About Configuration Manager Reporting

Reporting in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 is integrated into the Configuration Manager console. Reports are secured by Configuration Manager objects that you can create and manage in the Configuration Manager console. Many predefined reports are provided with Configuration Manager, and additional reports can be created to fit your needs. The Object Wizard can be used to import reports that are created at another site. You can run reports by using Report Viewer, which is a browser-based application that you can start either from within the Configuration Manager console or by using a URL with Windows Internet Explorer, which allows for access to reports by any user with the appropriate security rights. Like other Configuration Manager objects, you must have the appropriate credentials to create, modify, delete, view, or run reports.

Report Types

Configuration Manager 2007 provides many predefined reports. You can created custom reports if the predefined reports do not retrieve the data you want. Supplemental reports are created outside of Configuration Manager and are available from Report Viewer.

Predefined Reports

Configuration Manager provides a number of predefined reports that can be used to gather important information from the site database. Administrators can create, manage, and secure reports by using the Configuration Manager console. Administrators and other report users, such as help desk specialists or business decision-makers, can run reports by using Report Viewer, which is a browser-based application that runs with Internet Explorer.

Custom Reports

When the predefined reports do not retrieve the data you want, you can create custom reports either by copying and modifying predefined reports or by creating new reports. When modifying the properties of a predefined report, you can no longer use the original report as designed. If you reinstall predefined reports, from an import or as part of a product upgrade, you lose your changes. To keep the original report intact, always make a copy of the predefined report, rename it, and then modify the new report to better meet your needs. To create a new report, you must specify a Structured Query Language (SQL) statement that determines which records are returned when the report is run.

Report Categories

There are many report categories that help to organize reports. Reports can be configured for only one report category. New categories can be created by specifying a unique category when creating or modifying reports. Report categories are case sensitive.

Creating and Modifying Reports

Creating a new report or modifying a predefined report requires a working knowledge of SQL. When you create a new report, you must specify a category. You can choose an existing category or create a new category. When you create a new category, it is added to the category list. Within a given category, report names must be unique. However, you can use duplicate report names in different categories. Configuration Manager assigns each new report a report ID number, which uniquely identifies the report. The category determines which tree branch the report appears in on the main page of Report Viewer.

Report SQL Statement

The principal element of a report is an SQL statement that defines which data the report gathers and returns as the result set. A result set is a tabular arrangement of the data in columns and rows. A report can also return multiple result sets. The SQL statement in a report does not run directly against the Configuration Manager site database tables. Instead, the SQL statement runs against a set of Microsoft SQL Server views, which point to records in the Configuration Manager site database tables. Each time that you run a report, the information returned consists of data that is current in the database at the time that you run the report. To create new reports by using the Configuration Manager console, you must have a working knowledge of SQL.

Running Reports

Reports in Configuration Manager are opened in Report Viewer, which can be opened from the Configuration Manager console or by using a Web browser and entering the unique URL for the report.

Deleting Reports

When a report is deleted in Configuration Manager, the report object is removed from the site database, resulting in the following changes to the report's status:

It no longer appears in the report list in the Configuration Manager console or Report Viewer.
It no longer appears in the dashboards in which it was included.
It is no longer available to source reports that use the deleted report as the target for a link. The report link in the source report no longer works when the target report is deleted, and the link should be removed or reconfigured.