How to Use the Bulk URL Editor Tool to Create Web Application Monitors

  • Article

Applies To: Operations Manager 2007 R2, Operations Manager 2007 SP1

The Bulk URL Editor tool (also referred to as the Bulk URL Manager tool) enables you to create multiple URL monitors at one time. With Operations Manager 2007 R2, you can now monitor up to 1000 URLs per watcher node and 3000 URLs per management group. Before the R2 release of Operations Manager 2007, creating the monitors for that number of URLs was time-consuming, as each monitor had to be created manually.

The Bulk URL Editor tool creates a new type of monitoring template, which is added to a new or existing management pack. You can then add URLs in bulk to this monitoring template. By default, all of the URLs will be monitored by the same watcher node and with the same configuration settings; you can customize these settings in the Operations console after the templates are created. (You will have to resynchronize any changes to the template in the Bulk URL Editor tool for them to take effect.)

The following sections describe how to use the Bulk URL Editor tool. The process is as follows.

In the Bulk URL Editor tool:

  • Create new monitoring templates

  • Add URLs to either new templates or existing templates

  • Synchronize changes that are made in the Operations console for watcher nodes with the Bulk URL Editor tool

In the Operations console:

  • Add watcher nodes to the new templates (required)

  • Make additional configuration changes (optional)

Installing the Bulk URL Editor Tool

Before you can use the Bulk URL Editor tool, use the following steps to install it on your management server.

To install the Bulk URL Editor tool

  1. In Windows Explorer, browse to the \SupportTools\<ProcessorArchitecture> subdirectory on the installation image. (For example, browse to E:\SupportTools\x86).

  2. Copy the BulkURLManager.exe file to the %Program Files\System Center Operations Manager 2007 installation directory.

Creating a New Template to Monitor URLs

The following procedure describes how to create a new template, add URLs, specify a watcher node, and synchronize the changes in the Bulk URL Editor tool.

To create a new template

  1. Start the Bulk URL Editor tool. In Windows Explorer, browse to the Operations Manager 2007 installation directory, and then double-click the BulkURLManager.exe file.

  2. Select Use Credentials, and then type the user name, password, and domain to access the management server. Click Connect.

  3. Click New in the toolbar to create a new template.

  4. Type a name for the new template, and optionally, a description.

  5. Select the management pack for the new template. You can either create a new management pack or add the template to an existing, unsealed management pack (as long as it has not been imported into the management group).

  6. Ensure that Import management pack is selected. When this option is selected, the management pack will be automatically imported into Operations Manager 2007. If you want to manually import the management pack later, clear this option.

    Note

    The Web template cannot be used to add new URLs until the management pack is imported, although you can continue to create new templates.

  7. Click OK, and then click Yes to confirm the action.

  8. Click OK on the notification message about the location for the management pack.

To add URLs to be monitored

  1. In the Templates list, select the new template that you created, and then click Add.

  2. Select a format for the list of URLs. You have the following choices:

    • One URL on each line

    • Display name and URL, using comma separated values (CSV) list

    • Display name and URL on each line, separated by following delimiter

    If you select the third option, type the delimiter that you want to use.

  3. Enter the URLs and display names (optional) that you want to monitor. You can copy and paste the list from another source, such as a text file. Include the full URL (for example, include http://).

  4. Click OK.

    The URLs that you entered are checked to ensure that they are formatted correctly. If they are not, you can either accept the URL as is (by clicking Accept) or fix the URL (by clicking Cancel and fixing the URL in the list). If you click Accept, all the URLs that do not follow the correct format will be removed from the list when you submit it.

  5. Click Save.

To add a watcher node

  1. Open the Operations console.

  2. In the Authoring view, expand Management Pack Templates, and then click Web Application.

  3. Select the new template, and then click Edit web application settings in the Action pane.

  4. Under Web Application, click Configure settings.

  5. On the Watcher node tab, select a watcher node from the list.

    Until you select a watcher node in the Operations console and resynchronize with the Bulk URL Editor tool, none of the URLs in this template are monitored by a watcher.

  6. Optionally, make other configuration changes, such as to the frequency of the query or to the performance criteria.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Click Apply in the Web Application Editor and then close the window.

To synchronize the changes with the Bulk URL Editor tool

  1. After you have added the watcher node, return to the Bulk URL Editor tool.

    If you did not close the editor previously, click Refresh State.

  2. Select the template that you modified.

  3. Click Synchronize.

Instrumenting an Existing Web Application

You can add a Web template to any management pack that has a Web application that contains a single request. After the Bulk URL Editor tool instruments this Web application for BulkURL monitoring, the Web application cannot be converted back to its previous state. If the Web application has more than one request in it, it cannot be converted to BulkURL format.

Use the following steps to add a template to an existing management pack.

To add a template to an existing management pack

  1. In the Operations console, create a Web application that contains one request. Include settings on the Watcher node and then configure all settings. For more information about how to create a Web application, see How to Use the Web Application Editor to Manage Synthetic Transactions in Operations Manager 2007 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=149088).

  2. After the Web application is created, export the management pack that contains the Web application to a local drive.

  3. Delete the management pack from the management group. This is a very important step. If you do not delete the existing management pack, the instrumented version will not import correctly.

  4. Start the Bulk URL Editor tool, and then log on to the tool.

  5. Click Action, and then click Instrument Web application.

  6. In the Open management pack dialog box, select the management pack that you exported, and then click OK.

    This management pack is instrumented and saved back to the local drive. The original request that was in the Web application is overwritten. In step 9 of this procedure, you can add the overwritten URL back to the Web template as part of the list of URLs.

  7. Import the management pack back into the management group by using the Operations console. For more information about how to import a management pack, see How to Import a Management Pack in Operations Manager 2007 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=142351).

  8. After you have imported the instrumented management pack, synchronize the Bulk URL Editor tool to reload all the new templates. This might take some time.

  9. You can now add URLs to the instrumented Web application. The instrumented Web application is similar to the newly created Web application that you created in the previous procedure.

Bulk URL Editor Tasks and Best Practices

Now that you have created Web templates, there are a number of additional tasks that you can perform by using the Bulk URL Editor tool, both to ensure that your information is current and to ensure that the tool runs efficiently.

Refresh

When the Bulk URL Editor tool is disconnected from the management server for a long time or if a new Web template is not displayed in the tool, you can refresh the editor. This ensures that you have the most current information from the management server.

  1. Select the Web template.

  2. Click Refresh.

Synchronize

In the Operations console, when you change the Web application settings (such as changing the name of the Web application or adding or removing watcher nodes), you must synchronize and then save the Web application by using the Bulk URL Editor tool.

The Verify synchronization option validates the entire list of Web templates and checks for any applications that require synchronization. This might take a long time. If you know the specific application that has to be synchronized, you can select it and then click Synchronize.

If you change the name of a Web application or the watcher list in a Web application, you must resynchronize for the changes to take effect.

Use the following steps to synchronize your Web templates:

  1. In the Bulk URL Editor tool, click Action, and then click Verify synchronization.

  2. Click Yes to confirm the synchronization.

    When the verification is complete, the templates that require synchronization are marked with a bell icon.

  3. Select the template that requires synchronization, and then click Synchronize. The template is synchronized with the Web application in Operations Manager 2007 and saved.

Reset Editor State

If the state of the Bulk URL Editor tool is older or different from that of the Web applications in the Operations console, you can reload the state and then cancel any changes you have made but not saved. To do this, click Action and then click Reset Editor State.

Inspect URLs

You can view details of the URLs in a template. This is useful when the display string or the URL is longer than 256 characters, which is the limit of each column in the Bulk URL Editor view. You can view the full display string or URL by inspecting the URL.

  1. Select the template.

  2. In the URLs in Template pane, select the URL for which you want to view details, and then click Inspect.

Delete a Web Template

You can only delete Web templates by using the Operations console. After you delete the Web template, use Reset Editor State to refresh the list of available Web templates in the Bulk URL Editor tool.

Best Practices

Follow these best practices when you use the Bulk URL Editor tool:

  • To avoid synchronization issues, close the tool when you are not using it.

  • Save frequently to avoid losing your work. If the tool loses its connection to the management server, any changes that you have made but not saved might be lost.