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Service Manager Alert: Logical Disks and Network Adapters Erroneously Reported as Deleted

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This document addresses a specific issue encountered in System Center Service Manager where logical disks and network adapters are incorrectly flagged for deletion. Even though these items are still actively managed and present within Operations Manager, they appear in the Service Manager console under the Administration > Deleted Items folder, marked with a “Pending delete” status. This situation can arise without any accompanying error messages from the Operations Manager Configuration Items (CI) connector, making it potentially confusing for administrators. Understanding the cause and implementing the resolution steps outlined in this article is crucial for maintaining data integrity and accurate representation of your IT infrastructure within Service Manager.

Symptoms

In certain System Center environments, the Operations Manager CI connector, responsible for synchronizing configuration items between Operations Manager and Service Manager, may exhibit unexpected behavior. Specifically, it can erroneously mark logical disk and network adapter objects as deleted within Service Manager. This misreporting occurs despite the fact that these very same objects are still operational and correctly registered within Operations Manager. Upon investigation within the Service Manager console, administrators will find these affected items residing in the Deleted Items folder, accessible through the Administration pane. These items are not actually deleted, but rather listed as “Pending delete,” indicating a state of being flagged for removal by the connector process. It’s important to note that this issue typically manifests without any explicit error messages originating from the Operations Manager CI connector itself, which can make initial diagnosis more challenging. Therefore, recognizing this symptom—incorrectly marked deleted items without connector errors—is the first step towards identifying and resolving the underlying problem.

Deleted Items Folder

Cause

The root cause of this issue lies in the configuration of the Operations Manager CI connector, specifically when a single connector is configured to synchronize with multiple operating system (OS) management pack versions. This scenario becomes problematic when these management packs are set to synchronize all objects of the same type, such as logical disks and network adapters, across different OS versions. When a single connector attempts to handle synchronization from multiple OS-specific management packs that cover the same object types, it can lead to conflicts and misinterpretations during the deletion detection process. The connector might incorrectly identify objects from one management pack version as being deleted because they are not present in another management pack version it is also monitoring. This confusion in object mapping and synchronization across multiple, overlapping management packs is the fundamental reason why logical disks and network adapters are erroneously marked for deletion in Service Manager, even though they are still active and managed in Operations Manager. To prevent this, it’s crucial to understand how management packs are configured within the connector and to ensure a clear separation of synchronization tasks based on operating system versions.

Operations Manager Connector Configuration

Resolution

To effectively resolve this issue and prevent the incorrect marking of logical disks and network adapters for deletion, a structured approach involving removal, reconfiguration, and the addition of new connectors is necessary. The primary strategy is to segregate the synchronization of objects based on their respective operating system management packs. This involves moving away from a single connector handling multiple OS versions to a model where each operating system version has its dedicated connector.

Remove Deleted Items

The first step in the resolution process is to clear out the erroneously marked items from the Deleted Items folder within Service Manager. This is essential to start with a clean slate and prevent further confusion or potential conflicts during reconfiguration.

  1. Navigate to Deleted Items: Open the Service Manager console and go to the Administration pane. Within the Administration pane, locate and select the Deleted Items folder. This folder contains all items that have been marked for deletion by connectors or manual actions.

  2. Filter for Network Adapters: To isolate the network adapter objects, utilize the filtering capabilities. In the Filter section, click on Edit Criteria. In the Criteria dialog, expand the Add Criteria dropdown menu and choose Class. Then, click Add to add a class-based filter.

  3. Specify Network Adapter Class: In the newly added filter row, within the “type the value” field, begin typing Network Adapter (concrete). As you type, the system will suggest matching classes. Select Network Adapter (concrete) from the suggestions. This filter will narrow down the list to only display network adapter objects in the Deleted Items folder.

  4. Remove Network Adapter Items: Select all the network adapter items displayed in the list. Once selected, locate the task pane on the right side of the console and click on Remove Items. This action will permanently remove the selected network adapter objects from the Deleted Items folder.

  5. Filter for Logical Disks: Repeat steps 2 to 4, but this time, in step 3, when specifying the class, type Logical Disk (concrete) and select it from the suggestions. This will filter the list to show only logical disk objects.

  6. Remove Logical Disk Items: Select all the logical disk items displayed and click Remove Items in the task pane. This will permanently remove the erroneously marked logical disk objects from the Deleted Items folder.

By completing these steps, you have effectively cleared out the incorrectly marked network adapters and logical disks from the Deleted Items folder, preparing the system for connector reconfiguration.

Reconfigure the Connector

The next crucial step is to reconfigure the existing Operations Manager CI connector to synchronize with only a single, core operating system management pack. This is a temporary measure to isolate the synchronization process before creating dedicated connectors for each OS version.

  1. Navigate to Connectors: In the Service Manager console, go to the Administration pane and select Connectors. This section lists all configured connectors, including the Operations Manager CI connectors.

  2. Select Connector Properties: Locate and select the Operations Manager Configuration Items connector that is experiencing the issue. Once selected, in the task pane, click on Properties. This action opens the properties dialog box for the selected connector, allowing you to modify its configuration.

  3. Access Management Packs Configuration: Within the connector’s properties dialog box, navigate to and select Management Packs from the left-hand menu. This section displays the list of management packs currently selected for synchronization by this connector.

  4. Clear Conflicting Management Packs: In the Management Packs list, locate and uncheck the checkboxes next to the following management packs:

    • Microsoft.Windows.Server.Library
    • Microsoft.Windows.Server.2008.Discovery
    • Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003

    These management packs are known to contribute to the issue when used together in a single connector. By clearing these, you are temporarily limiting the connector to a more basic configuration.

  5. Confirm Changes: After unchecking the specified management packs, click Ok to save the changes and close the connector properties dialog box. This reconfiguration step ensures that the existing connector is no longer attempting to synchronize objects from multiple, potentially conflicting, operating system management packs.

Add New Connectors

To properly synchronize objects from different operating system versions without conflict, you need to create new, dedicated Operations Manager CI connectors. Each new connector will be responsible for synchronizing objects from a single operating system management pack.

  1. Initiate Connector Creation: In the Service Manager console, within the Administration pane and Connectors section, click on Create Connector in the task pane. From the dropdown menu, select Operations Manager CI connector. This action starts the wizard for creating a new Operations Manager CI connector.

  2. Name the Connector Descriptively: In the connector creation wizard, provide a descriptive name for the new connector. It is highly recommended to include the operating system version in the name for easy identification and management. For example, you could name the connector Windows Server 2012 Objects, Windows Server 2008 Objects, or Windows Server 2003 Objects, depending on the management pack you will be associating with it.

  3. Configure Server and Account Details: Proceed through the wizard, providing the necessary server and account details required to connect to your Operations Manager environment. This typically includes the Operations Manager server name or management group and the credentials for an account with sufficient permissions to access Operations Manager data. Click Next to proceed to the management pack selection step.

  4. Select Specific Management Pack: From the list of available management packs presented in the wizard, carefully choose only the management pack that corresponds to the specific operating system you want this connector to synchronize. Refer to the table provided in the “Operations Manager management packs and their classes” section for the correct management pack names for each operating system (Windows Server 2003, 2008, and 2012). For instance, if you are creating a connector for Windows Server 2012 objects, you would select Microsoft.Windows.Server.Library.

  5. Complete Connector Creation: After selecting the appropriate management pack, continue through the remaining steps of the wizard, such as configuring a synchronization schedule. Click Create to finalize the creation of the new Operations Manager CI connector.

  6. Repeat for Each OS Version: Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each operating system version for which you need to synchronize objects from Operations Manager into Service Manager. This typically involves creating separate connectors for Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012, each linked to its respective management pack.

By creating these dedicated connectors, you ensure that object synchronization is handled separately for each operating system version, eliminating the conflicts that led to the initial issue of incorrectly marked deleted items.

Choose a Schedule

The final step in the resolution is to carefully plan and configure the synchronization schedules for each of the newly created Operations Manager CI connectors. It is strongly recommended to avoid overlapping schedules between these connectors. Running synchronizations concurrently can potentially lead to resource contention and unpredictable behavior.

During the connector creation wizard, or by modifying the properties of each connector after creation, you can configure the synchronization schedule. Consider staggering the schedules so that each connector runs its synchronization at a different time. For example:

  • Windows Server 2003 Connector: Schedule to run daily at 1:00 AM.
  • Windows Server 2008 Connector: Schedule to run daily at 2:00 AM.
  • Windows Server 2012 Connector: Schedule to run daily at 3:00 AM.
  • Original Connector (reconfigured): Schedule to run daily at 4:00 AM (or another suitable time).

By implementing staggered schedules, you distribute the load of synchronization tasks over time, reducing the risk of conflicts and ensuring a smoother and more reliable synchronization process. Careful scheduling is a best practice for maintaining the health and efficiency of your Service Manager and Operations Manager integration.

Operations Manager management packs and their classes

Management pack display name Management pack name Class display name Class name
Windows Server 2003 Operating System Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003 Windows Server 2003 Logical Disk Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003.LogicalDisk
Windows Server 2003 Operating System Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003 Windows Server 2003 Network Adapter Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003.NetworkAdapter
Windows Server 2008 Operating System (Discovery) Microsoft.Windows.Server.2008.Discovery Windows Server 2008 Logical Disk Microsoft.Windows.Server.2008.LogicalDisk
Windows Server 2008 Operating System (Discovery) Microsoft.Windows.Server.2008.Discovery Windows Server 2008 Network Adapter Microsoft.Windows.Server.2008.NetworkAdapter
Windows Server Operating System Library Microsoft.Windows.Server.Library Windows Server 2012 Logical Disk Microsoft.Windows.Server.6.2.LogicalDisk
Windows Server Operating System Library Microsoft.Windows.Server.Library Windows Server 2012 Network Adapter Microsoft.Windows.Server.6.2.NetworkAdapter

This table provides a reference for the Operations Manager management packs and the corresponding classes they contain for logical disks and network adapters across different Windows Server operating system versions. When creating new Operations Manager CI connectors, use this table to select the correct management pack for each connector based on the operating system objects you intend to synchronize. For example, to synchronize Windows Server 2003 logical disks and network adapters, you would select the Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003 management pack when configuring the connector. This table is crucial for ensuring that each connector is focused on synchronizing objects from a specific operating system version, which is the key to resolving the issue of erroneously marked deleted items.

By the end of this process, you should have a set of Operations Manager CI connectors structured to handle synchronization based on operating system versions. A typical configuration might include:

  • The original Operations Manager CI connector (reconfigured to a base management pack, if needed).
  • A dedicated connector for Windows Server 2003 objects.
  • A dedicated connector for Windows Server 2008 objects.
  • A dedicated connector for Windows Server 2012 objects.

However, the exact number and configuration of connectors may vary depending on the specific operating systems present in your environment and the objects you need to synchronize. For instance, if you do not have any Windows Server 2003 systems, you would not require a dedicated connector for that operating system. Furthermore, you have the flexibility to add one of the operating system management packs back to the original connector, provided that you ensure the other OS-specific management packs are separated into their own dedicated connectors. The core principle is to avoid having a single connector synchronize objects from multiple, overlapping operating system management packs simultaneously.

More information

The Operations Manager Configuration Items connector plays a vital role in bridging the gap between Operations Manager and Service Manager by mapping classes from Operations Manager to corresponding classes within Service Manager. This mapping is particularly relevant for objects like network adapters, where Operations Manager distinguishes between different classes based on the operating system version. Specifically, Operations Manager utilizes distinct classes for network adapters:

  • Microsoft.Windows.Server.2003.NetworkAdapter
  • Microsoft.Windows.Server.2008.NetworkAdapter
  • Microsoft.Windows.Server.6.2.NetworkAdapter (for Windows Server 2012 and later)

However, Service Manager employs a unified class to represent all these network adapter types:

  • Microsoft.Windows.Peripheral.NetworkAdapter

This difference in class representation is where potential mapping issues can arise. In certain environments, particularly when a single connector is configured with multiple OS management packs, the connector can lose or mismanage these mappings. This can lead to the incorrect identification of objects during the deletion detection process.

To mitigate this risk and ensure accurate mapping, creating separate connectors for each operating system class becomes essential. This approach allows for granular control over the synchronization process, ensuring that each connector focuses on a specific class mapping. By selecting only a single, relevant management pack per connector, you enforce a clear and consistent mapping strategy. This targeted approach is crucial for maintaining the integrity of object mappings during deletion detection and preventing objects from being incorrectly marked for deletion.

The Operations Manager CI connector includes a built-in deletion detection mechanism that operates on a recurring schedule, typically every seven days. During this process, the connector queries Operations Manager to identify items that are no longer present in the Operations Manager database. Items that are no longer found in Operations Manager are then marked for deletion within Service Manager. This deletion detection process is designed to keep the Service Manager CMDB synchronized with the current state of the infrastructure managed by Operations Manager. However, as highlighted in this article, misconfigurations involving multiple OS management packs in a single connector can disrupt this process, leading to false positives in deletion detection. By implementing the recommended resolution of separate connectors and careful management pack selection, you can ensure that the deletion detection process functions accurately and reliably, maintaining data consistency between Operations Manager and Service Manager.

If you have implemented the resolution steps and are still encountering issues, or if you have further questions about Operations Manager CI connector configuration, consider reaching out to technical support or consulting relevant online resources and communities for additional assistance and best practices.

We hope this article has provided a clear understanding of the issue and the steps required to resolve it. Do you have any experiences with this issue or further insights to share? Feel free to leave a comment below!

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