Sending Data from an Application Back to MOM
The procedure for updating information in MOM will depend on whether the data, usually for an alert, was initially raised by MOM or by another management program. It will also depend on whether the MOM Connector Framework (MCF) was used.
Creating New Alerts in MOM using the MCF
The MCF simplifies many aspects of designing a two-way connector, including the ability to create new alerts and add them to a MOM system. For more information about adding alerts, see the FrameworkBase.InsertAlerts method.
Alerts added using the InsertAlerts method differ from most other MOM alerts, since they are not associated with one or more MOM events and they are not raised by a rule.
Other Ways to Create New Alerts in MOM
In cases where the MCF is not used, creating new alerts in MOM must be accomplished by using rules and MOM's ability to monitor the Windows NT event log and other event data sources. For example, if an alert is raised by another management program, your connector can create a copy of the alert and add it to the MOM database to keep the two programs synchronized.
The recommended method for adding new items to the MOM system is to create a log entry that contains details about the new alert and its property values and then write the event to the Windows NT event log or any of the other event sources supported by MOM. A MOM rule is configured to monitor the event log for the connector events and respond by raising a new alert with the same property values as the alert in the other management program.
For connectors to applications on non-Windows systems, the MOM syslog event provider and the MOM SNMP providers are useful. For more information about MOM interoperability support, see Working with Non-Windows Systems. For non-Windows computers or devices programmatically added to MOM, you can use the MOM WMI classes or the MOM Management Server Class Library to create and submit custom events and performance data for the computer. For more information, see MSFT_ParameterEvent WMI Class and MSFT_ParameterStatistic WMI Class.
The MOM Management Server Class Library can directly create alerts for all computer types using the Computer.InsertAlerts method.
Note
The connector application or its setup program should install a registry entry that identifies the connector. If this registry key exists, a matching MOM computer attribute and computer group is easily created. The computer group will help to locate and manage computers that are running your connector application.
The collection of rules, rule groups, and computer groups needed to handle connector events are exported and distributed by using a MOM Management Pack. For more information about creating Management Packs, see the MOM Management Pack Development Guide.
Updating Existing Items in the MOM System Using the MCF
The MCF uses the FrameworkWebServiceProxy.UpdateAlerts method to set the property values of an existing MOM alert. This method allows connectors to keep the original MOM alert synchronized with the copies it forwards to other management products.
Updating Existing Items in the MOM System
In cases where the MCF is not used, you must change the properties of existing objects in the MOM system by using the MOM Management Server Class Library (MCL) or the MOM WMI classes. This is required in situations where an alert that was synchronized between MOM and another management application is modified by the other management application. These changes need to be propagated back to the server running MOM by the connector. Using the object's GUID, you can query MCL or WMI for the object representing the alert, update the alert's properties, and then persist the changes.