Configuring the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager actor adapter

You can configure an adapter in BMC Atrium Orchestrator Grid Manager. The configuration determines how the adapter interacts with the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager application. Although each adapter must have a unique name, you can create multiple adapters with the same adapter type to allow for different configuration properties.

The form view provides an easy-to-use interface for configuring adapters. It prevents human errors that might occur as a result of copying the configuration XML from the adapter documentation to the UI when configuring an adapter. You can switch to the XML view to configure those elements and attributes that are not available as fields or to configure all the elements and attributes by using XML only. However, after you switch to the XML view and save the configuration in XML from that view, you cannot use the form view to modify that configuration.

To configure the actor adapter

1. Log on to the BMC Atrium Orchestrator Grid Manager.
2. Access the adapters page by clicking the Manage tab; then click the Adapters tab.
3. In the Adapters in Repository list, select the bmc-adapter-ms-sccm-actor versionNumber check box.
4. Click Add to Grid to include the adapter in the Adapters on Grid list.
5. Click Configure corresponding to the newly added adapter.
6. On the Add an Adapter Configuration page, perform the following substeps to configure the adapter by using the form view or skip to step 7to configure the adapter by using the XML view:

   1. Enter a name for the adapter.

      Note

      The default name for the actor adapter is MSSCCMActor.

   2. Enter a description for the adapter.
   3. Under Properties, enter or select values for the configuration elements.
      
      Include all the required elements indicated with an asterisk (*).

7. (optional)Configure the adapter in the XML view by using the following substeps.

   Note

   Switching to the XML view means that you cannot thereafter use the form for modifying that configuration.

   1. Enter a name and a description for the adapter.
   2. Click Switch to XML View.
   3. On the Warning message that appears, click Switch View.

   4. Copy the configuration elements and attributes from the adapter documentation into the Properties text box, and then click OK.

      Note

      If the default value for an optional element is acceptable, omit the element. Do not include empty elements.

   5. On the Warning message that appears, click Save.
      
      The adapter configuration with settings is saved in the XML view permanently. The newly configured adapter is now listed in the Adapters on Grid list.

The following table describes the configuration elements for the actor adapter. You cannot use the form view to configure elements and attributes that do not have an entry in the UI label column.

The following figure shows an XML sample for configuring the adapter for secure communication:

XML sample for Base64 configuration

The BMC Atrium Orchestrator Application Adapter for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager can connect to multiple Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager servers. For this, you must define a single adapter configuration having multiple configuration nodes. Each <config> element defines a configuration node that specifies the connection information for a specific Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager server. The <config> element has a name attribute that can be referenced from an adapter request. By referencing a specific configuration node name from an adapter request, you can execute the request on a specific Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager server.

The following figure illustrates a sample adapter configuration with multiple configuration nodes:

Sample XML for adapter configuration with multiple configuration nodes

Enabling custom logging

To enable custom logging for the adapter, you must specify a log file name. You can also provide additional parameters for logging.

• Log File Name: Provide a name for the log file.
  This file will be stored in the AO_HOME/tomcat/logs directory. If Log File Max Backup Index value is greater than 0, the log file name is suffixed with the backup index. For example, if the parameter value is a.log, backup log files will have names, such as a.log.1, a.log.2.
• Log File Size: Specify a size limit for the log file. 
  If the value specified for Log File Max Backup Index is greater than 0, when the specified size is reached, the current file is renamed with the suffix .1. Otherwise, the log file will be reset and over-written. The default value is 10MB. The available units are KiloBytes (KB), MegaBytes (MB) or GigaBytes (GB).
• Log File Max Backup Index: Enter the maximum number of backup files allowed. The default value is 10.
• Log File Append: Select this option to append new log information to the existing information in the file. If unselected, the file will be overwritten with new log information.

• Log Level: Enter the logging level using one of the following choices:

  Logging level	Description
  DEBUG	The most detailed logging level; logs low-level messages, normal execution, recoverable erroneous conditions, and unrecoverable erroneous conditions
  INFO (default)	Logs normal execution, recoverable erroneous conditions, and unrecoverable erroneous conditions
  WARN	Logs recoverable erroneous conditions and unrecoverable erroneous conditions
  ERROR	The least detailed logging level; logs only error conditions that are not usually recoverable