Management Pack Formats
Applies To: Operations Manager 2007 R2, Operations Manager 2007 SP1
Management packs in Operations Manager 2007 have two file formats that are accepted as valid. These formats are sealed and unsealed. A sealed management pack is a binary file that cannot be edited. An unsealed management pack is an XML file that can be edited. Sealed management packs should have an .mp extension, while unsealed management packs should have an .xml extension.
In general, management packs obtained from an application or hardware device vendor are sealed. Although you cannot change the settings in the management pack file, you can still customize the applied settings of a management pack after it is imported. In the Operations console, you can use overrides or create additional settings such as rules, monitors, and tasks that supersede the management pack's default settings. All customizations that you create are saved to an unsealed management pack file. By default, customizations are saved to the Default Management Pack.
Note
As a best practice, you should create a separate management pack for each sealed management pack you want to customize, rather than saving your customized settings to the Default Management Pack.
An unsealed management pack can reference sealed management packs. An unsealed management pack cannot be referenced by any other management pack.
When you create a management pack using the Operations console or the Authoring console, it is unsealed by default. To seal a management pack, you need an Operations Manager 2007 Resource Kit tool called MPSeal and a client certificate. For more information about sealing a management pack, see How to Seal a Management Pack.