SMS Reporting
Before you start reporting data collected by
SMS, it is important to know the different ways of viewing that
data. SMS 2003 uses queries and reports to extract data from the
SMS database and make it available to SMS administrators and
operators.
It is important to understand the differences
between queries and reports so that you can better select between
the two when trying to view SMS data. The main differences that we
can point out right now are:
-
Language: Queries are
written using WQL (WMI Query Language), while reports are written
using T-SQL (Transact Structured Query Language).
-
Access: Queries can be
accessed only from the SMS Administrator Console, whereas reports
need to reside in a Reporting Point and are accessed through a web
application called the Report Viewer. Reports can be accessed from
the Reporting node in the SMS Administrator Console. However, once
the report is selected for viewing, the Report Viewer web
application is opened to display the results.
You will notice other differences as you advance in
this chapter. The question you should ask yourself when deciding to
create a report or a query is: How are users going to access and
use this data? If the answer is that users can view the data
through the SMS Administrator Console, you should create a query.
However, if the users do not have access to the SMS Administrator
Console, or need to be able to save the report (as HTML), you
should create a report.
Queries
A query is a set criteria used to extract
data from the SMS site database. A query searches the database for
objects that match the criteria established by the user and returns
that data to the SMS Administrator Console in the form of a
list.
There are two types of queries in SMS 2003: Data
Queries and Status Message Queries. Data Queries are used to view
discovery and inventory information collected by SMS, while Status
Message Queries are used to view status messages from the different
SMS components. Status Message Queries are used for debugging and
maintenance tasks. In this chapter we will cover Data Queries.
Therefore, the use of the word "query" in this section refers only
to Data Queries.
Queries can be used to return information related
to different SMS objects, such as packages, advertisements, sites,
inventory data, and so on.
Queries are written using a special language called
WQL. WQL is the WMI Query Language. The fact that WQL is used means
that the query is not executed directly against the SQL site
database. WMI is used as an interface between the query and the
site database.
A basic knowledge of WMI is required in order to
better understand how queries are created. Detailed information on
WMI is beyond the scope of this book, but you can find information
on it at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/wmi/default.mspx.
WMI
For the purpose of this chapter, you can
think of Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) as an interface
used as a single point of access to obtain management information
about any computer. Typically, management information is stored in
different places, based on what type of information it is. For
instance, an application such as Internet Information Services
(IIS) may use its own database to store metadata required for IIS
to run, whereas hardware-related information may be maintained by
the operating system in the computer registry, and
performance-related data may be obtained through System
Monitor.
Therefore, if you need to view how much memory is
in use and how many hard drives are available in a given machine,
you would have to query the registry and system monitor. WMI
provides a single point of querying when data from different
providers are needed. This way, you can issue a single WMI query
and get data from the different providers.
In WMI,
information is made available through classes, objects, and
properties.
A class is an abstract definition of the type of
information that can be accessed for different types of artifacts
found in a computer. For example, the Win32_Printer class defines
what information is available through WMI when viewing data related
to a printer. This class describes that a printer may contain data
such as the printer name, paper sizes supported, number of print
jobs, and so on. Classes define the state and behavior of an
object. For a complete list of WMI classes, go to
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/computer_system_hardware_classes.asp.
State is defined by a collection of properties.
Properties are used to specify what information is available for a
given class. For instance, printer name, paper sizes supported, and
number of print jobs are some of the properties defined by the
Win32_Printer class.
Behavior is defined by a collection of methods.
Methods are actions that can be performed on an object that belongs
to a WMI class. For instance, the Win32_Printer class
contains the PrintTestPage method. When this method is
called from a specific printer, a test page is printed.
An object is referred to as an instance of a class.
To better understand the concept, imagine that your computer has
two printers connected to it. Each printer is a different object,
but they both are from the same class. They share the same
definition. They both have a name, paper sizes that they support,
and a number of jobs executed. A class defines what information
will be available for objects of its type. A class is a type
definition, while an object is the actual physical artifact of that
type.
You can think of a blueprint for a house as a
class. It defines how many stories a house will have, where the
rooms will be located, that there will be outside walls, and so on.
From the same blueprint we can build multiple houses. A house would
be an object. Each house will have its own values for the
properties defined in the blueprint. One house may be blue on the
outside, while another house may be white. Both have the color
property, but they each have different values.
WMI can be used to collect and change settings for
many operating system components, hardware types, and applications
through the use of providers. A provider allows WMI to access
disparate artifacts within a computer. Here is a list of systems
for which WMI providers are available:
-
Microsoft SQL Server
-
Microsoft Exchange Server
-
Domain Name Service (DNS)
-
Systems Management Server (SMS)
-
The Windows operating system
-
Internet Information Services (IIS)
-
Windows Drivers (WDM)
For a more complete list, check
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sms/sms2003/opsguide/default.mspx.
SMS and WMI
Now
that you have a better understanding of WMI, you can learn how SMS
uses it. As you know, WMI acts as a single point of access to view
and change management information. SMS exposes information gathered
by inventory and SMS objects through WMI classes.
SMS data is exposed through WMI by dozens of
SMS-related classes. For better organization, these SMS classes are
grouped in Object types. There are nine object types in SMS:
-
Advertisement: Allows
access to advertisement objects within SMS.
-
Package: Allows access to
package objects within SMS.
-
Program: Allows access to
program objects within SMS.
-
Site: Allows access to
site objects within SMS.
-
Software Metering Rule:
Allows access to software metering rule objects within SMS.
-
Software Product
Compliance: Allows access to software product compliance
objects within SMS.
-
User Group Resource:
Allows access to user group objects within SMS.
-
User Resource: Allows
access to user objects within SMS.
-
System Resource: Allows
access to discovery and inventory objects within SMS, such as
logical disk, printer, and so on.
Object types are used to group attribute classes.
An attribute class, in SMS, represents a single WMI class. All
object types above contain a single attribute class, except for
System Resource, which contains a collection of attribute classes
used to describe discovery and inventory data.
A class can be used as a base to create a new
class. For instance, a disk drive class can be created to collect
all information any disk drive would have, such as capacity, file
system, and so on. Then, a new class can be created based on that
to represent hard disks. In this class, some specific properties
for a hard disk can be added, such as number of partitions, number
of spindles, and so on. The same based class can be used to create
the CD Drive class. The ability to extend classes this way is
referred to as inheritance.
SMS uses two parent (or base) classes for all its
attribute classes. These classes are:
-
SMS_R_System: Parent class for all
discovery classes, such as User Resource (SMS_R_User) and
User Group Resource (SMS_R_UserGroup).
-
SMS_G_System: Parent class for all
inventory classes, such as Logical Disk
(SMS_G_System_LOGICAL_DISK) and Operating System
(SMS_G_System_OPERATING_SYSTEM).
Running Queries
Now that you have a basic understanding of
WMI, which is the basis for all SMS queries, you can start to use
some queries and create queries of your own. Out of the box, SMS
2003 provides about 20 queries, as listed below:
-
All Client Systems
-
All Non-Client Systems
-
All Systems
-
All Systems with Hardware Inventory
Collected
-
All Systems with Specified Software File Name
and File Size
-
All Systems with Specified Software Product
Name and Version
-
All Systems with Specified Software File Name
and File Size
-
All User Groups
-
All Users
-
All Windows 2000 Professional Systems
-
All Windows 2000 Server Systems
-
All Windows 98 Systems
-
All Windows NT 4.0 Systems
-
All Windows NT 4.0 Systems with Service Pack
3
-
All Windows NT Systems
-
All Windows Server 2003 Systems
-
All Windows XP Systems
-
Computers recommended for Advanced Client
upgrade
-
SMS Clients that have not been upgraded to
SMS 2003
-
Systems by Last Logged On User
-
This Site and Its Subsites
To run a query, perform the following steps:
-
In the Start menu, point to All Programs
Systems Management Server and
click SMS Administrator Console.
-
In the SMS Administrator Console, expand the
Site Database node.
-
Expand the Queries node. The SMS
Administrator Console appears, as shown in Figure 15-1.
Figure
15-1
-
Right-click the query to be executed, and
click Run Query. Figure
15-2 shows the result of the All Systems query.
Figure
15-2
Some SMS
queries require one or more parameters. One good example is All
Systems with Specified Software File Name and File Size. To view
this report using parameters, perform the following steps:
-
Right-click the All Systems with Specified File Name
and File Size and click Run Query. The Input Query Value dialog box
appears, as shown in Figure 15-3.
Figure
15-3
-
In the Software Files.File Name box, type
WINNT.EXE, and click OK. The Input Query Value
dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-4.
Figure
15-4
-
In the Software Files.File Size box, type
84797. (This is the size of the
winnt.exe file for Windows Server 2003.) Click OK. The
results for the All Systems with Software File Name and File Size
query are displayed, as shown in Figure 15-5.
Figure
15-5
Creating Queries
Now
that you can run a query to view its results, it's time to learn
how to create your own queries. To begin this lesson, we show you
how to create a simple query without using any criteria or
parameters. Then we will expand your knowledge by adding criteria,
using existing queries, and finally using parameters.
Creating a Simple Query
To create a query folder, perform the
following steps:
-
Open the SMS Administrator Console, and
expand the site database and the Queries node.
-
Right-click Queries, point to New, and click
Folder. The Folder Properties dialog box appears, as shown in
Figure 15-6.
Figure
15-6
-
In the Name box, type the folder name (in our
example, Custom Queries) and click OK.
To create a simple query within the new folder,
perform the following steps:
-
Right-click the new folder, point to New, and
click Query. The Query Properties dialog box appears, as shown in
Figure 15-7.
-
In the Name box, type the query name. For our
example, type Discovered Computers.
-
In the Comment box, type a comment, if
desired.
-
In the Object type list, select the desired
SMS object type to be used. For our example, select System
Resource.
Figure
15-7
-
Click the Edit Query Statement button. The
General tab in the Discovered Computers Query Statement Properties
dialog box displaying the Results list appears, as shown in
Figure 15-8.
Figure
15-8
-
Click the New query result button (displayed
as an asterisk). The Result Properties dialog box appears, as shown
in Figure 15-9.
Figure
15-9
-
Click the Select button to choose an
attribute. The Select Attribute dialog box appears, as shown in
Figure 15-10.
Figure
15-10
-
In the Attribute class list, select a class
from which an attribute will be used. For our example, select
Computer System.
-
In the Alias as list, type an alias to be
used instead of the attribute name. For our example, type Computer.
-
In the Attribute list, select the attribute
to be displayed. For our example, select Name. Click OK.
-
In the Sort list, select Ascending to order
the query result list by name. Click OK.
-
Repeat Steps 6 to 11 to add other attributes.
For our example, add the User Name attribute from the Computer
System attribute class. After adding the attributes, the Query
Statement Properties dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-11.
Figure
15-11
-
Click Show Query Language to view the WQL
statement generated for this query. The Query Language tab showing
the Discovered Computers query is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-12. Click OK.
-
In the Collection Limiting section, select
one of the following options:
-
Not collection limited:
This option does not limit the query to the existing results of any
given collection; for our example, select this option.
-
Limit to collection: This
option allows the section of a collection to limit the query to the
computers, groups, or users in the selected collection.
-
Prompt for collection:
This option allows the collection to be selected when a user runs
the query, as a parameter.
-
Click OK.
Figure
15-12
-
Right-click the new query and click Run
Query. The query results are displayed, as shown in Figure 15-13.
Figure
15-13
Using Criteria in a Query
In
this lesson, you learn how to create a query based on an existing
query, how to add criteria to a query, and how to link a criterion
to a prompted value (parameter). To create a new query using
criteria, perform the following steps:
-
Right-click the folder where the query will
be created (for our example, Custom Queries), point to New, and
click Query.
-
In the Name box, type the name for the new
query. For our example, type Computers with more than 128 Mb of
RAM.
-
Click the Import Query Statement button. The
Browse Query dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-14.
Figure
15-14
-
Select the query you want to copy from. For
our example, select the All Client Systems query. Click OK.
-
Click the Edit Query Statement button. The
General tab for the dialog box showing query properties is
displayed, as shown in Figure 15-15.
Figure
15-15
-
Click the Criteria tab. The Query Properties
dialog box is displayed showing the Criteria tab for the new query
in Figure
15-16.
Figure
15-16
-
Click the New Criterion button (displayed as
a sunburst). The Criterion Properties dialog box is displayed, as
shown in Figure
15-17.
Figure
15-17
-
Click the Select button. The Select attribute
dialog box appears.
-
In the Attribute class list, select the class
you want to select an attribute from. For our example, select
Memory.
-
In the Alias as list, type an alias to be
used instead of the attribute name. For our example, leave it as
<No Alias>.
-
In the Attribute list, select the attribute
to be used for filtering. For our example, select Total Physical
Memory (Kbytes).
-
In the Criterion type list, select one of the
following options:
-
Null Value: Compares the
selected attribute to NULL (no value).
The Criterion Properties dialog box with the Null
value criterion type is shown in Figure 15-18.
Figure
15-18
Once this option is selected, the Operator
list will be populated with the options is NULL and is not
NULL.
-
Simple Value: Compares
the selected attribute to a simple value.
The Criterion Properties dialog box with Simple
value criterion type is shown in Figure 15-19.
Figure
15-19
-
Once this option is selected, the Operator
list will be populated with the options is equal to, is greater
than, is greater than or equal to, is less than, is less than or
equal to, and is not equal to. The Value box should be populated
with the value to be compared against. For our example, use this
option with "is greater than" as an operator and 128000 as the
value.
-
Prompted Value: Compares
the selected attribute to a value entered by the user when the
query is executed.
The Criterion Properties dialog box with the
Prompted value criterion type is shown in Figure 15-20.
Figure
15-20
-
Attribute Reference:
Compares the selected attribute to the value of another
attribute.
The Criterion Properties dialog box with the
Attribute reference criterion type is shown in Figure 15-21.
Figure
15-21
When this option is selected, a second
attribute has to be selected.
-
Subselected Values:
Compares the selected attribute to a list of values obtained
through another query.
The Criterion Properties dialog box with the
Subselected values criterion type is shown in Figure 15-22.
Figure
15-22
When
this option is selected, the Operator list is populated with the
options is in and is not in. The Browse button should be used to
select the queries from which a list of values will be created.
-
List of Values: Compares
the selected attribute to a list of predefined values.
The Criterion Properties dialog box with the List
of values criterion type is shown in Figure 15-23.
Figure
15-23
When this option is selected, the Operator
list is populated with the options is in and is not in. Use the
Values button to select values to be added to the list, or type the
desired values in the Value to add list and use the Add and Remove
buttons to populate the Values to match list.
-
Click OK. The Criteria tab for the dialog box
displays, as shown in Figure 15-24.
-
Click OK twice and run the query. The query
result is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-25.
Exporting and Importing Queries
Queries
created in SMS 2003 can be shared among multiple environments by
exporting and importing the queries. This is rather useful when you
are dealing with multiple SMS organizations that are not in the
same hierarchy or when creating queries in a child site that need
to be copied to a parent site, or a sibling site.
To export a query, perform the following steps:
-
Right-click the Queries container, point to
All Tasks, and click Export Objects. The Export Object Wizard
dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-26.
Figure
15-26
-
Click Next. The Objects to Export page of the
Export Object Wizard is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-27.
Figure
15-27
-
Click the Select All button to select all
queries, or select the queries you want to export.
-
Click Next. The MOF File page of the Export
Object Wizard is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-28.
Figure
15-28
-
In the MOF path and file name box, type the
path to the file that will be created or use the Browse button to
select a path.
-
In the Comment box, type a comment if
desired.
-
Click Next. The fourth step of the Export
Object Wizard appears, as shown in Figure 15-29.
-
Click the Finish button.
If you
want, you can verify the file that was created with the preceding
procedure. Figure
15-30 shows a sample MOF file containing two queries opened in
Notepad.
Once a MOF
file is created, it can be sent to a different server and imported.
To import a query, perform the following steps:
-
Right-click the Queries container, point to
All Tasks, and click Import Objects. The first step of the Import
Object Wizard dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-31.
Figure
15-31
-
Click Next. The second step of the Import
Object Wizard appears, as shown in Figure 15-32.
Figure
15-32
-
In the MOF path and file name box, type the
path to the MOF file to be imported, or click the Browse button to
navigate to the file.
-
Click Next. The third step of the Import
Object Wizard appears, as shown in Figure 15-33.
Figure
15-33
-
Verify the list of objects and click Next.
The fourth step of the Import Object Wizard appears, as shown in
Figure 15-34.
Figure
15-34
-
Observe the comments and click Next. The
fifth step of the Import Object Wizard appears, as shown in
Figure 15-35.
Figure
15-35
-
Click Finish. Verify the list of queries. The
imported query should be displayed.
Security
Like most Windows server applications, SMS
2003 grants access to queries, reports and other objects based on
security rights managed through Access Control Lists. ACLs in SMS
are made up of three components:
-
Account: User or group
account that will be granted access.
-
Permission set: Rights
granted to the account, such as create, delete, or read.
-
Class or instance:
Individual object (instance) or type of object (class) that the ACL
entry will apply to.
When applying security settings to queries and
reports, if you add an account to the class section, the permission
set will be applied to all queries or reports. However, if you add
the account to the instance section, the permission set will be
applied to the individual query or report selected.
To apply security settings to a query or report,
perform the following steps:
-
Right-click a query or report and click
Properties. In our example, we used the All Systems query.
-
Click the Security tab. The All Systems Query
Properties dialog box showing security settings is displayed, as
shown in Figure
15-36.
Figure
15-36
-
In the Instance security rights section,
click the asterisk button. The Object Instance Security Right
Properties dialog box is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-37.
Figure
15-37
-
In the User name box, type the user or group
to be added to the ACL. Notice that this is a list, and all users
that have been used in SMS can be selected.
-
In the Permissions list, enable all rights to
associate with this ACL. Figure 15-38 shows a sample security setting.
Figure
15-38
-
Click OK. The All Systems Query Properties
dialog box showing security settings appears, as shown in Figure 15-39.
-
Click OK.
Reports
SMS
reporting is provided through a site system called the Reporting
Point. The Reporting Point site system is composed of a web
application. Therefore it requires a server running IIS (Internet
Information Services).
Installing a Reporting Point
The Reporting Point site system role can be
installed in any computer running the Windows 2000 Server operating
system with IIS and Office Web Components (for reports that display
charts). Machines connecting to the Reporting Point to use the
Report Viewer web application need to have Internet Explorer 5.01
SP2 or later.
To install the Reporting Point site system role,
perform the following steps:
-
In the SMS Administrator Console, expand
Systems Management Server, Site Database, Site Hierarchy, the
appropriate site, Site Settings, Site System. The SMS Administrator
Console is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-40.
Figure
15-40
-
If you do not see the computer on which you
want to install the Reporting Point site system in the list of site
systems, right-click Site System, point to New, and click Server.
Otherwise, right-click the system and click Properties. The Site
System Properties dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-41.
Figure
15-41
-
If you are adding a new site system to the
SMS environment, click Set and type the desired computer name.
-
Click the Reporting tab. The Site System
Properties dialog box showing the Reporting Point tab is displayed,
as shown in Figure
15-42.
Figure
15-42
-
Enable the Use this site system as a
reporting point check box.
-
In the Reporting folder box, type the name of
the virtual directory to be created in IIS for the Reporting Point
application. By default, this folder is
http://www.sitesystem/SMSReporting_sitecode.
-
Click OK.
To verify the Reporting Point installation, you can
check the following settings on the computer where you are
installing the site system role:
-
Services: Look for the
SMS_REPORTING_POINT service. If this service is not present, check
for the BOOTSTRAP service. The presence of the BOOTSTRAP service
means that SMS is installing a service on the computer.
-
Internet Information Service
(IIS) Manager: Check for the new virtual directory under
the
Default Web Site.
-
SMS Site Component Manager
(SMS Administrator Console): Check status messages for the
Reporting Point.
-
Logfiles: Check the
RSetup.log and SMSReportingInstall.log files.
-
Windows Explorer: Check
the SMSReporting_sitecode folder within the IIS folder
(C:\Inetpub\wwwroot, by default).
Viewing Reports
SMS 2003 provides a long list of reports that
can be used to view information on hardware inventory, software
inventory, site system status, software distribution, and software
metering data. Although the default reports may provide enough
information to most organizations, you may create your reports to
display information.
SMS reports are based on SQL queries that access
the many tables used by SMS through views in the site database. A
working knowledge of such views is required to better understand
how to create reports in SMS 2003. Reports may also contain links
to other reports and parameters used to filter information.
There are more then 160 reports available in SMS
2003. These reports are grouped in categories to facilitate their
localization. SMS 2003 allows us to filter the list of reports in
the SMS Administrator Console based on these categories. To filter
the list of reports in SMS 2003, perform the following steps:
-
In the SMS Administrator Console, expand
Systems Management Server, Site Database, and Reporting.
-
Right-click Reports, point to All Tasks, and
then click Filter Reports. The Filter Reports dialog box appears,
as shown in Figure
15-43.
Figure
15-43
-
Select one or more categories and click the
Display/Hide button to determine whether to display or hide the
selected categories. Observe the changes in the Display column of
the category list.
Reports filtered to show memory-and
processor-related reports are shown in Figure 15-44.
Figure
15-44
-
Click OK.
|
Note |
The SMS Administrator Console does not show
any indication that the report list is being filtered. Therefore,
always verify the Filter Reports dialog box if you cannot find the
report you are looking for.
|
Now that you can view the list of reports available
in SMS 2003 and filter the list based on report categories you are
ready to view your first report in SMS! To view a predefined
report, perform the following steps:
-
In the SMS Administrator Console, expand
Systems Management Server, Site Database Reporting, and
Reports.
-
Right-click the report you want to view,
point to All Tasks, Run, and click on the name of the Reporting
Point from which to run the report. Figure 15-45 shows a sample All Collections report
opened in this way.
The
preceding steps describe how to access reports from the SMS
Administrator Console. However, not all users that may need access
to reports will have access to the SMS Administrator Console in a
production environment. Such users may still access reports using
Internet Explorer. To do so, perform the following steps:
-
Open Internet Explorer from any computer on
the network.
-
At the address bar, type http://www.reportserver/SMSReporting_sitecode and hit
Enter. The Report Viewer web application is displayed, as shown in
Figure 15-46.
Figure
15-46
-
Notice the list of reports on the left side
of the window displays reports grouped by category. Expand the
"SMS-Site Discovery and Inventory Information" group and click the
Computers discovered by a specific site report. Because this report
requires a parameter (site code), the Report Viewer web page is
displayed, as shown in Figure 15-47.
Figure
15-47
-
You can either type the site code in the Site
Code box, or click the Values button to select from a list of valid
values. For this example, click Values. The list of values is
displayed, as shown in Figure 15-48.
Figure
15-48
-
Select a site from the list and click the
Display link. Computers discovered by a specific site report are
displayed, as shown in Figure 15-49.
Creating a Report
As
previously discussed, SMS 2003 provides more then 160 predefined
reports. However, you may need access to information that goes
beyond the predefined reports. In such scenarios, new reports can
be created, and exported for backup and copy purposes.
SMS reports are based in SQL queries. These queries
access data made available through views in the SMS site database.
Therefore, an understanding of such views is necessary in order to
create more reports efficiently. Figure 15-50 displays a database schema with the
Advertisement views used by SMS 2003. As you can see, a few views
are related to the table v_Advertisement. Over 180 views in the SMS
site database can be used by reporting.
Four types
of reports are available in SMS 2003:
-
Predefined reports:
Reports available in SMS 2003 out-of-the-box.
-
Custom reports: Reports
created by SMS administrators using the SMS Administrator
Console.
-
Supplemental reports:
Reports created outside SMS 2003 as ASP pages. Because such reports
are not SMS objects, they cannot be controlled through SMS
security. You have to use IIS to secure access to these
reports.
-
Dashboards: Grid
displaying multiple reports in Report Viewer. Dashboards can
display only those reports that do not require parameters.
In this chapter, you learn how to create custom
reports and dashboards. Custom reports can be created by copying an
existing report or from scratch. They may also contain parameters
and links to other reports.
Copying an Existing Report
The
first step for creating your own report is to copy and modify an
existing report. To copy a report, perform the following steps:
-
In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to
Systems Management Server, Site Database, Reporting, Reports.
-
Right-click a report, such as the Computers
discovered recently by discovery method, point to All Tasks, and
click Clone. The Clone Report dialog box is displayed, as shown in
Figure 15-51.
Figure
15-51
-
Type a name for the new report in the New
report name box (we used Discovered Computers for our example) and
click OK. The new report is displayed in the list of reports, as
shown in Figure
15-52.
Figure
15-52
Working with Parameters
The Discovered Computers report created in the
previous section contains two parameters that specify what
collection the computers belong to, and how long it has been since
they were discovered. You will now see how to change this report
and work with parameters. To do so, perform the following
steps:
-
Right-click the newly created report and
click Properties. The Report Properties dialog box is displayed in
the list of reports, as shown in Figure 15-53.
Figure
15-53
-
To view the SQL statement used to generate
the report, click Edit SQL Statement. The Report SQL Statement
dialog box is displayed in the list of reports, as shown in
Figure 15-54.
Figure
15-54
-
Scroll down to see the WHERE clause
for the selected SQL statement. You will notice the two parameters,
or prompts as they are called in SMS, as
shown in Figure
15-55.
Figure
15-55
-
To concentrate on the prompts, click Prompts.
The Prompts dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 15-56.
Figure
15-56
-
Select the CollID prompt and click the
Exclude (X) button to remove it from the SQL statement.
-
Click OK. The Linked Report Prompts dialog
box is displayed, as shown in Figure 15-57.
Figure
15-57
-
This dialog box displays a list of reports
that have a link to the report you are changing based on the prompt
changed. As you can see, no reports are affected. Therefore, click
Yes.
-
Click OK. The Report SQL Statement dialog box
displaying error message appears, as shown in Figure 15-58.
Figure
15-58
-
The error message refers to the fact that
although we deleted a prompt, a reference to it remains in the SQL
statement. Change the SQL statement by removing the text selected
in Figure 15-59, and
click OK twice to save your report.
Figure
15-59
-
Right-click the report, point to All Tasks,
Run, and click the Reporting Point from which to run the report.
You will notice only one value is now prompted, as shown in
Figure 15-60.
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