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Operations Manager Management Pack Authoring - Views

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This document is part of the Operations Manager Management Pack Authoring Guide.  The Microsoft System Center team has validated this procedure as of Revision #1.  We will continue to review any changes and periodically provide validations on later revisions as they are made.  Please feel free to make any corrections or additions to this procedure that you think would assist other users.

Views provide access to data that is collected in the Operations Manager database. Management packs typically include multiple views to provide access to its classes and collected operations data. Multiple views in the management pack can provide access to the same data, but relevant to different monitoring scenarios, present data in different formats.

Folders

Folders are displayed in the Monitoring pane in the Operations Manager 2007 Operations console. They provide a way to organize views just like folders are used to organize files in the file system. A folder will one or more parent folder and may include one or more subfolders. If it has multiple parent folders, the folder and its contents will appear in multiple places in the Monitoring pane. The root of the folder structure is Monitoring, and all folders will be either positioned directly under this folder or be able to trace their parent folders back up to the root.

A view must be included in at least one folder if it is to be displayed in the Operations console. You can use the folder structure to group common views and provide organization to the set of views for a particular application. We recommend as a best practice that each management pack have its own top level folder, and then you can create additional folders as required.

Folders and views follow the same restrictions as other management pack elements for sealed and unsealed management packs. A view or folder may be contained in another folder only if both are in the same management pack or the parent folder is in a sealed management pack.

State Views

State views provide a tabular listing of a set of instances of a particular class. Columns in the view can include the state of the object, the value of properties of the object, or the health state of objects that the target object hosts or contains.

Contents

The following properties determine the contents of a State view.

Target

All State views must specify a target class. The target class specified for a State view determines which objects are displayed and what properties are available. All instances of the target class in the management group are included unless criteria or a group is specified to limit the instances that are displayed.

Group

A State view does not require a group. If a group is specified, only instances of the target class in the group are included. Even though the group might contain objects of different classes, only instances of the target class are displayed.

Note: If the Entity class is used for the target class, all objects in the group are included in the view. This is because all classes inherit from the Entity class.

Criteria

A State view does not require criteria. If it is provided, criteria allows for the instances of the target class to be limited according to the values of one or more properties. To add and configure criteria , start the external editor from the Authoring console or modify the settings in the dialog box in the Operations console. The properties that you can use in criteria are provided in the following table.

Note: You can only set criteria if the target class is not abstract. An abstract class can be the target class of a State view, but you cannot use criteria.

Condition Description Example
Severity One or more health states matching the current health state of the object. Valid values are as follows:
  • Red
  • Yellow
  • Green
  • Unknown
   
<SeverityList>
   <Severity>Red</Severity>
   <Severity>Yellow</Severity>
</SeverityList>
InMaintenanceMode Specifies whether the object is currently in maintenance mode. Valid values are true and false. 
<InMaintenanceMode>true</InMaintenanceMode>
PropertyCriteria Value of one or more properties of the targeted class. The value can include a wildcard. 
<PropertyCriteria>
   <PropertyName>MyProperty1</PropertyName>
   <Value>MyExplicitValue</Value>
</PropertyCriteria>
<PropertyCriteria>
   <PropertyName>MyProperty2</PropertyName>
   <Value>MyWildcardValue%</Value>
</PropertyCriteria>

Columns

Each column in a State view is defined in a ColumnInfo node under the Presentation node of the view. The following XML sample shows a column definition.

<ColumnInfo Index="0" SortIndex="-1" Width="100" Grouped="false" Sorted="false" IsSortable="true" Visible="true" SortOrder="Descending">
   <Name>State</Name>
   <Id>MyMP.MyClass</Id>
</ColumnInfo>

The content of each column is determined by its Id value with the title of the column defined by the Name value. The possible contents of a State view are identified in the following table.

Name ID Description

State

ID of the target class

Current state of the target object

Maintenance Mode

InMaintenanceMode

Icon indicating whether the object is currently in maintenance mode

Property value

Name of the property

Value for any property of the target object

Name of hosted class

ID of a class that the target class hosts or contains

Current state of any objects that the target object hosts or contains

When a State view is created in the Authoring console, no columns are defined. If the management pack is installed without column definitions, the following columns are displayed with default settings:

  • State of the object
  • Current maintenance mode setting
  • Display name
  • Path name

The state of each class that the target class hosts or contains is available to the view but is not visible.

After the view is installed, you can modify the settings in the Properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console. If any modification occurs, the Operations console adds the entire set of column definitions to the view. You can load the set of column definitions into the Authoring console for detailed configuration.

Formatting

To format a State view, modify the attributes of each column definition. You can do this the external editor from the Authoring console or with by modify the settings in the Properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console. The following table lists the different characteristics of each column and their corresponding attributes.

 

Characteristic Description

Column Order

The order of how the columns are positioned can be specified with the Index attribute for the column. You can also do this using the Display tab in the Properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console.

Column Width

Each column has a Width attribute defining the width of the column in pixels. The column width in the dialog box is used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the width in the Operations console, the new settings are saved on the local workstation. There is no guarantee that the column width in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

Column Visibility

Each column has a Visible attribute that defines whether the column is visible in the Operations console. If you do not want to display a column, still include it in the view with the Visible attribute set to false. If the column is not included in the view, it is not available as an option for the user to add it to the view in the Operations console. For this reason, all columns are typically included in the view with the visibility of the columns that you do not want to display set to false.

Sorting

The objects listed in a State view can be sorted by any of the included columns. The sorting configuration in the dialog box is used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the sort order in the Operations console, the new settings are saved on the local workstation. There is no guarantee that the sort order in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

The dialog box in the Operations console enables the view to be sorted by a single column. You can sort multiple columns by modifying the XML attributes of the view. Change the value of the Sorted attribute of the column entry to true. The SortIndex attribute defines the order in which the columns are sorted, and its value must be changed to a value of 0 or greater. The SortOrder attribute must be either Ascending or Descending depending on which sort order for the column you want.

Grouping

You cannot group columns in a State view.

Alert Views

Contents

The following properties determine the contents of an Alert view.

Target

All Alert views must specify a target class. An Alert view lists all of the alerts associated with the target class or any classes that the target class hosts. All instances of the target class in the management group are included unless criteria or a group is specified to limit the instance that is displayed. All alerts associated with these objects are included unless you specify criteria to limit them.

Group

An Alert view does not require a group. If a group is specified, only alerts associated with instances of the target class in the group are included in the view. Even though the group might contain objects of different classes, only alerts from instances of the target class are displayed.

Note

If the Entity class is used for the target class, all objects in the group are included in the view. This is because all classes inherit from the Entity class.

Criteria

An Alert view does not require criteria. If it is provided, criteria allows for the included alerts to be limited according to the values of one or more properties. To add or configure criteria, start the external editor from the Authoring console or modify the settings in the view’s Properties dialog box in the Operations console. The properties that you can use in criteria are provided in the following table with a sample of the XML code in the view definition.

 

Condition Description Example

Severity

One or more values matching the severity of the alert. Valid values are as follows:

  • Success
  • Warning
  • Error

 
<SeverityList>
   <Severity>Warning</Severity>
   <Severity>Error</Severity>
</SeverityList>

Priority

One or more values matching the severity of the alert. Valid values are as follows:

  • Low
  • Medium
  • High

 
<PriorityList>
   <Priority>Medium</Priority>
   <Priority>High</Priority>
</PriorityList>

Source

One or more rules or monitors that created the alert. The value for Type can be Rule or Monitor. The value for Id indicates the specific rule or monitor. If this value is selected in the Operations console, it will be the actual GUID. It should be changed to an $MPElement variable to ensure that it moved between management groups.

 
<SourceList>
   <Source>
      <Type>Rule</Type>
      <Id>$MPElement[Name='MyMP.MyRule']$</Id>
   </Source>
   <Source>
      <Type>Monitor</Type>
      <Id>$MPElement[Name='MyMP.MyMonitor']$</Id>
   </Source>
</SourceList>

Resolution State

Current resolution state of the alert. This can either be a list of numeric values for specific states or a range of values. If the StateRange element is used, it requires an Operator attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Equals
  • NotEquals
  • AtMost
  • AtLeast
  • GreaterThan
  • LessThan

 
<ResolutionState>
   <State>0</State>
   <State>1</State>
</ResolutionState>
<ResolutionState>
   <StateRange Operator="NotEquals">255</StateRange>
</ResolutionState>

Alert Name

Name of the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the alert’s name.

 
<Name>MyAlert</Name>

Alert Description

Description of the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the alert’s description.

 
<Description>Error</Description>

Time alert created

The time that the alert was created. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, the WithinLast element requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<TimeCreated>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</TimeCreated>
<TimeCreated>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</TimeCreated>

Assigned to

Current owner of the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the alert’s owner name.

 
<AssignedTo>Adams</AssignedTo>

Ticket

Ticket number of the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the ticket.

 
<TicketId>123456789</TicketId>

Instance Name

Name of the instance that raised the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the alert’s instance name.

 
<InstanceName>srv</InstanceName>

User who last modified alert

Name of the user who last modified the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the alert’s user name.

 
<LastModifiedBy>Adams</LastModifiedBy>

Last time any property of alert was modified

The time that the alert was last modified. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, then the WithinLast element requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<LastModifiedTime>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</LastModifiedTime>
<LastModifiedTime>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</LastModifiedTime>

Last time resolution state was modified

The time that the resolution state of the alert was last modified. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, then the WithinLast element requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<ResolutionStateLastModifiedTime>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</ResolutionStateLastModifiedTime>
<ResolutionStateLastModifiedTime>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</ResolutionStateLastModifiedTime>

Time alert was resolved

The time that the alert was resolved. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, the WithinLast element requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<TimeResolved>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</TimeResolved>
<TimeResolved>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</TimeResolved>

User who resolved alert

Name of the user who last resolved the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the user’s name.

 
<ResolvedBy>Adams</ResolvedBy>

Time alert was added

The time that the alert was added to the database. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, then the WithinLast element requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<TimeAdded>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</TimeAdded>
<TimeAdded>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</TimeAdded>

Site

Site of the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the site.

 
<Site>site</Site>

Custom Fields

Text in a custom field of the alert. Specified text must appear somewhere in the custom field. An alert has ten custom fields.

 
<CustomField1>CustomText</CustomField1>
<CustomField2>CustomText</CustomField2>

Columns

Each column in an Alert view is defined with a ColumnInfo element in the Presentation element of the view. The following XML sample shows a column definition.

<ColumnInfo Index="0" SortIndex="-1" Width="22" Grouped="false" Sorted="false" IsSortable="true" Visible="true" SortOrder="Ascending">
   <Name>Severity</Name>
   <Id>Severity</Id>
</ColumnInfo>

The content of each column is determined by its Id value with the title of the column defined by the Name element. The possible contents of a state view are identified in the following table.

 

Name ID Description

Severity

Severity

Severity of the Alert

Icon

Icon

Icon representing alert severity

Path

MonitoringObjectPath

Path of the monitoring object that the alert is associated with

Source

MonitoringObjectDisplayName

Display name of the monitoring object that the alert is associated with

Maintenance Mode

MonitoringObjectInMaintenanceMode

Icon indicating whether the object associated with the alert is currently in maintenance mode

Name

Name

Name of the alert

Resolution State

ResolutionState

Current resolution state of the alert

Created

TimeRaised

Date and time that alert was created

Age

Age

Duration of time after alert was created

Type

Category

The category of the rule or monitor that created the alert

Owner

Owner

Current owner of the alert

Priority

Priority

Priority of the alert

Latency

Latency

Duration between the time that the alert was created on the agent and the time that it was written to the database

Description

Description

Description of the alert

Connector

ConnectorId

ID of the connector if the alert is forward to a connector

Forwarding Status

ConnectorStatus

Current forwarding status if the alert is forwarded to a connector

Class

Class

Display name of the target class for the monitor or rule creating the alert

Time in State

TimeInState

Duration of time after resolution state of agent was changed

Custom Fields

CustomField1
CustomField2
CustomField3
CustomField4
CustomField5
CustomField6
CustomField7
CustomField8
CustomField9
CustomField10

Value of custom fields of the alert

Resolved By

ResolvedBy

User who resolved the alert

Time Resolved

TimeResolved

Date and time when the alert was resolved

Last State Change

TimeResolutionStateLastModified

Date and time when resolution state was last changed

Last Modified

LastModified

Date and time when the alert was last modified

Last Modified By

LastModifiedBy

User who last modified the alert

Management Group

ManagementGroup

Name of the management group the alert is from

Site

SiteName

The site name of the alert

Repeat Count

RepeatCount

Current repeat count for the alert

Ticket ID

TicketId

The ticket ID of the alert

To specify the order of the columns, modify the settings in the view’s Properties dialog box in the Operations console. This corresponds to the Index attribute in the XML code for the column.

If no columns are specified for the view, by default, the following columns are displayed:

  • Severity
  • Icon
  • Source
  • Maintenance Mode
  • Name
  • Resolution State
  • Created
  • Age

Formatting

To format an Alert view, modify the attributes of each column definition. Start the external editor from the Authoring console or modify the settings in the view’s Properties dialog box in the Operations console. The following table lists the different characteristics of each column and their corresponding attributes.

 

Characteristic Description

Column Order

The order of how the columns are positioned can be specified with the Index attribute for the column, or you can use the Display tab in the Properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console.

Column Width

Each column has a Width attribute defining the width of the column in pixels. The column width in the dialog box is used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the width in the Operations console, the new settings are saved on the local workstation. There is no guarantee that the column width in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

Column Visibility

Each column has a Visible attribute that defines whether the column is visible in the Operations console. If you do not want to display a column, still include it in the view with the Visible attribute set to false. If the column is not included in the view, it is not available as an option for the user to add it to the view in the Operations console. For this reason, all columns are typically included in the view with the visibility of the columns that you do not want be displayed set to false.

Sorting

The alerts listed in an Alert view can be sorted by any of the included columns. The sorting configuration in the dialog box is used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the sort order in the Operations console, the new settings are saved on the local workstation. There is no guarantee that the sort order in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

The dialog box in the Operations console enables the view to be sorted by a single column. You can sort multiple columns by modifying the XML attributes of the view. Change the value of the Sorted attribute of the column entry to true. The SortIndex attribute defines the order that the columns are sorted, and its value must be changed to a value of 0 or greater. The SortOrder attribute must be either Ascending or Descending depending on which sort order for the column you want.

Grouping

Alert views can be grouped by any of the included columns. The Operations console dialog box allows for up to three fields to be used for grouping, but any number can be used by modifying the XML attributes. To use a column for grouping, change the value of its Grouped attribute to true. The SortIndex attribute is used to determine the order for the grouping of multiple columns and must be changed to a value greater than 0.

Event Views

Event views provide a listing of events that are collected by rules in the Operations Manager database. Columns in the view can include the value of properties of each event.

Contents

The contents of an event view are determined by the following:

Target

All event views must specify a target class. An event view will list all the events associated with the target class or any classes hosted by the target class. All instances of the target class in the management group will be included unless criteria or a group is specified to limit the instance displayed. All events associated with these objects will be included unless you specify criteria to limit them.

Group

An event view does not require a group. If a group is specified, then only events associated with instances of the target class in the group will be included in the view. Even though the group may contain objects of different classes, only events from instances of the target class are displayed.

Criteria

An event view does not require criteria. If it is provided, criteria allow the included events to be limited according to the values of one or more properties. Criteria is added and configured by starting the external editor from the Authoring console or by using the dialog box in the Operations console. The properties that may be used in criteria are provided in the following table with XML samples.

 

Condition Description Example

Rules

One more rules that collected the event. The value for Rule indicates the specific rule or monitor. If this is selected in the Operations console, it will be the actual GUID. This should be changed to an $MPElement variable to ensure that it moved between management groups.

 
<RuleList> <Rule>$MPElement[Name='MyMP.MyRule']$</Rule>
</RuleList>

Event Number

One or more values matching the number of event.

 
<EventNumberList>
   <EventNumber>1234</EventNumber>
</EventNumberList>

Source

The name of the publisher of the event.

 
<PublisherName>MyApp</PublisherName>

Time Generated

The time that the event was generated. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, then the WithinLast node requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<TimeGenerated>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</TimeGenerated>
<TimeGenerated>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</TimeGenerated>

Instance Name

 
<ManagedEntityName>name</ManagedEntityName>

Severity Level

One or more value that match the severity level of the event. Valid values are listed in the following table.

 
<LevelIdList>
   <Level>2</Level>
   <Level>1</Level>
</LevelIdList>

User

The user name that created the event.

 
<User>NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM</User>

Computer

Name of the computer that logged the event.

 
<LoggingComputer>svr01.contoso.com</LoggingComputer>

The following table lists the possible values for the severity level criteria:

 

Value Description
0 Success
1 Error
2 Warning
4 Information
8 Audit Success
16 Audit Failure

Columns

Each column in an event view is defined by using a ColumnInfo node in the Presentation node of the view. The XML of an example column definition is shown here:

<ColumnInfo Index="0" SortIndex="-1" Width="22" Grouped="false" Sorted="false" IsSortable="true" Visible="true" SortOrder="Ascending">
   <Name>Severity</Name>
   <Id>Severity</Id>
</ColumnInfo>

The content of each column is determined by its ID value with the title of the column defined by the Name. The possible contents of a state view are identified in the following table:

 

Column ID Description

Level

LevelId

Severity level of the event

Date and Time

TimeGenerated

Date and time that the event was generated

Source

PublisherName

Publisher name of the event

Name

MonitoringObjectDisplayName

Name of the monitoring object that the event is associated with

User

User

User name that generated the event

Event Number

Number

Number of the event

Log Name

Channel

Name of the log that the event was collected from

Logging Computer

LoggingComputer

Name of the computer that logged the event

Rule Name

MonitoringRuleDisplayName

Name of the rule that collected the event

The order of the columns can be specified by using the dialog box in the Operations console. This corresponds to the Index attribute in the XML for the column.

If no columns are specified for the view, then by default, the following columns are displayed:

  • Level
  • Date and Time
  • Source
  • Name
  • User
  • Event Number
  • Log Name

Formatting

The formatting of an event view is accomplished by modifying the attributes of each column definition. This is performed by starting the external editor from the Authoring console or with the dialog box in the Operations console. The different characteristics each column and their corresponding attributes are listed in the following table:

 

Characteristic Description

Column Order

The order of how the columns are positioned can be specified with the Index attribute for the column. This can also be performed by using the Display tab in the Properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console.

Column Width

Each column has a width attribute defining the width of the column in pixels. The column width in the dialog box will be used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the width in the Operations console, then the new settings will be saved on the local workstation. You cannot guarantee that the column width in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

Column Visibility

Each column has a Visible attribute that defines whether the column will be visible in the Operations console. If a column should not be displayed, then it should still be included in the view by using the Visible attribute set to false. If the column is not included in the view, then it is not available as an option for the user to add it to the view in the Operations console. For this reason, all columns are typically included in the view with the visibility of the columns that should not be displayed set to false.

Sorting

The events listed in an event view can be sorted by any of the included columns. The sorting configuration in the dialog box will be used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the sort order in the Operations console, then the new settings will be saved on the local workstation. There is no way to guarantee that the sort order in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

The dialog box in the Operations console allows for the view to be sorted by a single column. Sorting may be performed on multiple columns by modifying the XML of the view. This is performed by changing the value of the Sorted attribute of the column entry to true. The SortIndex attribute defines the order that the columns will be sorted, and its value must be changed to a value of 0 or more. The SortOrder attribute must be either Ascending or Descending depending on the desired sort order for the column.

Grouping

Event views can be grouped by any of the included columns. The Operations console dialog box allows for up to three fields that you can use for grouping, but any number may be used when you edit the XML. To use a column for grouping, change the value of its Grouped attribute to true. The SortIndex attribute is used to determine the order for the grouping of multiple columns and must be changed to a value larger than 0.

Task Status View

Task status views in System Center Operations Manager 2007 provide a listing of task status events that are generated when you try to run a task.

Contents

The contents of a task status view are determined by the following.

Target

All task status views must specify a target class. A task status view will list the status events of all tasks targeted at the target class or any classes hosted by the target class. All instances of the target class in the management group will be included unless criteria or a group is specified to limit the instance displayed. All task status events associated with these objects will be included unless you specify criteria to limit them.

Group

If a group is specified, only task status events associated with instances of the target class in the group are included in the view. Even though the group may contain objects of different classes, only task status events from instances of the target class are displayed.

Note

If Entity is used for the target class, all objects in the group are included in the view. This is because all classes inherit from Entity.

Criteria

A task status view does not require criteria. When provided, criteria limit the included events according to the values of one or more properties. You can add and configure criteria by opening the external editor from the Authoring console or by using the dialog box in the Operations console. The properties that you can use in criteria are provided in the following table with a sample of the XML code in the view definition.

 

Condition Description Example

Tasks

One or more tasks to include.

 
<TaskList>
   <Task>$MPElement[Name='MyMP.MyTask']$</Task>
</TaskList>

Submitted By

User account of the person who submitted the task.

 
<SubmittedBy>CONTOS\NancyA</SubmittedBy>

Run As account

Run as account that was used when the task was run.

 
<RunningAs>CONTOSO\NancyA</RunningAs>

Status List

One or more values matching the status returned by the task. Valid values are as follows:

  • Scheduled
  • Started
  • Succeeded
  • Failed

 
<StatusList>
   <Status>Succeeded</Status>
   <Status>Failed</Status>
</StatusList>

Output

Text in the output of the task.

 
<Output>output</Output>

Scheduled to Run

The time that the task was scheduled to run. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, the WithinLast node requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<TimeScheduled>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</TimeScheduled>
<TimeScheduled>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</TimeScheduled>

Started Running

The time that the task started running. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, the WithinLast node requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<TimeStarted>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</TimeStarted>
<TimeStarted>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</TimeStarted>

Last Modified

The time that the task was last modified. A time range or a relative duration from the current time can be specified. If a relative time is used, the WithinLast node requires a Unit attribute. The possible values for this attribute are as follows:

  • Second
  • Minute
  • Hour
  • Day

 
<LastModified>
   <Range>
      <After>2010-05-16T12:00:00</After>
      <Before>2010-05-27T18:00:00</Before>
   </Range>
</LastModified>
<LastModified>
   <WithinLast Unit="Hour">2</WithinLast>
</LastModified>

Columns

Each column in a task status view is defined by using a ColumnInfo node in the Presentation node of the view. The XML of an example column definition is shown here:

<ColumnInfo Index="0" SortIndex="-1" Width="100" Grouped="false" Sorted="false" IsSortable="false" Visible="true" SortOrder="Ascending">
   <Name>Status</Name>
   <Id>Status</Id>
</ColumnInfo>

The content of each column is determined by its ID value with the title of the column defined by the Name. The possible contents of a state view are identified in the following table:

 

Column ID Description

Status

Status

Status from running the task

Task Name

DisplayName

Name of the task

Schedule Time

TimeScheduled

Time that the task was scheduled

Submitted By

SubmittedBy

Name of the user who submitted the task

Run As

RunningAs

Run as account that is used when the task was run

Run Location

LocationName

Name of the computer that the task was run on

Task Target Class

TargetedType

Name of the target class for the task

Category

Category

Category of the task

Task Description

Description

Description of the task

The order of the columns can be specified by using the dialog box in the Operations console. This corresponds to the Index attribute in the XML for the column.

If no columns are specified for the view, by default, the following columns are displayed:

  • Status
  • Task Name
  • Schedule Time
  • Submitted By
  • Run Location

Formatting

You can format a task status view by modifying the attributes of each column definition. You do this by opening the external editor from the Authoring console or with the dialog box in the Operations console. The different characteristics each column and their corresponding attributes are listed in the following table:

 

Characteristic Description

Column Order

Specify the order of columns by using the Index attribute for the column. This can also be performed by using the Display tab in the Properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console.

Column Width

Each column has a width attribute defining the width of the column in pixels. The column width in the dialog box will be used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the width in the Operations console, the new settings will be saved on the local workstation. You cannot guarantee that the column width in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

Column Visibility

Each column has a Visible attribute that defines whether the column will be visible in the Operations console. When a column should not be displayed, that column should still be included in the view by setting the Visible attribute to false. A column that is not included in the view is not available as an option for the user to add the column to the view in the Operations console. Therefore, all columns are typically included in the view and the visibility of the columns that should not be displayed is set to false.

Sorting

The status events listed in a task status view can be sorted by any of the included columns. The sorting configuration in the dialog box is used the first time that you open the Operations console. If you change the sort order in the Operations console, the new settings will be saved on the local workstation. You cannot guarantee that the sort order in the management pack is retained on any workstation.

The dialog box in the Operations console allows for the view to be sorted by a single column. Sorting may be performed on multiple columns by modifying the XML of the view. You can do this by changing the value of the Sorted attribute of the column entry to true. The SortIndex attribute defines the order that the columns will be sorted, and its value must be changed to a value of 0 or more. The SortOrder attribute must be either Ascending or Descending, depending on the preferred sort order for the column.

Grouping

Task status views can be grouped by any of the included columns. The Operations console dialog box allows for up to three fields that can be used for grouping, but any number may be used when you edit the XML. To use a column for grouping, change the value of its Grouped attribute to true. The SortIndex attribute is used to determine the order for the grouping of multiple columns and must be changed to a value more than 0.

Performance Views

Performance views provide a graphical presentation of values from performance collection rules.

Contents

The contents of a performance view are determined by the following properties:

Target

A performance view will display one or more performance counters associated with the target class or any classes hosted by the target class. All instances of the target class in the management group will be included unless criteria or a group is specified to limit the instance displayed. All performance values associated with these objects will be included unless you specify criteria to limit them.

Group

If a group is specified, all instances of the target class in the group will be included. Even though the group may contain objects of different classes, only instances of the target class are displayed.

Note

If Entity is used for the target class, all objects in the group are included in the view. This is because all classes inherit from Entity.

Criteria

A performance view does not require criteria. If it is provided, criteria in a performance view define the performance counters that should be included in the graph. If no criteria are specified than all performance counters from all collection rules targeted at the included objects will be included. If criteria are provided, the performance counters are limited to those matching the specified criteria. The properties that you can use in criteria are provided in the following table with a sample of the XML code in the view definition.

 

Condition Description Example

RuleList

One or more performance collection rules to include in the view. If the Operations console is used to define this property, the GUID of the rule will be used. This should be replaced with the $MPElement variable for the rule so that the management pack can be copied between management packs.

 
<RuleList>
   <Rule>$MPElement[Name='MyApp.MyCollectionRule']$</Rule>
</RuleList>

Object

The object name of the performance counters to include.

 
<Object>MyObject</Object>

Counter

The counter name of the performance counters to include.

 
<Counter>MyCounter</Counter>

Instance

The instance name of the performance counters to include.

 
<Instance>MyInstance</Instance>

Formatting

The formatting of a performance view is controlled by the properties in the following table. Most of this configuration can be performed with the properties dialog box for the view in the Operations console.

 

Condition Description Example

Time Range

Defines the time range to use for the graph.

If the IsDynamic value is set to true, the time range is set for between the current time and the duration from the current time defined by DynamicTimeTicks. This is the number of seconds multiplied by 10,000,000. This duration is dynamically updated based on the current time.

If the IsDynamic value is set to false, the times set in StartTime and EndTime are used.

 
<StartTime>2010-06-06T15:10:00.1976772-07:00</StartTime>
<EndTime>2010-06-013T15:10:00.1976772-07:00</ EndTime>
<DynamicTimeTicks>864000000000</DynamicTimeTicks
<IsDynamic>true</IsDynamic>

ChartType

The type of chart. Acceptable values are Line and Spline.

 
<ChartType>Line</ChartType>

Text

The fonts and colors that are used for different titles and labels.

 
<TitleFont>Microsoft Sans Serif,12,Regular</TitleFont>
<ChartFont>Microsoft Sans Serif,8.25,Regular</ChartFont>
<LabelFont>Microsoft Sans Serif,14,Regular</LabelFont>
<XAxisFont>Microsoft Sans Serif,8.25,Regular</XAxisFont>
<YAxisFont>Microsoft Sans Serif,14,Regular</YAxisFont>
<LabelColor>-16777216</LabelColor>

Axes

Specifies the configuration of the axes. The AxisMin and AxisMax values are only used if AutoAxis is set to false. These values set the configuration of the Y-Axis.

 
<XLabelAngle>0</XLabelAngle>
<YAxisVisible>True</YAxisVisible>
<YAxisVisible>True</YAxisVisible>
<AutoAxis>true</AutoAxis>
<AxisMax>100</AxisMax>
<AxisMin>0</AxisMin>

Gridlines

Specify which gridlines are displayed.

 
<XShowMajorGridlines>false</XShowMajorGridlines>
<XShowMinorGridlines>false</XShowMinorGridlines>
<ShowInterlaceStrips>false</ShowInterlaceStrips>
<XInterlaceColor>16777215</XInterlaceColor>
<YShowMajorGridlines>true</YShowMajorGridlines>
<YShowMajorGridlines>true</YShowMajorGridlines>
<YShowInterlaceStrips>false</YShowInterlaceStrips>

3D

Specifies whether the graph should be displayed in 3D and sets different options for the rotation. The options only take effect if the Is3DMode property is set to true.

 
<Is3DMode>true</Is3DMode>
<Perspective>10</Perspective>
<GraphXRotation>0</GraphXRotation>
<GraphYRotation>0</GraphYRotation>
<RightAngleAxes>false</RightAngleAxes>
<ClusterSeries>false</ClusterSeries>
<Depth>100</Depth>
<GapDepth>100</GapDepth>

View options

Shows the performance baseline for rules using self-tuning.

 
<BaselineMode>false</BaselineMode>
<ShowAlerts>false</ShowAlerts>
<ShowMaintenanceMode>false</ShowMaintenanceMode>

General Formatting

 
<XShowSideMargin>true</XShowSideMargin>
<YShowSideMargin>true</YShowSideMargin>

Diagram Views

Diagram views provide a visual representation of the state of a particular object and any objects that the object hosts or contains.

Target

All diagram views require a target. Although other views can use any class as a target, the contents of a diagram view are determined by a specific object or singleton class. If an object is used, the GUID of the object is required in the management pack. Since this GUID is not known until the object is discovered, a singleton class such as a distributed application or a group is typically used.

If a diagram view is created in the Operations console, that view will have the GUID of a target object in the view configuration in addition to the target class. If the target class is singleton, this GUID may be removed without affecting the functionality of the view. The GUID should be removed so that the management pack can be transferred between management groups.

Diagram views do not have criteria or a group in addition to the target. The view will include all objects that are contained or hosted by the target object.

Formatting

The formatting of a diagram view is determined by XML code in the management pack that is completely configurable in the

 

Element Description Example

Nodes Per Row

Specifies how many nodes are displayed on a single row if box containment style is used.

 
<NodesPerRow>3</NodesPerRow>

Levels to Show

The number of levels to expand when the view is first opened. If no value is provided, the default value of 2 is used.

 
<LevelsToShow>8</LevelsToShow>

Line Style

The style of the line. If no value is provided, the default value of Solid is used. If another style is required, one of the following values can be used:

  1. Solid

  2. Dot

  3. Dash

  4. DashDot

  5. DashDotDot

 
<LineStyle>DashDotDot</LineStyle>

Line Color

Color of the line.

 
<Color Red="6" Green="134" Blue="253" />

Line Width

The width of the line. If no value is provided, the default value of 1 is used.

 
<LineWidth>2</LineWidth>

Arrow Style

Specifies whether the end of a line uses an arrow.

  • NoAnchor

  • ArrowAnchor

 
<ArrowStyle>NoAnchor</ArrowStyle>

Virtually Group

Specified by ShowVirtualGroup attribute of DiagramViewDisplay node. If the attribute is false, virtual grouping is not used. If it is true or not specified, virtual grouping is used.

 
<DiagramViewDisplay ShowVirtualGroup="false">

Maximum Number of Children

Maximum number of children of a virtual node.

 
<MaxNumChild>7</MaxNumChild>

VirtualGroupThreshold

Virtual grouping will be applied if a node has more children than the specified value.

 
<VirtualGroupThreshold>3</VirtualGroupThreshold>

Minimum Bucket Size

Minimum number of child nodes of a virtual node.

 
<MinBucketSize>2</MinBucketSize>

The XML code for the Presentation element of a sample diagram view is shown here:

<Presentation>
   <DiagramViewCriteria>
      <DiagramViewDisplay>
         <NodesPerRow>3</NodesPerRow>
         <LevelsToShow>4</LevelsToShow>
         <ContainmentLine>
            <Color />
            <SourceArrow IsFilled="false">
               <ArrowStyle>NoAnchor</ArrowStyle>
            </SourceArrow>
            <TargetArrow IsFilled="false">
               <ArrowStyle>ArrowAnchor</ArrowStyle>
            </TargetArrow>
         </ContainmentLine>
         <NonContainmentLine>
            <Color Red="6" Green="134" Blue="253" />
            <SourceArrow IsFilled="false">
               <ArrowStyle>NoAnchor</ArrowStyle>
            </SourceArrow>
            <TargetArrow IsFilled="false">
               <ArrowStyle>ArrowAnchor</ArrowStyle>
            </TargetArrow>
            <LineStyle>DashDotDot</LineStyle>
         </NonContainmentLine>
         <MinBucketSize>3</MinBucketSize>
         <VirtualGroupThreshold>3</VirtualGroupThreshold>
      </DiagramViewDisplay>
   </DiagramViewCriteria>
</Presentation>

Dashboard Views

Dashboard views provide a means for displaying multiple views at the same time in the Operations console. A single dashboard view can contain between two and nine other views.

Target

Dashboard views have a target like other views, although this target is not used for any purpose. Each view that is contained in the dashboard view has its own target.

Configuration

Dashboard views have a fairly simple configuration that defines the number of rows and columns and a specific report to include in each pane. Unlike the other kinds of views, dashboard views cannot be created in the Authoring console without configuration and then installed into the management group for configuration in the Operations console. At least the number of rows and columns must be specified for being installed. This is because the number of panes in a dashboard view cannot be changed in the Operations console as soon as the view is created.

The definition of a cell in a dashboard view includes the column and row of the cell and the ID of the view for the cell to display. In addition, a cell can span multiple columns by using the ColumnSpan attribute.

The following example shows the configuration a four view diagram view that has each cell the same size.

<PanelConfiguration Columns="2" Rows="2">
   <Cell Row="1" Column="1" ViewID="MyMP.MyView1"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="1" Column="2" ViewID="MyMP.MyView2"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="2" Column="1" ViewID="MyMP.MyView3"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="2" Column="2" ViewID="MyMP.MyView4"></Cell>
</PanelConfiguration>

The following example shows the configuration a five view diagram view that has three small views across the top row and two large views in the second and third rows.

<PanelConfiguration Columns="3" Rows="3">
   <Cell Row="1" Column="1" ViewID="MyMP.MyView1"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="1" Column="2" ViewID="MyMP.MyView2"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="1" Column="3" ViewID="MyMP.MyView3"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="2" Column="1" ColumnSpan="3" ViewID="MyMP.MyView4"></Cell>
   <Cell Row="3" Column="1" ColumnSpan="3" ViewID="MyMP.MyView5"></Cell>
</PanelConfiguration>