Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud

Integrating System Center Components

Verify the Infrastructure

Verifying System Center Components

After completing this module, you will be able to describe:

The key features of a cloud computing model.

Private cloud requirements

Public cloud requirements.

How System Center 2012 R2 can be used to monitor and manage a hybrid cloud.

How to maintain the health of a hybrid cloud infrastructure.

How to integrate System Center components.

This module examines how Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 - Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) plays a pivotal role in the private cloud. The module first provides an overview of Virtual Machine Manager, and will then show how it is used to manage a virtual environment. Additionally, this module explains how to create private clouds by using Virtual Machine Manager. In the lab, you will create a private cloud and then optimize it so that is ready for production use.

Overview of System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager

Managing the Virtual Environment with Virtual Machine Manager

Creating Clouds

Configuring Network Resources

Creating a Cloud

Create a VM Network using Software Defined Networks Isolation

Creating the Contoso Cloud Tenant for StockTrader Production

After completing this module you will be able to:

Describe the, key features, architecture, and security features of Virtual Machine Manager, including the role that it plays in a cloud environment.

Manage a cloud infrastructure using Virtual Machine Manager.

Configure private cloud resources and security.

Overview of Service Templates

VMM Profiles

Web Deploy Packages

Overview of Server App-V

Data-Tier Application Packages

Deploying Services through App Controller

Deploying a Single Tier Service

Configuring Prerequisites

Preparing the StockTrader Service Template

Deploying the Service Template

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Create service templates.

Create VMM machine profiles.

Create Web Deploy packages.

Sequence applications by using Server App-V.

Create data-tier application packages.

Deploy services by using App Controller.

Module 1 explained how the health of the private cloud infrastructure is monitored with Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager. This is important in maintaining the underlying infrastructure that the private cloud relies on. This module shows how Operations Manager is used to monitor the services deployed in a cloud.

Overview of System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager

Agent Deployment in Operations Manager

Configuring Custom Monitoring

Monitoring the Network Infrastructure

Monitoring Distributed Applications

Deploying an Agent

Configuring Custom Monitoring

Creating a Distributed Application Model

Detecting and Recovering From a Failure

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Describe Operations Manager, including its key features, security and architecture.

Deploy agents in Operations Manager to application servers.

Configure custom monitoring for applications and services in the cloud.

Monitor the networking infrastructure that applications and services rely upon.

Monitor Distributed Applications.

This module explains how to configure APM to monitor the performance and availability of a .NET application. Additionally, it discusses how Operations Manager 2012 R2 detects and reports failure of these monitors with its alerting and diagnostics tools.

Application Performance Monitoring

Advanced Monitoring in APM

Viewing Application Performance Data in Operations Manager

Configuring Basic Monitoring in Application Performance Monitoring

Customizing the Performance Thresholds

Validating Monitoring

Creating a Distributed Application Model for the DinnerNow Application

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Describe APM including the core components and best practices when using APM.

Configure advanced monitoring in APM.

View Application Performance Monitoring data in Operations Manager.

This module covers the core features of Service Manager and the security model that supports it. It also covers how to map critical IT processes to Service Manager, and how to use the features of Service Manager to administer these processes. Additionally, the module describes methods to create and manage change requests, incidents, and release records.

Overview of Service Manager

Configuring Security and User Roles

Configuring Work Items

Configuring Incident Queues

Configuring Service Offerings for a Cloud

Configuring Security Roles

Configuring Notifications

Publish an Incident Service Offering

Raising an Incident

Creating a Change Request

Creating a Release Record

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Describe Service Manager.

Configure security and user roles.

Configure work items.

Configure incident queues.

Configure service offerings.

This module describes Orchestrator, reviews the integration features that are available through the installation of the System Center Integration Packs, and explains the processes to follow when configuring automation between Service Manager and Operations Manager.

Overview of System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator

Integrating Orchestrator with Operations Manager and Service Manager

Configuring the Incident Template

Configuring Incidents that affect the StockTrader Service

Automatic Incident remediation and Change Requests

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Describe Orchestrator including Integration Packs.

Configure integration between Orchestrator, Operations Manager and Service Manager.

This module explains how a defined set of processes can help reduce the time to resolve problems. It also reviews how incidents and problems are managed within Service Manager. Additionally, this module explains how the integration of Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Service Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator, and System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager can provide an automated method of generating problem records in Service Manager.

Overview of Problem Management

Creating Custom Rules

Manually Creating a Problem Record

Creating a Custom Event Rule in Operations Manager

Configuring Automated Problem Record Creation

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Describe problem management.

Create custom rules.in Operations Manager.

In this module you will learn how the Windows Azure Pack can be used to provide a self-service portal for tenants and administrators, and a multi-tenant framework for onboarding users. You will also learn how to provision web site, virtual machine and service bus clouds as well as looking at providing database services and automation.

Windows Azure Pack Key Concepts

Administer Windows Azure Pack

Windows Azure Pack Providers

Preparing the environment

Create a Plan and Tenant

Provision a new Virtual Machine

On completion of this module you will be able to:

Describe the key features, architecture, components, and security features of Windows Azure Pack.

Describe the Windows Azure Pack concepts.

Provision and Configure services in the Windows Azure Pack.

This module explains how to manage a highly available cloud Infrastructure using SQL Server 2012 Always-On, Hyper-V Replica and Azure Site Recovery. This module also details how to use Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 - Data Protection Manager (DPM) to provide data protection for a cloud.

High Availability for a Cloud

Protecting Data in the Private Cloud

Recovering Data in the Private Cloud

Configuring Manual Protection and Recovery of Key Service Data

Configuring Automatic Protection and Recovery of Key Service Data

Monitoring Protection Status

After completing this module, you will be able to configure:

High availability for a cloud.

Data protection for a cloud.

Data recovery for a cloud.

You will learn how Configuration Manager can be used to provide update management for Virtual Machines hosted in a cloud infrastructure. You will also learn how System Center Advisor can be used to optimize and manage cloud infrastructure by providing best practice guidelines for the configuration of the servers hosting cloud infrastructure. Finally you will learn how Pro-Tips can be used to optimize the virtualized environment and provide automated remediation when problems are detected in the environment.

Using Virtual Machine Manager to Keep the Cloud Infrastructure Up-to-Date

Using Configuration Manager to keep Virtual Machines up-to-date

Using System Center Advisor to Optimize Cloud infrastructure

Using Pro-Tips to Optimize Cloud infrastructure

Configuring Update Baselines

Configuring Pro-Tips

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Update the host infrastructure with Virtual Machine Manager.

Update the host and guest infrastructure with Configuration Manager.

Optimize your platform with System Center Advisor.

Optimize your virtual machine workloads with Pro-Tips.

As an IT operations toolset, Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 produces and collects a vast array of data. The challenge for IT organizations as a whole is to gather this information and present it in a meaningful way to the relevant stakeholders. This module explains the various available methodologies within System Center to collect, measure, and scorecard the performance and availability of the private cloud infrastructure.

Service Level Tracking

Configuring and Deploying Widgets and Dashboards

Publishing Real-Time State with Microsoft Visio Snap-in

System Center Analytics

Using Excel and SSRS to View Data

Configuring Service Reporting

Configuring Service Level Tracking

Configuring Service Level Management for a cloud

Configuring Microsoft Excel Analytics

Configuring and running Service Reporting

After completing this module, you will be able to:

Configure Service Level Tracking in Operations Manager.

Configure and deploy dashboards and widgets.

Publishing real-time dashboards with Microsoft Visio.

Use System Center analytics.

Analyze Service Manager OLAP cube data using Microsoft Office Excel.

Install, configure and use Service Reporting to create chargeback reports.