This is the first comprehensive Operations Manager 2012 technical resource for every IT implementer and administrator. Building on their bestselling OpsMgr 2007 book, three Microsoft System Center Cloud and Data Center Management MVPs thoroughly illuminate major improvements in Microsoft’s newest version–including new enhancements just added in Service Pack 1. You’ll find all the information you need to efficiently manage cloud and datacenter applications and services in even the most complex environment. The authors provide up-to-date best practices for planning, installation, migration, configuration, administration, security, compliance, dashboards, forecasting, backup/recovery, management packs, monitoring including .NET monitoring, PowerShell automation, and much more. Drawing on decades of enterprise and service provider experience, they also offer indispensable insights for integrating with your existing Microsoft and third-party infrastructure. Detailed information on how to... Plan and execute a smooth OpsMgr 2012 deployment or migration Move toward application-centered management in complex environments Secure OpsMgr 2012, and assure compliance through Audit Collection Services Implement dashboards, identify trends, and improve forecasting Maintain and protect each of your OpsMgr 2012 databases Monitor virtually any application, environment, or device: client-based, .NET, distributed, networked, agentless, or agent-managed Use synthetic transactions to monitor application performance and responsiveness Install UNIX/Linux cross-platform agents Integrate OpsMgr into virtualized environments Manage and author management packs and reports Automate key tasks with PowerShell, agents, and alerts Create scalable management clouds for service provider/multi-tenant environments Use OpsMgr 2012 Service Pack 1 with Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012

Part of a series of specialized guides on System Center, this book focuses on Microsoft System Center Operations Manager. For the seasoned professional, it covers the role of the Operations Manager product, the best practices for working with management packs, how to use the reporting feature to simplify managing the product, how to thoroughly troubleshoot, and how to use and install Operations Manager in the Microsoft Azure Public Cloud environment.

This up-to-the-minute supplement to System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed brings together practical, in-depth information about System Operations Manager 2007, including major enhancements introduced with the R2 release, as well as essential information on other products and technologies OpsMgr integrates with and relies upon. Drawing on their unsurpassed deployment experience, four leading independent OpsMgr experts with a half dozen leading subject matter experts show how to take full advantage of new Unix/Linux cross platform extensions, Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 integration, PowerShell extensions, and much more. They also present in-depth coverage of using OpsMgr with virtualization, authoring new management packs, and maximizing availability. A detailed “OpsMgr R2 by Example” appendix presents indispensable tuning and configuration tips for several of OpsMgr R2’s most important management packs. This book also contains the world’s most compre- hensive collection of OpsMgr R2 reference links. Discover and monitor Linux and Unix systems through OpsMgr with the new Cross Platform Extensions Utilize Microsoft’s upgraded management packs and templates for monitoring operating systems, services, and applications Monitor your system with the Health Explorer and new Visio add-in Create OpsMgr 2007 R2 reports and queries utilizing SQL Server 2008 Understand how Windows Server 2008 and OpsMgr integrate Use PowerShell and the OpsMgr Shell to automate common management tasks Efficiently manage virtualized environments (Hyper-V or ESX vCenter) Author your own OpsMgr custom management packs Implement advanced high availability and business continuity management Use targeting to apply the appropriate monitoring to each component Master advanced ACS techniques for noise filtering, access hardening, and auditing

This book is your most complete source for in-depth information about Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007! System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Unleashed is a comprehensive guide to System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) 2007. ConfigMgr 2007 helps you manage servers and desktops, integrates SMS 2003 “feature pack” functionality, and adds new capabilities. It enables you to assess, deploy, and update servers, clients, and devices across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments, including clients that connect only over the Internet. This book guides you through designing, deploying, and configuring ConfigMgr 2007 with detailed information on topics such as capacity planning, security, site design and hierarchy planning, server placement, discovery, native mode, and using Windows Server 2008. You will learn how to tackle challenges such as setting up DCM and OSD, customizing inventory, creating queries and using query results, and configuring asset intelligence. Detailed information on how to... • Understand how ConfigMgr works • Plan your ConfigMgr deployment • Manage Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) • Architect for performance • Install or migrate to ConfigMgr 2007 with Windows 2003 or Windows 2008 • Discover and manage clients • Create and distribute packages • Understand patch and compliance management • Create queries • Use reports • Deploy operating systems • Secure ConfigMgr 2007 • Perform site maintenance • Back up ConfigMgr components

The System Center Operations Manager data warehouse stores many objects, making it possible to report on performance, availability, configuration, and security. You can use data collected by Operations Manager for issue tracking, awareness, planning, and forecasting, all of which are important factors for maintaining and managing your environment. But understanding what to report on and how to do so is what actually contributes to the stability of your infrastructure. If you're not using the data you collect about your environment, you're simply wasting space. If you use Operations Manager to monitor your environment, whether your infrastructure or a public, private, or hybrid cloud, this book is a good resource to help you understand the basics of reporting and how to build queries and stored procedures for your reports. It can also help you understand the various elements of Operations Manager management packs that are used when you create reports.

Mastering System Center Configuration Manager 2007 provides intermediate and advanced coverage of all aspects of the product, including planning and installation, upgrading Systems Management Server 2003, deploying software and operating systems, security, monitoring and troubleshooting, and automating and customizing SCCM 2007 with scripts. The authors take a hands-on approach by providing many real-world scenarios to show readers how to use the tool in various contexts. This anchors the conceptual explanations in practical application. This book's web site will contain a collection of ready-to-use scripts with directions for implementing them in network systems.