In the previous articles have explained how to extend an existing server class with a ‘Location’ attribute by building a custom Management Pack and how to feed location information from an external source into OpsMgr using a connector. In this article I will explain how you can use Live Maps to dynamically visualize these server objects based on the location attribute.

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In the previous article I have explained how to extend an existing server class with a ‘Location’ attribute by building a custom Management Pack. In this article I will explain how to create a connector that reads information from a CSV file and updates the location information of a server in OpsMgr.

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We frequently get questions from customers that want to re-use computer location information that is stored in a CMDB or RFID tracking system with Live Maps. A very understandable question looking at the dynamic datacenter challenges enterprises face today.

Live Maps comes with many features that support dynamic views but it relies on information that is stored in OpsMgr. In this blog series I will explain how you can extend OpsMgr with location information from an external source and how to use that information with Live Maps.

The diagram below shows on overview how we are going to approach this challenge.

I will go through this process in three steps:

1. Create a management pack that adds a ‘location’ attribute to the Windows Server class
2. Write a connector that reads asset information from a CSV file and updates OpsMgr
3. Configure Live Maps to create dynamic location aware maps

In this first article I will describe explain how to create a Management Pack (MP) that extends an existing class with a ‘Location’ attribute.

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