System
Center Operations Manager (SCOM) is an enterprise-class monitoring and
management solution for Windows environments. It is designed to simplify
SharePoint server management by consolidating events, performance data,
alerts, and more into a centralized repository. Reports on this
information can then be tailored depending on the environment and the
level of detail needed and extrapolated. This information can assist
administrators and decision makers in proactively addressing SharePoint
server operation and any problems that exist or may occur.
The latest version of SCOM,
System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, can be further extended
through the addition of Management Packs for SharePoint Foundation and
SharePoint Server, which contain built-in event and performance analysis
tools specifically written to ensure smooth functionality of a
SharePoint environment. Deployment of a SCOM solution in a SharePoint
environment would not be complete without installation of this tool.
Many other intrinsic benefits are gained by using SCOM, including, but not limited to, the following:
Event log monitoring and consolidation
Monitoring of various applications, including those provided by third parties
Enhanced alerting capabilities
Assistance with capacity-planning efforts
A customizable knowledge base of Microsoft product knowledge and best practices
Web-based interface for reporting and monitoring
Taking a Closer Look at System Center Operations Manager
System Center Operations
Manager (SCOM) 2007 R2 is the latest version of Microsoft’s enterprise
monitoring product. Previously owned by NetIQ and then sold to
Microsoft, the product has evolved from the a product known as Microsoft
Operations Manager (MOM) to the latest generation.
SCOM provides for several major pieces of functionality, as follows:
Event log consolidation—
SCOM Agents, deployed on managed systems, forward all event log
information to a central SCOM SQL Server database, which is managed and
groomed by SCOM. This data is used for reporting, auditing, and
monitoring of the specific events.
Advanced alerting capabilities— SCOM provides advanced alerting functionality by enabling email alerts, paging, and functional alerting roles to be defined.
Performance monitoring—
SCOM collects performance statistics that can let an administrator know
whether a server is being overloaded or is close to running out of disk
space, among other things.
Built-in application-specific intelligence—
SCOM Management Packs are packages of information about a particular
application or service, such as DNS, DHCP, Exchange Server, or
SharePoint Server. The Microsoft management packs are written by the
design teams for each individual product and are loaded with the
intelligence and information necessary to properly troubleshoot and
identify problems. For example, the SharePoint Management pack will
automatically know which event IDs indicate configuration errors in the
software and will specifically direct an administrator to the proper
location on the web where Microsoft Knowledge Base articles can be used
for troubleshooting.
SCOM architecture can be
complex but often is as simple as a SQL database running on a server,
with another server providing the management server functions of SCOM.
This type of server is also known as an SCOM management server.
Installing SCOM Management Packs for SharePoint 2010
As previously mentioned,
Management Packs contain intelligence about specific applications and
services and include troubleshooting information specific to those
services. Microsoft has released three management packs for SharePoint
2010. The first is the management pack for SharePoint Foundation 2010,
the second is for the full SharePoint 2010 suite, and the third is
specific to FAST Search Server, which may or may not be used, depending
on whether FAST Search server is deployed. It is recommended to deploy
those management packs that are used within your environment. A full
SharePoint Server 2010 environment that isn’t using FAST Search Server
would deploy the two core Management Packs, for example.
To download these management packs, go to http://pinpoint.microsoft.com and search for SharePoint 2010 Management Pack. Within the Search results, you should see the following available for download:
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Products Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007
Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007
Install and import each
management pack individually into SCOM 2007 R2 via the import/export
management packs link to enable them in the environment. When installed,
they will intelligently sense which servers are SharePoint servers and
will deploy scripts and event viewer monitors to those systems.
Installing Additional Management Packs for SharePoint Farms
In
addition to the SharePoint 2010 specific management packs, a SharePoint
environment should leverage additional management packs installed on
SCOM to monitor the other non-SharePoint components:
Microsoft SQL Server Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007
Windows Server Internet Information Services (IIS) for System Center Operations Manager 2007
Windows Server Operating System Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007
Active Directory Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007 (for the domain controllers)
Microsoft Forefront Server Security for SharePoint 10.x Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007 (if Forefront is utilized)
Review the list
of components used within the SharePoint environment and compare that
list with the list of Management Packs provided. This may mean that
additional Management Packs are needed. For example, if Forefront Threat
Management Gateway or ForeFront Unified Access Gateway are used to
secure inbound HTTPS access to SharePoint, those Management Packs may be
required.
Monitoring SharePoint Functionality and Performance with SCOM
After the Management
Pack is installed for SharePoint and the agent has been installed and is
communicating, SCOM consolidates and reacts to every event and
performance counter sent to it from the SharePoint Server. This
information is reflected in the SCOM Operations Console.
Performance data for
SharePoint can also be displayed in SCOM. This enables reports and
performance metrics to be obtained from the farm. For more information
on SCOM 2007 R2, see the Microsoft website at the following URL: http://www.microsoft.com/SCOM.
