Top 10 Production Experiences with Service Manager and Orchestrator

Nathan LasnoskiInfrastructure ArchitectMicrosoft MVPConcurrency

PRODUCTION EXPERIENCESIntroduction

Two Largest Service Manager + Orchestrator implementations in the world. Many hundreds of thousands of users managing and automating IT processes.

Working with Service Manager and Orchestrator for 5 years

Success at both technology and process.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?Overview

How to start (do this… not that)

Process transformationAutomation and technical tipsPerformance and scalabilityData visualizationLeave behinds

Service Planning SpreadsheetReady to go scripts for Service Manager 2012Service Request Extensions MPOrchestrator Runbook Example for New User RequestConfiguring data visualization walkthrough

SUMMARYWhat to expect…

SUMMARY OF EXPERIENCESTransformative

Service Manager and Orchestrator optimize both process and technology. These are transformative technologies.

Projects focus in four main areas…

Work process and service visibility Common task automationSkill to task alignmentConfiguration and resource management

ROI development is key…

1. HOW TO GET STARTEDSuccess with Service Manager

INCLUDE THE RIGHT PEOPLE…

You NEED to include people who understand process and technologyThis is a strategic and tactical tool.Examples of people to include…

Service Desk managerSystem Center technology leadIT Leadership

Including the right people = success

START WITH SERVICES…

An IT Service is “something” that IT delivers to the business...

… in a way the business understands it.

Example… Intranet Portal

Other examples…Email / VoiceWarehouse AutomationPublic WebsiteCustomer Ordering

WHAT DOES IT WANT TO KNOW?

HealthCustomer responseCost and infrastructureSLA estimate to actualEffort on a per-service basisRisk and operations

HOW TO CREATE A BUSINESS SERVICE LIST…

Start in a worksheet...List the things that IT deliversIndicate how they are classifiedIndicate responsibilities from IT and the business

EXAMPLE of Service Planning

2. CHOOSE PROCESSES STRATEGICLY

DECISIONS…

What work process has the biggest payoff?

… will my customers notice the difference?… how am I articulating the value?… Automation has a very high ROI.

Incident Management (symptom management)Service Request Management (Move, Add, Change)

Change Management (IT Changes)Risk and Compliance (Operations)

PLAN TO TRANSFORM PROCESSES…

A great tool doesn’t make a bad process better…

Transform the processesWork it out in a worksheet ahead of timeLook at the end resultSet the vision

EXAMPLE of process transformation

INCIDENT MANGEMENTCurrent vs. New

BAD INCIDENT MANAGEMENT…

System outage difficult to communicateLack of information about what is not functioningLimited exposure to what makes of up each service

…SERVICE ORIENTED RESPONSEIncident correlation from end user…Managed SLA, calendar drivenService oriented troubleshooting and correlation

…SERVICES AND THE CMDB

Configuration stored in CMDB, synchronized by Operations Manager

SERVICE REQUEST MANAGEMENTCurrent vs. New

CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS…

User requests a site through email… released into the black holeInformal process leads to confusion and inefficient provisioning

Improving the request process…User picks a “new site request” from a service catalog

Standardizing the fulfillment process…moves on to approval and provisioning in a standardized process

AUTOMATING WITH ORCHESTRATOR…Replace manual activity with automated activity using Orchestrator…Show DIRECT COST and TIME SAVINGS in process automation…

3. BUILDING AUTOMATIONS

Show ROI in transformed processes…

Calculate…

… time savings… cost avoidance… time to deploy… software and hardware

Choose low hanging fruit first!

NEW USER REQUESTBefore and after…

Automate creation ofActive Directory AccountExchange mailbox / archiveLync and phone numberHome directoryPicture population Manager informationDrink attribute

ROI example

NEW USER REQUEST

DEMO

USER APPLICATION SELF SERVICESelf Service for End User Applications

Automation deployment ofEnd user applicationsEnd user settings

Extremely slick with quick provisioningStreamed applicationsWeb applications

ROI example

END USER APPLICATIONS

DEMO

WORKSTATION DEPLOYMENT AND REIMAGEIT SIMPLICITYAutomation deployment of

Workstation and applicationsRedeploy idle workstationsReturn workstations to idleIncludes reimage

ROI Example

WORKSTATION DEPLOY AND REIMAGE

DEMO

4. PLAN REQUESTS FIRST

4. PLAN FIRST… BUILD LATERCreate questions and work plans

Determine the questions to askList the questions and the dataOrganize the components and responsibilities

5. MAKE A ONE STOP SHOP

SERVICE CATALOG = ONE STOP SHOP

All requests. IT and end users.Use Service Manager roles to constrain access

6. DON’T FORGET BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND REPORTS

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE…May be the business decision makers only viewCan be used for both IT and end usersFind out what the BDMs want to know!

Setup: http://blog.concurrency.com/sharepoint/configuring-the-performancepoint-service-in-sharepoint-2010/

http://blog.concurrency.com/sharepoint/creating-scsm-2012-reports-using-performancepoint/

BI DEMO

DEMO

7. SIZE AND OPERATE

PERFORMANCE TIPS…

Don’t undersize!! Use the sizing tool. Minimum is 4 servers…

Service Manager Management Server Data Warehouse + SQLWeb ServerOrchestrator

Configure views properly. Understand the class structures.

Avoid “advanced” views, use type projections insteadSearch vs. display all data (in console and web)

Be careful with connectors. (AD / Configuration Manager)

BACKUP AND OPERATIONS…

Backup all management packs regularly, individuallyBackup encryption keys. These are necessary for recoveryMake management pack changes during service windows\Backup copies of virtual machines

GENERAL TIPS…

Seal management packs which add fieldsUse the authoring console. Automatically increments version.

Be careful with management pack dependenciesDon’t throw everything in one management packDon’t install the Operations Manager agent on SM

http://blog.concurrency.com/sharepoint/scsm-system-center-management-service-not-starting-service-terminated-with-service-specific-error/

Choose SQL Server Collation for internationalizationhttp://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager/archive/2012/05/24/clarification-on-sql-server-collation-requirements-for-system-center-2012.aspx

8. HAVE A DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT

MOVE FROM DEV to PRODUCTION…

Great way to build for operationsVersion controlled management packs

Intentional about configuration and standardizationTest and validate with the businessCheck performance!!

9. DON’T FORGET TRAINING

MAKE SURE TO TRAIN…

Get buy-in by including people early in the planningShow the ROI and “why it is good for them”Train on what is relevant, with their systemITIL or MOF training is important for implementers

ITIL Foundations is great base trainingMicrosoft MOF: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc506049.aspx

Have excitement!

10. USE A PHASED APPROACH

PHASE AND MANAGE SCOPE

Don’t try to bite off the whole thing at onceSucceed end-to-end on each processList off features and move other features to next phasesSomething ALWAYS comes up… plan for that

EXAMPLE of a work plan

CLOSINGMove forward!

Build your business services list + service catalogDetermine your ROI for your requestsDeploy automations which benefit your businessTransform processes

Check out resources:Service Manager survival guide: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/8113.system-center-2012-service-manager-survival-guide-en-us.aspx

System Center Engineering Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager/

Concurrency blog to grab leave-behinds: http://blog.concurrency.com/

Resources

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Learning

Microsoft Certification & Training Resources

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TechNet

Resources for IT Professionals

http://microsoft.com/technet

Resources for Developers

http://microsoft.com/msdn

Evaluations

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