System Center Advisor (formerly Microsoft codename “Atlanta”) is a cloud service that enables IT professionals to assess their server configuration and proactively avoid problems. With System Center Advisor, support staff is able to resolve issues faster by accessing current and historical configuration data, all with the security features that meet their needs. Additionally, System Center Advisor helps reduce downtime by providing suggestions for improvement, and notifying customers of key updates specific to their configuration.

The basic idea is to have your servers monitored in a Microsoft Cloud, with a web interface for the management part. Technically, you will need to have a gateway server in your enterprise (A gateway is just a server which has an internet access and all your monitored servers will contact to that gateway for updating informations to the cloud and not directly to internet).

Attention, currently System Center Advisor only supports the monitor of Windows Server 2008, Sql Server 2008 and some AD part.

System Requirements

The System Center Advisor agent and gateway require either 32-bit or 64-bit versions of:
Windows Server 2008 or later

The System Center Advisor agent analyzes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of:

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or later
Windows Server 2008 or later

To access the System Center Advisor web portal you will need a browser that supports Silverlight 4.0, such as Internet Explorer 7.0 or later.

Let’s starting:

Microsoft just published the RC of Advisor, and as it’s free for the moment, it’s the right time to test it. Just go on https://www.systemcenteradvisor.com/ and create an account thanks to you Windows Live ID.

Once your account created, you have to download the Certificate and the setup program. This certificate will be used for authentication between the Microsoft Advisor Cloud and your Gateway server. You don’t need to add this certificate in your certificate store, the setup will ask for it during the installation process, nothing more.

Once your gateway ready, the process will install the Operations Manager Agent. You don’t need to have a Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 infrastructure in place, System Center Advisor will just installed the agent and configured it for working with the Microsoft Advisor Cloud.

When everything, we will have to wait some times for having data retrieved in your web console

Overview

The web console has 5 min parts:

• Alerts: in that view, we could see all your servers’ alerts and manage it. Changing the status, disabling not needed alert…

• Configuration : In that part, we have a global snapshot of the current configuration of your servers

  

• Change History : History of your configuration changes

• Servers : View of all your monitored servers and gateways

  

   

• Account: In that part we could manage your user access (base on Windows Live Id), the name of your company and closing your company account.

Conclusion

Microsoft System Center Advisor could be really a great product for small companies that don’t have the money and the resources for the implementation of Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2. The setup is really quick and the entire configuration is saved in the Microsoft Cloud.

Currently Advisor has only a few monitoring rules for AD, Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008. I hope that Microsoft will soon add all the rules/monitors available in the different OpsMgr Management packs.

I invite you to read the comment of Paul Mestemaker / Sr. Program Manager / Microsoft / System Center Advisor below.

Below, all the alerts that could you have with Microsoft System Center Advisor RC:

I invite you to read the comment of Paul Mestemaker / Sr. Program Manager / Microsoft / System Center Advisor below.

advisor · cloud · microsoft · monitoring · system center

• SCUG.be – TechEd BOF Session Proposal Voting http://bit.ly/b6XMG1 #
• Thoughts on OpsMgr – Comparison Matrix II: Savision Live Maps 5.01 vs. Visio 2010 Add-in for SCOM R2 http://bit.ly/apqvqj #
• Kevin Holman's OpsMgr Blog – Clustering the Exchange 2010 Correlation Engine service http://bit.ly/91GK7w #
• Thoughts on OpsMgr – Exhange 2010 MP: Checklist of what to do when importing that MP http://bit.ly/9naIMg #
• JIMMY HARPER'S OPERATIONS MANAGER BLOG – Group Membership Count Report http://bit.ly/dwjS83 #
• Jonathan Almquist on Operations Manager – When was the last time this agent inserted data and what was the latency? http://bit.ly/cG8ebK #
• Thoughts on OpsMgr – Tech-Ed 2010 Europe: Are you going to be there? http://bit.ly/bt92Xp #
• Thoughts on OpsMgr – New MP released: Visual Studio 2010 Team Foundation Server Monitoring MP http://bit.ly/9GPl74 #
• Thoughts on OpsMgr – Opalis: QIK Video Tutorial Series http://bit.ly/aVeDKp #
• Thoughts on OpsMgr – Opalis: Installation Video Tutorial Series http://bit.ly/ad5N04 #
• MPAuthor – How Discovery Works http://bit.ly/bnaRXG #
• My Twitter value is $1.72, according to http://www.twalue.com … What about yours? #twalue #

Group · Live · monitoring · TechEd · twitter