Security & Management

Deploying MOM 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange: Part 2

After the installation and basic configuration of SLA Scorecard for Exchange, You should configure the advance settings to customize the SLA Scorecard.

1. Create and add users to SLAAdministrators local group on SQL server to allow users to enter the Outage Maintenance administration page and update the information about an outage.
2. Create and add users to SLANormalUsers local group on SQL server to allow users to view and browse the SLA Scorecard and reports.
3. Open MOM Reporting Console, Click Properties and select New Role Assignment, Enter the user name, Click Browser Permissions, Select New Role Assignment and add SLAAdministrators or SLANormalUsers. Configure the Security Settings.
4. Apply Security to the SQL server objects. Please refer Microsoft Technet
5. Customize the settings of Outage Maintenance, Server Maintenance and SLA Configuration in the SLA Scorecard UI.
6. Provide the SLA Scorecard and MOM Reporting URL to the users.
7. Use the SLA Scorecard views, trend reports or MOM Reporting Console to analyze the output.

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Deploying MOM 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange: Part 1

These are the simple steps to install SLA Scorecard for Exchange. It is not supported on Windows Server Datacenter Edition or Cluster.

1. Prepare the core prerequisites (MOM Reporting, Exchange Server 2003 SP1, Exchange Server 2000/2003 Management Packs, SLA Scorecard for Exchange Management Pack and Outlook 2003 on the client)
2. Prepare the optional prerequisites (Exchange Intelligent Message Filter Management Pack and Sybari Anti-Virus Management Pack)
3. Run the installation by SLA Scorecard.msi on the MOM Reporting Server or separate SQL Server. To install SLA Scorecard.msi on the separate SQL Server, make sure that your user account is added to the MOM Reporting Server's Local Administartors group and add that server's computer account to the MOM Reporting Server's Local Administrators group.
4. Accept the License Agreement
5. Verify the Prerequisites
6. Type the name of the MOM Reporting/Data Warehouse Server
7. View the Log of the prerequisites check
8. Setup the Installation Path
9. Choose the SQL Server Instance
10. Configure the SLA Scorecard Reporting Databases name
11. Configure the Presentation Database Data and Log File Location
12. Process the Installation
13. Press Configure Exchange button to open SLA Scorecard UI, Click Server Maintenance to edit the In Service Date, Server Type and # of Exchange Databases for each Exchange Server. Click SLA Configuration to setup the SLA Target. Close the SLA Scorecard UI.
14. Press Test Configuration button and enable the Transfer data from MOM data warehouse now option
15. Finish the Installation.
16. If you unable to access the SLA Reports in MOM Reporting Console, Open MOM Reporting Folder, SLA Scorecard for Exchange, SLASA Configuration, Select Credentials stored security in the MOM Reporting Server. Enter the Local Administrator account information of the MOM Reporting Server. Select Use as Windows credentials when connecting to the data source. Click Apply.

Interview with Kelly Altom Microsoft Group Program Manager for MOM

It is a great interview for MOM v3.

Enjoy it!

http://bink.nu/Article5410.bink

MOM 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange

The Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 SLA Scorecard for Exchange provides you with an executive dashboard that you can use to measure and trend service availability and workloads across multiple server roles in an Exchange Server messaging environment. This solution also enables you to define desired service levels and identify the cause of service outages.

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HCL launches Microsoft CoE

NEW DELHI: HCL Comnet today announced the opening of India's first Microsoft Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Infrastructure Management.

This centre will significantly add to HCL's existing capabilities in offering migration and project services to worldwide customers on new Microsoft technologies.

The CoE will further enhance HCL's capabilities in implementing best practices around active Microsoft platform and technologies, building unique solutions for implementing new MS technology platforms, showcasing and offering migration and project based services to global customers for deploying new MS platforms like Windows Vista, SMS, MS System Centre, MOM 2007, etc.

Sources and More.

Some Notes for DPM 2006

Protecting and Restoring SQL Server Databases

1. Sehedule to export the SQL server databases to static files and store it in the protected volume.
2. To restore the databases, restore that database static files to the previous version and then import it to SQL server.

Protecting and Restoring System State 

1. Schedule the Windows backup to export system state to a static file and store it in the protected volume.
2. To restore the system state, restore that system state static file to the previous version and then use Windows backup to restore it.

Protecting and Restoring Exchange Server Stores (Not Recommended)

1. Schedule to export Exchange Server mailbox stores or public folder stores to static files and store it in the protected volume.
2. To restore the Exchange Server stores, restore that Exchange Server stores static files to the previous version and then import to Exchange Server.

DPM Server Requirements

1. Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP1
2. Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with SP1
3. Windows Storage Server 2003 with SP1

DPM File Server Requirements

1. Windows 2000 Server with SP4 and Update Rollup Pack 1
2. Windows Server 2003 with SP1
3. Windows Storage Server 2003 with SP1

DPM Shadow Copy Client Requirements

1. Windows XP with SP2
2. Windows XP with SP2 (x64)
3. Windows Server 2003
4. Windows Server 2003 with SP1
5. Windows Server 2003 with SP1 (x64)

Some Notes for SMS 2003

Installing SMS 2003

1. Extend the Active Directory Schema (During installation or after the installation, run extadsch.exe in the SMS installation folder by the Schema Administrator)
2. If the site server and the SQL server on the different machines, add the site server computer account to the SQL server local administrators group.
3. Create the database for SMS by SQL server enterprise manager.

Deploying SMS 2003 Operating System Deployment Feature Pack 

1. Reference Computer (In Workgroup, Installed SMS Advanced Client, Copy the correct sysprep files to C:\Sysprep, NTFS, C:\ is the System drive, Not Upgraded from another Windows)
2. Create Image Capture CD that included the Image Capture Wizard by SMS Administrator Console. And use it to create image of Reference Computer.
3. Create Operating System Image Package by SMS Administrator Console.
4. Create Operating System Image Package Program by SMS Administrator Console.
5. Deploy the Image by SMS Advertisment, Image Installation CD or RIS.

Operating System Deployment Phase

1. Validation (Check the destination computers)
2. State Capture (Capture profile, settings and files)
3. Pre-install
4. Install
5. Post-install
6. State Restore (Restore profile, settings and files)

Deploying SMS 2003 Device Management Feature Pack

1. Extend the SMS_def.mof file to support mobile device and Active Sync.
2. Run the Hardware Inventory on SMS Clients
3. Run the Resource Explorer or reports to view the information of the connected clients and Active Sync.
4. Distribute the Device Client installation files to the SMS Clients by Software Distribution.
5. Connect the mobile device to this SMS Client Desktop to install Device Client.
6. Open the Device Client Agent in SMS Administrator Console to enable and configure the Software Inventory, Hardware Inventory, Files Collection and Software Distribution.
7. To deploy software to mobile devices, Run the Distribute Software to Device Wizard.
8. To configure the settings on mobile device, open Device Settings Manager, create the Device Settings Packages or modify the Installation Items. 

Adding SMS Secondary Site to SMS Primary Site

1. Add the Site Server's computer account of Secondary Site to the SMS_SiteSystemToSQLConnection_{SiteCode} and SMS_SiteToSiteConnection_{SiteCode} Groups of Primary Site. 
2. Run the SMS installation on Secondary Site and attach to the Primary Site.
3. Create and configure Sender and Sender Address in Primary Site by SMS Administrator console.
4. Run the SMS Services Manager, Connect to the Site Server of Secondary Site and check the services status.

SMS 2003 Communitcation Ports

I just found out a good Microsoft KB article for SMS 2003.

This article included all of the communication ports between SMS Site Servers, Sites (Primary,Secondary, Parent, Child), Active Directory, Management Point, CAP, Distribution Point, Advanced and Legacy Client etc... 

You can use these information to configure the firewall or proxy server to allow SMS communication in your environment.  

More Information Microsoft KB Article 826852

SMS 2003 Software Update Distribution VS Windows Server Update Services

SMS 2003 included the software update management function for scan and distribute the updates to the computers. And Windows Server Update Services also provide the patch management function to Windows based machines. How should you choose the right solution for your company?  

First, You must need to understand that the key differences between them.

Windows Server Update Services

1. Windows Server Update Services support Windows 2000 or later mahcines.
2. It supports to update Windows OS, Office, Exchange, SQL..etc..
3. It uses Automatic Update Client to schedule the download and installation settings by using Group Policy or Registry key.
4. It included reporting function for each computer to generate the reports for the security update installation status.
5. It is no deployment required for each computer.

SMS 2003 Software Update Distribution

1. SMS 2003 Distribute Software Updates Wizard supports Windows NT or later machines.
2. Other than Windows OS, Office and other Enterprise Servers, It also supports to deploy software updates to the NON-Microsoft products by using the basic software distribution function in SMS 2003.
3. Administrator controls all aspects of update installation and the user experience can be fully configured.
4. It included rich reporting driven by data in the SQL Server database. 
5. Required to deploy SMS Advanced Client or Legacy Client.
6. Also included Software and Hardware Inventory, bandwidth-aware software distribution, scheduling and targeting.   

If the company is not running SMS 2003, You should use Windows Server Update Services for the patch management. For the company which is running SMS 2003, based on the business requirements, you should consider to use the SMS 2003 Distribute Software Update Wizard to deploy the hotfixes.

Personally speaking, If you are using SMS 2003, but you don't need to use the rich features from Distribute Software Update Wizard.(And maybe you want to save the time for configure the hotfixes deployment) I recomemnd that you should use Windows Server Update Services, It is very easy for the configuration, distributing, monitoring and reporting.      

MOM 2005 Summary Reporting Pack

The MOM 2005 Summary Reporting Pack extends the MOM data warehouse to provide long term reports on performance metrics and alerts based on weekly and daily summarization of data. Key reports include Exchange resource and protocol utilization, AD disk utilization and replication latency, OS performance, and generic summary reports for performance counter analysis, alert counts, and alert resolution times. The Summary Reporting Pack increases the performance and reduces the storage resources required for long term reporting with the MOM data warehouse.

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