[This is prerelease documentation and is subject to change in future releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]

You can use rules in System Center Essentials 2010 to collect data, such as events, generated by managed objects. Rules can be used instead of monitors to generate alerts when the data collected from managed objects does not indicate the health state of the managed objects

An example of a rule's functionality is the collection of a specific event from the application log of Windows-based computers. The collected event is stored in the Essentials 2010 database, where it can be analyzed in views and reports.

Rules can also be overridden. For information about overriding a rule, see How to Override a Monitor.

Rule Types

The different types of rules and data sources for rules in Essentials 2010 include the following:

  • Alert-generating rules using one of the following event-based data sources

    • Generic CSV (separated) text log

    • Generic text log

    • NT event log

    • SNMP trap

    • Syslog

    • WMI event

  • Collection rules using one of the following event-based data sources

    • Generic CSV (separated) text log

    • Generic text log

    • NT event logs

    • SNMP event

    • SNMP trap

    • Syslog

    • WMI event

  • Collection rules using one of the following performance-based data sources

    • SNMP performance

    • WMI performance

    • Windows performance

  • Collection rules using one of the following probe-based data sources

    • Script event

    • Script performance

  • Timed Commands using one of the following sources

    • Run a command

    • Run a script

    • The type of rule used for managing objects depends on the desired action, data source, and targeted objects of the rule. For example:

  • Collection rules gather data.

  • Performance rules use numeric data.

  • SNMP rules commonly target SNMP Network Devices.

Obtain and Create Rules

Rules are imported from Management Packs or can be created with the Create Rule Wizard, to customize Essentials 2010 for an organization. The wizard helps simplify the process of creating and targeting rules. For information about using the Create Rule Wizard, see How to Start the Create Rule Wizard in System Center Essentials.

See Also