Output Format Options For Reports

Performance Reporting Manager provides four possible output formats for its reports:

• Tabular

• Line graph

• Bar chart

• Pie chart

All four format options are not available for every report. The type of report determines the format options available. Certain formats do not make sense for particular reports, so they are not always given as an option. When creating a custom report request, you choose from the available format options given at that time.

Once a report request is saved, an icon depicting the report format option appears in the hierarchy view in the Report Manager GUI. Each icon is representative of the format chosen for the report. A lock symbol is added to the icon when the request is for a standard report that comes with Performance Reporting Manager. Standard reports have predefined reporting options that you cannot change.

Tabular Report

The tabular report option returns data in table format. The distinctive icon for the tabular option is a table. The table icon is a grid with rows and columns. The cells of the table contain the numerical values for the data properties specified in the report request. You change the column sizing by dragging either edge of the column heading. If the title to a column heading appears truncated or is followed by several dots, you may want to resize the column in order to view all information. Tabular reports can be sorted by clicking on a column, except for performance reports. Performance reports are presorted according to the time field.

When the Real Time range is selected, you can update the information by clicking the Refresh button located at the right top of the table. The new data is added to the top of the table.

Line Graph Report

The line graph report option returns data as graphs with line plots. The line graph icon is a graph with a climbing, jagged line. The number of graphs contained in each report depends on the Graph Orientation option selected in the report request.

When the Real Time range is selected for a report, the graph refreshes according to the refresh interval of the properties being logged. For Real Time reports, only the last hour of data is visible on the graph at any point in time.

Each line graph report has several viewing options. For example, you can use the Zoom button to view finer, more granular data for any point on a line. The Alarms button enables you to obtain the alarm detail for any host included in the report. The Processes button similarly enables you to obtain the top ten CPU processes and the top ten memory processes for any host in the report. For more information, see Line Graph Report Viewing Options.

The following figure shows a sample of a line graph report.

Figure 1–1 Sample Line Graph from a Standard Performance Report

Bar Chart Report

The bar chart report option returns data as one or more graphs with bar lines. The bar chart icon is a graph that contains three horizontal bar lines. The number of graphs contained in each bar chart report is controlled by the Graph Orientation option selected in the report request. This format enables you to create a report that provides a visual comparison of data values.

Each bar chart graph has the same viewing options as the line graph report option. See Line Graph Report.

Pie Chart Report

The number of pie chart reports returned depends upon whether the data property hostname is included in the report request. The report returns data as one pie chart per host if hostname is specified in the report request. If the data property hostname is not specified in the report request, only one pie chart is generated in the report. Pie chart reports are not available for performance and hardware configuration reports when the Level of Detail:Summary option is selected. The pie chart icon is a circle with a single line that depicts the radius.

For more information about the selection of data properties in a report request, see Data Properties.