Article
05/19/2016

Script Collection Rules

Updated: May 13, 2016

Applies To: System Center 2012 R2 Operations Manager, System Center 2012 - Operations Manager, System Center 2012 SP1 - Operations Manager

Script collection rules run a script on a schedule and store its output as either performance data or an event. As part of creating the rule, you need to specify which property bag values from the script or properties from the target object that will be used for different properties of the event or performance data being created.

Options

When you run the script collection wizard, you will need to provide values for options in the following tables. Each table represents a single page in the wizard.

General

Option	Description
Rule Name	The name used for the rule. This appears in the Rules view in the Authoring pane.
Description	Optional description of the rule.
Management Pack	Management pack to store the monitor. For more information on management packs, see Selecting a Management Pack File.
Rule Category	The category for the rule. For an event collection rule, this should be Event Collection. For a performance collection rule, this should be Performance Collection.
Rule target	The class to use for the target of the rule. The rule will be run on any agent that has at least one instance of this class. For more information on targets, see Understanding Classes and Objects.

Schedule

The Schedule page defines the schedule to run the script. The script will run indefinitely according to this schedule until the rule is disabled or deleted or the management pack is uninstalled.

Option	Description
Run every	Frequency that the script should be run. This should typically not be less than 5 minutes.
Synchronize at	If enabled, the schedule will be synchronized to occur at the specified time.

Script

The Script page contains the body of the script itself and its parameters. You can type the script directly into the dialog box, but you will usually write it using another text editor and then copy the text of the script and paste it. This allows you to use a more functional editing tool and test the script on a command line before including it in the management pack.

Option	Description
File Name	Name of the script. Must have either a .vbs or .js extension depending on its language. There is no requirement to make this name unique because each script is provided its own temporary directory on the agent.
Timeout	The number of seconds that the script can run before the agent stops it. This prevents problem scripts from running continuously and putting excess overhead on the agent computer. The timeout value assigned to a script should allow enough time for the script to run under ordinary conditions, but should be less than the interval that the script is scheduled to run. If a script is configured to have a timeout value greater than its duration, then possibly multiple copies of the script could be running concurrently.
Script	The body of the script.
Parameters	Click to provide values for any arguments in the script. For more information, see Script Arguments.

Performance Mapper (Performance Collection Only)

The Performance Mapper page is used to define values for the properties of the performance data being collected.

Option	Description
Object	Text for the Object name. This is required.
Counter	Text for the Counter name. This is required.
Instance	Text for the Instance name. This only required if the target of the rule has multiple instances.
Value	Numeric for the value for the performance

Event Mapper (Event Collection Only)

The Event Mapper page is used to define values for the properties of the event that will be collected. The value for each field will either be an explicit string of text, a value from the property bag of the script, or the value of a property of the target object.

Option	Description
Computer	The name of the computer that the event was logged on. This will usually be a $Target variable for the Principal Name of the computer. You can select this value by clicking on the ellipse button next to the text box.
Event source	The source of the event. This will usually be an explicit value but may be a $Data variable to use the value of a property from the script.
Event log	The name of the event log. This will usually may be an explicit value or a $Data variable to use the value of a property from the script.
Event ID	The numeric event number. This will usually be an explicit value or a $Data variable to use the value of a property from the script.
Category	The value of the EventCategory parameter (an integer from 0 to 65535) is an index into a category dynamic-link library (DLL) message table that contains a localized string. Each publisher defines its own set of categories. These categories commonly correspond to individual components (for example: a connector, module host, or data warehouse).
Level	The severity of the event. You can select this value from the drop down list.

Creating Script Collection Rules

The following procedure creates a performance script collection rule with the following details:

Runs on any computer with an instance of a particular service installed.
The script accepts two parameters, one for computer name and another for the version of the application that is stored as a property on the target class.
The script itself is only for testing and performs no real function. It simulates a script running a synthetic transaction and returning a property bag with static values.

To create a script based performance collection rule

If you don’t have a management pack for the application that you are monitoring, create one using the process in Selecting a Management Pack File.
Create a new target using the process in To create a Windows Service template. You can use any service installed on a test agent for this template.
In the Operations console, select the Authoring workspace, and then select Rules.
Right-click Rules and select Create a new rule.
On the Rule Type page, do the following:
1. Expand Collection Rules, then expand Probe Based, and then select Script (Performance).
2. In the Management Pack dropdown, select the management pack from step 1.
3. Click Next
On the General page, do the following:
1. In the Rule name box, type My Application Collect Script Performance.
2. In the Rule Category drop down box, select Performance Collection.
3. Click Select.
4. Select the name of the target you created in step 2.
5. Click OK.
On the Schedule page, do the following:
1. In the Run every box, type 15 minutes.
2. Click Next
On the Script page, do the following:
1. For the File Name value, type MyPerfCollectionScript.vbs
2. For the Timeout value, type 1 minutes
3. In the Script box, paste the complete contents of the following script.
```
sComputerName = WScript.Arguments(0)
sVersion = WScript.Arguments(1)

[oAPI.LogScriptEvent]
Set oAPI = CreateObject("MOM.ScriptAPI")
Set oBag = oAPI.CreatePropertyBag()
Call oBag.AddValue("ComputerName",sComputerName)
Call oBag.AddValue("InstanceName","MyInstance")
Call oBag.AddValue("Value",10)

oAPI.Return(oBag)
```
4. Click the Parameters button.
5. Select Target, select (Host=Windows Computer), and then select Principal Name (Windows Computer).
6. Type a SPACE.
7. Select Target and then Version (My Computer Role Base).
8. Click OK.
9. Click Next.
On the Performance Mapper page, do the following:
1. In the Object box type MyApplication.
2. In the Counter box type MyCounter.
3. In the Instance box type $Data/Property[@Name=FileName]$.
4. In the Value box type $Data/Property[@Name=’FileSize’]$.
5. Click Create.

The following procedure creates an event script collection rule with the following details:

Runs on any computer with an instance of a particular service installed.
The script accepts two parameters, one for computer name and another for the version of the application that is stored as a property on the target class.
The script itself is only for testing and performs no real function. It simulates a script running a synthetic transaction and returning a property bag with static values.

To create a script based event collection rule

If you don’t have a management pack for the application that you are monitoring, create one using the process in Selecting a Management Pack File.
Create a new target using the process in To create a Windows Service template. You can use any service installed on a test agent for this template.
In the Operations console, select the Authoring workspace, and then select Rules.
Right-click Rules and select Create a new rule.
On the Rule Type page, do the following:
1. Expand Collection Rules, then expand Probe Based, and then select Script (Event).
2. In the Management Pack dropdown, select the management pack from step 1.
3. Click Next
On the General page, do the following:
1. In the Rule name box, type My Application Collect Script Event.
2. In the Rule Category drop down box, select Event Collection.
3. Click Select.
4. Select the name of the target you created in step 2.
5. Click OK.
On the Schedule page, do the following:
1. In the Run every box, type 15 minutes.
2. Click Next
On the Script page, do the following:
1. For the File Name value, type MyEventCollectionScript.vbs
2. For the Timeout value, type 1 minutes
3. In the Script box, paste the complete contents of the following script.
```
sComputerName = WScript.Arguments(0)
sVersion = WScript.Arguments(1)

Set oAPI = CreateObject("MOM.ScriptAPI")
Set oBag = oAPI.CreatePropertyBag()
Call oBag.AddValue("ComputerName",sComputerName)
Call oBag.AddValue("EventID",100)
Call oBag.AddValue("ParamValue","Param1")

oAPI.Return(oBag)
```
4. Click Parameters.
5. Select Target, select (Host=Windows Computer), and then select Principal Name (Windows Computer).
6. Type a SPACE.
7. Select Target and then Version (My Computer Role Base).
8. Click OK.
9. Click Next.
On the Event Mapper page, do the following:
1. In the Computer box type $Data/Property[@Name='ComputerName']$.
2. In the Event source box type MyApp.
3. In the Event log box type CustomScript.
4. In the Event ID box type $Data/Property[@Name='EventID']$.
5. In the Category box type 0.
6. In the Level box select Information.
7. Click the Parameters button.
8. Type $Data/Property[@Name='ParamValue']$
9. Click OK.
10. Click Create.

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