System Center Guide

OpsMgr Community,

If you are receiving alerts “Performance Module could not find a performance counter” in the Operations Manager Console, please perform thefollowing steps to disable the rule via override.

Note: When you run the Operations Console on a computer that is not a Management Server, the Connect To Server dialog box displays. In the Server name text box, type the name of the Operations Manager 2007 Management Server to which you want the Operations Console to connect.

1. Navigate to the Authoring Space in the Console.

2. Select “Rules” under “Management Pack Objects”.

3. Type “Performance Data Source Module” in the “Look for:” box and click “Find Now”. Be sure a Scope is not set or filtering the “Health Service” Target.

4. Find the rule, “Performance Data Source Module could not find a performance counter” under “Type: Health Service (2)”, right-click, select “Overrides”, “Disable the Rule”, “For all objects of type: Health Service”.

5. When prompted, “Are you sure you want to disable this rule for Health Service?” click “Yes”.

Microsoft is working on the long-term solution to address this problem.

Thanks, Justin Incarnato

Operations Manager Product Team Blog : "Performance Module could not find a performance counter" temporary workaround

Forgive my sarcasm, but I find it ironic that two websites – one officially Microsoft, one community-based (but still working for Microsoft) – have two distinctly different viewpoints on the same subject matter. However, I’ll let you decide for yourself: 

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and System Center (the Microsoft source)

vs.

http://blogs.technet.com/cliveeastwood/archive/2008/02/22/a-note-on-operations-manager-2007-service-pack-1-support-for-windows-server-2008.aspx

What’s the deal?

One says:

Microsoft System Center solutions can work together to provide an integrated, end-to-end management solution for your Windows Server 2008 environment. Learn about the benefits of managing Windows Server 2008 with System Center Operations Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, Configruation Manager, and Data Protection Manager.

While the other states:

Bottom line = [Operations Manager 2007] SP1 does not yet provide support for any role running on Windows Server 2008.

Now, since both sources are officially Microsoft sources, which one do we believe? My money is on Clive. 10-fold! And while I realise we’re probably just speaking about OpsMgr 2007 roles being unsupported on the new OS, the high-level message from MS and the field could use some tuning to ensure subject lines aren’t providing the wrong message. But again… I’ll let you decide for yourself.

Learn from the experts how to use the many features of Operations Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) as well as address frequently asked questions.

I won’t waste your time with my mindless commentary, but trust me… the site is worth a visit:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/opsmgr/bb986763.aspx

Satya Vel outlines the Top 10 reasons you should consider using a Gateway Server in your Operations Manager 2007 infrastructure:

This is one of my favourite features/roles in OpsMgr 2007. When I refer to the Gateway Server I am referring to role in OpsMgr which can be used to monitor un-trusted domains/DMZs and not the spotted cow company that builds servers. If you are not leveraging the Gateway Server role then here are my 10 reasons why you should:

http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/archive/2008/02/19/10-reasons-to-use-a-gateway-server.aspx

The Dell Management Pack enables the Microsoft System Center
Operations Manager 2007 and System Center Essentials 2007 to discover 
and monitor the status of Dell systems and printers
on a defined network segment.

Figure: Dell Management Pack – Health Status Diagram View

This improved representation, which includes the receipt of failure
and pre-failure alerts, allows Dell customers to assess, respond to,
and ensure the availability of Dell systems and printers
monitored in the Operations Manager environment. In addition to 
improved availability, the Management Pack enhances the ability
to monitor and manage the hardware in a single management solution.

Download the Updated Management Pack Here

From the lads at Secure Vantage Technologies:

We just released a Windows Security Auditing Reference List (PDF or XLS) that provides content on more than 1300 Windows security events and settings.

The list currently covers the following platforms:

• Windows 2000, 2003 and XP – Security Events, Group Policy Settings, Services, Files & Folders
• Windows 2008 & Vista – Security Events and Group Policy Settings
• SQL 2005 Server – Security Events

Regardless of the tool you use to audit your environment this is a handy reference to have around.

The resource is based on Microsoft published security resources and includes interactive links to Windows Security Expert Randy Franklin Smith’s security wiki.

For System Center customers this is an excellent reference of the base Windows security events and settings managed via Operations Manager, ACS, Configuration Manager and the Secure Vantage Technologies Compliance Security Suite. Stay tuned as we add more content and scope to the list in 2008.

Download Now (PDF or XLS) – Windows Security Auditing Reference List

From http://aquilaweb.com/ :

This tool (CleanMom.exe) I have found invaluable in my test environment where I uninstall/install different SCOM components and agents all the time yet on my rounds in the communities and forums I have found that very few people seem to be aware of it.

Read the post here

http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/3726211

Quick summarisation covers server roles, requirements and compatibilities and whether or not it can be placed on a failover cluster.

Read the post here

Added several small features in this version:

1. The target of a rule/monitor
2. The type of a monitor
3. The priority of the alert generated by a monitor
4. Whether a rule generates an alert as well as the severity and priority of the alert.
5. Command line mode is now supported. So you can run it like this: C:\MPViewer.exe “C:\SampleMP.mp” “C:\SampleMPReport.html” (this can help create HTML reports for a large number of management packs without opening each one in the MPViewer UI).

Boris is really interested in your feedback about this utility in terms whether its useful or not, and what would make it more useful for you.

Get the download here