Microsoft SCOM

Download the xm_send_alerts.ps1 PowerShell script file to your Microsoft SCOM server. The full path for the script file is required for configuration further in the process.

Notification channels define how Microsoft SCOM delivers the information to xMatters, which alert attributes are sent, and when to remove the alert from xMatters.

1. In the Administration pane in Microsoft SCOM, go to Notifications > Channels.

   

2. Right-click the Channels pane, and then select New Channel. The Command Notification Channel window opens.
3. On the Description tab, set the Channel Name to 'Send Alert to xMatters', then click Next.

On the Settings tab, fill in the following fields:

4. Full path of the command file: Enter the path to the PowerShell file.
5. Command line parameters: Paste the following command:
   Copy

   -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "<FULL_PATH_TO_POWERSHELL_SCRIPT>" "$Data/Context/DataItem/AlertId$" "$MPElement$" "<FLOW_DESIGNER_TRIGGER_URL>" "$Data/Context/DataItem/TimeRaisedLocal$" "$Data/Context/DataItem/TimeRaised$"

6. Replace the following parts of the command with valid paths:
   • FULL_PATH_TO_POWERSHELL_SCRIPT:  The entire path to xm_send_alerts.ps1 PowerShell file you downloaded to your Microsoft SCOM server.
   • FLOW_DESIGNER_TRIGGER_URL: The URL to the Microsoft SCOM Alerts trigger from Flow Designer.
7. In the Startup folder for the command line field, provide the full path to the folder where you want Microsoft SCOM to log all the details of the script execution information.
   • The recommended path is:  C:\Users\<user>\Documents\SCOM-logs as Microsoft SCOM is unable to create any logs in folders that require elevated write permission.
8. Click Finish, then Close.

Microsoft SCOM notification subscribers allow you to specify who should be notified, and on which devices. You must configure subscribers to use the xMatters command channels, and set the xMatters recipient (the target user or group) as the delivery address.

1. In the Administration pane go to Notifications > Subscribers.

   

2. Right-click in the Subscribers pane, and then select New Subscriber. The Notification Subscriber Wizard opens.
3. On the Description tab, enter the user or group you want to be the notification recipient in xMatters in the Subscriber Name field.
   • You can enter multiple recipients in a comma-separated list.

   

4. Click Next.
5. On the Schedule tab, select Always send notifications, then click Next.
6. On the Addresses tab, click Add.

   

7. On the Describe the Subscriber Address page, enter 'xMattersSCOMGroup' in the Address name field, then click Next.
8. In the Delivery address for the selected channel field, enter 'xMattersSCOMGroup'.
9. In the Channel Type drop-down list, select Command.
10. In the Command Channel field, select Send Alert to xMatters, then click Next.

    

11. Click Finish to complete the Schedule Notifications configuration and close the wizard.
12. Click Finish, then click Close.

Once you have created the command channel and configured the subscribers, you can set up a subscription to allow xMatters to subscribe to Microsoft SCOM alerts.

While you can create subscriptions for many different kinds of alerts, the following instructions describe how to create a subscription with two criteria, and how to configure a subscription that will delete the corresponding alert in xMatters when an alert is closed.

1. In the Administration pane, go to Notifications > Subscriptions.

   

2. Right-click in the Subscriptions pane, and then select New Subscription. The Create Notification Subscription window opens.
3. On Description page, enter 'xMattersSubscription' in the Subscription name field, then click Next.
4. Click Next to go past the Scope page.
5. On the Criteria page, create the following criteria:
   • Severity Equals Warning or Critical
   • Resolution State Equals Any

   

6. Click Next.
7. On the Subscribers page, add the xMatters subscriber you created, then click Next.
   • To find the subscriber you created leave the search field blank, and click Search. All subscribers will appear in the Available subscribers field.

     

8. On the Channels page, add the xMatters command channel you created, and then select Send notifications without delay.
9. Click Next.
10. Click Finish, and then click Close.

Test the configuration by triggering an alert in Microsoft SCOM

1. Using the Windows Local Area Connection Properties dialog, force an IP conflict between two computers that Microsoft SCOM is monitoring.

   

2. Go to Monitoring > Active Alerts to see the alert when it is created by Microsoft SCOM.
3. Microsoft SCOM passes the alert into xMatters and the alert properties dialog box displays the details for the alert.

The person responding to the notification has the following response options:

• Acknowledge: Acknowledges the notifications and stops escalations.
• Escalate: Immediately escalates the alert to the next on-call resolver in a targeted group.
• Close: Ends the xMatters alert and stops notifying all targeted recipients.
• Initiate Incident: Initiates an incident in xMatters.