1. Monitor Workloads with System Center Operations Manager
Gordon McKenna | MVP & CEO | Inframon
Symon Perriman | Vice President | 5nine Software

2. Meet Gordon McKenna
Microsoft System Center Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP)
Over 15 years of experience, and is an expert in Microsoft management technologies.
Currently, helps run the U.K.'s leading System Center and Azure consultancy, Inframon, and was personally involved with some of the largest System Center implementations in EMEA.
Well-known speaker on System Center and regularly appears at TechEd in the U.K. and the U.S. He is also a regular speaker at MMS, WPC, and many partner and community events.

3. Meet Symon Perriman | @SymonPerriman
VP of Business Development & Marketing for 5nine Software, a Hyper-V security & management solutions provider
Previously Microsoft's Senior Technical Evangelist for Windows Server & System Center and a Program Manager for Failover Clustering
Holds several patents and co-authored "Introduction to System Center R2 for IT Professionals" (Microsoft Press)
Graduated from Duke University with degrees in Computer Science, Economics and Film & Digital Studies
Technical advisor for several startups, including System Center solutions provider ScorchCenter

4. Course Topics Monitoring with System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager
01 | Introduction to monitoring with Operations Manager
08 | Monitoring System Center App Controller
with Operations Manager
02 | Monitoring Windows Server with Operations Manager
09 | Monitoring System Center Configuration Manager with Operations Manager
03 | Monitoring SQL Server with Operations Manager
10 | Monitoring System Center Data Protection Manager
04 | Monitoring Exchange Server with
Operations Manager
11 | Monitoring System Center Orchestrator
05 | Monitoring SharePoint Server with
12 | Monitoring System Center Service Manager with
06 | Monitoring Lync Server with Operations Manager
13 | Monitoring Linux and UNIX Operating Systems with
07 | Monitoring System Center Virtual Machine Manager
14 | Monitoring Microsoft Azure with Operations Manager

5. Setting Expectations Target Audience Prerequisites Versions
This course is intended for current IT Professionals managing an enterprise infrastructure and either using System Center Operations Manager or looking to implement it
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of System Center Operations Manager (any version)
Basic knowledge of the workload(s) that you want to monitor
Versions
System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager
Latest version of each Management Pack (as on January, 2015)

6. Recommended Resources
​​MOC - Cloud & Datacenter Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager
​MVA Course - Monitoring VMware with Operations Manager (Module 2)
​ migration
​MVA Course - ​Build Operations Manager Management Packs (Module 3) ​ ​
MVA Course - System Center Operations Manager Management Pack Design
​​ manager-management-pack
​eBooks - Microsoft System Center

7. 01 | Introduction to Monitoring with Operations Manager
Gordon Mckenna | MVP & CEO | Inframon
Symon Perriman | Vice President | 5nine Software

8. Module 1 Overview Microsoft Monitoring Agent Management Packs
Monitoring Types
Data Processing & Visualizations
Demo: Viewing Data Collected in Operations Manager
Database Management
Best Practices
Management Pack Development

9. Microsoft Monitoring Agent

10. What is the Microsoft Monitoring Agent?
System Requirements for the MMA
.NET Application Performance Monitoring
IntelliTrace profiles
Data Collection
Running Responses
Generating Alerts
Calculating Health State

11. System Requirements for MMA
Supported Operating Systems
Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8 Pro, Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, Windows Embedded Standard 7 Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, Windows Server , Windows XP Professional 64-Bit Edition (Itanium) , Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Service Pack 3
Hardware Requirements
File system: %SYSTEMDRIVE% must be formatted with the NTFS file system
Processor Architectures: x64, x86
Software Requirements
Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) version: Microsoft Core XML Services 6.0 is required when installing on Windows Server 2003
Windows PowerShell version: Windows PowerShell version 2.0, or Windows PowerShell version 3.0
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or later

12. .NET Application Performance Monitoring
Monitoring Web Applications using the Microsoft Monitoring Agent
Using MMA in stand-alone mode
Using MMA with Operations Manager
Using the .NET Application Performance Monitoring (APM) Template in Operations Manager

13. IntelliTrace Profiles
IntelliTrace Log Files
Configuring MMA to collect IntelliTrace Logs
Start-WebApplicationMonitoring
Stop-WebApplicationMonitoring
Diagnosing performance problems in Visual Studio
Diagnosing exceptions in Visual Studio

14. Data Collection Data that the MMA collects includes: Event logs
Log files
Performance data
SNMP Traps
WMI event and performance data

15. Running Responses The MMA can run responses based on events detected
Responses can be in the form of:
Alerts
Command Line
Scripts

16. Generating Alerts Alerts can be generated when:
An event is detected
A performance counter value is breached
A monitored objects health state changes
Alerts are viewed in either the Operations Console or Web Console
Information provided by alerts include
Description
Severity
Priority
Product and Company Knowledge

17. Calculating Health State
The agent calculates the health state of the monitored computer on which it runs
The health state of monitored objects is also calculated
Operators using the Operations Console can view the health state of monitored objects and computers
Health States are displayed as:
Green (Healthy)
Yellow (Warning)
Red (Critical)

18. Management Packs

19. What is a Management Pack?
What does a Management Pack do?
Management Pack parts
Sealed and unsealed Management Packs
Management Pack Libraries
Management Pack Dependencies
Management Pack Bundles
Management Pack lifecycle
Import and Exporting Management Packs

20. What does a Management Pack do?
A Management Pack defines the information that the MMA will collect for the application or technology that it was designed for
Management Packs provide the workflows that are used to collect, compare and filter data by the MMA
When the agent is installed it downloads relevant Management Packs for applications discovered on the computer where it is installed

21. Management Pack Parts Management Packs include the following parts:
Rules
Monitors
Tasks
Knowledge
Reports
Views
Run As Profiles
Object Discoveries

22. Sealed and Unsealed Management Packs
Unsealed Management Packs are read/write (.XML)
Sealed Management Packs are read-only (.MP)
Use unsealed Management Packs to store Overrides
Unsealed Management Packs can be sealed
Sealed Management Packs provide versioning and referencing capabilities

23. Management Pack Libraries
Management Pack Libraries are Management Packs that provide a foundation of Classes on which other Management Packs depend
Many default Management Packs included with Operations Manager are Library Management Packs including:
Data Warehouse Library
Network Device Library
System Center Core Library
Performance Library

24. Management Pack Dependencies
Management Packs can depend on other Management Packs
Management Packs can be a dependent of other Management Packs
Dependencies are created when one Management Pack references another

25. Management Pack Bundles
Management Pack Bundles provide a method of distributing resources required by Management Packs such as .exe files
Management Packs Bundles can contain:
Multiple Management Pack files
Images
Form Assemblies
Reports

26. Management Pack Lifecycle
The lifecycle of a Management Pack involves:
Evaluating the Management Pack in a pre-production environment
Tuning the Management Pack for your environment by using Overrides
Deploying the Management Pack in the production environment
Maintaining the Management Pack in the production environment

27. Importing and Exporting Management Packs
Management Packs can be imported and exported from either the Operations Console or using PowerShell
Sealed Management Packs can only be exported using PowerShell
Management Packs can be imported from the Management Pack catalog

28. How does the MMA send data to the Operations Manager Management Server?
Agent to Management Server communication
Agent Cache
Heartbeats

29. Agent to Management Server Communication
The MMA sends discovery data and alert data to its Primary Management Server
Event data, performance data and state data is also sent from the MMA to the Management Server
The Management Server distributes Management Packs to the MMA based on discovery data
All communication is performed over TCP Port 5723 and is initiated by the MMA

30. Agent Cache
If communication between the MMA and any available Management Server is lost the MMA stores monitored data locally in the Agent Cache
When communication is resumed cached data is sent to the assigned Management Server
The Agent Cache can be manually flushed using the Operations Console

31. Heartbeats
The MMA sends a packet of data to the Management Server every 60 seconds
If the MMA fails to send the data 4 time a Health Service Heartbeat Failure alert is generated and the Management Server attempts to ping the MMA
If the Management Server fails to ping the MMA a Failed to Connect to Computer alert is generated

32. Monitoring Types

33. Agent vs Agentless Monitoring
When to use Agentless monitoring
What data is collected with Agentless monitoring
Using a Proxy server

34. When to use Agentless monitoring
Use Agentless monitoring when it is not possible or desirable to install an agent on a computer such as:
Security restrictions
Hardware/Software requirements
Incompatible software

35. What data is collected with Agentless monitoring
The data collected from an agentless-managed computer is much less that an agent-managed computer
Not all Management Packs support agentless monitoring

36. Using a Proxy Server
When agentless monitoring is required a Proxy Server is used to collect data from the agentless-managed computer
A Management Server or agent-managed computer can act as a Proxy Server
Data is collected using RPC

37. Data Processing & Visualizations

38. Data Processing and Visualizions
Views
Reports
Dashboards
SharePoint integration
Visio integration

39. Views
Views provide a method of viewing data collected by Operations Manager and can include:
Alert data
Event data
Performance data
Graphs
Web pages+
Health state
Distribute Application Diagrams

40. Reports Reports are provided with most Management Packs
You can filter reports so that only relevant data is included
Custom reports can be created using Report Builder
Reports can be scheduled and ed
Reports can be published to SharePoint

41. Dashboards
Dashboard provide a method of grouping multiple data elements into a single view
Dashboards can be viewed in the Operations Console, Web Console and SharePoint
Multiple layouts allow you to group data easily
Widgets are used to retrieve data from Operations Manager

42. SharePoint Integration
The Operations Manager SharePoint Web Part provides the ability to view dashboards created in Operations Manager in a SharePoint page
SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint are supported
Useful for people who do not have access to the Operations Manager Console

43. Visio Integration
Distributed Application Diagrams created in Operations Manager can be exported as Visio diagrams
Shapes in the Visio diagram are associated with objects in Operations Manager
Visio diagram updates to show health state of monitored objects in Operations Manager
Can also be viewed in SharePoint

44. Viewing data collected in Operations Manager

45. Database Management

46. Operations Manager Databases
Operational Database
Data Warehouse Database

47. Operational Database
The operational database is a SQL Server database that is used to store the configuration of Operations Manager
It also stores all monitoring data
Data in the operational database is retained short-term

48. Data Warehouse Database
The data warehouse database is a SQL Server database that is used to store both monitoring and alerting data for historical reports
Data written to the operational database is also written to the data warehouse database
Data in the data warehouse database is retained long-term

49. Best Practices

50. Best Practices with Operations Manager
Planning and sizing Operations Manager
Hardware and software requirements
Networking requirements
Monitored item capacity
SQL Server configuration (clustering and AlwaysOn)
Management Packs
Overrides
Data retention
Automatic alert resolution

51. Planning and Sizing Operations Manager
When designing an Operations Manager Management Group there are a number of factors that should be taken into account such as:
Number of monitored computers
Number of monitored network devices
Application Performance Monitoring
Web Application Monitoring
Data retention/Capacity planning
Use the Operations Manager 2012 Sizing Helper Tool

52. Hardware and Software Requirements
When preparing for an Operations Manager deployment consider the hardware and software requirements for:
Management Server(s)
Operational database server
Data Warehouse database server
Reporting server
Install a test or pre-production environment
View hardware and software requirements here:

53. Networking Requirements
Operations Manager components such as the Management Server require connection over a low-latency network to the Operations Manager database
Consider using Gateway Servers instead of Management Servers at remote sites where there is high network latency
Review the Minimum network connectivity speeds section from here:
Review Firewall exceptions that are required

54. Monitored Item Capacity
Consider the monitored item capacity for the following:
Simultaneous Operations Manager Consoles
Agent-managed computers
Agentless-managed computers
Multi-homing
Network devices
URLs

55. SQL Server Configuration
Consider the following SQL Server factors
The same SQL Server version must be used for all features
Collation settings
Database sizing
Supported Cluster configurations
SQL AlwaysOn

56. Management Packs Follow best practice guidelines including:
Test Management Packs in a test or pre-production environment before importing into production
Import Management Packs one at a time and tune it for your environment as needed
Create a separate Management Pack for customization of each application or technology
Back up Management Pack regularly

57. Overrides Follow best practice guidelines including:
Never store Overrides to the Default Management Pack
Store Overrides in a separate Management Pack
Configure Overrides for groups instead of specific instances
Do not use the Disable command in the Overrides menu to disable a rule or monitor
Test Overrides in a test or pre-production environment

58. Data Retention
Configure Data Retention for the Operational Database using the Operations Console
Configure Data Retention for the Data Warehouse Database using the DWDataRP.exe utility
Configure data retention based on your organizations data retention policy
The Operational Database data retention should be kept as small as possible to maintain performance

59. Automatic Alert Resolution
Operations Manager automatically resolves Active alerts when:
The Alerts have been Active for more than 30 days and are in a New resolution state
The Alerts have been Active for more 7 days and the alert source is in a healthy state

60. Management Pack Development

61. Management Pack Development
Microsoft Virtual Academy courses
90 minute module: Build Operations Manager Management Packs (Module 3) courses/system-center-2012-sp1-extensibility
20 hour course: System Center Operations Manager Management Pack Design ​​ courses/system-center-2012-r2-operations-manager-management- pack