Connecting to External Systems by Using Operations Manager Connectors

Applies To: Operations Manager 2007 R2, Operations Manager 2007 SP1, System Center Operations Manager 2007

This section contains information about developing connectors by using the System Center Operations Manager 2007 SDK. A connector is a custom service or program that allows Operations Manager to communicate with external systems. For example, you can create a connector that sends Operations Manager alerts to an application that tracks the alerts. The application can use the connector to send an update to Operations Manager, indicating that the alert has been resolved.

Uses for Connectors

Connectors allow you to share data between applications in your environment. This allows you to combine the strengths of individual monitoring and tracking tools, while providing a single user interface for viewing system data.

Some common uses for connectors include the following:

  • Sending alert, event, or performance data from an external system to Operations Manager. In this case, Operations Manager can create alerts or monitor data that is sent from the external system. For information about creating this type of connector, see How to Create Inbound Connectors.

  • Sending alert data from Operations Manager to an external management system. In this case, the system that receives the alerts can monitor or resolve the alerts outside of Operations Manager. For information about creating this type of connector, see How to Create Outbound Connectors.

Developing a Connector

You can develop a custom connector by using the Operations Manager Connector Framework (OMCF). The OMCF provides methods and types that you can use to initialize and manage a connector and to get or send operations data.

When you are developing a connector, you can access the OMCF in either of the following ways: