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System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard

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Download This Solution Accelerator

Click here to download the Microsoft System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard.

About This Solution Accelerator

IT Challenges

IT administrators and IT support staff need easier access to key information about incident and problem resolution, change control, and its configuration management database.  System Center Service Manager orchestrates activities and connects knowledge from System Center Operations Manager, System Center Configuration Manager, and Active Directory® Domain Services. IT needs the ability to track this information without having access to a System Center Service Manager console.

Solution

The System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard can reduce costs and improve IT responsiveness by keeping track of incidents and problem resolution, change control, and its configuration management database—with an easy to use, customizable Web interface.  Because the Dashboard is built on Windows® SharePoint® Services, IT staff can access information without using the Service Manager console. The Dashboard is a free Solution Accelerator, and fully supported by Microsoft.

Key Benefits

Benefits of the Dashboard include:

  • Actionable information out of the box. The Dashboard comes with a wide range of valuable built-in data sets, related to activities, change and incident management, and many more that IT managers can access without using the Service Manager console. 
  • Centralized, near-real-time access to key information. The graphical Dashboard lets customers view any Service Manager data set in near-real time—without leaving their desk.
  • Easy to build and configure. The Dashboard’s wizard-based tools let customers easily create new Dashboards in minutes. 
  • Easy to customize. The Dashboard can easily be customized to meet the needs of different departments and other groups. Any data set in the Service Manager database can be presented on the Dashboard, in chart, gauge, and table formats.  
  • Flexible & interactive. Users can easily filter data and create ad hoc, custom views. Filters allow users to quickly drill down from high-level to more specific data.

In More Detail

How the Dashboard Works

The System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard is designed to work with an existing Service Manager infrastructure. The Dashboard queries the Service Manager data warehouse database and uses the resulting data set to present key infrastructure metrics in a graphical format.

The Dashboard uses SharePoint Web Parts to manage and display data sets:

  • Microsoft Dashboard Configuration Web Part. Use this Web Part to create and modify the SQL queries that produce the data sets and the other properties that govern how the Dashboard displays the data sets.
  • Microsoft Dashboard Viewer Web Part. Use this Web Part to display the data sets. A Dashboard Viewer Web Part displays one data set at a time. The Service Manager Dashboard can contain multiple copies of the Dashboard Viewer Web Part at once, each copy displaying a different data set.

The following figure shows how users can interact with the Web Parts to retrieve and display data.

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Figure 1. Service Manager 2010 Dashboard Process Flow

The Service Manager Dashboard process flow involves the following sequence of activities:

  1. An IT Service Manager requests a new data set.
  2. The IT Administrator uses the Dashboard Configuration Web Part to define the new data set.
  3. The IT Administrator stores the configuration information for the new data set (the information is saved in the Windows SharePoint Services Content database).
  4. The IT Administrator adds a new copy of the Dashboard Viewer Web Part to the default Service Manager Dashboard and then modifies the Web Part to display the new data set.
  5. The IT Service Manager browses to the Service Manager Dashboard site.
  6. Windows SharePoint Services queries the Service Manager data warehouse database as specified by the data set configuration.
  7. Windows SharePoint Services renders the new data set using the Dashboard Viewer Web Part.

Requirements for the Service Manager Dashboard

The Service Manager Dashboard integrates with an already functioning deployment of System Center Service Manager 2010 and has no additional infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that Service Manager 2010 and the Service Manager data warehouse database are configured in accordance with Microsoft installation guidance.

The following table lists software requirements for the Service Manager Dashboard.

Table 1. Service Manager Dashboard Software Requirements**

Infrastructure

Resource

Operating System

·         See requirements for System Center Service Manager 2010

Software

·         Service Manager 2010

·         Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2

Note   Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP2 is supported as an alternative to Windows SharePoint Services 3.0.  Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2010 is not supported

·         Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 or 2008

·         Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

Browser

·         Microsoft Internet Explorer® 7.0 or later

Note   For more information about the software requirements for the Service  Manager Dashboard, see the appropriate sections in the System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard: User Guide or the System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard release notes.

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Download This Solution Accelerator

Click here to download the Microsoft System Center Service Manager 2010 Dashboard.