Understanding the server usage report

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The Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server 2003 usage report includes a predefined collection of statistics that can help you understand how clients access and use the Internet, e-mail, fax, remote connectivity, and Outlook Web Access features. By proactively monitoring these areas and establishing a baseline of server usage, you can evaluate resource needs and plan for future requirements that can help make employees more productive and your network more supportable.

After you run the Monitoring Configuration Wizard, server usage data is collected continuously and stored in a database. By default, the server usage report is sent to specified recipients in e-mail every other Monday at 07:00 A.M. You can view the latest information in the Monitoring and Reporting snap-in in Server Management by clicking Refresh.

To enable and configure report preferences or other monitoring features, run the Monitoring Configuration Wizard by clicking Configure Monitoring in the To Do List, or by clicking Set Up Monitoring Reports and Alerts in the Monitoring and Reporting snap-in in Server Management.

Viewing the report

After completing the Monitoring Configuration Wizard, you can view the server usage report in the following ways:

  • Click Monitoring and Reporting in Server Management.
  • Click View a server usage report from the Remote Web Workplace.
  • Open the browser and navigate to https://ServerName/monitoring
  • Receive the report in e-mail.

By default, only members of the Domain Admins security group have permission to view the report online. If you select the View the usage report in Server Management check box on the Reporting Options page of the Monitoring Configuration Wizard, you will be provided a page later in the wizard that will enable you to give other users permission to view the report.

If you select the Receive a usage report in e-mail every other week check box on the Reporting Options page of the Monitoring Configuration Wizard, the server usage report will automatically be sent to specified e-mail recipients every other Monday at 07:00 A.M.

Customizing the report

After completing the Monitoring Configuration Wizard, you can make changes to default report settings by clicking Change Server Status Report Settings in the Monitoring and Reporting snap-in in Server Management. After clicking this task, you can:

  • Specify e-mail recipients for a report.
  • Attach log files to a report sent in e-mail.
  • Add log files to the list of available logs.
  • Change the time that daily reports are scheduled to be sent to e-mail recipients.
  • Immediately send a report to an e-mail recipient.
  • Create a new report with a different set of configured options.
  • Remove existing reports.

For information about how to attach log files to a server performance or usage report sent in e-mail, or add other log files to the list of available files, see Attach log files to performance or usage reports.

Notes

  • Log files can be very large. Take this into consideration when deciding to attach a log file to a server performance or usage report. If the compressed size of log file attachments exceeds 5 megabytes (MB), the attachment will not be sent.
  • As a security measure, some e-mail clients such as Outlook Express block receipt of .cab files and other file types by default. If you have configured Windows Small Business Server 2003 to attach log files to server performance or usage reports but are unable to open or receive them as expected, see your e-mail client software documentation to determine how to enable receipt of those files.

Information contained in the server usage report

Report section Description

Internet Activity
  • Web Activity by Computer. The total and average daily hours a client computer was connected to the Internet during the reporting period.
  • Web Traffic by Hour. The total and average daily number of connections made by all client computers, by hour, during the reporting period.

Note

  • If you use a router to access the Internet, usage information for Internet activity will not be included in the report.

E-mail Activity
  • E-mail sent. The total number and size of e-mail messages that each user sent to internal and external e-mail addresses.
  • E-mail received. The total number and size of e-mail messages that each user received from internal and external e-mail addresses.
  • Mailbox size. The size of each user's mailbox at the beginning and end of the reporting period, and the percentage change in mailbox size.

Outlook Web Access
  • Outlook Web Access Activity by User. The total and average daily number of visits each user made to an Outlook Web Access site.
  • Outlook Web Access Usage by Hour. The total and average daily number of visits made to an Outlook Web Access site by all users, by hour, during the reporting period.

Remote Connections
  • Remote Connection Activity by User. The total and average daily number of times each user made a remote connection to the network and the average connection duration in minutes.
  • Remote Connection Activity by Hour. The total and average daily number of remote connections to the network by all users, by hour, during the reporting period.

Fax Activity
  • Faxes Sent. The total and average daily number of faxes sent to a specific fax number and the average duration and size (in pages) of all faxes sent to that number during the reporting period.
  • Faxes Received. The total and average daily number of faxes received from a specific fax number and the average duration and size (in pages) of all faxes received from that number during the reporting period.
  • Faxes Sent by User. The total and average daily number of faxes sent by each user and the average duration and size (in pages) of all faxes sent by that user during the reporting period.
  • Fax Traffic by Hour. The total and average daily number of faxes sent by all users, by hour, during the reporting period.