Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack Overview

 

Ensuring that Exchange servers are operating reliably is a key objective for daily messaging operations and should be approached systematically based on the principles outlined in the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=25297. A significant part of daily operations in information technology (IT) is monitoring system health. Monitoring can ensure that service level agreements (SLAs) are met, and it helps you detect and address issues in the Exchange organization before they affect user productivity. Monitoring can also help you estimate future demands based on usage patterns and other performance data.

Monitoring with Microsoft® Operation Manager (MOM) lets you perform the following tasks:

  • Obtain a performance baseline

  • Take preventive measures

  • Identify conditions or processes that are outside regular operating conditions. For example, thresholds exceed your baseline performance expectations

  • Evaluate operational effectiveness

  • Identify your company's peak workload hours

  • Perform configuration management

  • Manage software updates

  • Obtain performance metrics

Monitoring should be performed centrally, especially in a large Exchange organization with several Exchange servers, so that reports and data can be stored in a single repository. With centralized monitoring, you can reduce administrative overhead by implementing uniform, company-wide administration procedures. The Exchange Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) provides a centralized monitoring approach.

To effectively use the Exchange Management Pack, you need to familiarize yourself with the following:

  • Microsoft Operations Manager integration   the Exchange Management Pack extends MOM so that you can monitor Exchange-specific components and services in addition to resources provided by the operating system. An introduction to MOM helps you better understand where and how the Exchange Management Pack integrates with MOM.

  • Exchange Management Pack components   Not only does the management pack integrate with MOM, but it also contains specific interfaces, rules, reports, and features that help monitor Exchange 2003 servers. Knowing the components and their capabilities and purposes is important to using the Exchange Management Pack efficiently.

  • System monitoring tasks   Knowing the tasks that you can do with the Exchange Management Pack helps you identify opportunities to streamline IT operations in an Exchange 2003 organization. For example, instead of manually monitoring individual servers, you can automatically monitor all servers that are running Exchange Server 2003.

  • Monitoring scenarios   You can deploy the Exchange Management Pack in a centralized or decentralized environment. Deployment options might vary according to your requirements and the geography of the organization.