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Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom SCCM reports

 
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Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom SCCM... - 9/9/2008 11:23:49 AM   
Winston Smith

 

Posts: 53
Score: 0
Joined: 12/18/2007
Status: offline 		I'd like to hear your feedback about a good class I could take to really learn the ins and outs of SMS/SCCM reporting. Management is relentlessly demanding 'next-level' custom reports and frankly I just don't know my shit well enough to trot them out. They'll send me to a class, but I'd like to choose correctly, to get out of it what I need.

I took 2596B 6 months ago. It wasn't a complete waste of my time, but definitely didn't get into the meat and potatoes enough. Case in point: the chapter on reporting only covered how to run the canned reports, and barely eluded to customizing reports.

Did y'all learn this OJT, or do you have some classroom experience that you benefited from? This inquiring mind wants to know.

Thanks,

Winston
Post #: 1
RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/9/2008 12:50:40 PM   
skissinger


Posts: 2119
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Joined: 9/13/2001
From: Sherry Kissinger
Status: offline 		I learned it by lurking here and cloning & playing with existing reports.  Otherwise, try this for a 'send-me-to-class' scenario.  It's not until next year, but get to mms-2009 (www.mms-2009.com)  It's the best learning opportunity for Configmgr; lots of hands-on labs and sessions, and thousands of Configmgr people all in 1 place.

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(in reply to Winston Smith)
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RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/9/2008 1:06:11 PM   
bwilms


Posts: 167
Score: 4
Joined: 3/8/2006
Status: offline 		I took some database/SQL classes in college which gave me a good base for query language.  Other than that, like skissinger said, it was all about cloning, playing with exisiting reports, and asking questions on here.  I also Googled a lot for SQL commands, which carried over pretty well, at least for the basic stuff.

When you say 'next-level' custom reports, do you have an idea of what you mean by that?  That is, do you have specific goals in mind for reporting?  Is there something you want to do but can't or are you more interested in being shown the possibilities of SMS/SCCM reporting?

(in reply to skissinger)
Post #: 3
RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/9/2008 1:43:13 PM   
Winston Smith

 

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Joined: 12/18/2007
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quote:

ORIGINAL: bwilms

When you say 'next-level' custom reports, do you have an idea of what you mean by that?  That is, do you have specific goals in mind for reporting?  Is there something you want to do but can't or are you more interested in being shown the possibilities of SMS/SCCM reporting?


ETA: I need an expert level of proficiency in reporting FAST.

They want a report of all software except Microsoft products (OS, patches, drivers & elements of OS), they don't want it to include free software, they don't want it to include print drivers, and so on. I ended up using Software 01A as a basis, then building in exceptions to filter out what I didn't want to see. Seemed at first I was going to be ok, but I reached a character input limit in SQL statement that could not be overcome. I ended up adding a custom table in the SMS database called 'EXCLUDEDSOFTWARETITLES' then referencing that in my SQL statement.

Another example is something I've got queued up, but haven't started working on. They want all Adobe software. Teouble is, Adobe records their own name as Publisher about a dozen different ways, so I need to consolidate 'Adobe', 'Adobe, Inc.', Adobe Incorporated', 'Adobe, Incorporated', etc. into a single Publisher 'Adobe'. (I think. I don't know what I'm going to need to do, actually). Then, they don't want to see every software revision listed on seperate lines (all Version 7.x should report as Version 7 on a single line). Further, they want to be able to drill into each line to see what's beneath it. Also, they don't want to see the free stuff (reader, flash, etc).

Also, they keep asking for a report of computers that also includes the full name (Last, First) of the person to last log on. Seems like that should be simple to deliver, and a jackass consultant said it would be easy, and that he'd do it and show me how. But he didn't. And since it was a promise and not a project deliverable, he won't do it now. Fucker.

Management seems to be under the impression that this shit is pretty easy to churn out, I guess. And maybe it is. But I'm struggling, and education has never hurt me before.

< Message edited by Winston Smith -- 9/9/2008 1:44:15 PM >

(in reply to bwilms)
Post #: 4
RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/9/2008 2:54:29 PM   
egroff

 

Posts: 8
Score: 2
Joined: 10/28/2007
Status: offline 		Create collections that meet some of your criteria and nests them. Then use that collection as the starting point and do an inner join to SystemResource which will help you with your character limit.

(in reply to Winston Smith)
Post #: 5
RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/9/2008 3:43:37 PM   
bwilms


Posts: 167
Score: 4
Joined: 3/8/2006
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Winston Smith

quote:

ORIGINAL: bwilms

When you say 'next-level' custom reports, do you have an idea of what you mean by that?  That is, do you have specific goals in mind for reporting?  Is there something you want to do but can't or are you more interested in being shown the possibilities of SMS/SCCM reporting?


ETA: I need an expert level of proficiency in reporting FAST.

They want a report of all software except Microsoft products (OS, patches, drivers & elements of OS), they don't want it to include free software, they don't want it to include print drivers, and so on. I ended up using Software 01A as a basis, then building in exceptions to filter out what I didn't want to see. Seemed at first I was going to be ok, but I reached a character input limit in SQL statement that could not be overcome. I ended up adding a custom table in the SMS database called 'EXCLUDEDSOFTWARETITLES' then referencing that in my SQL statement.

Another example is something I've got queued up, but haven't started working on. They want all Adobe software. Teouble is, Adobe records their own name as Publisher about a dozen different ways, so I need to consolidate 'Adobe', 'Adobe, Inc.', Adobe Incorporated', 'Adobe, Incorporated', etc. into a single Publisher 'Adobe'. (I think. I don't know what I'm going to need to do, actually). Then, they don't want to see every software revision listed on seperate lines (all Version 7.x should report as Version 7 on a single line). Further, they want to be able to drill into each line to see what's beneath it. Also, they don't want to see the free stuff (reader, flash, etc).

Also, they keep asking for a report of computers that also includes the full name (Last, First) of the person to last log on. Seems like that should be simple to deliver, and a jackass consultant said it would be easy, and that he'd do it and show me how. But he didn't. And since it was a promise and not a project deliverable, he won't do it now. Fucker.

Management seems to be under the impression that this shit is pretty easy to churn out, I guess. And maybe it is. But I'm struggling, and education has never hurt me before.


I see.  Much clearer.  Well, I'm not aware of any class that teaches such things (wouldn't mind hearing about one though).  You may need to break out of SMS/SCCM reporting and just use SQL.  I'm not sure what SQL Reporting Services offers, but that might be an option too. 

The report types you mention all seem to be about massaging data (which you are well aware of).  I've never come across SQL language that's helped me with that.  It's all been manual.  On the Adobe stuff, I thought that's what Asset Intelligence was supposed to help with.  Also, if you are using data from Software Inventory, there are settings that could help you.  Go to Site Settings > Client Agents > Software Inventory Client Agent > Inventory Names tab.

(in reply to Winston Smith)
Post #: 6
RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/9/2008 4:43:37 PM   
gjones


Posts: 824
Score: 50
Joined: 6/5/2001
From: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Status: offline
There are no course for this, (yes, I have though writing one but...) however if you want to learn to write reports then the first step a understand SQL then the next step would be to review the ConfigMgr db view structure (and not the tables, dba love tables stay away from them) and there are tricks that you can use that will be supported by MS and others that are not!  Understand this process may take months and years to get a good understanding of ConfigMgr/SMS.

I also tell people to go an write the SQL Admin exam for SQL 2005 (70-431) this will give you lots of info on how to write basic queries and will help you in your day-to-day activities with SQL & ConfigMgr/SMS/OpsMgr/MOM.

Sometimes you need to say “NO” to management as this does not make sense. Case and point this blog post http://smsug.ca/blogs/garth_jones/archive/2008/08/14/managers-and-web-reports.aspx

Both of your second and third items can be done. The question is how much work are you willing to do? How are you willing to learn? How much are you (your office) willing to have someone else setup for you and you maintain it after they leave? These are the types of questions that you and your management need to define, then you can decide on how to proceeded, with your reporting needs.

For your Full user name request. Do you have Active Directory User Discovery? What do you want to do about user logon locally to a PC? What about PCs where we don’t know who is logon?
For Adobe what have you tried?
 

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(in reply to Winston Smith)
Post #: 7
RE: Reccomend a class to teach me how to create custom ... - 9/10/2008 9:17:20 AM   
fstuart438

 

Posts: 40
Score: 0
Joined: 9/11/2001
From: Portland, Maine
Status: offline 		An Microsoft or AppDev T-SQL class is the best to get up to speed quickly on SQl and the 2005 Reporting Services Class to prepare you for the reporting in SCCM R2. Both of these in that order should get you well on the road to creating some great reports.

(in reply to Winston Smith)
Post #: 8
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