Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack Guide
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Published: November 1, 2003
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services* *Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1
Developed by: The Windows SharePoint Services Team
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On This Page
Recommended Knowledge and Skills
Overview of the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack
Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack Monitoring Scenarios
Windows SharePoint Service Monitoring Solution Topologies
Windows SharePoint Services Deployment Topologies
Setup and Configuration
Operations Tasks
Reference
Recommended Knowledge and Skills
To deploy and operate the Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint™ Services Management Pack, it is recommended that you possess the following knowledge and skills:
A working knowledge of the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 (MOM) monitoring features.
An understanding of the three MOM design architectures and the design architecture that is deployed in your organization. For more information, see Chapter 2, “Architecture Overview,” in the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1 Deployment Guide.
Be familiar with the recommended process for deploying Management Packs as described in Chapter 7, “Deploying Management Packs,” in the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1 Deployment Guide.
Overview of the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack
The Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack monitors events placed in the Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 application event log by Windows SharePoint Services, as well as the performance of Windows SharePoint Services components. This Management Pack highlights events that might indicate possible service outages or configuration problems, so you can quickly take corrective or preventative actions.
This Management Pack quickly brings any failures or configuration problems to your attention, increasing the availability and performance of SharePoint Services. This Management Pack also provides the knowledge and expertise you need to leverage Windows SharePoint Services and get an immediate return on your investment.
If the import was successful, a new entry appears under Rules, Processing Rule Groups, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services.
Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack Monitoring Scenarios
Service Availability
The service availability scenario monitors the availability of the Windows SharePoint Services infrastructure. Service availability monitoring:
Generates alerts when one of the following Windows SharePoint Services-based services stop:
HTML Load Balancing
HTML Viewer
SharePoint Timer
Provides performance data on the usage of Windows SharePoint Services.
HTML Viewer Problems
You can set up an HTML viewer that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services, such as Microsoft Office 2003 HTML Viewer. Setting up Office HTML Viewer enables users without Office 97 or later installed to view Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint® documents.
Although there is a slight delay while the transformation takes place, the converted file is extremely close to the WYSIWYG formatting of the original file. In addition to making files available for viewing by users, administrators can use a batch process mode of HTML viewing to convert the contents of entire folders to HTML. The Management Pack monitors this process and alerts the administrator whenever problems with these services occur.
**Note :**By default this processing rule group is set to disabled. It is recommended that you install the HTML viewer on a dedicated server. The HTML Viewer rule group is not associated with the Windows SharePoint Services group but with a separate HTML server group. Also, users have to manually add the server, with the HTML service installed, to this group because there is no register key to automatically identify the server that has the HTML viewer installed.
User Management Problems
Windows SharePoint Services performs certain actions through an interface with Active Directory® services. This Management Pack monitors this feature and generates alerts when failures occur.
Virus Scanner Problems
Windows SharePoint Services allows you to help protect your users from uploading or downloading files that contain viruses. When you install an antivirus scanner that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services, you can enable the antivirus protection feature for your server. When you enable this feature, files are checked for viruses when a user adds a document to, or views a document in, a document library or list. If a virus is found, the scanner attempts to clean the file. If the file cannot be cleaned, the scanner blocks the file from being added or viewed. This Management Pack monitors for problems connected with the integration of virus scanning into the Windows SharePoint Services functionality and generates an alert when a problem occurs.
Web Parts
Windows SharePoint Services allows users to add Web Parts to Web Part Pages in a SharePoint site. A Web Part is a modular unit of information that has a single purpose. For example, the list of default Web Parts that are available with Windows SharePoint Services includes:
Content Editor Web Part — Displays unstructured Web content, such as text or images.
Image Web Part — Displays a picture.
Form Web Part — Allows you to add an HTML form.
Contacts — Allows you to display the Contacts list on a Web Part Page.
Users can add Web Parts to Web Part Pages and can personalize or share existing Web Parts with other users. This Management Pack monitors this functionality of Windows SharePoint Services and generates an alert when a problem occurs (for example, it generates an alert when a user attempts to add an unsafe Web Part to the Web Parts Pages).
Windows SharePoint Service Monitoring Solution Topologies
This section describes and illustrates common deployment topologies of Windows SharePoint Services and demonstrates the physical relationship between MOM and Windows SharePoint Services. It also notes additional Management Packs that can contribute to monitoring the Windows SharePoint Services solution.
Additional Management Packs
To monitor a Windows SharePoint Services system, you need the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack and all the Management Packs for the underlying and helping technologies. Therefore, a server that is running MOM and monitoring any kind of Windows SharePoint Services 2003 deployment needs the following Management Packs installed:
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services (Web download from October 2003)
Windows Operating Systems (Web download from May 2003)
Internet Information Services (Web download from May 2003)
Microsoft Windows Active Directory (Web download from May 2003)
Microsoft SQL Server™ (Web download from May 2003)
Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 (Web download from May 2003)
Because Windows SharePoint Services is a set of ISAPI extensions that run on top of Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows SharePoint Services is especially reliant on the IIS Management Pack.
The following Management Packs are only necessary in deployment scenarios, where Windows SharePoint Services is installed on computers that are either load balanced or clustered:
Network Load Balancing (Web download from May 2003)
Server Clusters (Web download from May 2003)
For specific configurations and definitions in these Management Packs, see the related Management Pack guides.
Windows SharePoint Services Deployment Topologies
There are only two components in Windows SharePoint Services that have an influence on the topology that is used:
Front-end Web servers
Back-end databases
Therefore, the possible topologies are:
Single server with SQL Server
Small server farm
Medium or large server farm
Single Server with SQL Server
The single server with SQL Server topology is a where one computer is running the front-end Web component and the SQL Server back-end component. SQL Server is used to store the databases.
The single server topology is the simplest Windows SharePoint Services topology. The following illustration shows how MOM is used to monitor this Windows SharePoint Services topology.
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Figure 1: Using MOM to monitor the Windows SharePoint Services single server topology
The following table lists the recommended Management Packs to deploy for the single server topology.
Table 1 Recommended Management Packs for the Single Server Topology
Server |
Management Pack |
|---|---|
Front-end Web server with SQL Server (optional) |
Operating System Windows SharePoint Services IIS SQL Server |
Small Server Farm
Servers in the small server farm are configured as follows:
One computer running the front-end Web component
One or more computers running Microsoft SQL Server 2000
The following illustration shows the small server farm topology.
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Figure 2: Using MOM to monitor the Windows SharePoint Services small server farm topology
The following table lists the recommended Management Packs to deploy for the small server farm topology.
Table 2 Recommended Management Packs for the Small Server Farm Topology
Server |
Management Pack |
|---|---|
Front-end Web server |
Operating System Windows SharePoint Services IIS |
SQL Server |
Operating System SQL Server |
Medium and Large Server Farm
The servers in the medium or large server farm are configured as follows:
Two or more front-end Web servers that are Network Load Balancing clustered
One or more computers running SQL Server 2000 on a Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS) cluster
Note : The difference between a medium and large farm is only the number of front-end Web servers in the Network Load Balancing cluster. There is no difference in how MOM is deployed to these farms.
The following illustration shows the large server farm topology.
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Figure 3: Using MOM to monitor the Windows SharePoint Services medium or large server farm topology
The following table lists the recommended Management Packs to deploy for the medium or large server farm topology.
Table 3 Recommended Management Packs for the Medium or Large Server Farm Topology
Server |
Management Pack |
|---|---|
Front-end Web server installed on a Network Load Balancing cluster |
Operating System Windows SharePoint Services IIS Network Load Balancing |
SQL Server installed on a Microsoft Cluster service cluster |
Operating System SQL Server Microsoft Cluster Service |
Load Balancing Windows SharePoint Services Servers Across DCAMs
The load balancing between two or more DCAMs is static; that is, the monitored servers have a primary DCAM defined that they always use if it is available. Therefore, you might consider the following points when deciding how to assign your Windows SharePoint Services servers to the DCAMs:
Split up the servers in almost equal numbers (for example, assign half of your servers to DCAM1 and the other half to DCAM2, when two DCAMs are available).
Do not assign all the servers of one type (for example, all front-end Web servers or all servers running SQL Server) to one DCAM, unless you use status variables on a DCAM that needs information about all servers of one type.
Setup and Configuration
The initial configuration of the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack includes the following tasks:
Installing the MOM agent
Enabling the HTML Viewer processing rule group if you have the HTML Viewer service installed
Configuring the settings for slow WAN links or for large branch office configurations
Considerations for Deploying the MOM Agent
Some additional configuration of the MOM agent might be necessary for monitoring Windows SharePoint Services servers. Review this section to determine whether any of these considerations apply to your Windows SharePoint Services environment.
Agent Log File Settings
The Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack uses the following event logs to monitor the Windows SharePoint Services 2003 system:
Windows system event log
Windows application event log
Other Management Packs that are deployed to monitor Windows SharePoint Services servers might use additional providers, such as Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) or application log providers (such as IIS).
The best practice is to resize the event logs to at least 10 MB for optimal monitoring. For more information, see the “Configuring Agent Logs” section in Chapter 6 “Deploying Agents,” in the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1 Deployment Guide.
Security Settings
The Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack does not require specific security settings for the server service account for MOM (CAM service account) and the MOM agent service account. For more information about security requirements for the agent, see the “Security Requirements” section in Chapter 6 “Deploying Agents,” in the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1 Deployment Guide.
Clustering
Some Windows SharePoint Services components can be installed on clustered servers. By default, when Clustering is installed on servers running Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows 2000 Datacenter, events that are logged in the event log of one node in the cluster are also shown in the event log of the other nodes. To monitor these servers using MOM, Event Log Replication must be disabled on each of the servers within the cluster. For more information, see the “Clustered Servers” section in Chapter 6 “Deploying Agents,” in the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1 Deployment Guide.
Corporate Extranet Hosting
If the Windows SharePoint Services deployment solution includes hosting an extranet site that is separated by a firewall, you must manually install the agent on Windows SharePoint Services servers that are on the other side of the firewall. For more information, see the “Firewalls” and “Installing Agents Manually” sections in Chapter 6 “Deploying Agents,” in the Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1 Deployment Guide.
Enable HTML Viewer Monitoring
If one or more HTML Viewer servers are needed, the processing rule group, HTML Viewer Service, and the computer group coming from the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack need to be enabled.
To enable HTML Viewer monitoring
In the MOM Administrator console, navigate to Rules, Computer Groups.
Right-click the Microsoft Office HTML Viewer Service Servers computer group, and then click Properties.
Make sure that the Enabled check box is selected, and then click OK.
Navigate to Rules, Processing Rule Groups, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services.
Right-click the Office HTML Viewer Service Rules processing rule group, and then click Properties.
Make sure that the Enabled check box is selected, and then click OK.
To fill the computer group and deploy the rules, a managed computer scan needs to be performed.
Configuring Settings for Slow WAN Links or Large Branch Office Deployments
There are several cases in which you might decide not to collect warnings, performance data, and miscellaneous non-critical events. These include:
Deployments across satellite links.
Large branch office deployments.
Deployments with very slow WAN links.
Deployments where alerts are forwarded to a global network operations center.
Situations where warnings and informational messages are not needed.
You can filter events that you do not want to be notified about. First, you must create a folder to hold the new filter rules and then add the filter rules. Next, you might decide to disable certain performance data to decrease traffic. After making such changes, you need to commit the changes to the system.
To configure filters
In the MOM Administrator console, navigate to Rules, Processing Rule Groups.
Right-click Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, click New, and then click New Processing Rule Group.
In the Processing Rule Group Properties - General dialog box, type a name for the new folder in the Name box (for example, Custom Windows SharePoint Services Rules).
In the Processing Rule Group Properties - General dialog box, type a description for the new folder in the Description box (for example, Use this folder to hold custom Windows SharePoint Services rules).
In the Processing Rule Group Properties - General dialog box, make sure that the Enabled check box is selected.
Click Next, and then click Finish.
When a dialog box appears with the following message, click Yes: Would you like to deploy the processing rules in this newly created processing rule group to a group of computers?
Click Add.
Select Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, and then click OK.
Expand the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services rule group, and then expand Custom Windows SharePoint Services Rules.
Right-click Event Processing Rules, and then click Event Filter.
Verify that the provider name is Application, and then click Next.
Click Advanced.
In the Advanced Criteria dialog box, select the following:
In the Field box, select Event Type.
In the Condition box, select is less than.
In the Value box, select Error.
Click Add to list.
Click Close, and then click Next.
In the Filter Processing Rule Properties - Schedule dialog box, click Always process data, and then click Next.
In the Filter Processing Rule Properties - Filter dialog box, select Do not evaluate further processing rules, nor insert matching events into the database (Pre-Filter), and then click Next.
In the Company Knowledge Base dialog box, click Next.
In the Filter Processing Rule Properties - General dialog box, type a name for the filter in the Name box (for example, Filter non-error Application events).
In the MOM Administrator console, right-click Rules, and then click Commit. These changes take approximately 10 minutes to take effect.
To disable performance data
In the MOM Administrator console, navigate to Rules, Processing Rule Groups, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, SharePoint Services rules, SharePoint Performance Counter rules.
Click Performance Processing Rules.
For each Measuring type rule (in the right pane), perform the following steps to disable the rule.
Double-click the rule.
Make sure that the Enabled check box is cleared, and then click OK.
In the MOM Administrator console, navigate to Rules, Processing Rule Groups.
Right-click Rules, and then click Commit. This process takes about 10 minutes.
Operations Tasks
You must review and prioritize all alerts on a daily basis. In addition, you must perform other tasks on a regular basis, depending on your environment. Many important problems do not cause alerts, but they still require periodic attention. You can perform the daily, weekly, and monthly tasks as specified in the tables in this section, but you must adjust the frequency of these tasks to meet the needs of your particular environment.
Important: Because Windows SharePoint Services relies on a number of other servers and technologies, it is highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with tasks that need to be performed for the following Management Packs:
Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 Base Operating System
Internet Information Services
Microsoft Operations Manager 2000
Daily Tasks
On a daily basis, perform the following tasks:
Review all open alerts.
Verify that all Windows SharePoint Services servers are communicating with the MOM Administrator console.
Review warnings (optional).
Reviewing All Open Alerts
Review all new alerts in the following order of priority:
Critical errors
Windows SharePoint Services alerts (such as Service Unavailable and Service stopped)
Warnings (optional)
Informational messages (optional)
It is expected that not all problems can be repaired in one day or less. Commonly, parts must be ordered or computers must be scheduled for restart. It is important that you follow up on these open alerts to ensure that they are addressed in a timely manner.
To review open alerts
In the MOM Administrator console, click Monitor, All Open Alerts.
Review all alerts that are older than 24 hours to ensure that they are addressed in a timely manner.
Verify That All Windows SharePoint Services Servers Are Communicating with the MOM Administrator Console
Communication failure between the Windows SharePoint Services servers and the monitoring infrastructure prevents you from receiving alerts so that you can examine and resolve them.
To verify that domain controllers are communicating with the MOM Administrator console
In the MOM Administrator console, navigate to Monitor, All Agents.
In the right pane, click the Last Contact column heading. This sorts all computers based on the last contact time. If the last contact time is greater than five minutes, determine why the computer is not communicating with MOM.
Reviewing Warnings
It is recommended, but not required, that you review warnings because they indicate pending failures. Warnings are not displayed by default.
To review warnings
In the MOM Administrator console, navigate to Monitor, Public Views, Microsoft SharePoint Services.
Click All Alerts on Windows SharePoint Services servers.
To sort by severity, click the Severity column heading.
Review all warnings.
Weekly Tasks
There are no weekly tasks specific to the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack. However, it is recommended that you review the following availability reports for Windows SharePoint Services and computers:
Windows NT®/2000 Operations: Service Availability by Computer Group
Windows NT/2000 Operations: Service Availability by Service
Windows NT/2000 Operations: Service Availability by Server
Windows NT/2000 Operations: Computer Availability by Computer Group
Windows NT/2000 Operations: System Dirty Shutdown Events
Monthly Tasks
In addition to the tasks that you perform daily, review the following reports on a monthly basis:
Microsoft Operations Manager Report: Most Common Alerts by Processing Rule Group
Microsoft Operations Manager Report: Most Common Events
These reports help identify the areas where your system needs the most attention. They list the alerts and events that happen most often in your environment. By identifying the origin of these problems (or simply filtering the events and disabling the rules), you will:
Decrease the number of notifications to the operators and administrators.
Decrease the number of false alarms.
Increase the stability and availability of the Windows SharePoint Services environment.
Increase the visibility of alerts that need attention.
Review other reports as appropriate for your environment.
As Needed Tasks
As needed tasks usually come with a high severity alert (such as Critical Error or Service Unavailable) and therefore usually need immediate attention. It is absolutely necessary to have a contingency plan in place for such events.
Reference
Processing Rules That Generate Critical Error and Service Unavailable Alerts
This section lists the processing rule groups and event processing rules in the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack that generate critical error or service unavailable alerts. These rules are found in the MOM Administrator console at the following location:
- Processing Rule Groups\Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services
Processing Rule Group: Office HTML Viewer Service Rules
The Office HTML Viewer Service Rules processing rule group contains processing rules for errors related to the Office HTML Viewer Service.
Table 4 Processing Rules in the Office HTML Viewer Service Rules Processing Rule Group
Rule |
Default Alert Severity |
|---|---|
HTML Load Balancing Service could not be configured as a remotable object |
Critical Error |
HTML Load Balancing Service could not be started |
Critical Error |
HTML Load Balancing Service could not read the configuration file |
Critical Error |
HTML Load Balancing Service did not respond |
Critical Error |
HTML Load Balancing Service encountered problems using the specified port in the configuration file |
Critical Error |
HTML Load Balancing Service stopped |
Critical Error |
HTML Viewer Service could not be configured as a remotable object |
Critical Error |
HTML Viewer Service could not be started |
Critical Error |
HTML Viewer Service could not read the configuration file |
Critical Error |
HTML Viewer Service could not use the port listed in the configuration file |
Critical Error |
HTML Viewer Service stopped |
Critical Error |
Processing Rule Group: SharePoint Service Basic Windows NT Event Rules
The SharePoint Service Basic Windows NT Event Rules processing rule group contains processing rules for errors related to the Basic Windows NT Events of Windows SharePoint Services.
Table 5 Processing Rules in the SharePoint Service Basic Windows NT Event Rules Processing Rule Group
Rule |
Default Alert Severity |
|---|---|
Can not add user to Active Directory |
Critical Error |
Can not connect to database |
Critical Error |
Can not delete user from Active Directory |
Critical Error |
Can not update user in Active Directory |
Critical Error |
SharePoint timer service stopped |
Critical Error |
Database capacity reached |
Critical Error |
Database capacity warning reached |
Warning |
Send notification to SharePoint Administrators for Severity of “Error” or higher |
Error or higher |
Processing Rule Group: Virus Scan Rules
The Virus Scan Rules processing rule group contains processing rules for errors related to the Virus Scan integration of Windows SharePoint Services 2003. There are no critical error alerts generated from this processing rule group.
Processing Rule Group: Web Part Rules
The Web Part Rules processing rule group contains processing rules for errors related to Web Parts of Windows SharePoint Services. There are no critical error alerts generated from this processing rule group.
SharePoint Performance Counter Rules
The performance rules in the group are used to generate the performance data views listed later in this guide. You can also set up thresholds to monitor Windows SharePoint Services performance.
Reports
There are no reports defined in the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack.
Default Views
There are five default views defined in the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack. These views can be found under Monitor, Public Views, Microsoft SharePoint Services:
All Alerts on Windows SharePoint Services Servers (Alert View)
Shows all alerts that are raised on Windows SharePoint Service computers independent from the resolution state.
Windows SharePoint Services Server Group View (Computer Group View)
Lists all computers that are members of the Microsoft SharePoint Services Servers computer group.
ASP.NET Restarts (last 7 days) on Windows SharePoint Services Servers (Performance Data View)
Shows the value of the ASP.NET restart counter value on all computers in the Microsoft SharePoint Services Servers computer group.
Current ISAPI Requests to the Windows SharePoint Services Server (last 24 hours) (Performance Data View)
Shows the user traffic to all Windows SharePoint Services servers in the last 24 hours.
Total User Connections to the Windows SharePoint Services Server (last 24 hours) (performance Data View)
Shows the use of all Windows SharePoint Services servers in the last 24 hours.
Computer Groups
The Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack defines two computer groups:
Microsoft Office HTML Viewer Service Servers
Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Servers
Note : The Microsoft Office HTML Viewer Service Servers computer group is disabled by default.
Scripts
There are no scripts defined in the Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack.
However, customizing scripts that are available through other Management Packs or including new scripts for certain monitoring scenarios might be useful and add some insight and proactive management to your Windows SharePoint Services monitoring environment. Because the scripting abilities of the MOM environment are very powerful and flexible, it is highly recommended that you use this feature to extend and deepen your monitoring.
Notification Groups
The Windows SharePoint Services Management Pack installs one new notification group:
- SharePoint Services Administrator
Acknowledgements
Program Manager: Sheng Zhou
Writer: Markus Klein
Technical Reviewers: Brenda Carter, Bob Lee, Jörgen Bergström
Editors: Scott Kendall, Hannah Love