Creating Reports

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Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 generates a tremendous amount of network, inventory, discovery, and status information, which it maintains in your SMS site database. Depending on the level of each site in your SMS hierarchy, your site database might also include information that is passed up from child sites. One challenge that you face as an administrator is retrieving the pertinent data that is necessary to monitor and evaluate your SMS system and to help you and others effectively manage your organization. You can use SMS reporting to gather, organize, and present information that is collected in your site database.

SMS 2003 provides a number of predefined reports that you can use to gather important information from your site database. Administrators can create, manage, and secure reports by using the SMS Administrator console. Administrators and other report users, such as help desk specialists or business decision-makers, can run reports by using Report Viewer. Report Viewer is a browser-based application that runs with Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can create and administer reports in the secure environment of the SMS Administrator console and end users can run reports without the need to access an SMS Administrator console.

You can export and import reports by using the Export Object Wizard and Import Object Wizard. SMS 2003 exports reports by writing report object definitions, which are the properties that define a report, to a file. Only the report object definitions are exported or imported, not report data. You can use exported report files to share reports with other SMS administrators, or to import reports that you obtained from other SMS administrators or other sources.

You can also create dashboards, which are sets of reports in a grid that you can display in a single window of Report Viewer. You can use dashboards to monitor information about a variety of SMS objects or systems. You cannot export or import dashboards.

On This Page

In This Chapter

In This Chapter

  • Understanding Reporting

  • Working with Reports

  • Working with Dashboards

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