Microsoft Updates MOM

This week, Microsoft announced enhancements to the Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) product that will help extend the product to new Microsoft environments such as Windows Server 2003 and various third-party applications. The enhancements include 30 Management Pack updates, a Service Pack 1 (SP1) release with customer-requested fixes, a new MOM software development kit (SDK), and a new MOM resource kit. MOM adds various operations-management capabilities to Windows Server, including comprehensive event management, proactive monitoring and alerting, reporting, and trend analysis.

"The introduction of these enhancements is a significant step toward Microsoft's continued commitment to making Windows the best-managed environment," said Kirill Tatarinov, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Management Business Group. "Our customers expect a management solution that delivers a quick and continuous return on investment through ease of deployment and use. [MOM] can reduce day-to-day support costs of Windows-based environments through seamless maintenance of mission-critical applications and systems."

The new MOM enhancements include:
Management Pack updates--More than 30 new Management Pack updates extend MOM's ability to monitor Windows-based environments. Examples include Management Packs that enable monitoring of applications created for the Microsoft .NET Framework, Network Load Balancing (NLB), and Microsoft Cluster service. Microsoft has also updated some existing Management Packs. 
MOM SP1--The first MOM service pack adds bug and security fixes, as well as new features, such as globalization support, performance and scalability enhancements, and support clustering for the MOM database.
MOM SDK 2--An updated MOM SDK includes new tools and components, such as sample 2-way connectors, integration of UI views, custom reporting solutions, and better support for managing non-Windows servers. Developers can use the SDK to programmatically control group management, access any data MOM collects through standard SQL Views, access MOM alerts, and integrate MOM data with Help desks and service desks.
MOM resource kit--A new MOM resource kit includes tools to increase the product's efficiency in various environments. One tool, the Server Status Monitor utility, makes MOM more efficient in smaller environments. The resource kit also adds new testing and debugging tools that let administrators test scripts before deploying them in live environments.

For more information about MOM and its new enhancements, visit the Microsoft Web site.