Jaa


OpsMgr: Enabling a Linked Report for a Collection Rule Created with Silect MPAuthor SP4

Silect recently released MP Author SP4. This tool is targeted at the IT Pros and allows them to easily build completely new or even customize existing management packs for OpsMgr.

image

In this post, I will demonstrate how a Performance Top Object Linked Report can be configured for the collection rule created with Silect MPAuthor SP4 and featured in my last post.

image       

For more in depth information on how to create a PowerShell script collection rule using the older version of MP Author, please visit my previous blog post. The steps to create a PowerShell script collection rule are mostly identical between the previous versions.

To enable a Linked Report for a PowerShell Script collection rule in MP Author, the Save to Data Warehouse and Report Name check boxes must be checked on the Rule Options page during creation of the collection rule:

image

The Linked Report will be created together with the PowerShell Script collection rule after the creation process is complete.

image

This Linked Report will show up in the Reporting workspace after the MP Author SP4 created management pack is imported into an OpsMgr management group.

image

However, if this Linked Report is run, it will display an error message “The ‘TimeType’ parameter is missing a value” as follows:

image
      

Therefore, here are 4 additional steps to take in order to fix the Linked Report created with the collection rule in MP Author SP4, by converting the Linked Report to a Performance Top Object Linked Report:
 

  1. Click the Edit XML button of the Linked Report and remove the <Dependencies> section under the <LinkedReport …> section:

    <Dependencies>
    <Rule>Sample.MP.with.PS.Rule.MPAuthor.SP4.GetHealthServiceWorkflowCount</Rule>
    </Dependencies>

    image

  2. Add a <Parameters> section before the end of the </LinkedReport> tag with Parameters RuleId, SortOrder, TopCount and RuleInstance as follows:

    <Parameters>
    <Parameter Name="RuleId">
    <Value>$MPElement[Name="<<Your Rule Name>>"]$</Value>
    </Parameter>
    <Parameter Name="SortOrder">
    <Value>-1</Value>
    </Parameter>
    <Parameter Name="TopCount">
    <Value>10</Value>
    </Parameter>
    <Parameter Name="RuleInstance">
    <Value></Value>
    </Parameter>
    </Parameters>

    image

    Thanks to Eugene’s article on Performance "Top" linked reports from a few years ago, I was able to figure out how to configure the SortOrder and TopCount parameters:

    image

  3. Replace the Base report type with Top N Performance report type:

    Base="ReportingLibrary!Microsoft.SystemCenter.DataWarehouse.Report.PerformanceTop">

    Before:
    image

    After:
    image

  4. Remove the Target setting from the LinkedReport section:

    Target=”SC!Microsoft.SystemCenter.CollectionManagementServer”

    Before:
    image

    After:
    image       
                   
               

Re-import the management pack after saving the changes applied to the Linked Report and re-run the report from the Reporting workspace: 

Note that the Linked Report should run but may return an empty result within the first few hours of the first implementation of the Collection Rule.

image

If the PowerShell Script collection rule is configured correctly, its corresponding Performance Top Object Linked Report should return the top N objects as follows after a few hours:

image

 

Disclaimer:
All information on this blog is provided on an as-is basis with no warranties and for informational purposes only. Use at your own risk. The opinions and views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of my employer.