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Configuring Alerts and Reports in the System Center 2012 App Controller Monitoring Pack

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Deploying the System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 — App ControllerDeploying a monitoring pack for System Center 2012 App Controller helps you track the health, performance, and availability of App Controller services and the resources it manages. This article provides a practical, step-by-step guide to deploying the System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 App Controller, covering preparation, installation, configuration, validation, and troubleshooting. It assumes familiarity with System Center components (Operations Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, App Controller), basic Windows Server administration, and Active Directory.

What the monitoring pack provides

The monitoring pack for App Controller typically includes:

  • Monitors for key service components (App Controller service, web front-end, certificate validity).
  • Rules for collecting performance counters, event logs, and configuration state.
  • Alerts triggered by monitor or rule failures (service stops, excessive latency, certificate expiration).
  • Views and dashboards to visualize App Controller health and usage.
  • Knowledge base entries with suggested remediation steps.

Prerequisites and planning

Before deploying the pack, complete these preparatory tasks:

  • Environment inventory
    • Identify the App Controller server(s) and their roles (production, test).
    • Confirm Operations Manager (SCOM) versions and management group topology.
  • Permissions
    • Ensure you have SCOM Administrator rights to import management packs and configure overrides.
    • Have local administrator access on App Controller servers for any agent actions.
  • Compatibility
    • Confirm the monitoring pack is designed for System Center 2012 App Controller and matches your SCOM build/UR level.
  • Backup and change control
    • Back up current SCOM configurations if needed.
    • Schedule a maintenance window for production monitoring changes.
  • Network and firewall
    • Ensure SCOM management servers and agents can communicate over required ports (default TCP 5723 for agent to management, plus RPC/DCOM when needed).
  • Certificates and security
    • If monitoring uses SSL or certificate checks, have certificates and thumbprints ready.
  • Documentation
    • Keep a record of servers, overrides, and any customizations you plan to apply.

Obtain and review the management pack

  1. Source the pack:
    • Download from Microsoft (if provided) or your vendor portal. Confirm MD5/SHA checksum where available.
  2. Inspect contents:
    • Many MP packages include one or more Management Pack (MP) files, companion MP XMLs, and README or documentation.
    • Open README to see supported features, required dependencies, and known issues.
  3. Identify dependencies:
    • Management packs often rely on core SCOM libraries (e.g., Microsoft.SystemCenter.Library, Microsoft.Windows.Library). Note required versions.
  4. Prepare a staging SCOM environment (recommended):
    • If possible, import and test the MP in a non-production management group first.

Importing the management pack into SCOM

  1. Open the Operations Manager Console:
    • Go to Administration > Management Packs.
  2. Import:
    • Click Import Management Packs. Use Add > Add from disk and select the MP files.
  3. Resolve dependencies:
    • If prompted, import dependent MPs. Do not force-accept unknown dependencies without review.
  4. Verify successful import:
    • Confirm the MP appears in the Management Packs list and status shows no errors.
  5. Review sealed vs. unsealed MPs:
    • Sealed MPs can’t be edited. Plan overrides in separate unsealed MPs to preserve upgrade paths.

Configure Accounts and Run As profiles

  1. Identify run-as needs:
    • The pack may require Run As accounts for data collection (WMI, performance counters, Event Log read, web service checks).
  2. Create Run As accounts:
    • In Administration > Run As Configuration > Accounts, create Windows or Management Server accounts as specified.
  3. Distribute and map:
    • Distribute accounts to the appropriate management servers or agents. Map profiles to classes/monitors as documented.
  4. Test credentials:
    • Verify connectivity (for example, using PowerShell remoting or RPC) from management servers to App Controller hosts if applicable.

Configure discovery and targeting

  1. Review discovery logic:
    • The pack uses discoveries to detect App Controller instances. Confirm discovery intervals and criteria in the MP documentation.
  2. Force discovery (optional):
    • In Monitoring > State View, you can right-click a class and choose “Run Discoveries” to speed detection.
  3. Confirm targets:
    • Check that discovered objects (App Controller servers, websites, services) appear under Monitoring > State > Microsoft System Center > App Controller (or equivalent path).
  4. Tune discovery:
    • If false positives/negatives appear, consider creating overrides to adjust discovery interval or targeting filters.

Configure overrides and thresholds

  1. Plan overrides:
    • Do not modify the sealed MP directly. Create an unsealed overrides MP for your management group.
  2. Common overrides:
    • Adjust thresholds for performance counters (CPU, memory), change health rollup behavior, or suppress non-actionable alerts.
  3. Apply overrides carefully:
    • Scope overrides narrowly (by server, resource group, or role) to avoid masking genuine issues.
  4. Document overrides:
    • Keep a change log with rationale, scope, and rollback steps.

Configure alerting, notifications, and subscriptions

  1. Alert tuning:
    • Review default alert severity and priority. Reclassify alerts that are informational only.
  2. Notification channels:
    • Ensure SCOM notifications are configured (email, SMS, ticketing connector).
  3. Create subscriptions:
    • Map alerts to appropriate teams with correct escalation.
  4. Auto-remediation (optional):
    • Consider runbooks or scripts triggered by specific alerts to automatically restart services or perform cleanup tasks.

Reporting and dashboards

  1. Import or build reports:
    • Use built-in reports if present; otherwise create SCOM reports for App Controller availability, response time, and alert trends.
  2. Dashboards and views:
    • Customize dashboards in the SCOM console or use web console widgets to show App Controller health.
  3. Capacity and trend analysis:
    • Configure performance collections to feed long-term capacity planning.

Validation and testing

  1. Functional tests:
    • Stop and start the App Controller service to verify monitors detect the change and generate alerts.
    • Intentionally trigger performance thresholds to validate rules and alerts.
  2. End-to-end scenario:
    • Deploy a sample app or connect to a cloud provider through App Controller (in a test environment) to validate monitoring of actions.
  3. Alert lifecycle:
    • Confirm alert creation, notification delivery, acknowledgement, and resolution process work as expected.
  4. Review generated data:
    • Check collected performance counters, event log entries, and knowledge articles linked to alerts.

Troubleshooting common issues

  • Discovery not finding App Controller

    • Verify agent is installed and online on App Controller servers.
    • Confirm Run As accounts have necessary rights.
    • Check discovery interval and filters.
    • Review event logs on management servers and agents for discovery errors.

  • Alerts not generated or firing incorrectly

    • Check monitor and rule configurations; ensure overrides haven’t suppressed alerts.
    • Validate Run As profile mapping and credential validity.
    • Confirm SCOM health service is functioning and not throttled.

  • Performance data missing

    • Ensure performance collection rule is enabled and not disabled by maintenance mode.
    • Verify agent performance counter collection and sampling intervals.

  • Web/UI checks failing

    • Verify URLs, SSL certificates, and service account permissions used by the monitor.
    • If certificate checks fail, confirm certificate chain and validity.

Maintenance and lifecycle

  • Keep the pack updated:
    • Track vendor or Microsoft updates to the MP and import newer versions as needed.
  • Review alerts and overrides periodically:
    • Quarterly review to ensure thresholds still reflect production reality.
  • Backup MPs and configurations:
    • Export custom MPs and store them in your configuration repository.
  • Decommissioning:
    • When retiring App Controller instances, delete tracked objects and clean up overrides specific to those servers.

Example: Quick checklist for a basic deployment

  • [ ] Download and verify MP files.
  • [ ] Import MP and dependencies into a staging SCOM environment.
  • [ ] Create Run As accounts and distribute.
  • [ ] Force discovery and verify target objects appear.
  • [ ] Apply scoped overrides and document them.
  • [ ] Configure notifications and subscriptions.
  • [ ] Run functional tests (service stop/start, threshold tests).
  • [ ] Validate reports and dashboards.
  • [ ] Schedule regular reviews and backups.

Appendix: Useful commands and locations

  • Run discovery manually (in console): Monitoring > State > Select class > Run Discoveries.
  • SCOM management server logs: Event Viewer > Operations Manager.
  • Agent logs on monitored server: Event Viewer > Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > System Center.
  • Import MPs: Administration > Management Packs > Import Management Packs.

Deploying the System Center Monitoring Pack for App Controller follows standard SCOM best practices: prepare, import, configure Run As and discoveries, tune via overrides, validate with tests, and operationalize with alerts and reports. Proper scoping and documentation ensure the monitoring pack provides actionable insight without overwhelming operators with noise.

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