This comprehensive resource will help you automate and optimize all facets of service management with System Center 2012 Service Manager. Expert consultants offer deep “in the trenches” insights for improving problem resolution, change control, release management, asset lifecycle management, chargeback, and more. You’ll learn how to implement high-value best practices from ITIL and the Microsoft Operations Framework. The authors begin with an expert overview of Service Manager, its evolution, and its new capabilities. Next, they walk through overall planning, design, implementation, and upgrades. Then, to help you focus your efforts, they present stepwise coverage of all topics in each feature area, linking technical information about Service Manager with essential knowledge about the technologies it depends on. Whatever your role in deploying or running Service Manager, this guide will help you deliver more responsive support at lower cost and drive more value from all your IT investments. • Leverage MOF and ITIL processes built into System Center 2012 Service Manager • Plan and design your Service Manager deployment • Install Service Manager or upgrade from earlier versions • Efficiently administer work and configuration items • Use connectors to integrate with Active Directory, Exchange, and System Center components • Create service maps • Enable end user access through Service Manager’s self-service portal • Implement incident, problem, change, and release management • Utilize workflows to automate key support processes • Create service level agreements with calendars, metrics, and objectives • Provide quick access to a standardized catalog of services • Use notification to ensure that Service Manager items are promptly addressed • Secure Service Manager and its data warehouse/reporting platform • Perform maintenance, backup, and recovery • Manage Service Manager performance • Customize Service Manager

Table of Contents:
Foreword       xxiv Introduction     xxvi A Toolset That Delivers IT as a Service      xxvi About This Book      xxvii Fast Track: A Quick Look at What’s New      xxviii Disclaimers and Fine Print      xxix PART I:  SERVICE MANAGER OVERVIEW AND CONCEPTS Chapter 1  Service Management Basics      3 Ten Reasons to Use Service Manager      4 The Problem with Today’s Systems      5    Why Do Systems Go Down?      6    Configuration “Shift and Drift”      7    System Isolation      8    Lack of Historical Information      9    Lack of Expertise      9    Missing Incidents and Information      10    Lack of Process Consistency      10    Not Meeting Service Level Expectations      11    What It’s All About     11 Service Management Defined      11    The Importance of Service Management to IT      12    Key Concepts in IT Service Management      12 Evolution of the CMDB      13 Strategies for Service Management     13    Microsoft’s Dynamic Systems Initiative      14    Microsoft Product Integration      14    MOF and ITIL      16    COBIT: A Framework for IT Governance and Control     17    Total Quality Management: TQM     17    Six Sigma      17    CMMI     17    Business Process Management      18    Service Management Mastery: ISO/IEC 20000      18    Optimizing Your Infrastructure      18 Bridging the Service Management Gap     22    Delivering System Uptime      24    Addressing Configuration “Shift and Drift”      24    Consolidating Information      25    Providing Historical Information     25    Delivering Expertise      26    Addressing Missing Incidents and Information      27    Providing Process Consistency      27    Meeting Service Level Agreements      27 Overview of Microsoft System Center      28    Reporting and Trend Analysis      30    Operations Management      31    Enterprise Client Management      32    Endpoint Protection     32    Service Management      32    Protecting Data      33    Virtual Machine Management      33    Deploy and Manage in the Cloud      34    Orchestration and Automation      34    Cloud-Based Configuration Monitoring     35 The Value Proposition of Service Manager      35 Summary       36 Chapter 2  Service Manager History and Terminology     37 The History of Service Manager     37    Service Manager 2010     38    Service Manager 2012     39 Service Manager Terminology      40    Technical Terminology      40    Functional Terminology     49 Summary      52 Chapter 3  MOF, ITIL, and System Center     53 About ITIL      53 About MOF     55 MOF, ITIL, and the Cloud      56 Applying IT Service Management      57    Approaching IT Service Management Initiatives      58    MOF and ITIL Processes Supported by Service Manager      59 IT Service Management Processes in Service Manager      59    About Incident Management      60    About Service Request Fulfillment      66    About Problem Management      69 About Change Management      73    About Release Management      79    About Configuration Management      83 Summary      87 Chapter 4  Looking Inside System Center 2012 Service Manager     89 Architectural Overview      90 Management Group Defined      92 Service Manager Server Features      94    Using a Minimum Installation      94    Adding Reporting Capabilities      95    Service Manager Management Server      96    Service Manager Database (ServiceManager)      96    Data Warehouse Management Server      96    Data Warehouse Database      97    Service Manager Console      98    Self-Service Portal (SSP)      99 Windows Services      99    System Center Data Access Service (OMSDK)      99    Microsoft Monitoring Agent (HealthService)      100    System Center Management Configuration (OMCFG)      101 Service Manager Workflow      102 Service Manager Connectors      104 Modeling and Management Pack Schema      105    Data Modeling     105    Management Pack Schema     107 Service Manager Console     109 Communications      114 Fast Track      115 Summary      115 PART II:  PLANNING AND INSTALLATION Chapter 5  Planning and Designing System Center 2012 Service Manager 119 Planning to Use Service Manager      120    Establishing and Optimizing the Business Requirements      120    Scoping the Service Manager Deployment Objectives      120    Assessing and Capturing the Current Environment      122    Creating the Deployment Plan      124    Review and Sign-Off of the Deployment Plan      127 Planning to Deploy Service Manager      128    Planning for Licensing      128    Common Design Scenarios      131 Capacity Planning      135    Security and Authentication Planning      137    Network Considerations     140    Planning for Availability, Resilience, and Fault Tolerance      141    Incorporating a Test Environment into the Design      144 Summary      145 Chapter 6  Installing and Upgrading to System Center 2012 Service Manager     147 Pre-Installation Tasks      148    Preparing and Understanding Installation Prerequisites      148    Installing and Configuring Prerequisites      152 Five-Server Scenario Installation      155    Installing the Service Manager Management Server      155    Installing the Service Manager Data Warehouse Management Server      162    Installing the Service Manager Web Portal      172 Three-Server Scenario Installation      178 Upgrading to Service Manager 2012      179    Upgrading the Data Warehouse Management Server      180    Upgrading the Service Manager Management Server      186    Upgrading the Service Manager Console      188 Troubleshooting Installations and Upgrades      191 Recommended Post-Installation Tasks      192    For New Installations      192    Post-Installation Tasks for Upgraded Environments      193 Removing a Service Manager Installation      193 Summary     194 PART III:  SERVICE MANAGER OPERATIONS Chapter 7  Using Service Manager     197 Service Manager Console Overview      198    Administration of Service Manager with the Service Manager Console      202    Administration Workspace Node Overview      202 Service Manager Portal Overview      211    Portal Main Page      213    Service Offerings      214    Request Offerings      215    Knowledge Articles     215    My Requests      215    My Activities      216 Fast Track      217 Summary      217 Chapter 8  Working with Connectors     219 Understanding the Connector Framework      219    Configuration Item Connectors      222    Work Item Connectors     231    Hybrid Service Manager Connectors      232 Creating and Working with Configuration Item Connectors      233   Creating an Active Directory Connector      233    Creating a Configuration Manager Connector      240    Creating and Working with an Operations Manager  Configuration Item Connector      244    Creating a Virtual Machine Manager Connector      248    Creating a CSV Connector      252 Creating and Working with Work Item Connectors      258    Creating and Working with the Operations Manager Alert Connector      258    Creating and Working with the Orchestrator Connector      261    Creating and Working with the Exchange Connector      266    Connector Maintenance and Troubleshooting      269 Summary      270 Chapter 9  Business Services     271 Introducing Business Services in Service Manager      271    Defining Business Services      272    Characteristics of a Business Service      274 Using Operations Manager with Business Services      277    Distributed Applications in Operations Manager      277    Distributed Application Best Practices      278    Service Maps as the Foundation of a Business Service      279 Creating a Business Service      281    Building an Operations Manager Distributed Application      281    Exporting the Operations Manager Management Pack      284    Importing the Management Pack into Service Manager      286 Using Non-Operations Manager Components      291    Authoring a Management Pack      292    Importing and Using the Management Pack     294 Updating a Business Service      296 Automatically Mapping Operations Manager Incidents to a Business Service      298 Fast Track      302 Summary      302 Chapter 10  Service Manager Service Catalog     303 Understanding the Service Catalog      303 Service Catalog Permissions      305    Granting User Access to the Self-Service Portal       306    Creating a Catalog Item Group     306    Creating a User Role      307 Using Service Offerings     308 About Request Offerings      310    Using Request Offering Templates      311    Creating a Request Offering      315    Copying Request Offerings      324 Adding Request Offerings to Service Offerings      325 Working in the Self-Service Portal      326 Using the Knowledge Base      331 Fast Track      335 Summary     335 Chapter 11  Incident Management     337 Understanding the Incident Management Process      337 Incident Management in Service Manager      339 Incident Management Process Activities      344    Incident Creation      345    Incident Detection and Recording      346    Incident Classification and Initial Support      347    Incident Investigation and Diagnosis      350    Escalating Incidents     352    Incident Resolution and Recovery      352    Closing Incidents      353 Configuring Incident Management      354    Incident User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists      354    Configuring General Incident Settings      362   Configuring Incoming Emailed Incidents      368    Configuring Operations Manager Integration      374    Configuring Configuration Manager DCM Integration      376 Automating Incident Management      376    Creating Incident Management Templates      378    Creating Incident Management Workflows      380    Automating Incoming Operations Manager Alerts      384 Creating a Desired Configuration Management Workflow      385 Service Level Management      389    Creating a Service Level Objective Calendar Item      391    Creating a Service Level Objective Metric      392    Creating a Service Level Objective      394 Incident Management for End Users      396    Creating Incidents      397    Incident Follow-Up      397    Resolving and Closing Incidents      398 Fast Track      398 Summary      398 Chapter 12  Automation and Chargeback     399 Overview of Service Management and Automation     401    The Role of Automation      401    Service Manager’s Role in Private Cloud      402 Workflows in Service Manager      404 Service Manager SMLets      407 Orchestrator and Service Manager      412 Overview of Chargeback      415 Installing and Using Chargeback      417    Operations Manager Management Server Configuration      418    Service Manager Management Server Configuration      420    Configuring Chargeback      421    Using Chargeback Reports      422 Fast Track      424 Summary      424 Chapter 13  Problem Management     425 Understanding the Problem Management Process      425    Comparing Incident Management with Problem Management      426    Problem Management Functionality      426 Problem Management in Service Manager      428 Problem Management Process Activities      432    Problem Detection      434    Problem Recording, Classification, and Prioritization      435    Problem Investigation and Diagnosis      437    Known Error Control in Service Manager      438    Problem Resolution      440    Problem Closure      440 Configuring Problem Management      441    Problem Management Console Tasks      441 Problem Management User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists     442    Configuring General Problem Management Settings      443    Configuring Notification      444 Automating Problem Management      445 Fast Track     445 Summary     445 Chapter 14  Change Request and Configuration Management     447 Change Management in Service Manager      447 Change Management Process Activities      451    Configuration Item Baselines      453    Initiating and Recording Changes      454    Classifying Changes       459    Approving and Scheduling Changes       460    Coordinating Change Implementations      462    Reviewing and Closing Changes     465 Configuring Change Management      465    Change Management Console Tasks      466    Change Management User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists     467    Configuring General Change Request Management Settings      468    Configuring Notification      469    Creating a Change Request Template      470    Change Management Workflows      472 Fast Track      474 Summary      475 Chapter 15  Release Management     477 Understanding the Release Management Process      477 Release Management in Service Manager      479 Release Management Process Activities      482    Release Planning      483    Building and Testing the Release      486    Release Deployment      488    Release Evaluation and KPI Measurement      491 Configuring Release Management      492    Using Release Management Console Tasks     493    Creating Release Management User Roles, Groups, Queues, and Lists      494    Configuring General Release Management Settings      494    Configuring Release Templates      496    Building Release Records      498 Fast Track      501 Summary      502 PART IV:  ADMINISTERING SERVICE MANAGER Chapter 16  Managing Notifications     505 Notification Overview      505 Notification Setup     506    Using Recipients      506    Configuring Notification Channels      508    Creating Templates      510    Using Subscriptions      512    Incorporating Different Languages in Subscriptions      515    Adding Localization to Notification Emails      517    Culture XX is a Neutral Culture      519 Using Notification Workflows     520    Configuring a Workflow to Change the Impact of an Incident      521    Using the Workflow      524 Notification for Review Activities      526    Creating a Notification Template      527    Configuring an Activity Event Workflow      528 Creating Recurring Notifications      531 Fast Track      533 Summary      533 Chapter 17  Service Manager Security     535 Role-Based Security      536    Security Boundary Scoping      536    User Experience Optimization Scoping       537    Operations on the Data Access Service       537    About User Roles       538    Default User Roles      538    User Role Profiles      539    Best Practices for Creating Custom User Roles      543 Data Warehouse and Reporting Security      557    Data Warehouse Administrators User Role      558    Granting Access to Reports      558 Advanced User Role Scenarios       559    Scoping Knowledge Articles      560    Scoping Announcements       561    Scoping Software Packages      561 Run As Accounts       562    Run As Account Usage Scenarios      562    Out of the Box Run As Accounts      563 Creating and Using Custom Run As Accounts      564 Security Best Practices      571    Securing Database Access      572    Enabling Auditing     572 Fast Track      573 Summary      574 Chapter 18  Maintenance, Backup, and Recovery     575 Performing Maintenance      577 Planning and Performing Backup      578    Scheduling Considerations      580    Configuration Backup      581    SQL Server Database Backup      585    Operating System Backup      593 Planning and Performing Recovery      593    Configuration and Settings Recovery      594    Feature Recovery     594    Full Operating System Recovery     598 Summary      598 Chapter 19  Managing Service Manager Performance      599 Understanding Service Manager Performance      600 Service Manager Console Performance      602    Infrastructure Performance      602    Configuration Performance      603 Self-Service Portal Performance      610    Self-Service Portal Sizing      610    SharePoint 2010 Performance      610    Web Content Server Performance      610    Custom Icons      611 Service Manager SQL Server Database Performance      612    Input/Output per Second (IOPS)     613    Database and Log Files      613    Available Memory     613    Placement of TempDB     613 Service Manager Data Warehouse SQL Server Database Performance      614    Splitting Data Warehouse Databases      614    Cube Processing     614 Data Collection and Connectors      615    Types of Data      615 Connector Settings      617 Service Manager Management Server Performance      618    Using Orchestrator Runbooks      618    Using Groups and Queues      619    Use of Workflows      619 Testing Performance      620    Stress Testing Service Manager      621    Lab Resources      622 Service Manager Add-ons      624    Cireson     624    Gridpro      624 Summary     625 PART V:  BEYOND SERVICE MANAGER Chapter 20  Management Packs      629 Management Packs Defined      630 Purpose of Management Packs      632    Uninstalling Management Packs      633    Transporting Management Packs      633    Management Pack Versioning      634    Management Pack Componentization      634 Working with Management Packs      634    Sealed and Unsealed Management Packs      634    Management Pack Deployment      636    Creating a Management Pack Using the Service Manager  Console      638    Viewing the Properties of a Management Pack      639    Exporting a Management Pack      641    Importing a Management Pack      642 Management Pack Bundles      644 Management Pack Schema      645    Identity Section      646    Versioning      646    About References      646    Entity Types Section      648    Secure References     648    Using Categories      648    About Templates      648    Presentation Section      649    Language Packs      650    Resources Section      650 Image Files      651    About Enumerations      651    Combination Classes      651    Console Tasks      653    Resources      654    Forms      654 Management Pack Best Practices      655 Fast Track      657 Summary      657 Chapter 21  Data Warehouse and Reporting     659 Data Warehouse Overview      660    Data Warehouse Explained      660    Service Manager Data Warehouse Rationale      662    Online Analytical Processing Explained      663    Analysis Library Explained      664    SQL Server Reporting Services Explained      664    PowerPivot Explained      664    PerformancePoint Explained      664 Data Warehouse Architecture      665    Data Warehouse Services      665    Data Warehouse Databases      665    Management Pack Synchronization Process      666    Extract, Transform, and Load Process      666    Data Warehouse Jobs      667    Data Warehouse Schema      669 Deploying the Data Warehouse      669 Data Warehouse Reporting      672    Reporting Permissions      672    Viewing Standard Reports      673    Favorite and Linked Reports      673    Subscribing to and Publishing Reports in SSRS      674    Reports Using Excel PowerPivot      676    Using Analysis Library to Store and View PowerPivot Reports      679    Dashboards in SharePoint PerformancePoint     680 Fast Track      684 Summary      684 Chapter 22  Customizing Service Manager     685 Planning Your Customization      685    What You Can Customize      686    Planning for Management Packs Customization      687 About Data Modeling      690    Presenting Data in Service Manager      697    Automating Processes with Workflows      705    Utilizing Groups and Queues      707    General Considerations for Customization      708    Required Knowledge     709 Performing Customizations in Service Manager     709    Customizing the Console      710    Creating Data Models      723    Creating Workflows      739    Customizing Service Manager Forms     747 Fast Track      753 Summary      754 Chapter 23  Advanced Customization Scenarios     755 Creating Console Tasks Using PowerShell      756 Using Custom Data Models     760 Creating a Management Pack Using Visual Studio Authoring Extensions      763    Creating the Management Pack      763    Defining the Management Pack Display Name      764    Adding References to the Management Pack      765    Creating the Building Base Class     766    Creating the Odyssey Building Room Class      768    Adding the Room Availability Enumeration to the Room Class      769    Adding the BuildingHasRoom Custom Relationship Type      771    Creating the Odyssey Building Bank Class      772    Adding a Type Projection to the Bank Class      773    Creating a Strong Name Key      774    Building and Sealing the Management Pack       775 Adding Views to the Management Pack      777    Customizing View Columns      783    Creating Custom Views      785 Creating Console Forms      789 Additional Resources      797    Viewing Criteria Based on Tokens      797    Building a Custom UserControl to Integrate into Forms     798    Additional Custom Console Tasks      798    Additional Form Customizations      798    Using the TechNet Gallery for Service Manager      798 Fast Track      798 Summary      799 Chapter 24  Using PowerShell     801 Windows PowerShell Cmdlet Primer      802    Frequently Used and Useful Cmdlets      802    Using the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment      811 Service Manager and PowerShell      812    Connecting to Service Manager Management Server from PowerShell      813    Service Manager Cmdlet Use Cases      814    Writing Service Manager PowerShell Scripts      816    Service Manager PowerShell Script Use Cases      818 Using PowerShell for Data Warehouse Administration      822    Data Warehouse Cmdlet Use Cases     822    Using PowerShell to Manage the Data Warehouse      830 SMLets PowerShell Module      830    Installing SMLets      831    Using SMLets      831 Fast Track     837 Summary      838 PART VI:  APPENDIXES Appendix A   User Role Profiles Supplement     841 User Role Profile Classes and Relationship Permissions      841 Mapping User Role Profiles with ITIL/MOF Roles      854    ITIL Role Types      854    Microsoft Operations Framework Role Types     856    Operations and Service Monitoring and Control SMF Role Types      856    Customer Service SMF Role Types      858    Change and Configuration SMF Role Types      859 Appendix B   Reference URLs      861 General Resources      861 Microsoft’s Service Manager Resources      864 Other Service Manager Resources      867 Service Manager Authoring      869 PowerShell and SMLets     871 Service Manager Connectors      873 System Center 2012      875 SQL Server Resources      876 Reporting and Data Warehouse Resources      877 Blogs      879 Public Forums      880 Appendix C   Available Online     883 Backup and Recovery      883 Managing Workflows      884 Building a Management Pack      884 Adding Service Components to a Business Service      884 Live Links     884 Index     885