Introduction

Operations Manager (OM) 2007 moves beyond monitoring Windows servers to client PCs and non-Windows devices and delivers other marked technical improvements to Microsoft’s computer monitoring product. OM 2007 also takes an important step in Microsoft’s long-term initiative to support highly automated (“dynamic”) IT. In particular, OM 2007 employs computer system models, a technique that Microsoft believes will ultimately enable more automated and reliable systems management. However, Microsoft’s march toward “dynamic IT” will be long, and success is not guaranteed: the company has major product development ahead, and an uphill battle to enlist customer and partner support for model-based systems management.

Beyond Windows Servers for Monitoring

OM is Microsoft’s product for automated monitoring of IT systems, designed to detect problems early and capture data required to resolve them. OM relies on a human operator for problem resolution in most cases, but helps by delivering timely alerts of possible problems, providing reports and documentation for problem diagnosis and resolution, and storing and running scripts to resolve recurring problems. The goal is to avoid downtime by enabling an early response—possibly before users have even noticed a problem—and making it more likely that the response is the correct one and does not create further problems.