Using Operations Manager Connectors

Updated: January 31, 2012

Applies To: System Center 2012 - Operations Manager

[This topic is pre-release documentation and is subject to change in future releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]

This section contains information about developing connectors by using the System Center 2012 – Operations Manager software development kit (SDK). A connector is a custom service or program that makes it possible for 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 also use the connector to send an update to Operations Manager, indicating that the alert has been resolved.

For more information on connecting System Center 2012 Operations Manager to other systems, see System Center 2012 Integration Guide - Operations Manager.

Uses for Connectors

You can use connectors to share data between applications in your environment. This makes it possible to combine the strengths of individual monitoring and tracking tools, while providing a single user interface (UI) 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:

• Using the Operations Manager class libraries. Using the class libraries is the preferred method for accessing the framework in applications that run on Windows-based computers. For more information, see How to Create or Remove a Connector by Using the Operations Manager Class Libraries.
• Using a Web service. The System Center Data Access service provides a web service interface for accessing the framework in custom applications that run on non-Windows-based computers. The web service provides a subset of the functionality that the class libraries provide. For more information, see How to Create or Remove a Connector by Using the OMCF Web Service.