Comparing MOM 2005 and Operations Manager 2007 Management Packs
Applies To: Operations Manager 2007 R2, Operations Manager 2007 SP1
Operations Manager 2007 is a redesigned product that is architecturally different from Microsoft Operations Manager 2005. There is no upgrade from an Operations Manager 2005 Management Pack to an Operations Manager 2007 management pack. However, if you have a custom management pack that you created for MOM 2005, then it can be converted by using the Operations Manager 2007 Migration Wizard.
Note
When you start the Migration Wizard, it is initially called the System Center Operations Manager Migration Tool.
Choosing Management Packs to Convert
Before using the migration tool, you must create a list of the management packs that you plan to convert. There are many factors to consider. You should weigh the benefits and drawbacks of converting each management pack before you add it to the list.
Management pack conversion is designed for custom management packs for applications or services that do not have an Operations Manager 2007 management pack available. Because of the difference in architecture between MOM 2005 and Operations Manager 2007 and the many enhancements available in Operations Manager 2007, conversion is often not the best choice for vendor management packs.
If there is an Operations Manager 2007 management pack available, then it is recommended that you use the new Operations Manager 2007 management pack instead of converting an existing MOM 2005 management pack. For a list of available Operations Manager 2007 management packs, see the Microsoft Management Pack Catalog at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=71124.
Even if you have a number of customizations it is still not recommended that you convert the MOM 2005 versions of the Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange Server, Internet Information Services, or Microsoft SQL Server management packs.
Management Pack Formats
The native format of an Operations Manager 2005 management pack is a binary file in an .akm file format. This is the only format that MOM 2005 management servers accept as valid. Operations Manager 2007 does not use the .akm file format; instead, it uses XML as the format for management packs. During the management pack conversion process, the MOM 2005 management pack file is first converted from .akm file format to XML format. Then the MOM 2005 XML management pack file is converted to an Operations Manager 2007 XML management pack.
Side by Side Comparison of Management Pack Objects
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Computer Groups
In MOM 2005, computer groups are used to group computers with similar characteristics. Processing rule groups are then used to target groups of rules to these computers. Operations Manager 2007 focuses on monitoring individual services and applications instead of computer objects. This approach allows Operations Manager 2007 to monitor a physical server separately from the software that is installed on the computer. When a computer group is converted, two object types are created. One object type is for the physical computer, and the other one is for the software that is monitored.
For example, the MOM 2005 version of the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 management pack contains a computer group for servers that are running SQL Server 2000. After conversion, the Operations Manager 2007 management pack contains a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Computer Group and also an object type called Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Installation.
Discovery
Discovery is the process of finding objects that Operations Manager is configured to monitor. In MOM 2005, population of computer groups is done by computer discovery rules, although the discovery of a computer's role is accomplished through service discovery scripts.
When a MOM 2005 computer group is converted, two discovery rules are created for use in Operations Manager 2007. One rule controls membership in the computer group, and the other rule finds installed versions of the software that belong to the software installation class.
Discovery of a computer's role is accomplished through the use of service discovery scripts. These scripts are not changed during the conversion process. These scripts use the MOM 2005 Backward Compatibility management pack to work the same way in Operations Manager 2007 that they do in MOM 2005. No conversion is necessary.
Rules
Rules in MOM 2005 gather and analyze data, change the state of a monitored object, or generate alerts. The health state of a monitored object is displayed with colors in MOM 2005 and Operations Manager 2007. These colors are green (running and healthy), yellow (in danger of a failure), or red (failed). Rules that are designed to change the health state of a monitored object in MOM 2005 are converted into monitors in Operations Manager 2007. Monitors calculate and display the state of a monitored object in Operations Manager 2007.
In MOM 2005, rules that do not change state look for a specific event and react to that event in a defined way. An example of this type of rule is one that looks for a specific event in the event log and then generates an alert when that event is found. These types of rules are converted into Operations Manager 2007 rules. However, in MOM 2005, these rules are targeted to computer groups. After conversion, these rules are targeted to monitor software installations in Operations Manager 2007.
Note
Each rule is contained within a rule group, and rule groups, in turn, are usually targeted to monitor a computer group. Because rule groups are not used in Operations Manager 2007, rules that are not targeted to anything or that belong to rule groups that are not targeted in MOM 2005 are not converted.
Filter Rules
MOM 2005 uses filter rules. There are three distinct types of filter rules:
Prefilter
Conditional filter
Database filter
Filters are not used in Operations Manager 2007, and these rules are dropped during conversion.
Views
Some view types are converted to an Operations Manager 2007 view type, but others are not. The following table lists each view type in MOM 2005 and, if it is converted, which view type it is converted to in Operations Manager 2007. For a list of view types available in Operations Manager 2007, see the Views in Operations Manager 2007 topic in the Operations Manager 2007 Online Help.
Note
During the conversion process one State view and one Task Status view is created and added to the Operations Manager 2007 version of the management pack.
| Operations Manager 2005 View Type | Operations Manager 2007 View Type |
|---|---|
Alert view |
Alert view |
Attribute view |
Not converted |
Computer view |
Not converted |
Computer Group view |
Not converted |
Diagram view |
Not converted |
Event view |
Event view |
Performance view |
Not converted |
Performance Data view |
Performance view |
State view |
If the Operations Manager 2005 management pack has a view that displays service discovery information, that view is converted to a State view that displays computer roles in Operations Manager 2007. |
Knowledge
Knowledge from a MOM 2005 management pack is converted to an Operations Manager 2007 knowledge article. Both the product and company knowledge are combined into a single Operations Manager 2007 knowledge article.
Tasks
Tasks in MOM 2005 are actions that are started by users to diagnose or resolve a problem or to automate repetitive actions. Tasks are configured to run on Operations Manager management servers or agents in the MOM 2005 Operator console.
Tasks that are agent tasks in MOM 2005 are converted into Operations Manager 2007 tasks. These tasks are then targeted to either the software installation object type or to a service discovery object type. Tasks in MOM 2005 that are set to run against a management server rather than an Operations Manager agent are not converted. Additionally, managed code tasks and tasks that are started from the MOM 2005 Operator console are not converted.
There are two new types of tasks in Operations Manager 2007; diagnostics and recoveries. Diagnostics are actions that are designed to troubleshoot a degraded health state of a monitored object. Recoveries are actions designed to run in reaction to a state change with the purpose of fixing a diagnosed issue. Both diagnostic and recovery tasks can be run automatically or on demand from the Operations console. A converted management pack does not contain any diagnostics or recoveries, although they can be added later.
Notifications
The notification engine is redesigned in Operations Manager 2007. As a result, notification groups are not contained in Operations Manager 2007 management packs. Notification groups that are defined in a MOM 2005 management pack are not converted.
Operators
Operators should not be defined in vendor management packs. However, customers can export operators as part of a MOM 2005 management pack. Also, any operator that is part of a notification group used by a rule in a MOM 2005 management pack is exported automatically. Operators are no longer contained in the management pack in Operations Manager 2007, and as a result, operators are not converted as part of the conversion process.
Console Scopes
Console scopes in MOM 2005 are used to control user access to Operations Manager functions. Console scopes are not contained in a MOM 2005 management pack file and are not converted.
Scripts
Scripts are distinct objects that are referenced by rules in MOM 2005. Scripts are often run on a timed basis for use in service discovery and monitoring, but they are also used as responses to observed conditions and as tasks. Scripts are converted into module types in Operations Manager 2007. These module types are used by one or more rules to pass configuration data for script parameters.
Most MOM 2005 scripts continue to function in Operations Manager 2007 without modification by using MOM 2005 Backward Compatibility management pack. Operations Manager 2007 has a redesigned scripting model, and any new scripts should be written to this new model. For more information about scripting in Operations Manager 2007, see the Operations Manager 2007 SDK documentation.