Site Server Express - Introduction

  • Article

Each time a user interacts with your Internet site, your server software records information about the interaction, commonly referred to as a hit, in a single line of a log file. Microsoft® Usage Import and Report Writer enable you to extract trend and usage information from this log file data, providing you with valuable insights for making informed Internet business decisions.

Software Components

Microsoft® Site Server Express includes two usage components:

  • Usage Import

  • Report Writer

The Database

Think of a database as a container. The database contains your imported log file data in a structure that facilitates the analysis of information gathered in your log files. Each of the components interacts with the database in the process of organizing, analyzing, and representing your log file data.

  • Usage Import filters and configures your data according to your site organization for storage in the database.

  • The Report Writer uses the database information to produce detailed analysis reports.

The use of a relational database to store this data offers two primary benefits: flexible analysis and efficient storage.

Feature

Benefit

Flexible analysis

The data definitions incorporated in the database enable the cross referencing of more than 200 properties of your Internet server usage data.

Efficient storage

The database stores log file data without repetitive information. The resulting database requires significantly less disk space than the original log files (often 10-20 percent of the original log file).
Usage Import

Usage Import reads your log files and applies several inference-based algorithms to determine the visits, users, and organizations that accessed your Internet sites. The database stores the results of these algorithms.

Feature

Benefit

Uses a standard, commercial relational database to archive your data. This database is completely accessible for your use.

Analyzes activity over any span of time—including when your sites were initially created—regardless of the length of any one log file.

Supports all standard and extended log file formats from popular commercial and public domain servers.

Ensures compatibility with your investment in server technology.

Server manager enables the hierarchical configuration of a log data source that has multiple servers with any combination of content sites.

Accurately analyzes multi-homed environments.

Log file manager maintains an inventory of all log data imported into the database.

Provides an organizational structure for easily managing log file content, including the ability to remove specific imports from the database.

Distributes Whois queries to obtain up-to-date organization names for international and domestic Internet domains.

Translates cryptic Internet domain names into actual organization names and postal codes.

Advanced algorithms transform clickstream data into a visit, user, and organization hierarchy; also uses referrer, user agent, cookie, and registration data if available.

Ensures the most accurate user and visit analysis possible.

Organization algorithm flexibly parses host names according to your Intranet DNS naming scheme.

Measures usage on your Intranet by your division, department, or group.

Imports log data directly from an ODBC log database.

Conveniently imports data from any source.

Creates visit, user, and organization hierarchy from clickstream data.

Translates network data into useful marketing information.

Inserts referring files into the clickstream to compensate for caching that has removed requests from the log file.

Ensures the most accurate request analysis possible by accurately reconstructing the user clickstream.

Visit algorithm uses referrer, user agent, and cookie data if available and provides a configurable time out.

Ensures the most accurate visit analysis possible while flexibly accommodating unique cases (for example, customer support or navigation sites).

User algorithm supports cookies and registration.

Ensures the most accurate user analysis possible.

Caches open visits at the end of a log file import, to be reopened at the beginning of the next log file import.

Ensures the most accurate activity analysis possible by preventing the double counting of visits across log file transitions.
Report Writer

The Report Writer produces analysis reports based on the usage data within the database. It offers you a wide variety of standard reports, based on various combinations of categories and their associated measures (including browser, content, geography, hits, organization, referrer, request, user, and visit).

Feature

Benefit

HTML, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and e-mail-ready reports, ideal for presentation on your web site or to go directly to management.

Produces reports in popular formats that are convenient and appropriate for you and your users.

Learn paths users take through your site.

Identifies users' main entry and exit points—and everything in between.

Monitor your strategic target audience and identify new market opportunities.

Identifies actual organizations and organization types (commercial, educational, government, or nonprofit, for example) visiting your site.

Learn total time users spend at your site, including time spent per page.

Identifies where users spend the most time in your site so you know what messages they view.

Gauge user loyalty to your site.

Monitors how frequently users visit and the depth of their interest level in your site's content. Also enables you to understand the effectiveness of different promotions based on what first-time or repeat visitors do once they reach your site.

All methodology and algorithms verified by the principal media auditing agencies, ABC and BPA.

Reports activity using recognized, industry-accepted software.