(For more resources related to this topic, see here.)
Adding configuration items manually
This recipe will show you how to use the Service Manager console to manually create a computer configuration item without using the connector framework or by importing any information.
How to do it…
The following steps will guide you through the process of adding CIs manually to the Service Manager CMDB.
- In the Service Manager console navigate to Configuration Items | Computers | All Windows Computers
- Click on Create Computer in the task pane on the right-hand side of the console.
- A new form screen will open.
- Fill out the form with relevant data, ensuring any field marked with a red asterisk is filled in as they are mandatory fields.
- Click on OK.
How it works…
Filling in the form submits the data to the database, creating the CI and a unique GUID identifier within the database.
There’s more…
This method can be repeated for any configuration item within Service Manager. For a basic installation, this includes CIs such as the following:
- Computers/servers
- Software
- Users
- Business services
- Environments
Importing active directory configuration items
This recipe will show you how to set up the active directory connector, which will allow you to import users, groups, and printers from your active directory forest as CIs within Service Manager.
Getting ready
Before you set up the connector you will need an account within your active directory forest that has Read permissions to the organizational units containing the items you would like to import.
How to do it…
The following steps will guide you through the process of importing data from Active Directory into the Service Manager CMDB.
-
In the Service Manager console, navigate to Administration | Connectors.
-
In the task pane on the right-hand side click on Create Connector and select Active Directory Connector.
-
Review the information on the Before You Begin screen and click on Next.
-
Enter a name and description for the connector. In this example I’ve called it demo. local Active Directory Connector.
-
Ensure the Enable this connector box is checked and then click on Next.
-
Choose to either synchronize the entire domain or a specific OU.
In this example I’ve chosen to synchronize the entire domain.
A specific OU may be a more appropriate choice where the active directory structure may contain lots of non-relevant information and you require a more targeted import of data.
-
Next to the Run As Account drop-down options, click on New and enter the details of the account you set up before starting this recipe, which has Read rights to active directory. Click on Next. When prompted, supply the password for the account used for the connector.
-
The Select objects screen allows you to drill down and choose either specific objects to synchronize with this connector or provide an LDAP query to select the objects based on a custom criteria. As shown in this example, just select All computers, printers, users and user groups.
-
Ensure that both options at the bottom of the screen are selected and click on Next.
-
Review the summary and then, click on Create.
-
When the completion screen shows that the connector was successfully created, click on Close.
How it works…
By default the active directory connector polls active directory every 24 hours for new objects. If new objects are present, they are inserted into Service Manager as new configuration items, otherwise the connector becomes dormant until the next 24 hour interval.
By default the AD connector schedule is not configurable via the GUI console but can be changed via PowerShell.
There’s more…
The active directory connector can be accessed via the Connectors folder under the Administration Workspace of the Service Manager console. Select the connector and click on Properties from the tasks pane on the right-hand side of the console.
Mapping active directory domain attributes to Service Manager properties
The following link is to the Service Manager TechNet library documentation and shows the active directory attribute and the corresponding Service Manager property that it maps to.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh524307
Changing the active directory connector schedule via PowerShell
Unfortunately, changing the schedule of a connector isn’t an easy PowerShell cmdlet and requires the use of the SDK via PowerShell.
Anton Gritsenko has a good blog post here that explains how to achieve this:
http://blog.scsmsolutions.com/2012/03/update-ad-and-sccm-connectorscheduler- with-powershell/
Importing Configuration Manager configuration items
This recipe will show you how to set up the Configuration Manager connector, which will allow you to import information such as hardware and software information from your configuration manager system as CIs within Service Manager.
Getting ready
Before you set up the connector you will need an account within your active directory forest for the connector that has the following permissions:
-
Configuration Manager SQL Database—smsdbrole_extract&db_datareader roles
-
Service Manager—advanced operator
How to do it…
The following steps will guide you through the process of importing data from System Center Configuration Manager into the Service Manager CMDB.
-
In the Service Manager console, navigate to Administration | Connectors.
-
In the task pane on the right-hand side, click on Create Connector and select Configuration Manager Connector.
-
Review the Before You Begin screen and then click on Next.
-
On the General screen, enter a name and a description for the connector. In this example, shown as follows), I’ve called it demo.local Configuration Manager Connector.
-
Ensure the Enable is ticked so that this connector box is enabled and then click on Next.
-
On the Select Management Pack screen, use the drop-down list under Management Pack to select the appropriate version of Configuration Manager that you wish to connect to, and then click on Next.
-
On the Connect to System Center Configuration Manager Database screen, supply the name of the server hosting the SQL site database (including any instance information if applicable). Then supply the name of the database. In this example, I’ve used SCCM01 as the name of the server holding the site database and SMS_DL1 as the database name.
-
Next to the Run As Account drop-down selection, click on New and enter the details of the account you had set up before starting this recipe, which is a member of smsdbrole_extract and the db_datareader groups for the site database.
-
Click on Test Connection and enter the password for the account, when prompted.
-
Click on Next.
-
On the Collections screen select the collection containing the CIs you would like to synchronize, for this example, All Systems.
-
Ensure that the box next to Do not write null values for properties that are not set in Configuration Manager is checked. Click on Next.
-
On the Schedule screen, select when and how often you would like the connector to run. For this recipe, set it to every day at 06:00 and click on Next.
-
Review the information on the Summary screen then click on Create.
-
Review the information on the Confirmation screen the click on Close.
How it works…
The Service Manager connector queries the configuration manager database and extracts information related to computers, software, hardware, operating systems, software updates, users, and DCM baselines, and stores it within the CMDB.
There’s more…
The Configuration Manager connector can be accessed via the Connectors folder under the Administration Workspace of the Service Manager console. Select the connector and click on Properties from the task pane on the right-hand side of the console.
Mapping Configuration Manager attributes to Service Manager properties
The following link is to the Service Manager TechNet library documentation and shows the Configuration Manager attribute and the corresponding Service Manager property that it maps to.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh519741
Importing Operations Manager configuration items
This recipe will show you how to set up the Operations Manager connector, which will allow you to import information such as server IP addresses, SQL databases, and distributed
Getting ready
Before you set up the connector you will need an account within your Active Directory forest for the connector that has the following permissions:
-
Operations Manager—operator privileges
-
Service Manager—advanced operator
For the Operations Manager connector to know what to synchronize with Service Manager, it is required that the management packs containing the classes that define the information are imported into Service Manager.
The Service Manager installation directory contains the base management packs required to get started with the Operations Manager connector.
For Operations Manager 2007:
-
Open a PowerShell window.
-
Type the following commands:
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Set-Location "Program FilesMicrosoft System Center 2012Service ManagerOperations Manager Management Packs" .installOMMPs.ps1
-
Close the PowerShell window
-
This will import the Operations Manager 2007 Management Packs required for a basic connector.
For Operations Manager 2012:
-
In the Service Manager console navigate to the Administration | Management Packs.
-
In the tasks pane on the right-hand side under Management Packs click on Import.
-
On the Select Management Packs to Import screen, click on Add and navigate to the drive where Service Manager is installed:
Program FilesMicrosoft System Center 2012Service Manager Operations Manager 2012 Management Packs.
-
Click on the Change the File Type drop-down menu to select MP Files (*.mp).
-
Select all the management packs displayed and click on Open.
-
On the Import Management Packs screen, click on Import.
-
When the import process is complete, click on OK.
How to do it…
The following steps will guide you through the process of importing data from System Center Operations Manager into the Service Manager CMDB.
-
In the Service Manager console navigate to Administration | Connectors.
-
In the task pane on the right-hand side, click on Create Connector then select Operations Manager CI Connector.
-
Review the Before You Begin screen then click on Next.
-
On the General screen, enter a name and a description for the connector. In this example I’ve called it demo.local Operations Manager Connector.
-
Ensure the Enable box is checked and then click on Next.
-
On the Server Details screen in the Server Name box, supply the name of the server that the Operations Manager Management Server is installed on.
-
Next to the Run As Account drop-down menu, click on New and enter the details of the account you had set up before starting.
-
Click the test connection and enter the password for the account, when prompted.
-
Click on Next.
-
On the MP Selection screen, check the Select all box and ensure that the Do not write null values for properties that are not set in Operations Manager box is checked. Click on Next.
-
On the Schedule screen, select when and how often you would like the connector to run. For this recipe, set this to every day at 05:00 and click on Next.
-
Review the information on the Summary screen then click on Create.
-
Review the information on the Confirmation screen the click on Close.
How it works…
The Service Manager connector queries the Operations Manager Management Server and extracts information related to servers and related items and stores it within the CMDB according to the schedule specified.
There’s more…
The Operations Manager connector can be accessed via the Connectors folder under the Administration Workspace of the Service Manager console. Select the connector and click on Properties from the task pane on the right-hand side of the console.
Adding new Operations Manager CIs
Every so often you will import new management packs into Operations Manager to extend its monitoring capabilities and/or update its management packs with newer versions. These will require importing into Service Manager to either allow these new classes of data to be brought across as CIs or to ensure that any changes to the classes within the management packs are mirrored across both systems.
First use the same method described in the Getting ready section of this recipe to import and browse for the updated/new management packs.
Next you must edit the Operations Manager CI connector, as follows:
-
In the Service Manager console, navigate to the Service Manager console to Administration | Connectors.
-
Select the Operations Manager CI Connector, named demo.local Operations Manager Connector in this recipe.
-
In the task pane on the right-hand side, click on Properties.
-
In the Edit screen on the left-hand side, click on Management Packs and then click on Refresh.
-
Enter the password for the account used by the Operations Manager CI Connector and click on OK.
-
In the Management Packs list, select the new management packs that you have just imported or check the Select All box, and click on OK.
Summary
In this article we added configuration items manually, imported active directory configuration items, imported configuration manager configuration items, and imported operations manager configuration items.
Resources for Article :
Further resources on this subject:
- Overview of FIM 2010 R2 [Article]
- Oracle Web Services Manager: Authentication and Authorization [Article]
- Active Directory Design Principles: Part 2 [Article]
