System Center 2012 Service Manager Unleashed

Kerrie Meyler, MVP, is the lead author of numerous System Center books in the Unleashed series, including System Center 2012 Operations Manager Unleashed (2013), System Center 2012 Orchestrator Unleashed (2013), System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Unleashed (2012) and System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Unleashed Supplement (2014). She is an independent consultant with more than 17 years of Information Technology experience. Kerrie was responsible for evangelizing SMS while a Sr. Technology Specialist at Microsoft, and has presented on System Center technologies at TechEd and MMS. Kurt Van Hoecke, MVP, managing consultant at inovativ Belgium, focuses on the System Center product suite, including Service Manager, Configuration Manager, and Orchestrator. Kurt is a coauthor to System Center 2012 Orchestrator Unleashed (2013) and contributor to System Center Service Manager 2010 Unleashed (2011). Kurt has been working with Service Manager beginning with the beta versions and has a number of Service Manager deployments to his credit. Samuel Erskine, MCT, MCTS, is an independent IT consultant specializing in Service Manager and Configuration Manager. He was the lead author of Microsoft System Center 2012 Service Manager Cookbook (Packt, 2012) and Microsoft System Center 2012 Orchestrator Cookbook (Packt, 2013), and was a contributing author to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Unleashed (2012) With more than 18 years of IT experience, Samuel focuses on providing training and consultancy services in the United Kingdom and other locations and blogs at www.itprocessed.com. Steve Buchanan, MVP, MCITP, MCSE, is a regional solution lead with Concurrency. Steve has worked in IT for 14 years with a focus on systems management. He coauthored Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2012 SP1 (Packt, 2013) and authored Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 (Packt, 2011). Steve enjoys blogging about his adventures in systems management and cloud technologies at www.buchatech.com.

Foreword xxiv
Introduction   xxvi
A Toolset That Delivers IT as a Service    xxvi
About This Book    xxvii
Fast Track: A Quick Look at What’s New    xxviii
Disclaimers and Fine Print    xxix

PART I:  SERVICE MANAGER OVERVIEW AND CONCEPTS
Chapter 1  Service Management Basics    3
Ten Reasons to Use Service Manager    4
The Problem with Today’s Systems    5
   Why Do Systems Go Down?    6
   Configuration “Shift and Drift”    7
   System Isolation    8
   Lack of Historical Information    9
   Lack of Expertise    9
   Missing Incidents and Information    10
   Lack of Process Consistency    10
   Not Meeting Service Level Expectations    11
   What It’s All About   11
Service Management Defined    11
   The Importance of Service Management to IT    12
   Key Concepts in IT Service Management    12
Evolution of the CMDB    13
Strategies for Service Management   13
   Microsoft’s Dynamic Systems Initiative    14
   Microsoft Product Integration    14
   MOF and ITIL    16
   COBIT: A Framework for IT Governance and Control   17
   Total Quality Management: TQM   17
   Six Sigma    17
   CMMI   17
   Business Process Management    18
   Service Management Mastery: ISO/IEC 20000    18
   Optimizing Your Infrastructure    18
Bridging the Service Management Gap   22
   Delivering System Uptime    24
   Addressing Configuration “Shift and Drift”    24
   Consolidating Information    25
   Providing Historical Information   25
   Delivering Expertise    26
   Addressing Missing Incidents and Information    27
   Providing Process Consistency    27
   Meeting Service Level Agreements    27
Overview of Microsoft System Center    28
   Reporting and Trend Analysis    30
   Operations Management    31
   Enterprise Client Management    32
   Endpoint Protection   32
   Service Management    32
   Protecting Data    33
   Virtual Machine Management    33
   Deploy and Manage in the Cloud    34
   Orchestration and Automation    34
   Cloud-Based Configuration Monitoring   35
The Value Proposition of Service Manager    35
Summary 36
Chapter 2  Service Manager History and Terminology   37
The History of Service Manager   37
   Service Manager 2010   38
   Service Manager 2012   39
Service Manager Terminology    40
   Technical Terminology    40
   Functional Terminology   49
Summary    52
Chapter 3  MOF, ITIL, and System Center   53
About ITIL    53
About MOF   55
MOF, ITIL, and the Cloud    56
Applying IT Service Management    57
   Approaching IT Service Management Initiatives    58
   MOF and ITIL Processes Supported by Service Manager    59
IT Service Management Processes in Service Manager    59
   About Incident Management    60
   About Service Request Fulfillment    66
   About Problem Management    69
About Change Management    73
   About Release Management    79
   About Configuration Management    83
Summary    87
Chapter 4  Looking Inside System Center 2012 Service Manager   89
Architectural Overview    90
Management Group Defined    92
Service Manager Server Features    94
   Using a Minimum Installation    94
   Adding Reporting Capabilities    95
   Service Manager Management Server    96
   Service Manager Database (ServiceManager)    96
   Data Warehouse Management Server    96
   Data Warehouse Database    97
   Service Manager Console    98
   Self-Service Portal (SSP)    99
Windows Services    99
   System Center Data Access Service (OMSDK)    99
   Microsoft Monitoring Agent (HealthService)    100
   System Center Management Configuration (OMCFG)    101
Service Manager Workflow    102
Service Manager Connectors    104
Modeling and Management Pack Schema    105
   Data Modeling   105
   Management Pack Schema   107
Service Manager Console   109
Communications    114
Fast Track    115
Summary    115

PART II:  PLANNING AND INSTALLATION
Chapter 5  Planning and Designing System Center 2012 Service Manager 119
Planning to Use Service Manager    120
   Establishing and Optimizing the Business Requirements    120
   Scoping the Service Manager Deployment Objectives    120
   Assessing and Capturing the Current Environment    122
   Creating the Deployment Plan    124
   Review and Sign-Off of the Deployment Plan    127
Planning to Deploy Service Manager    128
   Planning for Licensing    128
   Common Design Scenarios    131
Capacity Planning    135
   Security and Authentication Planning    137
   Network Considerations   140
   Planning for Availability, Resilience, and Fault Tolerance    141
   Incorporating a Test Environment into the Design    144
Summary    145
Chapter 6  Installing and Upgrading to System Center 2012 Service Manager   147
Pre-Installation Tasks    148
   Preparing and Understanding Installation Prerequisites    148
   Installing and Configuring Prerequisites    152
Five-Server Scenario Installation    155
   Installing the Service Manager Management Server    155
   Installing the Service Manager Data Warehouse Management Server    162
   Installing the Service Manager Web Portal    172
Three-Server Scenario Installation    178
Upgrading to Service Manager 2012    179
   Upgrading the Data Warehouse Management Server    180
   Upgrading the Service Manager Management Server    186
   Upgrading the Service Manager Console    188
Troubleshooting Installations and Upgrades    191
Recommended Post-Installation Tasks    192
   For New Installations    192
   Post-Installation Tasks for Upgraded Environments    193
Removing a Service Manager Installation    193
Summary   194

PART III:  SERVICE MANAGER OPERATIONS
Chapter 7  Using Service Manager   197
Service Manager Console Overview    198
   Administration of Service Manager with the Service Manager Console    202
   Administration Workspace Node Overview    202
Service Manager Portal Overview    211
   Portal Main Page    213
   Service Offerings    214
   Request Offerings    215
   Knowledge Articles   215
   My Requests    215
   My Activities    216
Fast Track    217
Summary    217
Chapter 8  Working with Connectors   219
Understanding the Connector Framework    219
   Configuration Item Connectors    222
   Work Item Connectors   231
   Hybrid Service Manager Connectors    232
Creating and Working with Configuration Item Connectors    233
  Creating an Active Directory Connector    233
   Creating a Configuration Manager Connector    240
   Creating and Working with an Operations Manager  Configuration Item Connector    244
   Creating a Virtual Machine Manager Connector    248
   Creating a CSV Connector    252
Creating and Working with Work Item Connectors    258
   Creating and Working with the Operations Manager Alert Connector    258
   Creating and Working with the Orchestrator Connector    261
   Creating and Working with the Exchange Connector    266
   Connector Maintenance and Troubleshooting    269
Summary    270
Chapter 9  Business Services   271
Introducing Business Services in Service Manager    271
   Defining Business Services    272
   Characteristics of a Business Service    274
Using Operations Manager with Business Services    277
   Distributed Applications in Operations Manager    277
   Distributed Application Best Practices    278
   Service Maps as the Foundation of a Business Service    279
Creating a Business Service    281
   Building an Operations Manager Distributed Application    281
   Exporting the Operations Manager Management Pack    284
   Importing the Management Pack into Service Manager    286
Using Non-Operations Manager Components    291
   Authoring a Management Pack    292
   Importing and Using the Management Pack   294
Updating a Business Service    296
Automatically Mapping Operations Manager Incidents to a Business Service    298
Fast Track    302
Summary    302
Chapter 10  Service Manager Service Catalog   303
Understanding the Service Catalog    303
Service Catalog Permissions    305
   Granting User Access to the Self-Service Portal 306
   Creating a Catalog Item Group   306
   Creating a User Role    307
Using Service Offerings   308
About Request Offerings    310
   Using Request Offering Templates    311
   Creating a Request Offering    315
   Copying Request Offerings    324
Adding Request Offerings to Service Offerings    325
Working in the Self-Service Portal    326
Using the Knowledge Base    331
Fast Track    335
Summary   335
Chapter 11  Incident Management   337
Understanding the Incident Management Process    337
Incident Management in Service Manager    339
Incident Management Process Activities    344
   Incident Creation    345
   Incident Detection and Recording    346
   Incident Classification and Initial Support    347
   Incident Investigation and Diagnosis    350
   Escalating Incidents   352
   Incident Resolution and Recovery    352
   Closing Incidents    353
Configuring Incident Management    354
   Incident User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists    354
   Configuring General Incident Settings    362
  Configuring Incoming Emailed Incidents    368
   Configuring Operations Manager Integration    374
   Configuring Configuration Manager DCM Integration    376
Automating Incident Management    376
   Creating Incident Management Templates    378
   Creating Incident Management Workflows    380
   Automating Incoming Operations Manager Alerts    384
Creating a Desired Configuration Management Workflow    385
Service Level Management    389
   Creating a Service Level Objective Calendar Item    391
   Creating a Service Level Objective Metric    392
   Creating a Service Level Objective    394
Incident Management for End Users    396
   Creating Incidents    397
   Incident Follow-Up    397
   Resolving and Closing Incidents    398
Fast Track    398
Summary    398
Chapter 12  Automation and Chargeback   399
Overview of Service Management and Automation   401
   The Role of Automation    401
   Service Manager’s Role in Private Cloud    402
Workflows in Service Manager    404
Service Manager SMLets    407
Orchestrator and Service Manager    412
Overview of Chargeback    415
Installing and Using Chargeback    417
   Operations Manager Management Server Configuration    418
   Service Manager Management Server Configuration    420
   Configuring Chargeback    421
   Using Chargeback Reports    422
Fast Track    424
Summary    424
Chapter 13  Problem Management   425
Understanding the Problem Management Process    425
   Comparing Incident Management with Problem Management    426
   Problem Management Functionality    426
Problem Management in Service Manager    428
Problem Management Process Activities    432
   Problem Detection    434
   Problem Recording, Classification, and Prioritization    435
   Problem Investigation and Diagnosis    437
   Known Error Control in Service Manager    438
   Problem Resolution    440
   Problem Closure    440
Configuring Problem Management    441
   Problem Management Console Tasks    441
Problem Management User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists   442
   Configuring General Problem Management Settings    443
   Configuring Notification    444
Automating Problem Management    445
Fast Track   445
Summary   445
Chapter 14  Change Request and Configuration Management   447
Change Management in Service Manager    447
Change Management Process Activities    451
   Configuration Item Baselines    453
   Initiating and Recording Changes    454
   Classifying Changes 459
   Approving and Scheduling Changes 460
   Coordinating Change Implementations    462
   Reviewing and Closing Changes   465
Configuring Change Management    465
   Change Management Console Tasks    466
   Change Management User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists   467
   Configuring General Change Request Management Settings    468
   Configuring Notification    469
   Creating a Change Request Template    470
   Change Management Workflows    472
Fast Track    474
Summary    475
Chapter 15  Release Management   477
Understanding the Release Management Process    477
Release Management in Service Manager    479
Release Management Process Activities    482
   Release Planning    483
   Building and Testing the Release    486
   Release Deployment    488
   Release Evaluation and KPI Measurement    491
Configuring Release Management    492
   Using Release Management Console Tasks   493
   Creating Release Management User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists    494
   Configuring General Release Management Settings    494
   Configuring Release Templates    496
   Building Release Records    498
Fast Track    501
Summary    502

PART IV:  ADMINISTERING SERVICE MANAGER
Chapter 16  Managing Notifications   505
Notification Overview    505
Notification Setup   506
   Using Recipients    506
   Configuring Notification Channels    508
   Creating Templates    510
   Using Subscriptions    512
   Incorporating Different Languages in Subscriptions    515
   Adding Localization to Notification Emails    517
   Culture XX is a Neutral Culture    519
Using Notification Workflows   520
   Configuring a Workflow to Change the Impact of an Incident    521
   Using the Workflow    524
Notification for Review Activities    526
   Creating a Notification Template    527
   Configuring an Activity Event Workflow    528
Creating Recurring Notifications    531
Fast Track    533
Summary    533
Chapter 17  Service Manager Security   535
Role-Based Security    536
   Security Boundary Scoping    536
   User Experience Optimization Scoping 537
   Operations on the Data Access Service 537
   About User Roles 538
   Default User Roles    538
   User Role Profiles    539
   Best Practices for Creating Custom User Roles    543
Data Warehouse and Reporting Security    557
   Data Warehouse Administrators User Role    558
   Granting Access to Reports    558
Advanced User Role Scenarios 559
   Scoping Knowledge Articles    560
   Scoping Announcements 561
   Scoping Software Packages    561
Run As Accounts 562
   Run As Account Usage Scenarios    562
   Out of the Box Run As Accounts    563
Creating and Using Custom Run As Accounts    564
Security Best Practices    571
   Securing Database Access    572
   Enabling Auditing   572
Fast Track    573
Summary    574
Chapter 18  Maintenance, Backup, and Recovery   575
Performing Maintenance    577
Planning and Performing Backup    578
   Scheduling Considerations    580
   Configuration Backup    581
   SQL Server Database Backup    585
   Operating System Backup    593
Planning and Performing Recovery    593
   Configuration and Settings Recovery    594
   Feature Recovery   594
   Full Operating System Recovery   598
Summary    598
Chapter 19  Managing Service Manager Performance    599
Understanding Service Manager Performance    600
Service Manager Console Performance    602
   Infrastructure Performance    602
   Configuration Performance    603
Self-Service Portal Performance    610
   Self-Service Portal Sizing    610
   SharePoint 2010 Performance    610
   Web Content Server Performance    610
   Custom Icons    611
Service Manager SQL Server Database Performance    612
   Input/Output per Second (IOPS)   613
   Database and Log Files    613
   Available Memory   613
   Placement of TempDB   613
Service Manager Data Warehouse SQL Server Database Performance    614
   Splitting Data Warehouse Databases    614
   Cube Processing   614
Data Collection and Connectors    615
   Types of Data    615
Connector Settings    617
Service Manager Management Server Performance    618
   Using Orchestrator Runbooks    618
   Using Groups and Queues    619
   Use of Workflows    619
Testing Performance    620
   Stress Testing Service Manager    621
   Lab Resources    622
Service Manager Add-ons    624
   Cireson   624
   Gridpro    624
Summary   625

PART V:  BEYOND SERVICE MANAGER
Chapter 20  Management Packs    629
Management Packs Defined    630
Purpose of Management Packs    632
   Uninstalling Management Packs    633
   Transporting Management Packs    633
   Management Pack Versioning    634
   Management Pack Componentization    634
Working with Management Packs    634
   Sealed and Unsealed Management Packs    634
   Management Pack Deployment    636
   Creating a Management Pack Using the Service Manager  Console    638
   Viewing the Properties of a Management Pack    639
   Exporting a Management Pack    641
   Importing a Management Pack    642
Management Pack Bundles    644
Management Pack Schema    645
   Identity Section    646
   Versioning    646
   About References    646
   Entity Types Section    648
   Secure References   648
   Using Categories    648
   About Templates    648
   Presentation Section    649
   Language Packs    650
   Resources Section    650
Image Files    651
   About Enumerations    651
   Combination Classes    651
   Console Tasks    653
   Resources    654
   Forms    654
Management Pack Best Practices    655
Fast Track    657
Summary    657
Chapter 21  Data Warehouse and Reporting   659
Data Warehouse Overview    660
   Data Warehouse Explained    660
   Service Manager Data Warehouse Rationale    662
   Online Analytical Processing Explained    663
   Analysis Library Explained    664
   SQL Server Reporting Services Explained    664
   PowerPivot Explained    664
   PerformancePoint Explained    664
Data Warehouse Architecture    665
   Data Warehouse Services    665
   Data Warehouse Databases    665
   Management Pack Synchronization Process    666
   Extract, Transform, and Load Process    666
   Data Warehouse Jobs    667
   Data Warehouse Schema    669
Deploying the Data Warehouse    669
Data Warehouse Reporting    672
   Reporting Permissions    672
   Viewing Standard Reports    673
   Favorite and Linked Reports    673
   Subscribing to and Publishing Reports in SSRS    674
   Reports Using Excel PowerPivot    676
   Using Analysis Library to Store and View PowerPivot Reports    679
   Dashboards in SharePoint PerformancePoint   680
Fast Track    684
Summary    684
Chapter 22  Customizing Service Manager   685
Planning Your Customization    685
   What You Can Customize    686
   Planning for Management Packs Customization    687
About Data Modeling    690
   Presenting Data in Service Manager    697
   Automating Processes with Workflows    705
   Utilizing Groups and Queues    707
   General Considerations for Customization    708
   Required Knowledge   709
Performing Customizations in Service Manager   709
   Customizing the Console    710
   Creating Data Models    723
   Creating Workflows    739
   Customizing Service Manager Forms   747
Fast Track    753
Summary    754
Chapter 23  Advanced Customization Scenarios   755
Creating Console Tasks Using PowerShell    756
Using Custom Data Models   760
Creating a Management Pack Using Visual Studio Authoring Extensions    763
   Creating the Management Pack    763
   Defining the Management Pack Display Name    764
   Adding References to the Management Pack    765
   Creating the Building Base Class   766
   Creating the Odyssey Building Room Class    768
   Adding the Room Availability Enumeration to the Room Class    769
   Adding the BuildingHasRoom Custom Relationship Type    771
   Creating the Odyssey Building Bank Class    772
   Adding a Type Projection to the Bank Class    773
   Creating a Strong Name Key    774
   Building and Sealing the Management Pack 775
Adding Views to the Management Pack    777
   Customizing View Columns    783
   Creating Custom Views    785
Creating Console Forms    789
Additional Resources    797
   Viewing Criteria Based on Tokens    797
   Building a Custom UserControl to Integrate into Forms   798
   Additional Custom Console Tasks    798
   Additional Form Customizations    798
   Using the TechNet Gallery for Service Manager    798
Fast Track    798
Summary    799
Chapter 24  Using PowerShell   801
Windows PowerShell Cmdlet Primer    802
   Frequently Used and Useful Cmdlets    802
   Using the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment    811
Service Manager and PowerShell    812
   Connecting to Service Manager Management Server from PowerShell    813
   Service Manager Cmdlet Use Cases    814
   Writing Service Manager PowerShell Scripts    816
   Service Manager PowerShell Script Use Cases    818
Using PowerShell for Data Warehouse Administration    822
   Data Warehouse Cmdlet Use Cases   822
   Using PowerShell to Manage the Data Warehouse    830
SMLets PowerShell Module    830
   Installing SMLets    831
   Using SMLets    831
Fast Track   837
Summary    838

PART VI:  APPENDIXES
Appendix A   User Role Profiles Supplement   841
User Role Profile Classes and Relationship Permissions    841
Mapping User Role Profiles with ITIL/MOF Roles    854
   ITIL Role Types    854
   Microsoft Operations Framework Role Types   856
   Operations and Service Monitoring and Control SMF Role Types    856
   Customer Service SMF Role Types    858
   Change and Configuration SMF Role Types    859
Appendix B   Reference URLs    861
General Resources    861
Microsoft’s Service Manager Resources    864
Other Service Manager Resources    867
Service Manager Authoring    869
PowerShell and SMLets   871
Service Manager Connectors    873
System Center 2012    875
SQL Server Resources    876
Reporting and Data Warehouse Resources    877
Blogs    879
Public Forums    880
Appendix C   Available Online   883
Backup and Recovery    883
Managing Workflows    884
Building a Management Pack    884
Adding Service Components to a Business Service    884
Live Links   884
Index   885