Monitoring Cloud Based Applications Monitoring Cloud Based Applications

Editor's Notes

• #1: Presentation: 75 minutes Demonstration: 10 minutes Lab: 75 minutes Required materials To teach this module, you must have the Microsoft® PowerPoint® file 20246D_04.pptx. Important: The use of PowerPoint 2013, PowerPoint 2010, or PowerPoint 2007 is recommended to display the slides for this course. If you use PowerPoint Viewer or a version of PowerPoint older than PowerPoint 2007, some features of the slides might not be displayed correctly. Preparation tasks To prepare for this module: Read all the materials for this module. Practice performing the demonstrations. Practice performing the labs. Work through the “Module Review and Takeaways” section, and determine how you will use this section to reinforce student learning and promote knowledge transfer to on-the-job performance. As you prepare for this class, make sure that you complete the labs yourself so that you understand how they work and the concepts that are covered in each. This will help you provide meaningful hints to students who might have problems in a lab. It will also help guide your lecture to make sure that you cover the concepts that the labs cover.
• #2: After completing this module, you will be able to: Describe Operations Manager, including its key features, security and architecture. Deploy agents in Operations Manager to application servers. Configure custom monitoring for applications and services in the cloud. Monitor the networking infrastructure that applications and services rely upon. Monitor Distributed Applications.
• #3: After completing this lesson, you will be able to: Describe Operations Manager key features. Describe the components of Operations Manager, including databases, management servers, management server pools, consoles, reporting and gateways. Configure User Roles to secure access to Operations Manager. Question What are the two core databases that are included with Operations Manager? Answer The operational database and data warehouse database.
• #4: Talk about the key features of Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager, keeping monitoring the private cloud in mind. For example, mention that the end-to-end monitoring feature is key to monitoring the private cloud, because students need to be aware of (and monitor) all components of the cloud and also be able to correlate the communications between them. Without this correlation knowledge, it is difficult to pinpoint problems that make resolution times longer when issues occur. Mention that Service Level Tracking is another feature that will be used to monitor the private cloud. If, for example, your service is supposed to be available at all times, how do you prove that it is? Service Level Tracking helps you to do this. Ask students what internal applications that their companies use, and how they currently monitor them.
• #5: Discuss the new features that have been included in System Center 201 R2 Operations Manager. Discuss with students how these features affect the monitoring of cloud environments. For example, the Fabric Health Dashboard enhances Operations Manager’s capabilities in monitoring private cloud resources in VMM. Also, the APM IntelliTrace log collection feature can be used to collect trace logs from .NET Framework applications deployed in the cloud and then Visual Studio can be used to troubleshoot problems detected by Operations Manager.
• #6: Focus on Management Packs and their elements, such as rules and monitors, and explain the difference between the elements. Also stress that obtaining product knowledge and company knowledge is important because they include vital information that students can use to resolve issues, especially for in-house applications. Mention the Gateway server and how it is used to provide mutual authentication with certificates for computers that are not in the same or trusted domain, such as Workgroup computers or computers in a perimeter network.
• #7: Explain that students can use profiles and user roles to restrict access to the Operations Manager console. Discuss the elements of each Profile and how they can be mapped to Operators of the product. For example, Exchange Administrators could have an Operator role that just allows them to see the Exchange servers and associated alerts and performance views. This could be restricted so that certain tasks are available to them so that they can manage just the Exchange servers and application. Ask students how profiles and user roles are currently managed in their environment. Do they have a single IT person or several? Can they supply access to a restricted console that gives them the functionality that they need but nothing more?
• #8: After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe how an agent is: Deployed from the Operations Console. Manually installed. Configured by using AD DS. Question What is the default TCP port used for communication between an agent and a Management Server? Answer 5723
• #9: Discuss the situations where it would be appropriate to use automatic discovery versus using advance discovery. Stress that the account used to deploy the agent must be a local administrator on the computers where the agent is deployed. Mention to students that they can use the action account to install the agent. This is useful because if they use this feature, the operator does not need to know the password. Mention that if they manually enter the administrator credentials for the installation account, the credentials that are used to access the computers are discarded after installation, making this a secure process.
• #10: Manual agent installations are typically used in scenarios where there is a trust boundary, a two-way trust is not in place, or they can be used when the computer to be monitored is in a Workgroup such as in a perimeter network. When Firewalls are in place to secure these computers, it is not normally possible to open all the relevant ports for a standard installation of the agent that is using the operations console. The following link shows the ports that are required during the installation and the 5723 port that is required after the agent has been installed. Mention that by default, manual installations are rejected. Stress that the reason why this is the default setting is that it stops unauthorised people from attaching installed agents to the management group. Also talk briefly about installing the agent through the command-line and how this can be scripted. Do not spend much time on this topic at this point because it is covered in more detail in the next topic.
• #11: The MOMADAdmin.exe tool is a powerful feature of Operations Manager that allows a non-domain administrator the ability to create assignments in Operations Manager that determine which management server an agent should report to. These assignments are stored in Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS). Point out that this is useful when you deploy the agent through an image: With Microsoft® System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Where the agent is already packaged as part of the operating system When the system starts for the first time, the agent contacts AD DS and is automatically assigned to the management server. This takes away the administration of agent deployment. Discuss various command-line options that students can use to install the agent, and what each option does. Details on this can be found on the Install Agent Using the Command Line link.
• #12: Preparation Steps On LON-HOST1 start the following virtual machines: 20246D-LON-DC1 20246D-LON-SQ1 On LON-HOST2 start the following virtual machines: 20246D-LON-OM1 Sign in to 20246D-LON-OM1 using the following credentials: Username: Contoso\Administrator Password: Pa$$w0rd Demonstration Steps On LON-OM1, from the desktop, double-click Operations Console. Click the Administration pane and then, above the monitoring pane, click Discovery Wizard. In the Computer and Device Management Wizard, on the Discovery Type page, ensure that Windows Computers is selected, and then click Next. On the Auto or Advanced screen, click Advanced discovery, and then click Next. On the Discovery Method page, click Browse for, or type in computer names, in the box underneath, type LON-DC1 and then click Next. On the Administrator Account page, click Other user account.
• #13: 7. Type Administrator in the User name box, type Pa$$w0rd in the Password box, under Domain, select Contoso and then click Discover. 8. On the Select Objects to Manage screen, select LON-DC1.CONTOSO.COM, and then click Next. 9. On the Summary screen, click Finish. In the Agent Management Task Status window, wait for the task to complete successfully, and then close the Agent Management Task Status window. Click the Monitoring pane and then click Windows Computers. Wait until LON-DC1 appears.
• #14: After completing this lesson, you will be able to: Configure the Management Pack template monitoring. Monitor the health state of components in Operations Manager. Question What feature does Global Service Monitoring provide? Answer It provides the ability to monitor internal web applications from external locations.
• #15: Discuss how students can use Management Pack Templates to effortlessly create custom monitoring in Operations Manager. Note: The .NET application performance monitoring template has been excluded from this topic because is covered in Module 5. Discuss how students can see the views in Operations Manager that show the monitoring applied by Management Pack templates, for example, the Web Application State view and the Process and Windows® Service State views. The Process Monitoring template is a good template to focus on because it alerts the administrator when a particular process runs, such as an unwanted application that is running in the environment. Also mention the Operations Manager 2012 Authoring Tools including the Authoring Console and Visio Management Pack Designer.
• #16: Discuss some of the key features of Global Service Monitor as described on the slide and in the student handbook. Ask students if their organization provides external facing web sites, and if so how they are currently monitoring performance and availability. With Global Service Monitor you can monitor from both external and internal locations at the same time and then compare performance data. Mention to students that they can start a free 90 day trial by visiting the link provided.
• #17: Discuss how rules and monitors provide the key monitoring and data collection in Operations Manager. Review some of the monitor types as discussed in the student hand guide and ask students how they would use these to create custom monitors for applications and services in their environment.
• #18: After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe: Network devices that are supported in Operations Manager, extended monitoring capabilities of Operations Manager, and SNMP requirements when monitoring network devices. Security considerations for monitoring the network infrastructure. Configuring network device monitoring. Question What SNMP versions are supported in device monitoring? Answer SNMP v1, v2, and v3.
• #19: Network Device monitoring is an updated feature in Operation Manager 2012 R2 and includes support for many networks, including firewalls, routers, and switches. Ask students about the network devices they have in their environment and how they can monitor them with Operations Manager. If time allows, you can show the list of supported devices with extended monitoring capability. This can be downloaded by using the System Center Operations Manager 2012 R2: Network Devices with Extended Monitoring Capability link.
• #20: SNMPv3 is the most secure version of SNMP and should be used wherever possible. Discuss how students can ensure that SNMP-related data is secure in their network.
• #21: Discuss how Operations Manager can automatically discover new network devices with the ability to run discovery rules by using a schedule. Also discuss the advanced options that allow you to specify retry attempts and timeout values and how students can tailor them to meet heavily-used networks. Ask students how they currently monitor network devices. In some cases, this might be a simple ping and does not include the extensive monitoring that Operations Manager provides.
• #22: After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe: A distributed application. How to monitor a distributed application. How to view the health of a distributed application. Question You are viewing a Distributed Application Diagram in Operations Manager and need to troubleshoot a component that is displayed with a critical health state. What should you do? Answer Right-click the component and then open the Health Explorer.
• #23: Emphasize that there are few applications that run on the same system; they are disparate and can span multiple servers, platforms, and networks. To monitor then holistically, students need a method of joining the various components to form a view that shows each component, their relationship with the other components, and their dependencies. The following are two examples: An application can rely on a Windows Server® 2008 R2 system with the Web Server role enabled. A Microsoft SQL Server® relies on the underlying operating system for it to function. Ask students how they monitor their internal LOB applications, and how the applications are split across multiple servers and platforms.
• #24: The focus of this topic is the Distributed Application Designer, so the previous slide that discusses the various elements that make up a distributed application is used to show how the Distributed Application Designer can be used to depict this in a single view. Discuss how Operations Manager discovers the relevant components of applications through management packs and discoveries. Additionally, explain that, once these components have been discovered, how they can be added to the distributed application by using component groups. Discuss how you can configure the relationship between the components of a distributed application by using the relationships option. This is not used for health rollup, but allows you to see in the diagram how each component of the application relates to other components and is useful in diagnosing problems when they occur. Also discuss the health rollup and how it can be used to configure how the overall health of an application is depicted. Ask students how they determine that their internal LOB applications would fit in the Distributed Application Designer.
• #25: Diagram View Discuss how the health of the distributed application is viewed by using the Diagram View of the distributed application. The key is to focus on how you can instantly see how the application is performing. In a single image, you can see if any issues are apparent and on which components. Health Explorer Discuss the ability to use the health explorer to view all monitors that are associated with a component or component group. You can view the alerts, performance, and events that are associated with each component . Overrides Discuss how overrides can be placed on monitors by using the health explorer, which is useful when you are fine-tuning the monitoring for an application without having to find the monitor in the authoring pane. StockTrader Distributed Application This view is covered in the lab with the StockTrader application, so you can also mention this here. Discuss the components of the 3-tiered application and how they are depicted in the diagram view. Mention how the view can be expanded to show the various components and how the details for each are displayed.
• #26: Before the students begin the lab, read the scenario that is associated with each exercise to the class. This will reinforce the skills they are learning, and will help to facilitate the lab discussion at the end of the module. Remind students to complete the discussion questions after the last lab exercise. Exercise 1: Deploying an Agent To start monitoring the StockTrader application with Operations Manager, you need to deploy an agent to the virtual machine that hosts the application. The Operations Manager Agent monitors the computer and applications that run on it. It sends relevant event, alert, and performance data back to the Management Servers for insertion into the Operations Manager databases. Instructor Note: In this exercise students deploy an Operations Manager agent from the Operations Console, manually deploy an Operations Manager agent, and approve the manual installation in the Operations Console. Exercise 2: Configuring Custom Monitoring With the StockTrader infrastructure now being monitored in Operations Manager, you need to configure custom monitoring for the StockTrader application. Custom monitoring allows you to monitor custom applications that are not monitored with standard or third-party management packs. Operations Manager includes a number of management pack templates that simplify the process of creating custom monitoring. Instructor Note: In this exercise students use the Management Pack templates in Operations Manager to create a Process, Port, and Web Application monitor for the StockTrader application.
• #27: Exercise 3: Creating a Distributed Application Model The StockTrader application is a distributed application, so you need to create a DAD model that can be used to monitor the application holistically. By creating a distributed application model of the StockTrader application, you can use a single view to monitor all the components that the application uses. This saves time when you are troubleshooting problems with the application because you do not have to switch between multiple views in the console. It also allows you to instantly see where a problem exists within the application because it is displayed with a warning or a critical symbol. Instructor Note: In this exercise students create a distributed application model for the StockTrader application and confirm that it has populated successfully. Exercise 4: Detecting and Recovering From a Failure You need to test that the StockTrader application is being monitored correctly and that the DAD model you created updates as expected when issues occur. To do this, you manually stop a service that StockTrader relies on, and then view the results in the Operations Console. Instructor Note: In this exercise students see how the health of the StockTrader application degrades when stopping the website and how this is reflected in the DAD model.
• #29: Question You need to install an agent in a perimeter network that is protected by firewall. Which agent installation method should you use? Answer You should use the manual installation method by using the MOMAgent.msi package. Question You need to monitor a website and simulate users who are logging in to the site and performing typical actions within the web application. What should you do? Answer Create a web transaction monitor by using the Web Application Transaction Monitoring template. Question After you have manually installed an agent, it does not appear in the Operations Console Pending Management view. What should you do? Answer First, ensure that the Review new manual agent installations in pending management view option is enabled in the security settings in the Operations Console. Then, restart the Microsoft Monitoring Agent service on the computer where the agent was manually installed.
• #30: Review Question(s) Question What does the Service Level Tracking feature of Operations Manager provide? Answer Operations Manager helps you create service level tracking objects that can include your line-of-business applications and the underlying infrastructure. You can then apply a service-level objective that is used to report availability of the application. Reports and dashboards within Operations Manager can incorporate this information, which assists in providing service-level agreement data. Question What are Distributed Applications? Answer A distributed application is an application that contains multiple components that span multiple devices. Question When would you use the MOMAgent.msi file? Answer Use the MOMAgent.msi file when you manually install the Operations Manager agent. This might be required due to firewall restrictions, for example, when traversing trust boundaries. The MOMAgent.msi file can also be used with the command-line, which enables scripting of the agent installation.
• #31: Real-world Issues and Scenarios Using Tasks to troubleshoot failed agent communications Operations Manager includes a number of tasks that can be initiated from the Tasks pane in the Operations Console. Depending on the Management Packs that have been deployed additional tasks will also become available. When troubleshooting agent communications there are a number of default tasks that can help. These include: Flush Health State and Cache. Get the Agent processor utilization. Ping Computer. Reload Configuration. Start WMI Service. Remote Desktop. Computer Management. These tasks can remotely connect to an agent managed computer from the Operations Console and retrieve information that will help troubleshoot communication problems. To use these tasks perform the following steps in the Operations Console. Click the Monitoring pane. Expand Operations Manager. Expand Agent Details. Click Agent Health State. 5. From the Tasks pane click the relevant task and then follow on-screen instructions.
• #32: Tools To help plan and design an Operations Manager deployment you can use the System Center 2012 Operations Manager Sizing Helper tool that is available from here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=398668 Common Issues and Troubleshooting Tips Common Issue: When logged into the Operations Manager console using an Operator User Role, you may find console performance is slow. You may also notice events with event ID 26319 are logged in the Operations Manager event log. Troubleshooting Tip: This is a known issue and can be fixed by applying System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager Update Rollup 1. You can obtain further information including download and installation instructions from the following website: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=398667