The Microsoft® System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Management Pack provides new and improved capabilities for Configuration Manager 2007 monitoring. The following sections describe the primary scenarios that the Configuration Manager 2007 Management Pack supports, along with a description of its features.
Site Hierarchy State Monitoring
Performance Threshold Monitoring
Critical Configuration Manager Status Message Monitoring
Executive Crash Dump Monitoring
Configuration Manager Software Update Management Monitoring
Configuration Manager Site Backup Monitoring
Product Knowledge Content for All Alerts
Computer Groups for All Configuration Manager Server and Client Roles
Software Distribution Program Run Status
Configuration Manager Task Monitoring
Configuration Manager 2007 Inbox Monitoring
Service Availability
Service availability monitors the availability of Configuration Manager services by using both the Service Availability feature of System Center Operations Manager 2007 and the Service Control Manager events in the NT Event System Log. Service availability monitoring generates the following:
- An alert when Configuration Manager-based
services stop on Configuration Manager site systems.
- An alert when a critical Configuration
Manager dependent service, such as Windows Management
Instrumentation (WMI), stops or fails to start on Configuration
Manager site systems.
- An alert when other Configuration Manager
dependent services, such as Microsoft SQL Server™, Internet
Information Services (IIS), and Background Intelligent Transfer
Service (BITS) stop or fail to start on Configuration Manager site
systems.
- An alert when the Configuration Manager Site
Backup service is started and stopped, so you can monitor backup
durations and correlate stop events from other Configuration
Manager services to Configuration Manager Site Backup.
Service Discovery
Service discovery is the process of discovering data, server roles, and components on managed computers. Service discovery returns information about Configuration Manager servers and Configuration Manager clients. It also supports the presentation of the Configuration Manager Server and Configuration Manager Client roles in the state monitoring views.
Server-specific service discovery data is collected and begins to display in the System Center Operations Console after the Management Pack is deployed to an agent. Features that require identifying roles, computer groups, and target computers for specific tasks are not available until after service discovery data is collected for the first time.
The Configuration Manager Management Pack uses the following event processing rule:
- ConfigMgr 2007 Service Discovery
to launch the appropriate service discovery scripts:
- ConfigMgr 2007 Service Discovery -
Server
- ConfigMgr 2007 Service Discovery -
Client
- The scripts use an asynchronous timed
provider to collect service discovery data once every 24 hours by
default.
Availability Monitoring Reports
The Configuration Manager 2007 Management Pack includes the following availability reports, which monitor the heartbeat of the following server roles:
- Server Availability
- Distribution Point Availability
- Management Point Availability
- PXE Service Point Availability
- Site Server Availability
- Software Update Point Availability
- System Health Validator Availability
- State Migration Point Availability
- Site Database Server Availability
All reports run against the OperationsManager database, which allows you to specify reporting time durations.
For more information about server availability reports, see the Reports for the Configuration Manager 2007 Management Pack.
Server Role Availability Monitoring
Availability is monitored for the following roles:
- Management Point
- NLB Management Point
- Device Management Point
- System Health Validator
- State Migration Point
- PXE Service Point
- Software Update Point
- Distribution Point
- Site Database Server
Component Availability Monitoring
Availability is monitored for the following components, which generate a periodic heartbeat reporting their availability state:
- INBOX MANAGER
- INBOX MONITOR
- SITE COMPONENT MANAGER
- MP CONTROL MANAGER
- MP FILE DISPATCH MANAGER
- OUTBOX MONITOR
- WAKEONLAN COMMUNICATION MANAGER
- WAKEONLAN MANAGER
- WSUS CONFIGURATION MANAGER
- WSUS SYNC MANAGER
- WSUS CONTROL MANAGER
- DATABASE NOTIFICATION MONITOR
- OFFER STATUS SUMMARIZER
- COMPONENT STATUS SUMMARIZER
- SITE SYSTEM STATUS SUMMARIZER
- COMPONENT MONITOR
- STATE MIGRATION POINT
- PXE SERVICE POINT
Computer State Monitoring
Computer state monitoring provides a tabular representation of the health of all Configuration Manager servers and clients. Server roles and components are managed through service discovery. Component health state is managed by a set of rules and monitors.
The table below shows the health states that are monitored for Configuration Manager components by color.
Configuration Manager Server State Monitoring
ConfigMgr Server Component |
Green (Successful) |
Yellow (Warning) |
Red (Critical) |
Site Server (SS) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Management Point (MP) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Site Database (DB) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Distribution Point (DP) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Server Locator Point (SLP) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Reporting Point (RP) |
Yes |
Yes |
|
State Migration Points (SMP) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
PXE Service Points (PSP) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Fallback Status Points (FSP) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
System Health Validator (SHV) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Software Update Points (SUP) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Provider |
|||
Performance |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Configuration Manager Client State Monitoring
ConfigMgr Client Component |
Green (Successful) |
Yellow (Warning) |
Red (Critical) |
Client Service |
Yes |
Yes |
Site Hierarchy State Monitoring
Site hierarchy state monitoring provides a tabular representation of the health of all the Configuration Manager 2007 managed systems in the site hierarchy. System health state is managed by a set of rules and monitors.
The table below shows the health states that are monitored for Configuration Manager systems by color.
Configuration Manager Site Hierarchy State Monitoring
ConfigMgr Server Component |
Green (Successful) |
Yellow (Warning) |
Red (Critical) |
Availability |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Performance |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Site State Monitoring
Site state monitoring provides a tabular representation of the health of all Configuration Manager managed servers. Site health state is managed by a set of rules and monitors.
The table below shows the health states that are monitored for Configuration Manager site states by color.
Configuration Manager Site State Monitoring
ConfigMgr Server Component |
Green (Successful) |
Yellow (Warning) |
Red (Critical) |
Availability |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Performance |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Agentless Monitoring Support
The Configuration Manager Management Pack supports monitoring on agentless managed computers except for the features listed below:
- Critical Configuration Manager status message
monitoring
- Site system status monitoring
The following scripts support the above features:
- ConfigMgr 2007 Monitor Collection
Evaluation Tasks
- ConfigMgr 2007 Monitor Site Maintenance
Tasks
- ConfigMgr 2007 Monitor Site System
Summarizer
- ConfigMgr 2007 Monitor SMS Executive
Crash Dumps
- ConfigMgr 2007 Monitor SMS Status
Messages
- ConfigMgr 2007 Monitor State Message
Summary Tasks
These scripts must run locally to access the Configuration Manager resources. If the scripts cannot access a resource, a script error event and alert occurs.
Performance Threshold Monitoring
Reduced performance levels might create delays and affect customer service level agreements (SLAs) in terms of time, performance, and data accuracy. It is important to detect and resolve critical performance problems in the Configuration Manager infrastructure. Performance threshold monitoring generates an alert when the monitored condition exceeds certain levels:
- General computer-wide health metrics relating
to CPU, paging file, and memory on Configuration Manager site
systems.
- The total number of Configuration Manager
files, such as scheduler jobs, send requests, software metering
records, discovery data records (DDRs), and software inventory and
hardware inventory records, in the Configuration Manager site
server inboxes.
- The total number of Configuration Manager
messages relating to status messages, DDRs, software inventory, and
hardware inventory in the Configuration Manager management point
message queues.
- SHV responses and conditions.
- Files in SMS Outboxes.
- PSP requests.
- SMP total clients and disk space.
- WOL packets.
Performance Monitoring
Performance monitoring enables you to watch for trends in backlogs, processing rates, and total counts of key Configuration Manager objects to help identify and proactively resolve problems. Performance trending monitors the following trends graphically by using Operations Manager 2007 Views and Reports:
- Backlog files in inboxes relating to
scheduler jobs, send requests, software metering records, DDRs,
hardware inventory, software inventory, WOL packets, and state and
status messages on Configuration Manager site servers.
- Processing rates of scheduler jobs, send
requests, software metering records, DDRs, hardware inventory,
software inventory, WOL packets, SUP updates, and state and status
messages on Configuration Manager site servers.
- Total number of scheduler jobs, send
requests, software metering records, DDRs, hardware inventory,
software inventory, WOL packets, SUP updates, and state and status
messages on Configuration Manager site servers.
- Backlogs of messages relating to DDRs,
hardware inventory, software inventory, software metering, state
and status messages, and other Configuration Manager objects on
Configuration Manager management point server message queues.
- Processing rates of DDRs, hardware inventory,
software inventory, software metering, state and status messages,
SDM package requests, and other Configuration Manager objects on
Configuration Manager management point server message queues.
- Totals of DDRs, hardware inventory, software
inventory, relays, SDM package requests, and status messages on
Configuration Manager management point server message queues.
- Computer-wide health metrics relating to CPU,
paging file, and memory on Configuration Manager site systems.
- Total number of Configuration Manager
Executive threads that are running.
- Rate of ISAPI extension requests to IIS.
- Backlogs in outboxes on site systems.
- SMS Server Availability requests.
- SHV Condition and SoH requests.
- PSP request processing.
- SMP client state processing and free disk
space.
- Processing rates of DDRs, hardware inventory,
software inventory, software metering, status messages, and other
Configuration Manager objects on Configuration Manager device
management point server message queues.
Critical Configuration Manager Status Message Monitoring
The Configuration Manager infrastructure generates Configuration Manager status messages. It is important to identify the critical server-related Configuration Manager status messages and resolve them in a timely manner. These typically indicate problems in the availability, performance, security, configuration, and overall health of the Configuration Manager infrastructure.
Critical Configuration Manager status message monitoring generates an alert when status messages critical to Configuration Manager are detected (such as component installation, database connectivity, and site connectivity). The Configuration Manager site database is scanned for critical Configuration Manager status messages once every half hour synchronous to the hour.
Site System Status Monitoring
Configuration Manager monitors the basic health of its site systems periodically through its site system status summarizer, which polls Configuration Manager site systems once every hour, on the hour. To benefit from this feature, this status must be acted on quickly to prevent degradation of Configuration Manager functionality. Site system status monitoring provides the ability to monitor and generate an alert when Configuration Manager site system summarizer status critical to the health of the Configuration Manager site system is detected. Some of the monitored status includes a Configuration Manager site system being down, a SQL Server that is running out of database space or log space, and Configuration Manager site systems running out of physical disk space on NTFS drives.
Executive Crash Dump Monitoring
Configuration Manager Executive service failures impact Configuration Manager availability, and it is important to know when crash dumps occur and to investigate the root causes. When the SMS Executive service fails, it creates a crash dump log subdirectory under the <ConfigMgrInstallationPath>\Logs\CrashDumps directory. Creation of this subdirectory is monitored, and an alert is generated for any Configuration Manager server role that depends on the SMS Executive service.
The Configuration Manager 2007 Monitor SMS Executive Crash Dumps script reports only the most recent crash dump. This applies no matter how long ago the last crash dump occurred, from the first time that the script is run to anytime SMS Executive is uninstalled and later reinstalled.
The related rules target the Microsoft Configuration Manager 2007 Component Servers based on SMS Executive class:
- ConfigMgr 2007 Crash Dumps: Monitoring
SMS Executive
ConfigMgr 2007 Crash Dumps: Monitoring SMS Executive launches the script every 60 minutes to synchronize at 00:10. Summary information is provided on the Knowledge property page of the rule.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Crash Dumps: Monitoring
SMS Executive script error
ConfigMgr 2007 Crash Dumps: Monitoring SMS Executive script error monitors for and alerts on any script error events that might be raised. There is only one script error event, number 1102, which reports all script errors. Information about resolution of the alert is provided on the Knowledge property page of the rule.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Crash Dumps: SMS
Executive crash
ConfigMgr 2007 Crash Dumps: SMS Executive crash monitors for and alerts on the crash dump event. Information about resolution of the alert is provided on the Knowledge property page of the rule.
Backlog Monitoring
Backlogs create delays that affect customer SLAs in terms of time, performance, and data accuracy. It is important to promptly detect and resolve critical performance problems in the Configuration Manager infrastructure. An alert is generated when a backlog is above a threshold over a given period of time for the following:
- The total number of Configuration Manager
files, such as scheduler jobs, send requests, software metering
records, DDRs, software inventory and hardware inventory records,
WOL requests, and state and status messages, in Configuration
Manager site server inboxes.
- The total number of Configuration Manager
objects, such as scheduler jobs, send requests, software metering
records, DDRs, software inventory and hardware inventory records,
WOL requests, and status messages, in Configuration Manager site
server queues.
- The total number of Configuration Manager
messages relating to status messages, DDRs, software inventory, and
hardware inventory in Configuration Manager management point
message queues.
- The total number of files, such as software
metering records, DDRs, software inventory and hardware inventory
records, and state and status messages, in site system
outboxes.
General Health Monitoring
General health monitoring generates an alert when a health metric on a Configuration Manager server is above a certain threshold over a period of time. General health monitoring checks the following metrics:
- Processor Time at 95% over 3 hours
- Smsexec
- Ccmexec
- Total
- Smsexec
- Paging File Usage at 98% over 3 hours
Configuration Manager Software Update Management Monitoring
Configuration Manager administrators depend on Configuration Manager software update management features to keep client and server computers in their enterprises current with the most recent security updates. Patch management monitoring detects any failure in the Configuration Manager software update management processing and configuration. Configuration Manager software update management monitoring generates an alert when the following situations occur:
- The WSUS Server cannot be configured.
- Configuration Manager cannot subscribe to
updates from the WSUS Server.
- The Configuration Manager software update
management synchronization process fails.
- The Configuration Manager software update
management process fails to update Configuration Manager
distribution points with the updates.
Configuration Manager Site Backup Monitoring
Knowing when Configuration Manager Backup started, completed, or failed can help Configuration Manager administrators audit backup activities. You can schedule Configuration Manager Backup to run periodically to back up the data, policies, and configuration of Configuration Manager.
It is important to monitor failures of this backup process and to take corrective action. Even when Configuration Manager Backup succeeds, it affects service availability because this process stops and starts the SMS Site Component Manager, and SMS Executive. Monitoring Configuration Manager Backup helps track known downtimes in these services because alerts about these services stopping are suppressed during the backup process. The following rules support monitoring Configuration Manager Site Backup:
- ConfigMgr 2007 Status: Site Backup
completed successfully
- ConfigMgr 2007 Status: Site Backup
failed
- ConfigMgr 2007 Status: Site Backup
cannot begin the backup process until the current backup task
completes
- ConfigMgr 2007 Status: Site Backup found
that the SQL backup path is empty or invalid
- ConfigMgr 2007 service stopped running:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP
- ConfigMgr 2007 service started running:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP terminated unexpectedly
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP hung on starting
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP failed to start
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP was unable to log on
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_BACKUP depends on another service which failed to start or
is nonexistent
- ConfigMgr 2007 service running:
SMS_SITE_VSS_WRITER
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_VSS_WRITER terminated unexpectedly
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_VSS_WRITER hung on starting
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_VSS_WRITER failed to start
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_VSS_WRITER was unable to log on
- ConfigMgr 2007 service failure:
SMS_SITE_VSS_WRITER depends on another service which failed to
start or is nonexistent
Product Knowledge Content for All Alerts
Administrators can reference product knowledge content for all alerts to assist them in specifically identifying a problem and resolving it. To access product knowledge content, right-click any rule name, click Properties, and then click the Product Knowledge tab.
Computer Groups for All Configuration Manager Server and Client Roles
Computer groups map to specific Configuration Manager server and client roles. Rule and monitor targeting is based on classes that also map to Configuration Manager server and client roles. This provides administrators with the appropriate level of control for targeting for management pack rules.
Expanded Monitoring
The rules provided in the Configuration Manager Management Pack cover basic service, performance measuring, and performance threshold monitoring for dependent technologies: SQL Server, IIS, BITS, Windows operating system, WMI, WSUS, Windows Deployment Services, and Trivial FTP. Some of this support is disabled by default. You can enable and use this limited support in the Configuration Manager Management Pack, but it is recommended that you also import and use the Management Packs for these specific products.
- Use the SQL Server Management Pack to
expand monitoring of Configuration Manager site database servers,
management points with replicated site database, and software
update points that have SQL Server dependencies.
- Use the IIS Management Pack to monitor IIS on
reporting points, management points, server locator points, state
migration points, and fallback status points. The IIS Management
Pack can also monitor distribution points with BITS enabled.
- Use the Microsoft Windows Operating
System Management Pack to monitor basic Windows components, such as
CPU, disk, and memory statistics.
Other Management Packs, for which the Configuration Manager 2007 Management Pack does not provide rules, enhance the monitoring of your Configuration Manager infrastructure.
- Use the Windows Network Load Balancing
Management Pack if you are using Network Load Balancing to support
multiple management points in your Configuration Manager hierarchy
for scalability reasons.
- Use the Windows Active Directory® Management
Pack to monitor the health of your Active Directory
infrastructure.
If you deploy multiple Management Packs in your environment, you might receive redundant alerts based on rules that exist in both Management Packs. If you disable redundant monitoring rules, you might be affecting the accuracy of the state view for your deployed Management Packs. You should carefully consider the trade-off between receiving redundant alerts and having state monitoring work for each Management Pack that you deploy. Depending on which additional Management Packs you have deployed, you should review these redundant rules to identify any rules that you might want to enable in your environment. After installing these Management Packs, confirm that they are customized as necessary, configured properly, and have the appropriate rules enabled.
Software Distribution Program Run Status
The Configuration Manager Client can report program failures through the Management Pack.
Administrators can select the Generate Operations Manager alert if this program fails check box on the MOM Maintenance Mode tab in the Program Properties dialog box.
Procedure
Enabling Operations Manager 2007 alerts if a Configuration Manager 2007 program fails to run requires the following steps:
To enable Operations Manager 2007 alerts for a Configuration Manager program-
In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to Systems Center Configuration Manager / Site Database - <site server name> / Computer Management / Software Distribution / Packages / <PackageName> / Programs.
-
In the details pane, right-click the program, and select Properties.
-
Click the MOM Maintenance Mode tab.
-
Select the Generate Operations Manager alert if this program fails to run check box. Click OK.
ConfigMgr Task Monitoring
Tasks that run against the ConfigMgr Site Database, such as collection evaluation, state message summarization, and site maintenance, are all monitored for completion status and duration. If a task should fail or run beyond its expected maximum duration, an alert is raised.
Component Log File Monitoring
The following rules are based on monitoring the sender.log, distmgr.log, and policypv.log files:
- SMSv4 Component: The sender cannot connect to
a remote site over the LAN (Standard Security).
- SMSv4 Component: The sender cannot connect to
a remote site over the RAS connection.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: The sender
cannot connect to a remote site over the LAN (Advanced
Security).
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Distribution
Manager failed to process a package.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Distribution
Manager failed to insert an SMS Package because SDM Type Content is
not present in the CI_Contents table.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Policy
Provider failed to get new software update policies from the SMS
Site Database.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Policy
Provider failed to create a new software update policy.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Policy
Provider failed to get new compliance policies from the SMS Site
Database.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Policy
Provider failed to create a new compliance policy.
- ConfigMgr 2007 Component: Policy
Provider failed to notify Hierarchy Manager of a policy change.
Configuration Manager 2007 Inbox Monitoring
Configuration Manager 2007 does most of its key server-side activities by reading from and writing to files in its inboxes. When Configuration Manager 2007 inboxes get unusually full, it is a strong indication that Configuration Manager 2007 processing is falling behind. This could be for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to bad files, stopped processes, lack of disk space, or unusual software distribution activity level. Such problems are rare but serious for customers with a substantial number of sites.
An inbox monitor running as a thread of the SMS Executive service monitors the number of items queued by the service component and not the actual number of items waiting to be processed on disk.
All rules are located in the ConfigMgr 2007 Site Servers – Common processing installation class that targets these rules at central, primary, and secondary sites.
Schedule and Optional Configuration
To minimize the performance impact of inbox monitoring, the pertinent rules will be synchronized to run once per day. The rules are staggered at 15-minute intervals, beginning at 01:00 A.M., so that only one rule runs at a time. For example, the first rule counts the files present in the first inbox at 01:00 A.M. The next rule counts the files present in the second inbox at 01:15 A.M., and so forth, until all inboxes have been counted.
You can modify this schedule following the usual steps you take in scheduling a rule script to run in Operations Manager 2007. No initial configuration is required to activate this feature. Following are optional configuration changes you can perform:
- Change the default threshold value for each
inbox.
- Change the schedule for individual inbox
rules.
These optional configuration changes can be made by following the usual steps to configure threshold event rules in any Management Pack.
Threshold Alerts and Values
One alert is generated whenever the configured threshold value for a specific inbox rule is reached each time the monitoring rule is processed.
To edit the performance threshold values-
In the Operations Manager 2007 Administrator console, click Authoring.
-
In the Authoring pane, navigate to Authoring > Management Pack Objects > Monitors.
-
In the Monitors pane, look for ConfigMgr server.
-
Navigate to ConfigMgr Server > Entity Health > Availability, and then expand one of the following server roles to be edited:
- DB - Database Servers
- DP - Distribution Points
- FSP - Fallback Status Points
- MP - Management Point Servers
- PSP - PXE Service Points
- SS - Site Servers
- Provider - Providers
- RP - Reporting Points
- SHV - System Health Validators
- SLP - Server Locator Points
- SMP - State Migration Points
- SUP - Software Update Points
- DB - Database Servers
-
Right-click the monitor whose performance you want to edit, navigate to Overrides > Override the Monitor, and then click the category of objects to be affected by the override.
-
Select the check boxes to configure the Override Properties of the monitor to suit your environment. Click OK.
For more information about inbox folders and how they are used in Configuration Manager, see the topic “A description of inbox folders and how they are used in Configuration Manager” Web page (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=99539).