SCOM Managed Instance plugin

The SCOM Managed Instance (MI) plugin allows you to connect to and visualize SCOM data in SquaredUp.

Use the SCOM MI plugin if your SCOM Managed Instance is available on the internet, and you do not have the Enterprise plan. You do not need to configure a relay agent.
Whilst you can also use the SCOM MI plugin to connect to traditional SCOM (or SCOM MI behind a firewall) you would need to open your firewall to allow access. We would instead recommend using the SCOM plugin which uses an agent, so opening the firewall is not necessary.

We recommend you use the SCOM plugin in preference to the SCOM MI plugin, if you have the Enterprise plan, for several reasons:

The SCOM plugin can access your SCOM Managed Instance or traditional SCOM.
The SCOM plugin uses an on-prem agent so is able to access your traditional SCOM or SCOM MI without the need to open up your firewall.
The SCOM plugin also supports object indexing.
The SCOM plugin includes many more data streams (20 vs 6) so can therefore visualize more of your data.
The SCOM plugin installs more pre-configured dashboards, so you can instantly visualize your data.

Whilst there is a SCOM MI on-prem plugin, (meaning you can configure an agent and don't need to open your firewall) this is only available with the Enterprise plan, and doesn't have all the other benefits of the SCOM plugin which is also available with the Enterprise plan.

For more information about what this plugin does and the data streams it retrieves, see:

SCOM Managed Instance

Before you start

If you have the Enterprise plan we recommend the SCOM plugin instead, which can connect to SCOM MI or traditional SCOM. The SCOM plugin does not need you to open your firewall to allow access, and includes more data streams and dashboards.

Configuring Windows Authentication for Entra ID

If you have configured Entra ID, you need to configure Windows Authentication for Entra ID with the incoming trust-based flow, as described by this Microsoft article: How to set up Windows Authentication for Microsoft Entra ID with the incoming trust-based flow

Find the SCOM MI details in Azure

These steps allow you to find and note the DB Name and DB Host URL details of your SCOM MI in Azure.

Log in to the Azure Portal.
Search for SCOM Managed Instance and click on the instance to connect to SquaredUp.
Under Reports select the PowerBI tab.
Copy the DB Name and DB Host URL. You will use these when Configuring the data source in SquaredUp.
Make note of the username and password that will access the Azure resource.

Create a new SQL server logon

Do this to create a new logon to the data warehouse to allow SquaredUp access. You need to do this whether you are using SCOM MI or traditional SCOM.

Log in to the SCOM database server hosting the OperationsWarehouseDW database.
Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
Open the Server Properties dialog and change the SQL Server Authentication from Windows Authentication mode to SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode.
Create a new login under the Security node. This account requires the following:
1. SQL Server authentication
2. Public Server Role
3. Be mapped to the OperationsManagerDW database with the following roles:
  - db_datareader
  - public
  - OpsMgrReader
  - SCOM_HealthService
4. Grant permission to connect to the database engine.
5. Login enabled.
Make a note of the username, password, server FQDN, and port.

Configuring the data source

You will need the following which you noted down from the previous steps:

A username and password to the SCOM data warehouse database.
The FQDN / URL and port for your SCOM MI or traditional SCOM.

Display Name:
Enter a name for your data source. This helps you to identify this data source in the list of your data sources.
DB Name:
Enter the DB Name for the Data Warehouse database. For SCOM MI this value can be found in the Reports section of the SCOM managed instance, but is usually OperationsManagerDW.
DB Host URL:
Enter the URL or FQDN of the SCOM MI database server (or traditional SCOM). For SCOM MI this value can be found in the Reports section of the SCOM MI Instance.
Keep the comma and port after the URL. For example:
- For SCOM MI it might be server.domain.local,3342
- For traditional SCOM this might be server.domain.local,1433
You may have configured a different port number.
Username:
Enter the username that has access to the database.
Password:
Enter the password for the Username you entered.
Restrict access to this data source:
You can enable this option if you only want certain users or groups to have access to the data source, or the permission to link it to new workspaces. See data source access control for more information.
Install Dashboards:
Select whether you would like to install pre-built dashboards and perspectives with the data source. By default, this is set to on.
Click Test and add to validate the data source configuration. SquaredUp will now attempt to connect to SquaredUp using the provided authentication method.
- Testing passed – a success message will be displayed and then the configuration will be saved.
- Testing passed with warnings – warnings will be listed and potential fixes suggested. You can still use the data source with warnings. Select Save with warnings if you believe that you can still use the data source as required with the warnings listed. Alternatively, address the issues listed and then select Rerun tests to validate the data source configuration again. If the validation now passes, click Save.
- Testing Failed – errors will be listed and potential fixes suggested. You cannot use the data source with errors. You are able to select Save with errors if you believe that a system outside of SquaredUp is causing the error that you need to fix. Alternatively, address the issues listed and then select Rerun tests to validate the data source configuration again. If the validation now passes, click Save.
You can edit any data source configurations at any time from Settings > Data Sources.

Next Steps

Once the data source setup is complete click Explore dashboards to view the preconfigured dashboards that have been installed.

Data streams

Data streams standardize data from all the different shapes and formats your tools use into a straightforward tabular format.

While creating a tile you can tweak data streams by grouping or aggregating specific columns.

Depending on the kind of data, SquaredUp will automatically suggest how to visualize the result, for example as a table or line graph.

Data streams can be either global or scoped:

Global data streams are unscoped and return information of a general nature (e.g. "Get the current number of unused hosts").
A scoped data stream gets information relevant to the specific set objects supplied in the tile scope (e.g. "Get the current session count for these hosts").

See Data Streams for more information.

The following data streams are installed with this plugin.

Data stream	Description
All Alerts	Returns all SCOM alerts
Computer States	Returns the state of the selected object type
Open Alerts	Returns the open SCOM Alerts

Configurable data streams

The following data streams have configurable Parameters.

Data stream	Description	Parameters
Object Alerts	Returns the state of the selected object type	Object Class: Select a SCOM Object Class. SCOM Object Filter: With the support of SQL Wildcards you can filter for specific objects from the selected SCOM class.
Object States	Returns the state of the selected object type	Object Class: Select a SCOM Object Class. SCOM Object Filter: With the support of SQL Wildcards you can filter for specific objects from the selected SCOM class.
Performance Metrics	Returns the result of a SQL query for metrics used in graphing	Object Class: Select a SCOM Object Class. Performance Rule: Select a Performance Rule SCOM DisplayName Filter: With the support of SQL Wildcards you can filter for specific objects in the DisplayName field. Performance Path Filter: With the support of SQL Wildcards you can filter for specific objects in the Path field. Performance Instance Filter: With the support of SQL Wildcards you can filter for specific object instances.

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