A new version of the Office 365 MP has been released it is version 7.0.5112.0 and is available for download here.
New in this version:
An updated version of the SharePoint 2010 Products MP has been released this bring us to version 14.0.7135.5000 is it available for download here.
This release is similar to the recent update to the Exchange 2010 MP in that allowance has been made for different versions of Poweshell being installed side by side.
Changes in this update
Changed design to use Powershell 2.0 explicitly when 2.0 and higher versions are installed side by side
Microsoft is off to an early start this year there is already a new release of the Windows Server Operating System MP, bringing the version to 6.0.7294.0 it is available for download here. **Microsoft has pulled this version from the catalog and reverted to version 6.0.7292.0 a full explanation of the issue has been blogged by Kevin Holman here**
Warning – There is currently a bug in this version of the MP that causes logical disks to be discovered more than once and this causes a flood of performance data to hammer your DB. This issue was discovered by Daniele Grandini.
This release is just a minor update with some bug fixes.
Changes in this version
A new version of the Exchange 2010 MP was released during this months wave of updates, the new version is 14.3.210.2 and it is available for download here. It addresses a particular issue related to Exchange 2010 servers running Powershell 2.0 side by side with Powershell 3.0+.
Updated in this version:
The Exchange2010PowershellFix.msi is also available for download at the same location here.
Extract from the guide:
Exchange 2010 MP versions 14.03.0038.004 and earlier required ONLY Powershell 2.0 to be installed on the Exchange server for it to work. When Powershell 3.0 or higher is installed on Exchange 2010 servers that were working with only Powershell 2.0 installed, Exchange MP stops working.
The new MSI (Exchange2010PowershellFix.MSI) that has been included in this release enables Exchange 2010 MP to work on servers that have Powershell 2.0 installed side by side with Powershell 3.0+. This new MSI should be used only if your existing Exchange 2010 MP isn’t able to monitor your Exchange 2010 server that has Powershell 2.0 and Powershell 3.0+ installed side by side. This will NOT work if the server has only Powershell 3.0 or higher installed.
If you already have 14.03.0038.004 installed, please execute the 14.3.210.2 “Exchange2010PowershellFix” MSI and import the MP’s contained within it.
Note: You must install the 14.03.0038.004 package (Exchange2010ManagementPackForOpsMgr2007-x64.msi/ Exchange2010ManagementPackForOpsMgr2007-x86.msi) prior to applying the 14.3.210.2 update (Exchange2010PowershellFix) in order for the Exchange 2010 MP to function correctly.
A new version of the Base OS MP has been released, it is now on version 6.0.7279.0 and is available for download here. The fixes in this version primarily center around mount points.
I often find it interesting, particularly among younger engineers how little emphasis is placed on this icon 
, discussions usually center around phrases like “it’s only one grey agent” and there is little urgency in fixing that agent.
I use one agent as my example because what does that one agent really mean. Well it of course does depend on each environment and requires some understanding of the clients business. For example it’s the end of the month and is the payroll server, or perhaps you are supporting a web based business such as an online retailer and is their web front end. Management servers may be the heart and soul of Operations Manager but without the lifeblood of the agents you don’t have much to work with.
Agents watch data sources on the monitored computer and collect information according to the configuration that is sent to it from its management server. The agent also calculates the health state of the monitored computer and objects on the monitored computer and reports back to the management server. When the health state of a monitored object changes or other criteria are met, an alert can be generated from the agent. This lets operators know that something requires attention. By providing health data about the monitored object to the management server, the agent provides an up-to-date picture of the health of the device and all the applications that it hosts.
Below is a diagram of the data flow from the agent to the management server and from there through to the Ops and DW databases.
I posted an article earlier in the year about agents not submitting performance data that shows how to pickup agents that may not be working even if they show green in the console. It just emphasises that just because agents look like they are working it doesn’t mean they are 100%
Hopefully this article helps to raise awareness of the importance of 
happy SCOMing.
Microsoft has released a new version of several SQL Management Packs, they are now on version 6.5.2.0 and are available for download at the links below:
SQL Server Reporting Services
SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services – Available here
SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services – Available here
SQL Server 2014 Reporting Services – Available here
SQL Server Analysis Services
SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services – Available here
SQL Server 2014 Analysis Services – Available here
This version of the SQL Server Analysis Services management packs contain several new features:
New features
Improvements:
Fixes:
Kevin Holman has started a series of FAQ posts based on the common questions he gets on a daily basis. The first in this series is Q: I want a list of all my Windows 2008 Computers in SCOM. How can I achieve this easily?
The article is available here and explains in a clear manner how to create and use a state view in SCOM to achieve this.
Microsoft has released a new wave of Management Packs this month primarily around MSMQ (Microsoft Message Queuing) and Client Operating Systems also an update for the Azure MP.
Changes, download links and config guides can be found by following each link.
Client OS:
MSMQ:
Windows Azure:
Microsoft recently released KB3002249 which details an issue whereby when performance collection rules are disabled in SCOM, performance views still show counters even after all the data is groomed out.
This effects all versions of SCOM and can make the PerformanceDataAllView difficult to read due to clutter.
“This issue is by design. The Operations Manager grooming processes does not groom the PerformanceSource table.”
The below query can be used to see which performance counters will be deleted for what objects before you run the delete script:
The following is a small SQL script that will remove the entries from PerformanceDataAllView for which no data is recorded.
Note Stop all the Operations Manager services on all Management Servers before you run the script. Always back up your OperationsManager Database before you run this script.
Use OperationsManager delete from PerformanceSource where PerformanceSourceInternalId in ( select PS.PerformanceSourceInternalId from PerformanceSource PS left join PerformanceDataAllView PDA on PDA.PerformanceSourceInternalID = PS.PerformanceSourceInternalId where PDA.PerformanceSourceInternalId IS NULL )