Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Reporting - Hosting Providers - Microsoft
Hosted Messaging and Collaboration > Reporting Services
Reporting Services - Hosted Messaging and Collaboration
Use Standard and Customized Reporting to Better Track System Performance
The reporting services component of the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration uses Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services with the addition of a few key components that collect and store the data gathered by the monitoring system for long-term analysis.

The reporting services component enables the creation, management, and delivery of both traditional, paper-oriented reports, and interactive, Web-based reports. Standard reports, included as part of this component, help service providers:

  • Evaluate system performance and make decisions about when to add servers to increase system capacity.
  • Review what service plans have been sold and track the success of promotions by combining data from applicable databases, including from the service provisioning component.
You can use these reports to make decisions about when to add servers and system capacity. Standard reports provide critical insight into customers and business operations. System Usage Quick Facts and Hosted Exchange Mailbox Utilization are examples of two valuable standard reports that are included in the solution.

To provide even more meaningful reports specific to customer needs, you can also build and customize usage reports for Hosted Exchange and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services Hosting.

Why SQL Server Reporting Services?
This version of Hosted Messaging and Collaboration uses SQL Server Reporting Services in conjunction with Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and solution components to provide a framework for meeting your solution reporting needs. Adding SQL Server Reporting Services to the solution allows you to access standard solution reports through a Web interface.

New and updated reporting components in Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 4.0 include:

  • Updated data collection applications and database
  • Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Management Packs
  • Exchange Server 2007 Management Pack
  • Additional customized management packs for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration
Benefits of Reporting
Reporting services in Hosted Messaging and Collaboration version 4.0 uses standardized tools to support the full reporting life cycle. Using reporting services, service providers can:
  • Author reports: Report developers can create reports to be published to the Report Server using Microsoft or third-party design tools that use Report Definition Language (RDL), an XML-based industry standard used to define reports.
  • Manage reports: Report definitions, folders, and resources are published and managed as a Web service. Managed reports can be executed either on demand or on a specified schedule, and are cached for consistency and performance.
  • Deliver reports: SQL Server Reporting Services supports both on-demand (pull) and event-based (push) delivery of reports. Users can view reports in a Web-based format or in e-mail.
Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Management Packs Features
One of the key messaging features that has been customized for hosters is the Hosted Messaging and Collaboration Management Packs. This set of management packs is designed to help you deploy MOM with rules for monitoring core platform servers in one to two business days.

The processing rule groups imported with these management packs allow you to monitor:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Base Operating System
  • Exchange Server 2007
  • Active Directory directory service events, alerts, and performance
  • SQL Server events, alerts, and performance
  • Microsoft Provisioning System (MPS) events, alerts, and performance
  • DNS events, alerts, and performance
  • Microsoft Windows Network Load Balancing