Orchestrator 2012 Deployment & Configuration Step by Step – Part 5 “Integration Pack”

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In this post series I will go through Microsoft System Center Orchestrator 2012 Deployment and Configuration in Step by Step format with screenshots, and will go into details of the product to help you better understand how you can get benefits from this powerful product.

In this post I will go through Integration Pack to better understand the concept and know how to Download, Import and use Integration Packs in Orchestrator 2012, again we still working with RC version which is subject to change in the next release.

What is Integration Pack (IP):

System Center 2012 - Orchestrator includes over 41 built-in workflow standard activities that perform a wide variety of functions. You can expand Orchestrator’s functionality and ability to integrate with other Microsoft and third-party platforms and products by installing integration packs. Integration packs for Orchestrator contain additional activities that extend the functionality of Orchestrator.

You can download integration packs from the Microsoft Download Center. Each integration pack has a guide that provides installation instructions, describes any known issues, and includes reference information for all of the activities supported by the integration pack.

Microsoft provides integration packs for all of the System Center products, as well as other Microsoft and third party products and technologies.

The following integration packs are available:

IBM Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus Integration Pack for System Center 2012 - Orchestrator Release Candidate

VMware vSphere Integration Pack for System Center 2012 - Orchestrator Release Candidate

Integration Pack for System Center Configuration Manager

Integration Pack for System Center Data Protection Manager

Integration Pack for System Center Operations Manager

Integration Pack for System Center Service Manager

Integration Pack for System Center Virtual Machine Manager

Important Note:

Integration Packs for Orchestrator 2012 still not ready and will be released when Orchestrator 2012 RTM release very soon, expected to release before end of this year, however you you can download prerelease IPs from here https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27842, and each Integration Pack has it’s own required configuration and in the below example I will focus in Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Integration Pack as an example.

Register and Deploy Integration Pack:

Step

Description

 Screenshot
1 Copy the Virtual_Machine_Manager_2008_R2_Integration Pack.oip integration pack file to the location of your choice on the runbook server that the Orchestrator is running..  
2 Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft System Center 2012, and then click Orchestrator. Right-click Deployment Manager, and then click Run as Administrator 2
3 In the left pane of the Deployment Manager, expand Management Server. Right-click Integration Packs, and then select Register IP with the Management Server. The Integration Pack Registration Wizard opens. Click Next. 3
4 In the Integration Pack or Hotfix Selection window, click Add. Locate and select the IP_SystemCenterVirtualMachineManager_1.0.oip file that you copied in step 1. Click Open, then click Next. 4
5 In the Completing the Integration Pack Wizard dialog box, click Finish. The End User Agreement dialog box appears. Click Accept. The Log Entries pane displays a confirmation message when the integration pack is successfully registered. 5 5-1
6 In the left pane of Deployment Manager, right-click Integration Packs, and then select Deploy IP to Action Server or Client. Click Next for the welcome page and then select Virtual Machine Manager 2008R2 Integration Pack, and then click Next. 6 6-1
7 Enter the name of a runbook server or a computer with Runbook Designer installed, on which you want to deploy the integration pack, click Add, and then click Next. 7
8 In the Installation Options dialog box, select the options that apply to this deployment, and then click Next. 8
9 To choose a time to deploy the integration pack, select Schedule installation check box, and then select the time and date from the Perform installation list box. 9
10

Select one of the following: a. Stop all running runbooks before installing the integration pack to stop all running runbooks before deploying the integration pack. b. Install the Integration Packs without stopping the running Runbooks to install the integration pack without stopping any running runbooks, then click Next.

  
11 In the Completing Integration Pack Deployment Wizard dialog box, click Finish. 11
12 When the integration pack is deployed, the Log Entries dialog displays a confirmation message. Note: because we configured a deployment schedule for the integration pack, so to verify that the deployment occurred check the event logs after the schedule time has passed. 12
Common Issues to consider when use VMM R2 Integration Pack:
  • Ensure that WinRM quickconfig is running on VMM Server to allow remote management.
  • Set PowerShell ExecutionPolicy Settings on the VMM sever to RemoteSigned.
  • Install the VMM Admin console on Orchestrator server, so the VMM PowerShell snap-in be available.
Confirm the Windows Management Framework prerequisites
  1. Confirm that you have Windows PowerShell 2.0 installed on the Orchestrator server, and on the Virtual Machine Manager server. One way to do this is to open Registry Editor. Expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PowerShell\1\PowerShellEngine subkey. Confirm that the value of the Runtime Version entry begins with v2.0. If this value begins with 1.0, or the subkey is not present, install Windows PowerShell 2.0 using the instructions in article 96829 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=193574).
  2. Confirm that you have Windows Remote Management 2.0 (WinRM 2.0) installed and configured on the Orchestrator server, and on the Virtual Machine Manager server. One way to confirm your configuration is in the Local Group Policy Editor.
  3. For more information about how to install and configure WinRM 2.0, see Installation and Configuration for Windows Remote Management (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=171111).
Enable Windows Remote Management Trusted Hosts:

Step

Description

 Screenshot
1 On the Orchestrator server, open the Local Group Policy Editor. To do this click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.  
2 In the Local Group Policy Editor, under Local Computer Policy, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, expand Windows Remote Management, expand WinRM Client, and then double-click Trusted Hosts r2
3 On the Setting tab, click Enabled. Add the name or IP address of the Virtual Machine Manager Server to the Trusted Hosts list. Click OK. r3
Set the execution policy in Windows PowerShell:

The execution policy in Windows PowerShell determines which scripts must be digitally signed before they will run. By default, the execution policy is set to Restricted. This prohibits loading any configuration files or running any scripts.

To run the scripts in this integration pack, you must set the execution policy to RemoteSigned. Use the following command: <System Drive>:\PS>set-executionpolicy remotesigned. For more information abouthow to configure the Windows PowerShell execution policy, see Set-ExecutionPolicy in the Microsoft TechNet Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=113394) .

Confirm the remote connection quota settings in Windows PowerShell:

You can use WS-Management quotas in Windows PowerShell remoting to protect the Orchestrator server and VMM computers from excessive resource use, both accidental and malicious. The MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser quota setting in the WSMan:\<ComputerName>\Service node provides this protection by imposing a limit on the number of VMM objects that can run concurrently.

By default, MaxConcurrentOperationsPerUser is set to 5. This means that you can run a maximum of five VMM objects (shells) concurrently across all VMM policies.

If this default setting does not meet the needs of your organization, see About_Remote_Troubleshooting in the Microsoft TechNet Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=135188) for information about how to configure remote operations in Windows PowerShell.

Configure the System Center Virtual Machine Manager Connections:

Step

Description

 Screenshot
1 In the Runbook Designer, click the Options menu, and then select System Center Virtual Machine Manager. The System Center Virtual Machine Manager dialog box appears. vm1
2 On the Configurations tab, click Add to begin the connection setup. vm2
3 In the Name box, type the name or IP address of the computer on which Virtual Machine Manager is running. vm3
4 In the Type box, click the ellipsis button (...) , select Microsoft SCVMM Connection, and then click OK  
5 In the Properties box, enter values for each of the properties as they apply to your organization. Ensure the values that you enter for the remote connection and authentication properties are compatible with the WinRM settings that you entered or confirmed in the previous procedure  
6 Click OK, then click Finish.  

Till this stage we able to deploy and configure the integration pack, and we can see and use all SCVMM activities from Orchestrator 2012 Runbook Designer in any new Runbook as show in screenshot below:

vmm-ip

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