Solutions in this chapter:

• Managing Server Hardware

• Managing Intel-Based HP Servers

• Managing Dell Servers

Introduction

So by now we ve got it all worked out. The MOM system is monitoring the Microsoft environment, and everything is running smoothly. There are still a couple of weak points, however. For instance, how can we tell if all the disks in the RAID controller or the memory are okay? Unless you put in the extra effort, MOM won t be able to determine this. It s at these times when hardware monitoring comes in handy.

Managing Server Hardware

The main problem of hardware monitoring is hardware support. The hardware should be able to report to Windows, or even better, to the event log for easy access to hardware events. Another option is to use Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), but that s a bumpy road. You need to know how to set up the appropriate rules and providers, and you need to have a WMI provider that s able to support hardware queries. In short, this is not the way you should go unless there s no other option.

If you scan the MOM Management Pack site at Microsoft, you ll notice a couple of hardware manufacturers that supply their own management packs. They can provide essential information about the hardware of the server out of the box. That means no WMI or other hardware configuration; just follow the deployment guide, and you are off monitoring the hardware.

If you can influence your organization s hardware-buying decisions, you should recommend buying hardware...