The best freebie addons for OpsMgr 2007

When you first install Operations Manager 2007, you may be a bit overwhelmed with all the information that is available to you (if you could figure out what it is and how to find it!), and the fact that you have to forget most of the things you learned if you had MOM 2005. However, there is training available, several books are out - I may be a bit biased, but System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed is the best one available, and there are also numerous utilities and software available for OpsMgr 2007, some of which is at no charge.

Be aware that the software listed in this article is not supported by its author(s) unless otherwise stated.

First off, Microsoft has released the System Center Operations Manger 2007 Resource Kit, a collection of tools available for download at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/opsmgr/bb625978.aspx. The webpage includes a description of each of the 8 utilities available at this time.

Another great place to look is at Boris Yanushpolsky's blog, http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky. Boris is an OpsMgr Program Manager focusing on the SDK and PowerShell, which are utilized by many of his utilities. Boris has been quite prolific over the past year in developing and publishing utilities. Utilities documented and available on his blog include:

• Putting a computer into Maintenance Mode using PowerShell http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/07/25/putting-a-computer-into-maintenance-mode.aspx
• Put specific components into Maintenance Mode
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/19/what-if-i-dont-want-to-put-the-whole-computer-into-maintenance-mode.aspx
• Take a group and puts all computers in the group (including the health service and healthservice watcher) into Maintenance Mode http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/03/04/one-more-maintenance-mode-script.aspx. This is enhanced at http://scom2k7.blogspot.com/2007/08/new-maintenance-mode-tool-for.html by Timothy McFadden. and at System Center Forum at http://systemcenterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/GroupSchedMaint.txt.
• Display what is in Maintenance Mode
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/06/so-what-is-in-maintenance-mode.aspx
• PowerShell script to stop Maintenance Mode
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/30/stoping-maintenance-mode.aspx
• Enabling proxying for agents - select a computer group, browse the members, and multiselect the right computers and enable/disable proxying.
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/02/enabling-proxying-for-agents.aspx. An improvement was developed by Clive Eastwood which you can get at http://ianblythmanagement.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/agent-proxy/.
• Disabling/Enabling multiple rules/monitors/discoveries at once
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/04/disabling-enabling-multiple-rules-monitors-discoveries-at-once.aspx
• PowerShell scripts showing what diagnostics and recoveries exist in your installation
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/06/so-what-about-diagnostics-and-recoveries.aspx
• A PowerShell script to help show the thresholds your monitors have
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/07/so-what-thresholds-do-my-monitors-have.aspx
• PowerShell script to list all the performance collection rules in a management group
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/07/similar-script-but-for-perf-collection-rule.aspx
• Override Explorer – show what overrides exist in a management group (nice!)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/09/override-explorer-v3-3.aspx (version 3.3)
• Automate setting up URL monitoring, doing it in batch
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/11/automating-the-setup-of-web-site-monitoring.aspx
• Automate port monitoring using PowerShell
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/06/20/automating-port-monitoring-using-powershell.aspx
• PowerShell cmdlet that uses the SDK to add/remove users to a user role - this one really helps!
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/13/adding-users-to-a-user-role.aspx
• Use PowerShell to specify a RunAs Account for a RunAs Profile
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/16/specifying-a-run-as-account-for-a-run-as-profile.aspx
• Configure a Run As profile for agents in bulk using the Run As Profile configuration helper
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/02/28/run-as-profile-configuration-helper-v1.aspx
• The MPViewer – display what’s in a management pack before importing it! This one is very popular and had gone through numerous enhancements
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/06/25/mpviewer-1-7-now-works-with-latest-e12-mp.aspx (many updates, now at 1.7)
• Script to convert a sealed management pack to readable XML (also discussed in System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/08/16/unsealing-a-management-pack.aspx
• Use PowerShell to dump what’s in a management pack
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/10/what-s-in-my-management-pack.aspx
• Backup script to export mangement packs – this can run on any computer (not just the RMS) that has the OpsMgr console and Command Shell installed. http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/04/30/mp-backup.aspx. System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed also has backup scripts, if you have purchased the book. 
• Display what discoveries are disabled by default
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/08/disabled-discoveries.aspx
• Find out what groups a particular computer is a member of
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/26/which-groups-is-a-particular-computer-member-of.aspx
• Retrieve all groups and then contents of each group and the types of objects contained in each group
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/26/creating-an-event-log-unit-monitor-using-the-sdk.aspx
• Use the SDK to create a unit monitor
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/26/creating-a-unit-monitor-using-the-sdk.aspx
• Use the SDK to create an Event Log unit monitor
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/10/26/creating-an-event-log-unit-monitor-using-the-sdk.aspx
• Use the SDK to create a performance collection rule
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/11/02/creating-a-performance-collection-rule-using-the-sdk.aspx
• Use the SDK to create overrides
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/01/17/creating-overrides-using-the-sdk.aspx
• Retrieve rules and monitors targeted to a particular class (target)
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/11/21/retrieving-rules-and-monitors-targeted-to-a-particular-class-target.aspx
• Enumerate Windows Event log manual reset monitors
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/12/09/enumerating-windows-event-log-manual-reset-monitors.aspx
• Create a new task with overridable parameters
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2007/12/11/creating-a-new-task-with-overridable-parameters.aspx
• Module Explorer – provides some visibility into the library of modules and information about each module
  http://blogs.msdn.com/boris_yanushpolsky/archive/2008/06/18/module-explorer-v2.aspx

In addition to Boris' utilities and scripts,  others have written tools with similar types of functionality. System Center Forum (http://systemcenterforum.org) includes downloads for OpsMgr 2007 (white papers, utilities, and scripts); some of these they have developed, others they post as a courtesy for others. See http://www.systemcenterforum.org/downloads/#OperationsManager2007, http://www.systemcenterforum.org/downloads/#Reports, and http://www.systemcenterforum.org/downloads/#Scripts for current listings. Some of the interesting ones include:

• Eugene Bykov posted a PowerShell snippet that will add a new Reporting User Role in Operations Manager (http://blogs.msdn.com/eugenebykov/archive/2007/10/13/creating-new-report-operator-user-role.aspx), it was enhanced by Neal Browne of System Center Forum to work at the command line and be parameter driven, available at http://systemcenterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/AddReportingUserRole.zip.
• Microsoft's Joseph Chan provided a script during the OpsMgr 2007 beta test cycle to enable ACS groups in bulk. This was modified by System Center Forum and is available at http://systemcenterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/ACSBulkEnableGroupDisplayName.zip.
• Search a group of machines to find if a rule is deployed http://www.systemcenterforum.org/find-a-rule-using-powershell-in-ops-mgr-2007/
• Resolve alerts older than a specified number of days http://systemcenterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/ResolveAlertsOlderThanX.zip

If you have purchased the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed book, it includes a CD with a number of utilities written by the authors, along with other utilities the authors have collected and distribute as a convenience. The CD also includes Appendix E, “Reference URLs”, with over 200 live links to URLs associated with OpsMgr 2007 - this includes useful blog entries, websites, whitepapers, and downloadable utilities.

The OpsMgr database sizing calculator, written by the authors and included on the CD, is also posted in several places based on the calculations published at http://ops-mgr.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3D3B8489FCAA9B51!171.entry. These include http://systemcenterforum.org/wp-content/uploads/SCOM2007DBestimatorv1.xls. The CD includes an updated version of the calculations in that article. Ian Blyth has a separate calculator at http://blogs.technet.com/momteam/archive/2007/10/15/opsmgr-2007-database-and-data-warehouse-size-calculator.aspx.

You will also want to check out Rod Trent's myITforum (www.myitforum.com) for utilities and links to those written by others.

This is just a partial listing of what is available, and my apologies to anyone who thinks they were left out (leave a comment about it so people will know!). There is a ton of stuff out there, so if there is a function you're looking for a tool for, just do a search (Google, MSN etc) on it and see what you find!