The new version provides class-based ICMP ping of user-defined names (called Ping Targets). MP includes both ping availability and performance monitoring, with custom alert, performance and state views. Diagram view of ping target displays target health from multiple watcher nodes (called Ping Watchers). New version is delivered sealed to provide clean upgrade path.

All custom views you create with Savision Live Maps for Operations Manager 2007 can be automatically viewed using the OpsMgr Operations Console and the Live Maps Web Console. The views will not automatically appear in the OpsMgr Web Console. This article explains how Live Maps can be easily integrated into the OpsMgr Web Console.

Live Maps for Operations Manager 2007 is the platform to create customized state views on top of OpsMgr. These views can be shared with different groups within your organisation using the Live Maps web console. This article explains how Live Maps web views can also be easily integrated in a SharePoint portal.

This MP extends existing discovery of virtual machines by Operations Manager and Essentials to include VMware guests. The MP will update the “IsVirtualMachine” property of the Windows Computer object to TRUE for VMware guests. Also disables and replaces the existing discovery rule that sets this value to false for non-MS VMs.

The ACS Resource Kit includes a variety of utilities and documents for Audit Collection deployment planning and administration, including Security Event Reference Worksheet, Database and Disk Calculator, sample scripts and queries.

By Raphael Burri, this document bridges a gap in high availability OpsMgr 2007 architectures by providing step-by-step guidance for configuring the Web Console and Reporting components of Operations Manager 2007 in a high availability configuration. This document focuses on hardware load balancing to support a web farm hosting multiple instances of each of these components. This is commonly referred to as a “scale-out deployment”.

The Operations Manager 2007 product documentation only provides two options at present. When the Web Console resides on the RMS, Windows Authentication is the recommended configuration. When the Web Console is moved to a separate server, forms authentication is the documented solution, as the Kerberos “double-hop” issue causes Windows Authentication to fail. In this document, product team guru Satya Vel provides detailed instructions for configuration of “constrained delegation”. This allows the OpsMgr 2007 Web Console to be configured for Windows Authentication, even when on a separate server.

by Taylor Brown, this script retrieves the Msvm_VirtualSystemManagmentService class and the MasterVM’s Msvm_ComputerSystem. It then loops 10 times, first changing the name of the VM and then exporting the VM and finally re-importing the VM. After it completes the 10 interactions it restores the name of original name of the MasterVM.

Connector to reset the state of the monitor to healthy after the alert associated with its state change has been closed.

This article by Gordon McKenna details the steps for configuring a distributed reporting environment (one in which the SQL databases and SRS server are located on different computers) in OpsMgr 2007. The least understood part of a distributed reporting topology is configuration of the identity needed to access the SRS databases on the remote server. As Gordon points out, this can be accomplished by using the OpsMgr Data Reader / Data Writer account to eliminate the need for yet another domain identity.

User Submission: GreenMachine Submitted by: Tim Helton (MS) Description: GreenMachine is an OpsMgr Utility that can be used to reset or recalculate all monitors for a single agent, or for all agents in your management group. Command line tool that facilitates bulk reset of health monitors. This can be very useful if you just had an event storm, and you want to reset everything back to “green”. It also has the ability to identify “ManualReset” monitors, and reset or recalculate only them. It displays most of the same data as healthexplorer, as well as some additional information.

This reusable Powershell script will create a new virtual machine from an existing VM template in any SCVMM library. Requires SCVMM 2008 Powershell extensions. Script has 3 required parameters. Run with no parameters and syntax will be echoed to the screen. Be sure to add a license key and administrator password to your template first! Save with a .ps1 extension when you download.

Group maintenance mode script for OpsMgr 2007 that prompts user for input. Intended to be used as a desktop shortcut for easy ad-hoc maintenance mode. Instructions for use: http://www.systemcenterforum.org/news/opsmgr-powershell-tip-desktop-shortcut-for-enabling-group-maintenance-mode Based on “One more group maintenance mode script” from Boris Y at http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/attachment/8034871.ashx

Presentation delivered by Pete Zerger(MVP) and Ian Jirka(MS) with guidance on the Gateway role in OpsMgr 2007 SP1 including key use scenarios, sizing and troubleshooting guidance.

Whitepaper from OpsMgr MVP Andy Dominey on considerations and best practices for designing a highly available Operations Manager 2007 enterprise infrastructure. Should be an excellent companion to the Operations Manager 2007 Infrastructure Planning and Design Solution Accelerator.

Script to verify the version of a user-defined dll or exe file, designed for use in a 2-state monitor in Operations Manager 2007.

This script performs a check to determine the target service is set to startup type "Automatic" in service Properties.

This script performs a check to determine the target service is set to restart automatically on failure in service Properties, Recovery tab.

by OpsMgr MVP Maarten Goet, this article provides great tips on making the most of nWorks VM guest monitoring and data collection in OpsMgr 2007

With more than 400 downloads in its original release, this tutorial (updated Sept 2009) provides a detailed walkthrough on how to create a 2-State Monitor using VBScript with the 'Timed Script Two State Monitor' in Operations Manager 2007 RTM / SP1 / R2.