoles were completely empty! No errors in the related OpsMgr logs on both servers. Connectivity to the databases was established and fully functional.

And yet, nothing, zip, nada in both OM12 SP1 Consoles.

Time for some troubleshooting

1. Clearing the Console cache
   I cleared the Console cache (added the switch \ClearCache to the shortcut which starts the OM12 SP1 Console), but without any result. Still a totally empty OM12 SP1 Console…
   
   And:
   
   
   
2. Restarting the  the three OM12 SP1 services
   On both OM12 SP1 Management Servers I stopped these services:
   - System Center Data Access Service;
   - System Center Management;
   - System Center Management Configuration
   
   Then I started these services again and now the OM12 SP1 Console showed data again. Phew!

I haven’t seen this behavior before and I have upgraded 2 other OM12 SP1 environments to Windows Server 2012 before this one and they didn’t have this strange behavior.

Hello OM12 SP1, Goodbye Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1!

With the upgrade of OM12 RTM UR#3 to SP1 Windows Server 2012 is now fully supported. So during the week-end I upgraded all my OM12 servers (and other System Center 2012 SP1 servers for that matter) based on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 to Windows Server 2012.

On itself a straightforward process. Again preparation is key here. Some lessons learned:

1. Make sure the logical disk running the Windows installation (normally the C:\ drive) has more then 15 GB of free space (13 GB of free space is the ABSOLUTE minimum);
   1. When the disk is too small, expand it. After a successful upgrade the disk can be downsized again.
2. When a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 DC has to be upgraded, prepare it first by inserting the installation media of Windows Server 2012 in to the DC and running these two commands:
   1. <Installation media>:\support\adprep\adprep /domainprep
   2. <Installation media>:\support\adprep\adprep /forestprep
3. When WSUS is installed, remove it;
4. When the server runs VMM 2012 RTM UR#3 Management Server, remove it (retain the database!);
5. OM12 SP1 Management Servers continue to function properly after the underlying Server OS upgraded to Windows Server 2012;
6. OM12 SP1 Gateway Servers continue to function properly after the underlying Server OS upgraded to Windows Server 2012;
7. SQL 2008 R2 SP1 x64 Servers – hosting the OM12 SP1 databases (among other SC 2012 SP1 databases) and SSRS instances – continue to function properly after the underlying Server OS upgraded to Windows Server 2012.

How to get rid of Windows.old folder after the upgrade to Windows Server 2012?
After the server is upgraded to Windows Server 2012 there is an useless folder in the root of C:\, titled Windows.old. This folder is BIG: ranges from 10 GB to 18 GB in size, depending on the role of the upgraded server.

So it’s better to remove that folder, but how? In Windows Server 2008 R2 you had the Disk Cleanup button located in the Properties screen of every logical disk shown in the Explorer. But in Windows Server 2012 this button isn’t present any more by default:

The folder Windows.old is locked by default so it takes some time to gain permissions on ALL those folders found in the main folder Windows.old. So that’s not the way to go.

Gladly in Windows Server 2012 there is a better way: Just get the earlier mentioned button back. How?

1. Start PowerShell on the related Windows Server 2012 machine;
2. Enter: Install-WindowsFeature Desktop-Experience and hit <ENTER>;
3. It will run for some minutes and report when ready;
4. Reboot the server, the feature will be installed and initialized while rebooting. This takes some minutes as well;
5. After the server is fully functional again the button Disk Cleanup is back again:
   
6. Hit the button and after the scan it will show you the option to remove the Windows.old folder, Previous Windows installation(s):
   
7. > OK > Delete Files
   
8. It will run for some minutes:
   
9. After a while the Windows.old folder is deleted. 
10. When required, the PS-cmdlet Remove-WindowsFeature Desktop-Experience will remove this feature again from your server.

Now you can shrink the volume through the Computer Management console. Afterwards you can compact the disk by using Hyper-V Manager.

Recap
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 is so 2012 . But seriously, servers running OM12 SP1 Management Server roles, OM12 SP1 Gateway Servers and SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 instances can be upgraded to Windows Server 2012. Again preparation is key here. TechNet provides an excellent starting point for good information about this upgrade process.

OM12 SP1 & SQL Server 2012

With OM12 SP1 SQL Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012 SP1 are supported! Which is nice. And yes, you can upgrade from SQL Server 2008 (R2 SP1) to SQL Server 2012 (SP1), more about it to be found here. 

However, upgrading your SQL Server 2008 (R2 SP1) instance hosting your OM12 SP1 databases to SQL Server 2012 (SP1) isn’t something to be taken too lightly nor something to be done without any preparation.

Don’t talk but SHOW it to me!
OK, here is some proof.

1. Insert the installation media of SQL Server 2012 SP1 and click on Install Upgrade Advisor.
   
   You’ll get some mumbo jumbo about a SQL Server 2012 component missing. Copy the url, download the proper installer, run it and install Upgrade Advisor.
2. When installed run SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Advisor
   
   > Next.
3. > Detect. Now the installed SQL Server features will be detected:
   
   > Next.
4. Enter the required credentials and SQL Server instance name:
   
   > Next.
5. Select the database to analyze:
   
   This SQL Server instance runs many databases, among the the OM12 databases.
   > Next.
6. Enter the required credentials and Reporting Services instance name:
   
   > Next.
7. Enter the required credentials and Analysis Services instance name:
   
8. The summary of previous made choices is shown. Accept them or go back.
   
   > Run.
9. Now the analysis will be made which might take a while.

After some time the results are in:

• Analyses Services is OK:
  
  So this is no blocker.
  
  
• Reporting Services isn’t OK:
  
  Even worse, the upgrade is blocked!
  
  This was to be expected since OM12 (like SCOM and SCOM R2) adds it’s own security layer to the SSRS instance used for OM12.
  
  
• SQL Server itself isn’t OK either:
  
  
  And yes, it relates to the OM12 database:
  
  And:
  

So these issues have to be fixed BEFORE upgrading the SQL Server 2008 (R2 SP1) instance to SQL Server 2012 (SP1).

Recap
Upgrading the SQL Server 2008 (R2 SP1) instance hosting the OM12 SP1 databases to SQL Server 2012 (SP1) isn’t something to be done without a glitch. I’ll take a look into it whether these upgrade issues can be fixed. If so I’ll share them with you on my blog. Hopefully Microsoft will publish some TechNet articles as well about this topic.

Another approach could be installing a new SQL Server 2012 (SP1) instance and move your OM12 SP1 databases to that new instance. This way you don’t have to go through the upgrade process at all. But still, I would like to see some Microsoft TechNet articles on this particular DB move as well .

Webcast: What’s New In OM12 SP1?

Got this one from the blog of Tim McFadden. Guess he doesn’t mind me borrowing this information .

OM12 SP1 contains many new features. Yes, you can read it here. But you can also watch this cool video made by Daniele Muscetta, Program Manager in the System Center Team:

OM12 SP1 Upgrade Schema & Say Hello To tAP…

When you’re still running a SCOM 2007 R2 environment and have all the required System Center 2012 licenses in place for upgrading to OM12 but waited for Service Pack 1 to arrive, you have an upgrade path ahead of you which isn’t a one stop process.

What You Hoped For But Won’t Get
This upgrade path isn’t possible: SCOM 2007 R2 > OM12 SP1.

Main reason here is that SP1 for OM12 RTM modifies the OM12 databases to such an extend that a direct upgrade from SCOM 2007 R2 to OM12 SP1 isn’t possible. Another reason here are the supported versions of Windows Server OS and SQL Server.

What You Get Instead
This is the way (and only supported one as well!): SCOM 2007 R2 > OM12 RTM > OM12 SP1.

This upgrade process has two stages where the first stage is the most challenging one since many ‘old’ SCOM 2007 R2 environments run Windows 2003 Server and use SQL Server 2005. Both versions (Server OS and SQL Server) aren’t supported by OM12 RTM.

So these issues have to be addressed first before upgrading to OM12 RTM. When you have dealt with this and your ready to upgrade from SCOM 2007 R2 to OM12 RTM, follow this series of postings all about that.

When that OM12 RTM environment is in place and fully healthy and functional, the upgrade to OM12 SP1 is almost a walk in the park, read this posting of mine all about that process.

The Alternative Approach (tAP)
Sometimes however it’s better to start brand new. So along side the existing SCOM 2007 R2 environment a new OM12 SP1 environment is created. Saves a lot of time when the existing SCOM 2007 R2 environment requires many upgrades to another SQL Server version and Windows Server OS.

Also with OM12 SP1 one can run SQL Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012. Both versions are fully supported by OM12 SP1 only, so these version can’t be implemented before OM12 SP1 is in place. And one installs OM12 SP1 for the long term strategy so it’s important to use versions of Windows Server OS and SQL Server which are current and will stay main stream for the first years to come…

Why Using tAP?
For some of my customers I have written business cases why to opt for tAP (the Alternative Approach). Simply the time (resources and budget) required to upgrade the SCOM 2007 R2 environment to the supported (but yet ‘old’ Window Server OS and SQL Server versions) created a No Go.

Instead within a few days a brand new OM12 (RTM or SP1) environment was designed, implemented and configured. Since OM12 Agents are capable of communicating with SCOM 2007 R2 environments, the ‘migration’ from SCOM 2007 R2 went smooth and without any serious issues at all. Per week some components being monitored by SCOM 2007 R2 were moved to OM12 instead.

This saved my customers valuable time, resources and budget and enabled them to focus on their core business instead. A WIN-WIN situation.

Cross Post: OM12 Overview Link Blog

Dieter Wijckmans, a much respected System Center guru, has posted an article containing an overview of all the information required to design, implement, configure, maintain and run an OM12 environment in all its aspects.

A good source for information all about OM12. Want to know more? Go here.

Thanks Dieter for sharing!

Upgrade Experiences From OM12 UR#3

During the last two weeks Service Pack 1 for System Center 2012 became available on TechNet Subscriptions I have installed this update for my two OM12 test environments, both with success and without any pain or glitch. Both OM12 environments were running UR#3 and had the same structure:

1. 2 OM12 Management Servers;
2. 1 dedicated SQL Server (SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 x64);
3. 1 OM12 Gateway Server;
4. Some OM12 Agents.

All servers used for the OM12 Management Servers and SQL Server are based on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and the latest updates and hotfixes. Some servers running the OM12 Agents run Windows Server 2012. SQL Server version is SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1.

In this posting I'll share my upgrade experiences.

Preparation
Installing SP1 for OM12 is a straight forward process when the proper preparations are made. Before installing SP1 for OM12 make backups of these components:

1. The related OM12 databases (OperationsManager and OperationsManagerDW);
2. The VMs (*) which run the OM12 Management Servers;
3. The VMs (*) which run the OM12 Gateway Servers.

This way there is always a way back when things turn sour.
(*: When these servers are physical make sure to have a complete backup of these servers so a rollback can be performed.)

Also I had collected the information of all OM12 Service accounts (and passwords) so when needed I had them ready.

On top of it all, check the health state of the OM12 Management Group by checking the OpsMgr event logs for errors on the OM12 Management Servers and Gateway Servers. When serious issues are found FIX them first. Also a good way to check the current health status of the OM12 MG is in the OM12 Console itself: Monitoring > Operations Manager > Management Group Health. This is a dashboard which shows the health of your OM12 environment. Again, when issues are reported, FIX them first.

Warning!!!
Like any other upgrade, it DOESN’T fix errors you’re already might be experiencing with your current OM12 environment. So when something is broken, the OpsMgr SP1 upgrade will most likely fail and create an environment which is beyond repair. So fix any issues before upgrading to SP1.

Upgrade process > Management Server 01
As stated before the update process is straight forward. I started the update on the OM12 Management Server which was first installed in the new Management Group.

1. Run Setup.exe with elevated permissions using an account which is local admin on that server, has SCOM Admin permissions and has SA permissions on both SQL databases. This way you’re sure the account has all the proper permissions to run a successful upgrade to SP1.
   
   > Install.
2. Setup is intelligent and detects the OM12 environment which is already in place. It will suggest to upgrade these components:
   - Operational Database
   - Management Server
   - Data Warehouse
   - Operations Console
   - Web console
   
   Please take notice of the warning to backup both OM12 databases so there is always a recovery scenario available.
   > Next.
3. Accept EULA
   
   > Next.
4. Select installation location
   
   > Next.
5. Prerequisites checker runs. In my case there is a memory warning. My test labs are capped for RAM usage .
   
   When there are showstoppers fix them, otherwise > Next.
6. Enter the required credentials for the DAS account:
   
   > Next.
7. A summary of the previous made choices is shown:
   
   When required adjust it by going back in the menu otherwise > Upgrade.
8. The upgrade process of the first Management Server takes while since both databases will be upgraded and many core MPs will be imported as well. Just be patient.
   
   Wh00t! Upgrade ran just fine > Close.

The first OM12 Management Server is successfully upgraded. Now it’s time for the second OM12 Management Server to be upgraded to SP1.

Upgrade process > Management Server 02
This upgrade process runs faster since the databases are already upgraded and the new core MPs already imported.

1. Run Setup.exe with elevated permissions using an account which is local admin on that server, has SCOM Admin permissions and has SA permissions on both SQL databases. This way you’re sure the account has all the proper permissions to run a successful upgrade to SP1.
   
   > Install.
2. As you can see there are far less OM12 components to be upgraded:
   
   > Next.
3. Accept EULA
   
   > Next.
4. Select installation location
   
   > Next.
5. Prerequisites checker runs. In my case there is a memory warning. My test labs are capped for RAM usage .
   
   When there are showstoppers fix them, otherwise > Next.
6. Enter the required credentials for the DAS account:
   
   > Next.
7. A summary of the previous made choices is shown:
   
   When required adjust it by going back in the menu otherwise > Upgrade.
8. The upgrade process of the second, or any other next OM12 Management Server will run significantly faster compared to the first OM12 Management Server, simply because the databases don’t need an upgrade anymore and the core MPs are already imported.
   
   Even though both OM12 databases are mentioned in the overview of the installation results, the changes made to these databases are minor.
   > Close. And now the second OM12 Management Server is upgraded as well.

Upgrade process > Gateway Server
The upgrade process of the Gateway Server is really a Next > Next > Finish experience.

1. Simply run the Setup.exe program of the installation media of SP1 for OM12 and select the option Gateway management server, found under the header Optional Installations.
2. Setup detects the currently installed OM12 Gateway Server and wants to upgrade it to SP1
   
   > Next.
3. Accept EULA (also in Chinese I guess )
   
   > I agree.
4. Upgrade is ready to roll:
   
   > Upgrade.
5. Upgrade process runs a short while:
   
6. Upgrade process finished successfully.
   
   > Finish.

Now the Gateway Server is upgraded as well. Check the OpsMgr event logs on both OM12 Management Servers and the Gateway Server.

Upgrade the OM12 Agents which are pushed by using the Console (Administration > Device Management > Pending Management). Select a group of those Agents and select Approve.

For manually installed Agents, select the method of choice (SCCM?) to upgrade them as well.

Recap
As you can see, the upgrade of OM12 RTM/UR#3 is a straight forward process. Prepare your self as stated in this posting and you’ll be fine.