AppNote: Creating ZENworks Inventory Reports Using the Crystal Reports Designer
Novell Cool Solutions: AppNote
By Jagannathan Somakala
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Updated: 22 Nov 2005 |
J Somakala
Senior Software Engineer
Novell Inc.
JSomakala@novell.com
This AppNote explains how to create inventory reports from Novell ZENworks for Desktops and ZENworks for Servers using the Crystal Reports Designer included in Crystal Reports 8.0 and 8.5. Crystal Reports is a third-party product for producing customized reports from various types of databases.
| Topics | inventory reports, ZENworks for Desktops, ZENworks for Servers, Crystal Reports, databases |
| Products | Novell ZENworks for Desktops 4, Novell ZENworks for Servers 3, Novell ZENworks 6, 6.5, 7 |
| Audience | ZENworks administrators |
| Level | intermediate |
| Prerequisite Skills | basic knowledge of database fundamentals, familiarity with ZENworks inventory reporting |
| Tools | Crystal Reports 8.0 and 8.5 |
| Sample Code | no |
Introduction
A solution for creating customized Inventory reports using Crystal Decisions' Crystal Reports for Novell's ZENworks for Desktops 4, ZENworks for Servers 3, and ZENworks 6, 6.5, 7 has been developed. This AppNote explains how ZENworks administrators can create a variety of reports from the ZENworks Inventory database with minimal effort.
The solution also allows user-defined reports to be added to the Novell ConsoleOne utility to simplify the process of compiling Inventory data for the administrator. The instructions on how to do this are given in the Administration Guides for ZENworks for Desktops 4, ZENworks for Servers 3, and ZENworks 6, 6.5, 7.
Throughout this AppNote, references to ZENworks for Desktops and ZENworks for Servers will be abbreviated as ZfD and ZfS, respectively.
Note: Although the views and attributes described in this AppNote are specific to ZfD 4, becoming familiar with the tasks described in this AppNote should help you in designing reports for the Inventory database in ZENworks for Desktops 3.2.
This AppNote assumes that the user has installed Crystal Reports 8.0 or above, and has a basic knowledge of designing reports using the Crystal Reports Designer. It also assumes that the user has basic knowledge of database fundamentals.
Prerequisite Procedures
Before you proceed with the instructions in this AppNote for creating Inventory reports with the Crystal Reports Designer, you must check your software versions and configure the ODBC driver to connect to the appropriate Inventory Database server.
Software Versions
The instructions given in this AppNote are based on the following ZENworks versions:
ZENworks for Desktops 4 with Support Pack 1 (SP1)
ZENworks for Servers 3 with SP1 or SP2
ZENworks 6
-
ZENworks 6.5
-
ZENworks 7
If you do not have Crystal Reports 8.0, it can be purchased from the company's Web site at http://www.crystaldecisions.com or from your local software retailer.
Configuring ODBC
You need to configure the ODBC driver to connect to the appropriate Inventory Database server on the machine where Crystal Reports Designer is installed.
Before you can create reports using the Crystal Report Designer, the ODBC client for Sybase, Oracle, or Microsoft SQL must be installed on your workstation. You can install the Sybase ODBC driver from the ZfD or ZfS Companion CD. To install the Sybase ODBC driver, copy the \ODBC\SYBASE\SYBASEODBC.ZIP file from the Companion CD to a local drive. For installation instructions, refer to the ODBCREADME.TXT file in the same directory on the Companion CD.
After installing the appropriate ODBC client, you need to configure the ODBC driver on your workstation. To configure the ODBC driver, follow these steps (details may vary depending on the version of Windows you have):
Click Start and select Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools. Double-click the "Data Sources (ODBC)" icon and click the Add button.
In the list of ODBC drivers, select the one for the database you want to connect to.
Click Finish.
Enter the Data Source Name as "ZenInventory" (or whatever DSN you want) and fill in the database connection details (see Figure 1).
Click OK . The DSN you entered should now appear in the list of User Data Sources.
Click OK to close the ODBC configuration utility.
Note: If you use the DSN name of "ZenInventory", you can add the reports you design to the existing Inventory reports that can be viewed using ConsoleOne. More details can be found in the ZfD and ZfS Administration Guides.
Figure 1: ODBC Driver Setup screen.
Inventory Database Schema
The ZENworks Inventory database is modeled after the CIM schema, a standard information model developed by the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF).
The main view in the ZENworks Inventory database is CIM.UnitaryComputer-System. This view contains all the workstations and servers scanned for Inventory in ZfD and ZfS. All other details scanned, such as processor, disk drive, operating system, and so on, are exposed through relevant views and are linked to CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem using association views. Each of these classes has specific attributes which are scanned for. The entire set of attributes scanned, the views, and their link to CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem are shown in Table 1.
In the table, the LHS view links to the RHS view using the association view. "L" in the association view is the attribute name which links to id$ of the LHS view. "R" in the association view is the attribute name which links to id$ of the RHS view. So, to get the OS of a particular machine, by looking in the first column you see that you have to link
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem.id$ = CIM.InstalledOS.GroupComponent
and
CIM.InstalledOS.PartComponent = ZENworks.ZENOperatingSystem.id$
Entries marked with an asterisk (*) and highlighted in red indicate a further link. For example, to get Hard Disk drive details, the SQL statement would have the condition:
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem.id$ = CIM.SystemDevice.GroupComponent and
CIM.SystemDevice.PartComponent = ZENworks.ZENDiskDrive.id$ and
ZENworks.ZENDiskDrive.id$ = CIM.Realizes.Dependent and
CIM.Realizes.Antecedent = ZENworks.PhysicalDiskDrive.id$
Table 1: Links between various views in the Inventory database.
ZW Versions |
LHS View
|
Association View
|
RHS View
|
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem Name PrimaryOwnerName PrimaryOwnerContact |
CIM.InstalledOS L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.ZenOperatingSystem (can be used for common data across Windows and NetWare) Windows:ZENworks.WinOperatingSystem CodePage OSType InstallDate Caption OtherTypeDescription Role TotalVirtualMemorySize TotalVisibleMemorySize Version NetWare: ZENworks.NetWareOperatingSystem(in addition to the above attributes) AccountingVersion InternetBridgeSupport MaxNumberOfConnections PeakConnectionsUsed PrintServerVersion QueuingVersion RevisionLevel SecurityRestrictionLevel SFTLevel TTSlevel VAPVersion VirtualConsoleVersion InternalNetworkNumber |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.InstalledSoftware Element L:System R:Software |
ZENworks.InventoryScanner Version LastScanDate InventoryServer ScanMode |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ManageWise.Designates L:Host R:Designation |
ManageWise.DNSName Label |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ManageWise.Designates L:Host R:Designation |
ManageWise.MSDomainName Label |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ManageWise.Designates L:Host R:Designation |
ManageWise.NDSName Label Tree |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.HostedAccessPoint L:Antecedent R:Dependent |
CIM.IPProtocolEndPoint Address SubnetMask |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.HostedAccessPoint L:Antecedent R:Dependent |
CIM.IPXProtocolEndPoint Address |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.HostedAccessPoint L:Antecedent R:Dependent |
CIM.LANEndPoint MACAddress |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemBIOS L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.BIOS Caption InstallDate SerialNumber Version Manufacturer PrimaryBIOS BIOSIDBytes Size |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.ComputerSystem- Processor L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.Processor DeviceID Role Family OtherFamilyDescription UpgradeMethod MaxClockSpeed CurrentClockSpeed |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.ComputerSystem- Package L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.SystemInfo Description Model SerialNumber Tag ManagementTechnology |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.PointingDevice* Name PointingType NumberOfButtons |
All |
CIM.PointingDevice* |
CIM.AllocatedResource L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.IRQ IRQNumber |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM:SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.ZENKeyboard Description NumberofFunctionKeys Layout Delay TypematicRate Subtype |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.Bus Description Name BusType Version |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.VideoAdapter Description VideoMemoryType MaxMemorySupported CurrentBitsperPixel CurrentHorizontalResolution CurrentVerticalResolution MaxRefreshRate MinRefreshRate VideoArchitecture NumberOfColorPlanes ChipSet DACType ProviderName |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.NetworkAdapter Caption Description InstallDate Name PermanentAddress MaxSpeed AutoSense AdapterType ProviderName |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.SoundAdapter Description Name ProviderName |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.ZENPOTSModem Description Name DeviceID ProviderName |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.Battery* Name Chemistry DesignCapacity |
All |
CIM.Battery* |
CIM.Realizes L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.PhysicalComponent InstallDate Manufacturer SerialNumber |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.PowerSupply Description TotalOutputPower |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.DisketteDrive* |
All |
CIM.DisketteDrive* |
CIM.Realizes L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.PhysicalDiskette Description Manufacturer Capacity PhysicalCylinders PhysicalHeads SectorsPerTrack |
All |
CIM.DisketteDrive* |
CIM.Realizes L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.LogicalDiskette DeviceID (DriveLetter) |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.ZENDiskDrive* Removable |
All |
ZENworks.ZENDiskDrive* |
CIM.Realizes L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.PhysicalDiskDrive Description Manufacturer Capacity PhysicalCylinders PhysicalHeads SectorsPerTrack |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.HostedFileSystem L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.LocalFileSystem* FileSystemSize AvailableSpace FileSystemType |
All |
CIM.LocalFileSystem* |
CIM.ResidesOnExtent L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.LogicalDiskDrive Caption (Volume Label) DeviceID (Drive Letter) VolumeSerialNumber |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.CDROMDrive* |
All |
CIM.CDROMDrive* |
CIM.Realizes L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.PhysicalCDROM Caption Description Manufacturer |
All |
CIM.CDROMDrive* |
CIM.MediaPresent L:Antecedent R:Dependent |
ZENworks.LogicalCDROM DeviceID (Drive Letter) |
ZfD 4, ZfS 3, ZW 6 |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ZENworks.InstalledProduct L:ComputerSystem R:Product |
CIM.Product* IdentifyingNumber Name Vendor Version |
ZfD 4, ZfS 3, ZW 6 |
CIM.Product* |
ZENworks.Installed- Directory L:Product R:Directory |
CIM.Directory Name (Location) |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ZENworks.InstalledDriver L:System R:Software |
CIM.VideoBiosElement InstallDate Version Manufacturer IsShadowed |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ZENworks.InstalledDriver L:System R:Software |
ZENworks.NetworkAdapterDriver Description Name Version |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
ZENworks.InstalledDriver L:System R:Software |
ZENworks.PointingDeviceDeviceDriver Name Version |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.InstalledSoftware- Element L:System R:Software |
ZENworks.NetWare Client Version |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.ComputerSystemIRQ L:System R:Software |
CIM.IRQ IRQNumber Availability TriggerType Shareable |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
CIM.CacheMemory* ErrorMethodology Level WritePolicy CacheType LineSize ReplacementPolicy ReadPolicy Associativity |
All |
CIM.CacheMemory* |
CIM.RealizesExtent L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.PhysicalMemory Speed Capacity |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.ComputerSystem- Package L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.DMA Description DMAChannel Availability BurstMode |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.ComputerSystem- Package L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.Card* |
All |
CIM.Card* |
CIM.CardInSlot L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.Slot Description MaxDataWidth ThermalRating |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.ComputerSystem- Package L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.MotherBoard Description Manufacturer HostingBoard NumberOfSlots |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.ParallelPort* Name DMASupport Address |
All |
ZENworks.ParallelPort* |
CIM.AllocatedResource L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.IRQ IRQNumber |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.SerialPort* Name Address |
All |
ZENworks.SerialPort* |
CIM.AllocatedResource L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.IRQ IRQNumber |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
Managewise.Current- LoginUser L:Client R:Owner |
Managewise.User Name |
All |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
Managewise.LastLogin- User L:Client R:Owner |
Managewise.User Name |
ZW 6.5, 7 |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
CIM.SystemDevice L:GroupComponent R:PartComponent |
ZENworks.ZENDesktopMonitor*/p> DeviceID Description ModelID ManufactureDate NominalSize ViewableSize |
ZW 6.5, 7 | ZENworks.ZENDesktopMonitor* |
CIM.Realizes L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
CIM.PhysicalComponent Model Manufacturer SerialNumber |
ZW 6.5, 7 | CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem< /td> | CIM.ComputerSystemPackage L:Dependent R:Antecedent |
ZENworks.ZENChassis ChassisType NumberOfPowerCords Manufacturer SerialNumber Version AssetTag Tag |
ZW 6.5, 7 |
CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
MW_DBA.InstalledSoftware L:computerid R1:Productid R2:Directoryid Pinstanceid Productidentifier Internalversion Language UninstallString InstallationSource FriendlyName LastExecutionTime FrequencyOfUsage Description Editionid Spid Informationsrc_bitmap Fk_pinstanceid Packageguid adrmsikey |
MW_DBA.Software IdentifyingNumber Name Vendor Version Category Helplink PackageGUID |
ZW 6.5, 7 |
MW_DBA.InstalledSoftware R2:Directoryid |
Mw_dba.Directory Name (Location) | |
ZW 6.5, 7 | Mw_dba.InstalledSoftware |
Mw_dba.InstalledSoftwarePatch* L:computerid L:Pinstanceid R:patchid |
Mw_dba.Patch Name |
ZW 6.5, 7 | CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem |
Mw_dba.InstalledFile L:Computerid R1:Fileid R2:Directoryid |
Mw_dba.file Name FileVersion InternalName ProductVersion Size LastModified Company ProductName Language SoftwareDictionaryID |
ZW 6.5, 7 |
MW_DBA.InstalledFile R2:Directoryid |
Mw_dba.Directory Name (Location) | |
ZW 6.5, 7 |
Mw_dba.InstalledSoftware |
Mw_dba.InstalledFile L:computerid L:pinstanceid R:fileid |
Mw_dba.File |
Note (applicable only for ZENworks 6.5 and 7):
- The UnitaryComputerSystem -> InstalledFile -> File link represents all files scanned on the machine.
- The UnitaryComputerSystem -> InstalledSoftware -> InstalledFile -> File link represents all files scanned on the machine, which are associated to a particular software.
- To find all files, present on a machine which does not have software associate (in other words, a diff of (a) and (b), use the condition "InstalledFile.pinstanceid IS NULL"
If you have custom attributes in your database, you can use the view ZENworks.CustomInformation.
Creating Inventory Reports with Crystal Reports Designer
In Crystal Reports Designer, the creation of reports first involves walking through the entire database to choose relevant views, which will be used in the creation of the report. As explained above, the ZENworks Inventory database, which is modelled on the CIM schema, has views which are exposed to the user for ease of use. Hence all of your selections will involve views in the Inventory database.
As an example, suppose you need a report on Processor details. The steps for creating such a report are given below.
If you observe the database schema as published in the Administration Guide for ZFD or ZFS, you can find the link of the processor-relevant views (refer to Table 1 for the view details) expressed as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Processor-related views in the Inventory database schema.
The names "CIM_UnitaryComputerSystem", "CIM_Processor" and associations like "ComputerSystemProcessor" stand for names of views in the database. The actual names of the views are CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem, CIM.Processor, and CIM.ComputerSystemProcessor, respectively.
Note: Oracle treats all table and view names in a case-sensitive manner. If you are designing a report that must work across databases, it is preferable to start the creation of the report on an Oracle database. By following the syntax for Oracle, you can use the report across databases.
Referring to Table 1, you can find the information shown in Figure 2 represented as a row entry:CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem
CIM.ComputerSystemProcess
L:GroupComponent
R:PartComponent
CIM.Processor
Current Clock Speed,
Device ID,
Maximum Clock Speed,
OtherFamilyDescription,
Processor Family,
Processor Stepping,
Role,
Upgrade Method
As shown in Figure 3, choose a view and name it with a user-friendly alias in Crystal Reports Designer.
Figure 3: Selection of views from the database to use in the report.
When linked in Crystal Reports Designer, your selections will appear as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Database linking for Processor data in Crystal Reports.
One thing to watch out for here is that you must undo the option in Designer for Default linking before you link views belonging to the Inventory database. Default linking creates links between attributes with the same name and type across views. Inventory views have attributes like id$, class$, Name, and so on, which are common but cannot be linked together. If you have specified links but haven't disabled the Default option, drop all the default links first before you create the relevant links. The linking can be done based on the simple logic explained above, by using the cardinality of the association and the rule to follow while translating it to a view link.
Once you have finished linking views, select relevant attributes on the page shown in Figure 5. If you don't use the Report Expert, you can drag and drop the attributes onto the report design page.
Figure 5: Selecting attributes for display.
Click Finish to see a preview of the report. An example preview is shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Preview of a Processor report.
As another example, Figure 7 shows the linking that would be done to create reports for extracting software information.
Figure 7: Database linking for a Software report.
Figure 8 shows how the data would look on the design page for this software report.
Figure 8: Design page for a Software report.
Hopefully these examples have given you a good idea of how to use Crystal Reports Designer to create basic Inventory reports. You can explore the various options in Crystal Reports Designer to group the data, sort on relevant attributes, and include filters for the data to be viewed. Crystal Reports also has the ability to export data to various popular formats such as Microsoft Word, HTML, CSV, and so on. (For more information, refer to the Crystal Reports documentation.)
Advanced Inventory Report Creation
This section discusses certain detailed points regarding the usage of the Inventory database to create advanced reports.
Enumerated Data Types
In the above report preview (Figure 8), for Processor.Family you might have expected to see something like "Pentium III" rather than the value "13". In the Inventory database, these specific attributes are maintained as enumerated data. The actual value for Processor.Family is stored in a view called CIM.Family_en_us. These attributes in the Inventory database are enumerations and have integer values, which can take a range of meaning.
Since these are constants, the enumerations are localized. So the typical name of a localized enum view is <view_name>_locale_country. ZENworks for Desktops 4 supports English (en_us), French (fr), German (de), Spanish (es), and Portugese-Brazilian (pt_br). ZENworks for Servers 3 supports English only (en_us). ZENworks 6.5 and ZENworks 7, support English (en_us), French (fr), German (de), Spanish (es), Portugese-Brazilian (pt_br) and Japanese (ja).
The entire set of enumeration views in the Inventory database, along with the corresponding attributes to which they are linked, is given in Table 2. These views have only two attributes: Enum and EnumString. By linking the enumerated view (as shown in Figure 9), you can see the actual data for Processor.Family (see Figure 10).
Figure 9: Linking the enumerated view for Processor.Family.
Figure 10: Preview of Processor data with values for Processor.Family.
Table 2: Enumerations.
ZW Versions |
Attributes
|
Enum Views
|
All |
ZENworks.WinOperatingSystem ZENworks.NetWareOperatingSystem OSType Role |
CIM.OSType_en_us ZENworks.OSRole_en_us |
All |
CIM.Processor Family UpgradeMethod Role |
CIM.Family_en_us CIM.UpgradeMethod_en_us CIM.Role_en_us |
All |
CIM.PointingDevice PointingType |
CIM.PointingType_en_us |
All |
ZENworks.Bus BusType |
ZENworks.BusType_en_us |
All |
ZENworks.VideoAdapter VideoArchitecture VideoMemoryType |
CIM.VideoArchitecture_en_us CIM.VideoMemoryType_en_us |
All |
CIM.VideoBiosElement IsShadowed |
CIM.IsShadowed |
All |
CIM.IRQ Availability TriggerType Shareable |
CIM.Availability_en_us CIM.TriggerType_en_us CIM.Shareable |
All |
CIM.CacheMemory Level CacheType ReadPolicy ReplacementPolicy WritePolicy Associativity |
CIM.Level_en_us CIM.CacheType_en_us CIM.ReadPolicy_en_us CIM.ReplacementPolicy_en_us CIM.WritePolicy_en_us CIM.Associativity_en_us |
All |
CIM.DMA Availability BurstMode |
CIM.Availability_en_us CIM.BurstMode |
All |
ZENworks.ParallelPort DMASupport |
CIM.DMASupport |
All |
ZENworks.BIOS PrimaryBIOS |
CIM.PrimaryBIOS |
All |
CIM.Battery Chemistry |
CIM.Chemistry_en_us |
All |
ZENworks.InventoryScanner ScanMode |
ZENworks.ScanMode_en_us |
All |
ZENworks.SystemInfo ManagementTechnology |
ZENworks.ManagementTechnology_en_us |
All |
ZENworks.ZENDiskDrive Removable |
ZENworks.Removable |
All |
ZENworks.ZENNetworkAdapter AutoSense |
CIM.AutoSense |
ZW 6.5, 7 |
ZENworks.ZENChassis ChassisType |
CIM.ChassisType_en_us |
Note: In this listing of enumerations, you can see an attribute Role belonging to the view ZENworks.WinOperatingSystem/ZENworks.NetWareOperatingSystem. This attribute maintains the role of the machine--that is, whether it acts as a managed server or a managed workstation. When ZfD and ZfS store data in the same database, this attribute can then be used to distinguish between workstations and servers and generate separate reports.
Linking CIM Classes
The database schema shown in the Administration Guide for ZfD and ZfS shows the cardinality of the association. Continuing with the Processor example, if there is a "1" near GroupComponent and a "*" near PartComponent, this means that there can be more than one processor for a machine and it is a 1-to-n association.
For a one-to-one relationship, an equal join (the default) can be used. For all 1-to-n relationships, it is preferable to use a Left Outer Join in the Crystal Reports DB relationships.
Consider the 1-to-n association between CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem, CIM.System-Device, and CIM.PointingDevice. When scanned, the machine may have a single mouse attached, or there is the chance that no mouse is scanned, or the machine may have more than one mouse attached. In this case, using an equal join will yield the following result:
In the case of a single mouse, the correct result is shown.
In the case of no mouse scanned, the machine name is suppressed.
In the case of more than one mouse, the correct result (both the pointing devices) is shown.
For single-item scans, this is a desirable set of results. However, when you want data about more than one item to be shown in the same report (for example, to show both keyboard details and pointing device details in the same report), the suppression will result in the data of that machine being suppressed. So in spite of the fact that there might be a keyboard attached to the entry, the machine will not be displayed. In this case, a Left Outer Join between CIM.UnitaryComputerSystem and CIM.SystemDevice is the answer.
Issues in Desiging Inventory Reports Using Crystal Reports
There are several issues you might face while developing Inventory reports for ZENworks using Crystal Reports.
Integer fields over 15 digits in length are represented as float. All primary keys in Inventory are 19-digit integers. This poses a problem when you want to use these attributes to compute values, or use them in linking sub-reports.
String fields over 255 characters in length are treated as memo fields in Crystal Reports. In ZfD and ZfS, all string fields are within this limit, but in ZENworks for Desktops 3.2, certain important attributes like CIM.Product.Name and CIM.Product.
Vendor are strings of 256 characters in length. These strings can be used only in display and cannot be used in a formula or to group. To use these strings, you will have to create a view which exposes the first 254 characters and copy this view on all databases on which the report will be run.
Processing of sub-reports on an Inventory database with more than 1000 workstations has been quite slow. It is preferable to build the links on the main table itself, rather than using sub-reports embedded in the main report.
These issues are addressed at the Crystal Care Technical Support Site. You can do a knowledge base search at http://support.businessobjects.com/search/ for more information.
Conclusion
Now that you have the basics of the Inventory database and how to create reports using the Crystal Reports Designer, you can include combinations of attributes to create reports relevant to your requirements. You can also use the above information to create views in the Inventory database and then build the reports over these views.
* Originally published in Novell AppNotes
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