The Power of the System Center Suite fails to surprise me, last year a company asked me if SCCM could deploy an OS in less than an hour from the point of initiation, we did it but just…. Internally I was asked to deploy SQL with an OS via the cloud, well a week ago I knew little of SCVMM 2012 (really!).

I have a good understanding of 2008 R2 so I thought this may be a challenge, much to my surprise SCVMM 2012 is amazing with a little PowerShell (had my eyes closed for that bit!) and some thought I managed to deploy Windows 2008 R2 SP1 into a Domain allocate a OU and deploy SQL server 2008 R2 in 30 mins!! Via a web site, the Self Service Portal….got to be honest the Cloud is awesome! I have created a video of the deployment here

The Cloud is all System Center at your finger tip!

Simon Skinner MVP (Official Cloud Lover)

System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2012 System Requirements and Supported Operating Systems

These are listed on http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610592.aspx 

If you are going to install SCVMM 2012 into a HA (High Availability) you need to ensure that the underlying cluster environment has been configured before you start to install SCVMM 2012, then the install will know that a cluster is installed therefore giving you the HA option. Here is my cluster (Figure 1) in the Elven Data Center (that’s my garage!). Note the size of the drives on my cluster are quite small, in fact I could have made the Witness Disk somewhat smaller. This again was part of my planning, I have installed a clustered SQL 2008 R2 SQL as well as Clustered File servers for my SCVMM 2012 Library the finally I have 3 NLB Servers for the Self Service Portal. Yep you got it the Elven Data Center it going to be the making of a Cloud so I have all components Clustered or Network Load Balanced including the Hyper-V Servers which I have 3 in HA mode to service my Cloud. Of course in a real world deployment we could have a better system but this will do for the process to learn and blog about SCVMM 2012

Figure 1

So now that we have the base requirements configured reboot the servers one at a time to ensure they respond correctly before we start with the SCVMM 2012 install.

Figure 2

Note in Figure 2 the splash screen is prompting you to the install, this is a great place to start the install so off we go.

Figure 3

SCVMM 2012 then prepares the install.

Figure 4

We agree to the EULA, or the install comes to a halt and we don’t get to play with the great features that will follow.

Figure 5

Here we go, the setup has detected our cluster and has presented us with a question asking if we would like to install in HA mode, yes!

Figure 6

As I have selected the VMM Server the installer selects the VMM Administrator Console for me, as I hinted earlier I am not going to install the VMM Self-Service Portal onto this cluster but later onto some NLB Servers.

Figure 7

Fill out the name and Org and if you have one a Product key.

Figure 8

Microsoft recommends that you use use MS Updates so I guess it’s a good idea.

Figure 9

Select the path for your install, leave this as the default selection is my recommendation.

Figure 10

Here is will ask you about the Prerequisites but I sure we have done our home work else we are already not in a good place this would be display here if there were blocking issues.

Figure 11

Here we get to select the Database Server we are going to use, please note that I have added in the Credentials for the SQL as I am using a low privilege account.

Figure 12

**If your install is going to fail it may be here, I came across a horrible problem that took me a while to solve, if you use Restricted Group to propagate your permissions the  SCVMM 2012 install will fail with nothing you can do about it other than remove the Group Policy deploying the Restricted Groups!! **

Make sure that if you are using a low privilege account without Schema Rights you will have to configured this section manually, the tip is the ‘How do I configure distributed key management’ link it is clear and easy to understand.

Figure 13

As we are installing into HA Mode it is going to ask us about the Cluster configuration of the SCVMM 2012 Server. Because of the low privilege account I will have to add a ‘A’ Record entry into the DNS Server.

Figure 14

Here we can select the Library configuration, I left this un-configured and did it later within the Console.

Figure 15

Here is the Port configuration that you can change or at least advise if you need any Firewall changes.

Figure 16

Some how I lost the Installation summary but this is another I did the only difference is that I has installed the Self-Service Portal but the experience is the same, it’s a summary.

Then you run the setup onto the second node this really is a next next next experience so little point righting about it.

After this final stage you can start the install process and be ‘en route’ to the ‘Le Cloud’!

Figure 17

Here is the console, I have added a few servers into the Elven Data Center, but note the ‘Cloud’ section, I have recorded a video today talking through this feature which I will post on SCC later this week.

Have fun with this great solution

Simon Skinner MVP

17 Jun 2011 11:38 AM

• Comments 0

We’re pleased to announce that System Center Orchestrator 2012 beta is publicly available today. Orchestrator 2012 provides the process automation component of the System Center solution and enables customers to build flexible and cost-effective IT infrastructure.

Orchestrator 2012 is deeply integrated with the System Center solution and offers the following unique benefits:

• Optimizes your existing datacenter investments by integrating, extending, and interoperating with heterogeneous tools and systems
• Helps deliver flexible and reliable datacenter services by orchestrating process workflows (or runbooks) across multi-disciplinary process silos
• Lowers costs and improves predictability by automating private cloud scenarios to reduce error-prone manual activities

Additional details on beta release are available here.

We encourage customers to download and provide feedback on the beta release. We’re also inviting participation in our Community Evaluation Program, which offers customers the ability to ramp-up on this solution via participation in various Microsoft organized forums.

• 0 Comments

Private Cloud, System Center 2012, System Center Orchestrator, beta]]> Simon Skinner Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:14:27 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87614/default.aspx

J.C. Hornbeck

13 Jun 2011 8:01 AM

• Comments 0

If you upgraded to Service Pack 2 automatically using Automatic Updates or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) you may have the following happen after the update:

A remoting error occurred.
Make sure the Management Console is properly configured and it has the same version as the Management Service.
Error code: 0000C824

We recently had two blog articles that were much related but not specifically in this context:

How to Fix Microsoft Management Console Error Code: 0000C824: http://blogs.technet.com/b/appv/archive/2011/04/20/how-to-fix-microsoft-management-console-error-code-0000c824.aspx

and

Microsoft Update/WSUS will not offer the App-V 4.5 SP2 update if you do not have Microsoft Application Error Reporting installed: http://blogs.technet.com/b/appv/archive/2010/08/11/microsoft-update-wsus-will-not-offer-the-app-v-4-5-sp2-update-if-you-do-not-have-microsoft-application-error-reporting-installed.aspx

Where this particular scenario is different is it involves the App-V management server instead of the client upgrading to Service Pack 2. What is likely happening is a variation of the issue outlined in the following KB article:

KB221140 - Error 25100 or 25122 when installing the Microsoft Application Virtualization Management service

If .NET 4 is installed on the machine and the installation fails, it could leave the AppVirt management Service (formerly called the management web service.) in a partially installed state.

How to Tell

When you get the 0000C824 error, determine if the App-V Management Service is still in place by verifying the presence of the SoftgridManagement virtual directory in the web site’s configuration within IIS.

The current work around is to:

1. Remove the .NET 4.0 (temporarily as it will be re-added later.)

2. Restart the server.

3. Manually uninstall ONLY the AppVirt Management Service (Service - not server.)

4. Restart the server.

5. Reinstall AppVirt Management Service component from SP2 media (MDOP 2011 Media0 or upgrade media found here:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=25291

6. Reinstall the .NET 4.0 Framework.

If .NET 4.0 is not installed, please follow the abbreviated steps to restore the management service.

1. Manually uninstall ONLY the AppVirt Management Service (Service - not server.)

2. Restart the server.

3. Reinstall AppVirt Management Service component from SP2 media.

Steve Thomas | Senior Support Escalation Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:10:34 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87491/default.aspx  

Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

13 Jun 2011 7:38 AM

• Comments 0

If you are still using MED-V version 1, UPGRADE! But, if you are unable to due to workflow or platform issues, here are some additional tips to improve application performance for your published MED-V guest applications.

Disable Unnecessary Services and startup programs:

Regardless of whether you are using MED-V v1 or MED-V v2, you will want to minimize unnecessary utilization inside the guest operating system.These can be done by disabling the services in the services MMC snap-in, the MSCONFIG.exe utility, or even through the AUTORUNS utility available here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902

Allocate Adequate Workspace Memory

Ensure enough memory has been allocated to the Virtual PC within the MED-V Workspace policy. I would recommend on a machine with more than 2GB of RAM on the host to allocate at least 512 MB to the VPC. Anything less will result in sub-optimal performance. If you are using MED-V V2, you may have found that you are limited to 2 GB of memory allocation for the virtual machine. You can remove this restriction by installing the Localization Update which fixes this issue. You download the MED-V v2 localization update here:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=6590

Configure 16-bit Applications to run in their own memory Space

One popular application compatibility scenario for both MED-V v1 and v2 is the 16/64 appcompat scenario where companies still want to run 16-bit applications but also want to deploy 64-bit operating systems. MED-V is the only way to accomplish this seamlessly. However, it is recommended that when you do this, you create a batch file for 16-bit applications that leverage the internal START command as follows:

Start /separate

This means the 16-bit application will run in its own separate underlying virtual DOS and Win16 machine (remember those?) Publish this batch file as the application.

Leverage another Physical Drive for the Virtual Machine

If using version 1.0, move the VHD to another hard drive (another spindle) on the host machine. The location of the MED-V images files on the local machine can be controlled during the installation and as well by making modifications after the installation.

C:\ProgramData\MED-V\Local\LocalSettings.xml

C:\MED-V Images\

C:\ProgramData\MED-V\Profile\ProfileInfo.xml

C:\MED-V Images\

The above are the defaults. The drive letter/directory and location can be adjusted after the fact (of course, a reboot will be required.

NOTE: This cannot be done for MED-V version 2.

CPU Utilization

If you are running MED-V version 1.0 and finding the application is generating heavy CPU utilization where the utilization is at or near 100 percent when running in seamless mode

OPTION 1: Remove the Frame Functionality from the workspace image. This cuts out a hooking function which could improve performance.

1. Publish a workspace command prompt using the "Applications" option in the workspace policy.

2. Start the workspace using an account with administrative privileges.

3. Launch the command prompt. Start Registry Editor from the command prompt.

4. Navigate to the following registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows

5. Remove the KIDARO~3.DLL entry from the AppInits_DLLs value.

6. Restart the workspace and re-test the application.

NOTE: This will remove the frame functionality where the seamless application no longer has a colored frame surrounding it.

OPTION 2: Apply the ForceSimpleWindow Application Compatibility Fix to the application in the guest operating system.

If you option 1 is not desired due to the fact the painted frame is desired, you can apply an application compatibility fix using the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT.) Download the ACT from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=24da89e9-b581-47b0-b45e-492dd6da2971

Install it and run the Compatibility Administrator (COMPATADMIN.EXE)

Select “New” to create a new database.

Under “Custom Database” you will see “New Database.” Right-click it and select “Create New” followed by “Application Fix.”

Fill in the application information. Browse to the file location of NLNOTES.EXE Click “Next.”

On the “Create new Application Fix” skip and click “Next.”

On the “Compatibility Fixes” page, please select “ForceSimpleWindow” and click “Next.”

When prompted, select the conditions from the list and click Finish.

You will need to save the Shim Database into an SDB file that you can use to deploy the shim to your Windows XP Guest containing the application.

The command line to use is sdbinst.exe. More information is here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd837647(WS.10).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749169(WS.10).aspx

Hope this helps,

Steve Thomas | Senior Support Escalation Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:45:25 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87489/default.aspx Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

13 Jun 2011 6:20 AM

• Comments 0

Adam Hall just announced a couple new articles that were published on Opalis and the next version of Opalis, Orchestrator:

We have published two new articles that discuss how to evaluate the Reach and Scale of Opalis. These articles and associated Runbooks were created and tested in Opalis, and they will equally apply to the Orchestrator Beta.

You can get all the details here.

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:22:44 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87488/default.aspx Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

9 Jun 2011 7:36 AM

• Comments 0

Here’s a new Knowledge Base article we published this morning that talks about an issue you might run into when trying to install System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008. This one deals with an accounts/permissions issue and fortunately it’s an easy one to resolve:

=====

Symptoms

Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 (SCVMM 2008 R2) setup may fail with the following error message during the Virtual Machine Manager Server portion of setup:

Unable to connect to the VMM database because of a general database failure. Ensure that the SQL Server is running and configured correctly, then try the operation again.
ID: 2605. Details: SQL error code: 15247

%ProgramData%\VMMLogs\ServerSetup.txt will have entries similar to the following:

[6/3/2011 4:00:18 PM] Data : bcpPath = "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\bcp.exe"
[6/3/2011 4:00:18 PM] * Exception : => Unable to connect to the VMM database because of a general database failure.Ensure that the SQL Server is running and configured correctly, then try the operation again.Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Exceptions.BackEndErrorException: Unable to connect to the VMM database because of a general database failure.
Ensure that the SQL Server is running and configured correctly, then try the operation again. ---> Microsoft.VirtualManager.DB.CarmineSqlException: Unable to connect to the VMM database because of a general database failure.
Ensure that the SQL Server is running and configured correctly, then try the operation again. ---> System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: User does not have permission to perform this action.
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection)
at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning(TdsParserStateObject stateObj)
at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.ConsumeMetaData()
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.get_MetaData()
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior behavior, String method)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior behavior)
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.DB.SqlRetryCommand.InternalExecuteReader()
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.DB.SqlRetryCommand.InternalExecuteReader()
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.DB.SqlRetryCommand.ExecuteReader(Int32[] expectedDSColumns)
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Helpers.SetupDatabaseHelper.RemoveSqlLogin(String connectinString, String loginName)
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Configuration.DBConfigurator.GrantCarmineDBAccess()
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Wizard.Configurator.GrantCarmineDBAccess()
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Wizard.BackEnd.ConfigureServer()
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Wizard.VMInstaller.Configure()
*** Carmine error was: DatabaseFailure (2605); SQLServer; 15247
--- SqlException details -----------------
System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: User does not have permission to perform this action.
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection)
at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning(TdsParserStateObject stateObj)
at System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.ConsumeMetaData()
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlDataReader.get_MetaData()
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior behavior, String method)
at System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior behavior)
at Microsoft.VirtualManager.DB.SqlRetryCommand.InternalExecuteReader()
Error = 15247
Index #0
Source: .Net SqlClient Data Provider
Number: 15247
State: 1
Class: 16
Server: servername\instance
Message: User does not have permission to perform this action.
Procedure: sp_helplogins
Line: 72

Cause

This may occur if the following conditions both apply:

• Setup is being run as an account that does not have sysadmin rights on the SQL Server.
• A service account is specified for the SQL instance that does have sysadmin rights on the SQL Server.

The SQL commands will initially be executed in the context of the user account running setup, not the service account. After installation, the service account will be used for normal operations.

Resolution

To allow setup to complete successfully in this scenario, hold down the SHIFT key and right-click on setup.exe on the Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 installation media. Choose Run as different user and then enter the credentials for the service account with sysadmin rights on the VMM server.

Notes:

• Alternatively, you can log off the server and log back on as the service account user.
• Before running setup, you will need to uninstall SCVMM from Control Panel\Programs and Features first before re-running setup.

=====

For the most current version of this article be sure to view it directly from the source here:

KB2562909 - System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 setup fails with Error 2605

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:05:33 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87424/default.aspx Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

8 Jun 2011 1:16 PM

• I was over on the Operations Manager team blog today and saw that they just posted a new ADMX for Agentless Exception Monitoring in OpsMgr 2007 R2. Keep in mind that it’s a beta and it doesn’t sound like they’ve done a lot of testing but if you interested go ahead and give it try:

Given that there have been requests to support an ADMX format group policy file for Agentless Exception Monitoring (AEM) I generated an unofficial one that the community can use for now. The ADMX file provided here has gone through very limited testing so please feel free to file any bugs in the comments section below….

You can get all the details and a download link here.

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:44:49 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87418/default.aspx

Chris E. Avis

8 Jun 2011 4:30 PM

• Comments 0

System Center Orchestrator is the rebranding and updating of our acquisition of Opalis. Orchestrator gives your enterprise a full process automation, trouble ticket generation/tracking (a helpdesk), and complete lifecycle management for your datacenter. In combination with the other System Center family of products, we can provide all of the management needs you could possibly think of for your network. Using the built in workflow generation tools, Orchestrator can share data with Active Directory, System Center Operations Manager, System Center Configuration Manager, System Center Service Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, and even 3rd party tools. As issues are identified, the workflow can fire off automated tasks to resolve issues while also recording the steps made in a trouble ticket. This creates a consistent, repeatable workflow with documentation, while reducing the risk of human error and latency.

If you would like to get to know more about Opalis/Orchestrator and what it can do, there is a series of short, 8 minute videos demoing Opalis in action (these were all recorded prior to the official rebranding to System Center Orchestrator). You can view the videos at the Microsoft Showcase site.

If you would like to get involved with testing the latest version of System Center Orchestrator, we are currently taking applications for the System Center Orchestrator Community Evaluation program. You can get all the details and the link for applying at the System Center Blog.

Get More Info and apply for the System Center Orchestrator CEP]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:43:31 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87417/default.aspx  

Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

8 Jun 2011 3:30 AM

• Comments 0

Have you ever wanted to know how to create and deploy a stand-alone virtual machine with a blank virtual hard disk (.vhd) using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012? If so then we have the video for you. Microsoft’s own Tessa Wooley just posted a great how-to video demo that covers this entire process from start to finish:

Enjoy!

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:24:21 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87395/default.aspx  

Chris Lauren [MSFT]

7 Jun 2011 3:09 PM

• Comments 0

The short answer is that we keep data in the warehouse for 3 years for fact tables and forever for dimension and outrigger tables. Antoni Hanus, a Premier Field Engineer with Microsoft, has put together the detailed steps on how to adjust this retention period so you can retain data longer or groom it out more aggressively.

DISCLAIMER: Microsoft does not support direct querying or manipulation of the SQL Databases.

To learn more about the different type of tables in the data warehouse, see the blog post which describes the data warehouse schema.

To determine which are the fact tables and which are the dimension tables you can run the appropriate query against your DWDataMart database

SELECT WarehouseEntityName

,ViewName

,wet.WarehouseEntityTypeName

FROM etl.WarehouseEntity (nolock) we

JOIN etl.WarehouseEntityType (nolock) wet on we.WarehouseEntityTypeId = wet.WarehouseEntityTypeId

WHERE wet.WarehouseEntityTypeName = 'Fact'

SELECT WarehouseEntityName

,ViewName

,wet.WarehouseEntityTypeName

FROM etl.WarehouseEntity (nolock) we

JOIN etl.WarehouseEntityType (nolock) wet on we.WarehouseEntityTypeId = wet.WarehouseEntityTypeId

WHERE wet.WarehouseEntityTypeName = 'Dimension'

NOTE: Microsoft does not support directly accessing nor managing the tables (dimensions, facts nor outriggers).

Instead, please use the views as defined by the ‘ViewName’ column in the above query.

Fact Table Retention Settings

There are 2 two types of retention setting in the data warehouse:

1) Global - The global retention period (set to 3 years by default) which any subsequently created fact tables use as their default retention setting.

2) Individual Fact – The granular retention period for each individual fact table (uses the global setting of 3 years, unless individually modified).

Global:

The default global retention period for data stored in the Service Manager Data Warehouse is 3 years so all OOB (Out of the box) Fact tables use 3 years as the default retention setting.

Any subsequently created fact tables will use this setting upon creation for their individual retention setting.

The default Global setting value is 1576800, which is 3 years (1576800 = 1440 minutes per day * 365 days * 3 years)

This value can be verified by running the following SQL Query against the DWDataMart database:

select ConfiguredValue from etl.Configuration where ConfigurationFilter = 'DWMaintenance.grooming'

Individual Fact Tables:

Individual fact tables will inherit the global retention value upon creation, or can be customized to a value that is different from the default global setting.

OOB Individual Fact tables that were created upon installation, can also be individually configured with a specific retention value as required.

All of the Fact tables in the Database can be returned by running the following query against the DWDataMart Database:

SELECT WarehouseEntityName

,ViewName

,wet.WarehouseEntityTypeName

FROM etl.WarehouseEntity (nolock) we

JOIN etl.WarehouseEntityType (nolock) wet on we.WarehouseEntityTypeId = wet.WarehouseEntityTypeId

WHERE wet.WarehouseEntityTypeName = 'Fact'

An example of an OOB fact table returned is ActivityStatusDurationFact which has a warehouseentity ID of 81;

The corresponding retention setting for this Fact table is stored in the etl.warehouseentitygroominginfo table, so if we run the following query, the ‘RetentionPeriodInMinutes’ field will show us the individual retention configured for that particular table
Query:

select warehouseEntityID, RetentionPeriodInMinutes from etl.WarehouseEntityGroomingInfo where WarehouseEntityId = 81

Result:

A SQL Statement such as the following could be used to update an individual fact table to an appropriate value:

Use DWDatamart

UPDATE etl.WarehouseEntityGroomingInfo

SET RetentionPeriodInMinutes = [number of minutes to retain data]

WHERE WarehouseEntityId = [WarehouseEntityID of Fact table to update]

• 0 Comments

reporting, data warehouse]]> Simon Skinner Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:23:46 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87379/default.aspx  

Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

6 Jun 2011 8:20 AM

• Comments 0

Here’s a quick heads up on a new Knowledge Base article for AVIcode that we published this morning:

=====

Symptoms

When using AVIcode Intercept Studio 5.7, you receive the following error in the SE-Viewer Configuration Utility when you try to update the SE-Viewer database for use with Advisor:

Invalid column name 'ASPECTID'.

Specifically, this problem affects SE-Viewer installations that previously ran the 4.1 version.

Cause

The dbo.ASPECT table had different columns and data types in the 4.1 version of Intercept Studio. When you upgrade from 4.1 to version 5.0 or higher, the upgrade retains these old column names and data types. However, the script in 5.7 to prepare the SE-Viewer database for use with Advisor does not work with the old version of the table.

Resolution

To resolve this problem, use the steps below to rename the existing dbo.ASPECT table and recreate it.

1. Create a full backup of the SE-Viewer database.
2. Open SQL Management Studio and connect to the database instance that contains the SE-Viewer database.
3. In Object Explorer, expand Databases//Tables.
4. Right-click the dbo.ASPECT table and click Rename.
5. Rename the table to dbo.ASPECT_old or something similar.
6. Click the New Query button.
7. On the SQL Editor toolbar, make sure the SE-Viewer database is the current table.
8. Paste the below script into the query window and press F5 to execute it.

/*==============================================================*/
/* Table: ASPECT */
/*==============================================================*/
CREATE TABLE DBO.ASPECT (
ASPECT NVARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
DESCRIPTION NVARCHAR(255) NULL,
ASPECTID INT IDENTITY,
CONSTRAINT PK_ASPECT PRIMARY KEY (ASPECTID)
)
go

GRANT SELECT ON DBO.ASPECT TO PUBLIC
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('All', 'All')
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('ApplicationFailure', 'Application Failure')
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('Connectivity', 'Connectivity')
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('Security', 'Security')
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('Performance', 'Performance')
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('uncategorized', 'Operational Info')
GO

INSERT INTO DBO.ASPECT VALUES('SystemFailure', 'System Failure')
GO

/*==============================================================*/
/* End of script */
/*==============================================================*/

After you run the script, run the SE-Viewer Configuration Utility to configure Advisor.

=====

For the most current information please see the following:

KB2560917 - Invalid column name 'ASPECTID' error in the AVIcode 5.7 SE-Viewer Configuration Utility

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Mon, 06 Jun 2011 20:37:32 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87362/default.aspx  

I am pleased to announce the release of the System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 Administration Resource Kit.

The System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 Administration Resource Kit includes three tools designed to help improve the Operations Manager Administrator experience. Included: Schedule Maintenance Mode, Clean mom and MP Event Analyzer .

Feature Summary

The System Center Operation Manager 2007 Administration Resource Kit provides the following features to aid in management group administration:

• Scheduled Maintenance Mode - Ability to schedule and manage maintenance mode in the management group.

• Clean Mom - Helps remove all installed R2 components.

• MP Event Analyzer - MP Event Analyzer tool is designed to help a user with functional and exploratory testing and debugging of event based management pack workflows like rules and monitors.

The resource kit can be found on the Microsoft Download site here – Link

Quick Overview

Schedule Maintenance Mode is designed to use the Operations Manager platform. Due to this we are able to centrally manage Maintenance Mode instead of using a schedule task solution. Also, all information is stored in the Operations Manager database therefore no information is lost during a disaster if the database has been backed up.

You will find a detailed guide on how to setup and use this tool in the download package.

The tool provides the following features:

• Ability to schedule any type of object to be placed into maintenance mode in the form of a Job
• Group support including nested groups
• Automatically places Health Service Watcher in maintenance with computer
• Blocks RMS from being placed in maintenance
• Support for Run Once, daily, weekly, and monthly schedules (including complex scenarios like "second Tuesday of the month")
• Ability to cancel a maintenance Job where everything will be removed from maintenance automatically
• History Report

Screen Shots:

MP Event Analyzer

Scenario

David has heard from friends who have tested MPs for other teams that he needs to be really careful how he tests any Event Log based rules in Management Packs so that he is testing real events, rather than faked ones that may give him false positives. David realizes that this tool can greatly reduce these false positives be enable him to both make sure that the events he triggers are as close to the real events as possible and that the Management Pack will, in fact, pick up those events.

He launches the tool and notices that there are two tab available to him; Validate Management Pack & Investigate Event sources:

On the Validate Management Pack tab, he is able to load in his team’s Management Pack and have the tool start to validate the different event sources that the MP’s rules are looking for. In the left pane, he notices that there are a few event sources that the tool has not been able to map directly:

A few click later and the tool is ready to validate the MP rules and David is returned a score card of how his Management Pack maps to the events that his component may generate:

He is able to very quickly determine that a specific rule in his MP is looking for some events in the Event Log that will never get generated. He quickly opens a bug to have the filter in that rule changed so that it does not look for an Event with an ID of 7015 as that event does not exist in the system :

To enable him to test this again in the future once the bug has been fixed, David right clicks on the rule in question and adds these Events to the Execution List:

Switching over the Investigate Event Sources tab, David is able to configure these events so that the real events are generated with his data:

Once his events are configured, David can use the MP Event Analyzer to generate these events in the EventLog to ensure that the Management Pack is, in fact, picking up the events and generating the appropriate alerts:

David can now save both his Event Execution List and Results and include them in his normal test reports. He is also able to repeat these tests whenever he wants to ensure that bugs have been fixed and no regressions have been introduced.

As an added bonus, David and his team can navigate all the Event Sources on the system including Windows Event Logs, Crimson Logs, and Hybrid Logs to see if there are any events that could be added to their MP to make it more valuable to their customers:

With Event Sources that generate a large number of events, David can even filter out events:

Cleanmom

A command-line utility that enables you to remove any or all of the components of Operations Manager from a local computer in cases where the normal method of uninstallation has failed.

Feature Bullet Summary

1. Fast command line removal of agents.

2. Fast command line removal of server roles.

3. Removal of services associated with Ops Mgr.

4. Removal of registry keys.

5. Removal of Ops Mgr install directories and files.

Thanks!

Rob Kuehfus | Program Manager | System Center Operations Manager

• 1 Comments

Administration, Management Packs, News, MP Authoring, Tips, Event Log, scom, r2, Monitoring]]> Simon Skinner Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:33:20 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87341/default.aspx Found this on the net and wanted to share it

Tony Tai - MSFT

2 Jun 2011 1:00 AM

• Comments 0

Reflecting on Memorial Day, when Americans remember how military veterans safeguarded fellow citizens through their service, today I’m also recalling how Microsoft’s services contribute in the public sector. We have developed and now manage a suite of online services to assist government organizations in many ways.What factors were important to governments which selected these services, and why did they buy Microsoft services, in particular?

Learning about many government agencies which chose Microsoft online services, I found common criteria and themes. Most chose the services, in part, to save money. Many evaluators considered the need to optimize use of resources. Many discussed how compatibility with existing applications and how user acceptance created momentum to select new services from Microsoft. Finally, several government customers cited the importance of data security and archival in their decision-making.

Saving Money while Delivering Valued Services

Many governments are withstanding increased economic pressures from lower tax revenues in difficult economic times. While individual administrations have specific needs in serving employees and citizens effectively with IT, Gopal Khanna, Chief Information Officer for The State of Minnesota, captures today’s mantra, do more with less.

“As states battle growing deficits, they are continually being asked to do more with less. Rethinking the way we manage our digital infrastructure centrally, to save locally across all units of government, is a crucial part of the solution. The private sector has utilized technological advancements like cloud computing to realize operational efficiencies for some time now. Government must follow suit."

The value of the online services to government operations come into play. Randy Paul, Klamath County, Oregon’s Director of Information Technology made the case for the Business Productivity Online Suite hosted solution on two fronts: costs would be reduced significantly and performance and dependability would improve significantly. The City of San Francisco cited significant value for their administration, along with cost savings. The city went with Microsoft Exchange Online because it complemented the other Microsoft applications already in use, it provides anywhere email access, protects information, and the online solution helps the city achieve a 20% mandated budget reduction.

Unifying services across an entire Italian province provided great savings: $213,000 annually. Ennio Fumagalli, Provincial Council Delegate, describes his application at the Provincia di Lecco:

“All municipalities face the same challenge of providing government services to citizens at reduced costs, yet their email and collaboration services don’t always work together. Some municipalities use open source solutions with varied functionality and pricing, which makes budgeting difficult and means some jurisdictions have better services than others. Different systems make it a challenge to communicate and share calendars and arrange multi-jurisdictional meetings. Town halls keep their data on-premises, so it’s difficult to share information necessary to make decisions at the provincial level.”

Earlier this week, we told you how the Municipio de Humacao chose Microsoft Online Services over Google Apps, freeing $90,000 from their IT budget using cloud-based email. It was just what they needed: a solution which would respond to cost-cutting pressures while providing employees a responsive, comprehensive email service.

Using Resources Optimally

IT teams inside and outside of government must deliver services, hopefully inventive ones, regardless of economic constraints. Peter Schaak, Assistant Director of IT for the Village of Schaumburg echoes the do more with less mantra and cites strategic ambition in light of implementing Exchange Online.

“We’re anxious to help balance the workload,” Schaak notes. “The government sector is in a ‘do-more-with-less’ economic situation, so we’re hoping to free people up to switch back to a little more proactive IT administration and away from being purely reactive.”

Klamath County sought accountability in IT service delivery. Paul of Klamath County explains how Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) increased his team’s effectiveness:

“The BPOS system administration has allowed us to take the resources needed to manage e-mail down to about .25 FTE… BPOS has helped us achieve our goal of moving toward a highly managed IT service.”

The county’s BPOS deployment vastly simplified its internal management initiative to implement a fee-for-service scheme to better rationalize support services, including IT. The result has been smarter allocation of scarce resources at a time of flat county revenues.

Value is key. After all, Microsoft Online Services are productivity solutions, at the core. The city of Buda, Texas is one place where value was a key consideration. The city chose BPOS for improved employee productivity, better operational efficiency, effective use of IT resources, better collaboration, and to create a more flexible workflow.

I like the way Shawn McCarthy, research director with the market analysis firm, IDC, sums it up:

"Basically, cloud services give government IT departments the opportunity to relieve some pressure on them. Every department needs email but every department doesn't need to manage their own email server. When you maintain servers, they need upgrades, patch configuration management ... Going with the cloud lets IT managers focus on what is core to their divisions."

Compatibility and User Acceptance

The implementation at the State of Minnesota brings new considerations. What is the effect of online services on employees and the existing infrastructure? Microsoft expects that their implementation will require little retraining of state employees, limiting service disruption, because BPOS already works with Office. Microsoft also expects seamless migration from existing IT resources because BPOS leverages familiar technologies. According to the state’s Office of Enterprise Technology (OET):

“OET is working closely with Microsoft to ensure a successful migration to BPOS. The goal is to create as little impact to the user as possible, but users will notice dramatically increased email capacity (from 100 MB to 5GB per user) and increased collaborative functionality, making it easier to move seamlessly between email, SharePoint, Instant Messaging and conferencing.”

The Provincia di Lecco evaluated IBM Lotus Notes, Google Apps, and Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite. According to CIO Fabio Annoni:

“We chose Microsoft cloud services for its complete range of offerings and because it aligns closely with the IT environments at the municipalities, where everyone uses Microsoft Office.”

For the province, this standardization on Microsoft products and services enabled efficiency.

The most recent Microsoft Online Services customers see synergy in using both Microsoft products and services. The city of San Francisco went with Microsoft after considering Google Apps, in part, because Exchange Online complements the other Microsoft applications that the city already uses, while the City of Winston-Salem felt the choice would be well-accepted as most employees have used Outlook before. In fact, according to Winston-Salem CIO Dennis Newman:

"To fully invest in Google Apps meant we would have to uninvest in Microsoft Office licensing. To take away Office from our users would not be well received unless it was saving us money."

I’m happy to know that standardization through Microsoft Online Services could help the State of California, a government under acute economic pressure, reach strategic goals. According to state CIO, Teri Takai:

“This is part of our efforts to consolidate and standardize information technology infrastructure to reduce costs and enhance productivity. Technology strategies such as cloud computing are key to executing the mission of our office which is to strengthen IT project oversight, increase transparency in technology spending, increase cost savings and define specific targets to reduce energy usage.”

Data Security and Data Archival

Finally, safeguarding and preserving governments’ and citizens’ data is very important. In particular, the Municipio de Humacao evaluated Google Apps and Evelyn Howe, Information System Administrator found:

“…the Google solution did not offer the security that we needed. Some city offices actually forbade us to use Google.”

As part of Klamath County’s choice of a Microsoft solution, Director of IT, Randy Paul noted from previous experience the importance of reputation. That is, a reputable hosting provider often has more domain expertise to address the details of things like spam and phishing, and for ensuring appropriate redundancy and back-up capacity. In addition to choosing the standard Microsoft BPOS suite, Klamath County’s installation also included an archiving module that helps to ensures that the county is compliant with federal and state record-keeping and retention mandates. Paul observed:

“Our new Microsoft archiving is far more elegant than what we have had in the past.”

Information security was a key consideration in the City of Carlsbad, California’s selection process. The city needed to confirm that any hosting partner could provide the required level of security and reliability for its messaging solution. Director of IT, Gordon Peterson stated:

“We had to make sure that if we went with a hosted e-mail solution it could match the best practices and security levels needed. The other area of concern for us was availability. Our messaging solution is a mission-critical application that everyone expects to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

After investigating different e-mail storage and protection options, the city determined that the Microsoft data center provided more security than the city’s own facility. Bob Fries, IT Manager for the Enterprise Systems Group contributed:

“We were reassured that Microsoft Online Services could deliver the security and privacy requirements necessary to protect the city’s records.”

I hope that your IT service choices help you provide solutions that assist your employees, and are cost-effective for your communities and constituents. Please let me know what needs are particularly important in the government you serve.

• 0 Comments

Microsoft Online, Cloud Computing, Google Apps, Compete, why microsoft]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 02 Jun 2011 23:13:36 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87303/default.aspx Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

2 Jun 2011 10:34 AM

• Comments 0

Here’s a new App-V Knowledge Base article we published today. This one covers the %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% environmental variable:

=====

Symptoms

After modifying the %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% environment variable, Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) packages may fail to load or may connect to an incorrect server. In some cases, you may receive a 0A-10000002 error ("The specified Application Virtualization Server could not be accessed. Try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists, report the following error code to your System Administrator") if the system variable references a non-existent or inaccessible server.

This is most common in scenarios where the intent is to test packages located on a development server with the intention of later copying the package to the production environment. In this case, changes to either the user or system environmental variable %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% will not be used by the App-V client.

In the case of user variables (that is, adding a variable called SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER under Control Panel\System\Advanced System Settings\Advanced tab\Environmental Variables...\User variables for username), App-V does not read the %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% for individual users. Only the system variable is honored.

In the case of system variables, this setting is only reflected after a system reboot. This is necessary for the App-V client services and drivers to properly and consistently read these variables. Any changes made to the %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% variable are not reflected until either the Application Virtualization client service is restarted or the client operating system is rebooted.

Cause

This behavior is by design.

Resolution

There are several possible workarounds to enable this scenario:

1. Change the system %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% environmental variable and then either restart the Application Virtualization Client service or reboot the client (in most cases restarting the service is sufficient; if this does not resolve the issue, you may need to restart the client). This is obviously the easiest method, but may not be desirable in some environments (for instance on, on a heavily-utilized Terminal Server).
2. Edit the OSD directly and replace the %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% variable with the actual name of the development server, or use another variable.
3. Use an alternate application source root (ASR) (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc843817.aspx).
4. Use two separate versions of the application for testing (see 2022651 App-V: How to create a “test” and “production” version of the same virtual app that can be used together https://vkbexternal.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/VKBWebService/ViewContent.aspx?scid=B;en-US;2022651)

More Information

User environmental variables override system environmental variables in Windows. Executables (including services and drivers) read environmental variables when they first launch, but do not subsequently re-read values.

=====

For the most current information please see the following KB:

KB2552111 - Understanding the %SFT_SOFTGRIDSERVER% environmental variable in Microsoft App-V

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:39:40 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87302/default.aspx  

Jason Buffington

2 Jun 2011 1:03 AM

• Comments 0

At TechEd 2011, we announced that the OpsMgr 2012 Community Evaluation Program (CEP) is now taking applications.

What is a CEP

Many of you are likely familiar with Microsoft TAP’s, Technology Adoption Programs, where a small pool of customers partner with our engineering teams to preview and provide feedback on pre-beta software. TAP participants provide our engineers with some early guidance and validation of next generation software, prior to us releasing publicly-available beta software. TAP is a great program, but it starts very, very early on and usually fills up quick (and waay before beta). The OpsMgr 2012 TAP has been very active in helping us with early builds, but it is unfortunately full.

The Community Evaluation Program (CEP) has recently been created to provide a broader range of customers with an in-depth experience with our upcoming beta software.

Essentially, a CEP is an organized way of bringing our subject matter experts (SMEs) from our product teams, our community (like MVPs and experienced users) and those interested in taking a deep look at our v.Next software for evaluation and preparation for deployment purposes.

About the OpsMgr 2012 CEP

Starting around the time of public-beta, the OM12 CEP will offer private and focused topic discussions, whereby the entire enrolled community will all look at one key feature/enhancement at a time. This will give you, as enrolled participants, not only in-depth insight to the new OM12 features, but also access to the community of SMEs who can help you get the most out of Operations Manager 2012 (and 2007 R2 in some cases).

We are taking enrollment applications now, and will kick off the community reach-outs as we get a little closer to the public beta release.

We’ll start off looking at some of the features that you have heard a lot about so far, such as Network Monitoring or Application Monitoring. Then, we’ll dig into some of the new topology changes, as well as upgrade scenarios, and then just keep looking at different facets of OpsMgr 2012 moving forward.

How do I apply

Information on all of the System Center and ForeFront CEP offerings is available at http://msft.it/CEP

For an overview of the Operations Manager 2012 CEP, take a look at the OM12 CEP overview datasheet.

For questions on the OpsMgr 2012 CEP itself, you can send email to OMCEP@microsoft.com. (no, we can’t yet answer ‘when’ questions) :-)

Click here to Apply for the OpsMgr 2012 CEP

We will notify all accepted participants as to the OM12 topic schedule and how to access the CEP discussion forums later in June.

A note of special thanks to all of the OpsMgr 2012 session attendees at TechEd 2011, some of whom enrolled even during the sessions themselves!

Good luck and we look forward to working with many of you on OpsMgr 2012 !

• 0 Comments

News, Operations Manager 2012, Community]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:50:39 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87283/default.aspx TechNet Blogs > SCSM Engineering Team Blog > Now available: A hotfix for Cumulative Update 1 for System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1: May 2011

J.C. Hornbeck

1 Jun 2011 1:49 PM

This article describes a hotfix package that resolves some issues in Microsoft System Center Service Manager 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Issue 1

Log Name: Operations Manager
Source: DataAccessLayer
Event ID: 33333
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Description:
Data Access Layer rejected retry on SqlError:
Request: EntityChangeLogSnapshot -- (ManagedTypeId=a604b942-4c7b-2fb2-28dc-61dc6f465c68), (BeginTransactionId=68184), (EndTransactionId=68226), (RETURN_VALUE=1)
Class: 15
Number: 156
Message: Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'INNER'.

Log Name: Operations Manager
Source: DataAccessLayer
Event ID: 33333
Task Category: None
Level: Warning
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Description:
Data Access Layer rejected retry on SqlError:
Request: EntityChangeLogSnapshot -- (ManagedTypeId=a604b942-4c7b-2fb2-28dc-61dc6f465c68), (BeginTransactionId=68184), (EndTransactionId=68226), (RETURN_VALUE=1)
Class: 15
Number: 102
Message: Incorrect syntax near ','.

Note: The GUIDs and transaction IDs vary, depending on the environment. However, the text in the description is the same

Issue 2

You may receive duplicated notifications or workflows that are triggered two times for the same object.

For all the details and to download this hotfix please see the following Knowledge Base article:

KB2538810 - A hotfix for Cumulative Update 1 for System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1: May 2011

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:55:20 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87269/default.aspx JeffWettlaufer

1 Jun 2011 1:37 PM

The next version of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit—version 2012— is now available for beta download. To participate, register for MDT 2012 Beta 1 at Microsoft Connect.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Beta 1 rides the next wave of System Center releases with support for System Center Configuration Manager 2012. For Lite Touch installations, MDT 2012 improves the overall client-side user experience, while also providing behind-the-scenes enhancements for partitioning, UEFI, and user state migration. These features, combined with many small enhancements, bug fixes, and a smooth and simple upgrade process, make MDT 2012 Beta 1 more reliable and flexible than ever.

Key Benefits:

• Fully leverages the capabilities provided by System Center Configuration Manager 2012 for OS deployment.
• Improved Lite Touch user experience and functionality.
• A smooth and simple upgrade process for all existing MDT users.

Tell the MDT team what you think! To participate in the MDT 2012 Beta 1 program, download and test the tool in your environment and then provide timely feedback and suggestions to our development team. MDT 2012 Beta 1 runs through August 2011. Please submit your feedback through Connect and direct any support questions you may have to satfdbk@microsoft.com. Thank you for taking the time to help us improve the MDT product feature and functions. Your time and assistance are much appreciated.

Next steps:

• Join MDT 2012 Beta 1 and tell the MDT team what you think!
• Help spread the word—share the beta invitation link with your friends.
• Send your comments to the MDT Team.
• Learn more about the MDT.

Get the latest tips from Microsoft Solution Accelerators—in 140 characters or less! Follow us on Twitter: @MSSolutionAccel.

Jeff Wettlaufer
Sr Technical Product Manager
System Center, Management and Security Division

• 0 Comments

beta, jeff wettlaufer, MDT]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:48:34 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87267/default.aspx TechNet Blogs > Ctrl P - The Data Protection Manager Blog! > New DPM KB article fix: Unable to protect a SharePoint Farm with System Center Data Protection Manager 2010

Rate This

J.C. Hornbeck

1 Jun 2011 11:40 AM

• Comments 0

Just a quick FYI on a new Data Protection Manager Knowledge Base article we published today:

=====

Summary

While trying to create a protection group in System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 SP1 or System Center Data Protection Manager 2010, you may receive the following error:

DPM cannot protect your Windows SharePoint services farm until you install agents on the following server ServerHostName.FQDN.COM ID 956

This error message can be caused by an improperly configured SQL alias.

To properly configure SQL aliasing setup both 64-bit and 32-bit aliases:

1. Start cliconfg.exe from each WFE server in the farm.
2. Navigate to the Alias tab.
3. Click Add...
4. Enter the name of the alias in the "Server Alias:" window.
5. Enter the hostname of the SQL server in "Server Name:" under Connection parameters.
6. Check the radio button for TCP/IP in the Network Libraries section.
7. Click OK.

32-bit SQL alias configuration

1. On all WFE servers, open SQL Server Configuration Manager (installation of SQL Server Configuration Manager is required unless it already exists. For SharePoint 2007, install SQL 2005 Client Tools Connectivity. For SharePoint 2010, install SQL 2008 Client Tools Connectivity).
2. From the SQL Server Configuration Manager, expand the SQL Native Client 10.0 Configuration (32bit) and click on the Aliases.
3. In the right panel, right click and select New Alias…
4. For the Alias Name, enter the name of the alias being used.
5. For the Server, enter the hostname of the server to which the alias will resolve.

More Information

SQL Aliasing allows SharePoint administrators to move SharePoint Databases between SQL servers if the need arises. The Administrator can do this by creating a new SQL alias on all servers in the farm using cliconfg.exe or SQL Server Configuration Manager.

=====

For all the details as well as a download link please see the the following Knowledge Base article:

KB2543859 - Unable to protect a SharePoint Farm with System Center Data Protection Manager 2010

J.C. Hornbeck | System Center Knowledge Engineer

The App-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/appv/
The WSUS Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/sus/
The SCMDM Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/mdm/
The ConfigMgr Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/configurationmgr/
The SCOM 2007 Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/operationsmgr/
The SCVMM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/scvmm/
The MED-V Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/medv/
The DPM Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/dpm/
The OOB Support Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/oob/
The Opalis Team blog: http://blogs.technet.com/opalis
The Service Manager Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager
The AVIcode Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/avicode
The System Center Essentials Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenteressentials
The Server App-V Team blog: http: http://blogs.technet.com/b/serverappv

• 0 Comments

DPM 2007, SharePoint, DPM 2010, KB Article, Protection Group, SQL, Farm]]> Simon Skinner Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:44:03 GMT http://www.systemcentercentral.com/tabid/143/indexid/87265/default.aspx