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OpsMgr 2007: Renaming computers on which OpsMgr roles are installed

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We've been getting some calls here and there on this so I wanted to send out a quick clarification regarding official support for renaming computers on which System Center Operations Manager 2007 roles are installed.  The short answer is that we don't.  Microsoft does not support renaming of computers on which OpsMgr 2007 roles are installed. It's not because we like being unreasonable and difficult, but the damage that this might potentially cause to an OpsMgr installation can be so disastrous that the result may involve activities as unpleasant as rebuilding your whole OpsMgr environment. 

Now if you DO have to rename a role holder for whatever reason, you must first uninstall that role and migrate it to another computer before actually performing the rename.  Once that's done you can then migrate everything back if necessary.  Furthermore, any software on which an OpsMgr role depends should be checked to see if it in turn supports server renaming (e.g. SQL Server, SQL Reporting Services, etc.).

So if there's one take away from this, it's to never rename any computer hosting an OpsMgr role unless you migrate that role first.  And be sure you back up EVERYTHING including the RMS Encryption key and the Reporting Server key.  Well, that's two things, possibly three, but you get the idea.

Anyway, this is probably common knowledge for most of you but the downside is unpleasant enough that I wanted to send a friendly reminder.

J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer

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