How to Connect VMM with Operations Manager

 

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 SP1 - Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager, System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager

You can connect Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) with Operations Manager so that they work in an integrated way. To connect VMM with Operations Manager, you must choose a version of Operations Manager that works with the version of VMM that you are using, as described in:

You must also configure the Operations Manager server to work with VMM.

Note

The version of the Operations Manager operations console that is installed on the VMM management server must match the version of Operations Manager with which you intend to integrate.

Prerequisites

Before you connect VMM with Operations Manager, perform the following actions:

  1. Ensure that an appropriate version of Windows PowerShell is installed on all Operations Manager management servers:

    • For System Center 2012: Windows PowerShell 2.0

    • For System Center 2012 SP1: Windows PowerShell 3.0

    • For System Center 2012 R2: Windows PowerShell 3.0

    To determine which version of Windows PowerShell is on a server, run the following:

    Get-Host | Select-Object Version

  2. Make sure that port 5724 is open between VMM and Operations Manager.

  3. Install an Operations Manager Operations console on the VMM management server.

  4. Install Operations Manager agents on the VMM management server and all hosts under management by VMM (managed hosts). For more information, see Operations Manager Agent Installation Methods.

  5. Verify that the managed hosts on which you installed agents are visible in Operations Manager by performing the following actions:

    1. In the Operations console, click Administration.

    2. In the Administration pane, under Device Management, click Agent Managed. Verify that the expected hosts are listed.

    3. Starting with System Center 2012 SP1, double-click a host in the list, click the Security tab, and then ensure that Allow this agent to act as a proxy and discover managed objects on other computers has been selected. Repeat this step for each of the hosts.

  6. In Operations Manager, import the necessary management packs, as described in How to Import an Operations Manager Management Pack. You can find management packs, sometimes called “monitoring packs,” by searching the Microsoft Download Center. The necessary management packs are as follows:

    • Windows Server Internet Information Services 2003

    • Management packs that are required by the management pack for Windows Server 2008 Internet Information Services 7:

      • Windows Server 2008 Operating System (Discovery)

      • Windows Server Operating System Library

    • Windows Server 2008 Internet Information Services 7

    • Windows Server Internet Information Services Library

    • SQL Server Core Library

Important

You can get the following three prerequisite management packs in one download from Windows Server Internet Information Services 7 Management Pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007:

  • Microsoft.Windows.InternetInformationServices.2000.MP
  • Microsoft.Windows.InternetInformationServices.2003.MP
  • Microsoft.Windows.InternetInformationServices.2008.MP

These management packs allow you to maintain monitoring data from previous releases when you upgrade to System Center 2012 R2.

Note

After you connect to Operations Manager, if you are running System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and you update your VMM management packs, you must update the registry on your VMM management server. As of System Center 2012 R2, you do not need to update the registry.

Procedures in this topic

You can use procedures in this topic to perform the tasks appropriate for the software version that you are running. The following table provides details:

Software versions that the procedure applies to Procedure link
System Center 2012, System Center 2012 SP1, System Center 2012 R2 Set up integration with Operations Manager
System Center 2012, System Center 2012 SP1 Enable storage monitoring and network monitoring
System Center 2012, System Center 2012 SP1 Update the registry on the VMM management server in System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1 (for management pack updates with System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1)
System Center 2012, System Center 2012 SP1, System Center 2012 R2 Update management packs
System Center 2012, System Center 2012 SP1, System Center 2012 R2 Remove an Operations Manager server connection

Account requirements You must be a member of the Administrator user role to set up and modify the connection to an Operations Manager server.

Set up integration with Operations Manager

To set up integration with Operations Manager

  1. In the VMM console, open the Settings workspace.

  2. In the Settings pane, click System Center Settings, and then click Operations Manager Server.

  3. On the Home tab, in the Properties group, click Properties.

    Note

    If the Operations Manager connection has already been established, clicking Properties opens the Operation Manager Settings dialog box. If this dialog box appears and does not describe the correct connection, remove the current connection before you enter the correct information.

  4. Review the information in the Introduction page, and then click Next.

  5. In the Connection to Operations Manager page, enter the Server name for your root management server (System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2) or a management server in the management group (as of System Center 2012 – Operations Manager), and select an account to use to connect. You can use the VMM server service account or specify a Run As account.

    Important

    This account must be a member of the Operations Manager Administrator role.

  6. Select Enable Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO), if desired.

  7. Select Enable maintenance mode integration with Operations Manager, if desired.

    When hosts are placed in maintenance mode using the VMM management server, Operations Manager places them in maintenance mode as well. In this mode, the Operations Manager agent suppresses alerts, notifications, rules, monitors, automatic responses, state changes, and new alerts.

    Operations Manager automatically places virtual machines in maintenance mode when they are moved to the VMM library.

  8. Click Next.

  9. Enter credentials for Operations Manager to connect with the VMM management server, and then click Next.

    This account will be added to the Administrator user role in VMM.

  10. Review the information in the Summary page, and click Finish.

    You can view the status of the new connection in the Jobs workspace.

  11. With System Center Settings still selected, in the results pane, right-click Operations Manager Server, and then click Properties.

    The Operation Manager Settings dialog box opens.

  12. Click the Details tab. Next to Connection Status, confirm that the connection is OK.

Verify that the integration is complete by opening the Operations console in Operations Manager and selecting the Monitoring workspace. In the navigation pane, review the following entries:

  • Virtual Machine Manager

    Includes health and performance information for virtual machines, hosts, and VMM servers.

  • Virtual Machine Manager Views

    Displays diagrams for managed systems.

    Note

    The diagrams themselves will not be available until several hours after you complete this procedure.

When you use the preceding procedure to set up integration with Operations Manager, the monitoring pack for Virtual Machine Manager is imported into Operations Manager. For more information about the monitoring pack, see Guide for System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 - Virtual Machine Manager.

If you are running System Center 2012 R2 and you set up integration with Operations Manager, the Fabric Health Dashboard is also imported into Operations Manager. For more information about the Fabric Health Dashboard, see Fabric Monitoring.

Enable storage monitoring and network monitoring

Note

The following procedures for enabling storage monitoring and network monitoring apply to System Center 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1 only. In System Center 2012 R2, storage monitoring and network monitoring are automatically enabled.

To enable storage monitoring in an English environment with System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1

  1. Open the Operations console.

  2. Import the following management packs from the ‘\\<Operations Manager installation>\ManagementPacks’ folder:

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.Library

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.2012.Discovery.mp

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.2012.Monitoring.mp

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.Dashboard.mpb

To enable storage monitoring in a non-English environment with System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1

  1. Open the Operations console.

  2. Import the following management packs from the ‘\\<Operations Manager installation>\Setup\AMD64\MPLP’ folder:

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.Library.*.mp

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.2012.Discovery.*.mp

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.2012.Monitoring.*.mp

    • Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Storage.Dashboard.*.mp

To enable network monitoring in a non-English environment with System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1

  1. Open the Operations console.

    Note

    The following steps apply to a non-English environment only. In an English environment, network monitoring is automatically enabled.

  2. Import the following management pack from the Operations Manager installation folder:

    Setup\AMD64\MPLP\Microsoft.SystemCenter.VirtualMachineManager.Network.Dashboard.*.mp

Update the registry on the VMM management server in System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1

To update the registry on the VMM management server in System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1

  1. To get the version number of the VMM management pack, check the most recent version of the Guide for System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager.

    You can see the current version number of the monitoring pack in the Operations console. Open the Administration workspace. In the Administration pane, click Management Packs. Scroll down to find the VMM monitoring packs, such as System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager Discovery.

    Note

    If you are running VMM in System Center 2012 R2, this procedure is not necessary. Instead, follow the steps in Update management packs, later in this topic.

  2. On the VMM management server, click Start, type regedit in the Search programs and files text box or in a Command Prompt window, and then press Enter.

    If the User Account Control dialog box appears, click Yes to continue.

    Warning

    Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. We recommend that you back up the registry before proceeding. Windows Server Backup can help you to perform backup tasks. For information about Windows Server Backup, see Backing Up Your Server.

  3. In Registry Editor, locate the following registry key:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager Server/Setup

  4. Under the key, if necessary, update the string value CompatibleMPVersion to the new version number, and then close Registry Editor.

Update management packs

To update management packs

  1. If you are running VMM in System Center 2012 R2, skip to the next step. If you are running VMM in System Center 2012 or System Center 2012 SP1, on the VMM management server, follow the preceding procedure to update the registry to reflect the version number of the new management pack files. Then restart the System Center Virtual Machine Manager service.

    Note

    To obtain the version number of the monitoring pack, check the most recent version of the Guide for System Center Monitoring Pack for System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager.

  2. On the VMM management server, open the management packs directory. By default, the directory location is C:\Program Files\Microsoft System Center 2012\Virtual Machine Manager\ManagementPacks.

  3. Back up the existing .mp files.

  4. Extract the new .mp files to the management pack directory, overwriting the existing .mp files.

  5. If you have already integrated Operations Manager with VMM, in the VMM console, in the Settings workspace, remove the Operations Manager server by using the procedure in this topic.

  6. Connect to the Operations Manager server, by using the procedure in this topic.

After the connection has been set up, open the Settings workspace. In the Settings pane, click System Center Settings. In the results pane, right-click Operations Manager Server, and then click Properties. On the Management Pack page, verify the installed version of the management packs.

Remove an Operations Manager server connection

To remove an Operations Manager server connection

  1. In the VMM console, open the Settings workspace.

  2. In the Settings pane, click System Center Settings, right-click Operations Manager Server, and then click Remove.

    When prompted, verify that you want to remove the server.

You can check the progress of the removal in the Jobs workspace.

Note

The VMM management packs are not removed from Operations Manager, but any Connectors that have been added are removed. (A Connector is a custom service or program that makes it possible for Operations Manager to communicate with other software.)

If you want to reconnect VMM to the Operations Manager server, see Set up integration with Operations Manager in this topic.

See Also

Configuring Operations Manager Integration with VMM