SCOM 2012 Global Architecture, One management group or multiple?

Question

Hi Folks,
I work for a global firm, we have multiple data caters in different regions. America, UK, Australia, China etc etc. We are looking to roll out SCOM 2012 for monitoring all systems. Our environment
1,000 Windows servers
All servers on the same Active Directory domain
10 Mbps links between data centers.
My question is around whether to use multiple management groups or one?   I’ve seen recommendations for both. For example
In the Infrastructure Planning and Design guide for SCOM 2012 it is stated:
“A centralized management model with large remote locations works best with a management group in each region and a local management group (which provides a consolidated view of alerts and status) in the parent location. In this case, the centralized management
group connects through the software development kit (SDK) and functions as an additional console on each of the connected management groups.”
However moderators in this forum have stated
“Each management group has its own set of SQL Servers and Management Servers \ Gateways. It also adds considerably to administrative overhead. I'd try to avoid
multiple management groups where possible.”
” It will get expensive in terms of hardware and software with multiple management groups and you will duplicate a lot of work with regards to overrides”
“If you go with multiple Management Groups then you would need to add on a fair number of SQL licenses plus additional hardware. “
“Presumably if I have multiple management groups will that mean I will have to
create rules for each Management Group- correct. Same
with overrides. It could add a lot of administrative overhead. “
It would seem easier to just deploy one management group with the management servers in one datacenter but I’m concerned with performance. I’ve heard
stories about SCOM deployments architected in this way not performing well because of network latency. i.e admins from all regions besides the region local to the SCOM deployment not wanting to use SCOM because application performance is too slow.
What would the SCOM experts recommend for this scenario?
MH

Answer 1

1) My question is around whether to use multiple management groups or one?
Factors to consider in determine the number of Management group
 • Scaling
 • Agents separated from their management server by WAN-speed network links
 • Political, administrative or security requirements within the organization requiring separate management groups.
 • A view of AD DS topology required across multiple forests.
 • A dedicated management group required for auditing purposes.
 • Disaster recovery functionality required.
 • Consolidated views of connected management groups required in Operations Manager.
 • Operations Manager integration with the VMM console.
 With refer to your situation
 a) 1,000 Windows servers
 b) All servers on the same Active Directory domain
 c) 10 Mbps links between data centers.
It is suggest that one Management group is required.
2) It would seem easier to just deploy one management group with the management servers in one datacenter but I’m concerned with performance
It is recommend that you should deploy Gateway server in region office which has more than 10 agents.
• Gateway server reduce network bandwidth utilization. Agents located across WAN links consume network bandwidth, potentially affecting service delivery to and from the remote location. A gateway server can consolidate the traffic.
Roger