27 March, 2009

Configure usage reporting


Usage reporting is very useful for managing complex site hierarchies with many sites, a large number of page hits, and a large number of search queries, and it is recommended that the service be enabled for deployments of complex site hierarchies. For less complex deployments, usage reporting might not be necessary. It is also possible to disable the service temporarily to conserve resources when other those resources are needed for other processes.

To configure usage reporting, a farm administrator must first enable Windows SharePoint Services usage logging for the farm that hosts the Web application containing the SSP. The SSP administrator enables and configures the usage reporting service. Then, site collection administrators can activate the reporting feature to enable usage reports on the site collection.

Enable Windows SharePoint Services usage logging
Before you can enable usage reporting in a SSP, you must first enable Windows SharePoint Services usage logging for the farm hosting the Web application containing the SSP.

Use the following procedure to enable usage logging for the farm.

Enable usage logging for the farm
1)   On the Central Administration home page, click Operations.

2)   On the Operations page, in the Logging and Reporting section, click Usage analysis processing.

3)   On the Usage Analysis Processing page, in the Logging Settings section, select Enable logging.

4)   Type a log file location and number of log files to create.

5)   In the Processing Settings section, select Enable usage analysis processing, and then select a time to run usage processing.

6)   Click OK.

Enable usage reporting

1)   On the SSP home page, in the Office SharePoint Usage Reporting section, click Usage reporting.

2)   On the Configure Advanced Usage Analysis Processing page, in the Processing Settings section, click Enable advanced usage analysis processing.

3)   In the Search Query Logging section, select Enable search query logging.

4)   Click OK.

5)   Activate usage reporting

After usage reporting is enabled for the SSP, site collection administrators must activate the reporting feature. Until the reporting feature is activated on a site collection, usage reports are not available.

Use the following procedure to activate the reporting feature.

1)   On the Site Actions menu, click Site Settings.

2)   On the Site Settings page, in the Site Collection Administration section, click Site collection features.

3)   On the Site Collection Features page, click the Activate button for the Reporting feature.

Monitor usage reporting

Usage reporting can be viewed in several places:

1)   Site administrators, including administrators of the SSP administration site, can view usage reporting for their site by clicking Site usage reports in the Site Administration section of the Site Settings page.

2)   Site collection administrators can view usage reporting by clicking Site collection usage reports in the Site Collection Administration section of the Site Settings page.

3)   Site collection administrators for the SSP administration site can view a usage summary by clicking Usage summary in the Site Collection Administration section of the Site Settings page.

4)   SSP administrators for search can view search usage reports by clicking Search usage reports in the Search section of the SSP home page.

I hope the above information helps you to configure Usage analysis Processing.

If you have any queries/questions regarding the above mentioned information then please let me know. I would be more than happy to help you as well as resolves your issues, Thank you.

41 comments:

  1. However, there are two report pages that are extremely useful, particularly for slightly smaller sites, that can’t be reached through the GUI interface in MOSS 2007. They are actually from the basic WSS system, and MOSS inexplicably misses out any direct reference though the administration pages.
    1. /_layouts/usage.aspx
    2. /_layouts/usageDetails.aspx
    ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      I have a BIG Question.
      When I compare the total hits ona particular document on siteusagedetails page with the Audit Report.
      It does not always match. In the Audit Report there are usually more hits for that particular page.
      So if you set your site to be Audited only for Opening and downloading documents.
      Run the Audit report next day and filter out the data related to the document.
      If you compare the 2, thay do not always match....

      Delete
    2. The siteusagedetails.aspx will always show the average and audit reports does not have such criteria/paramters & thats why the it shows the each and every logged entry.

      this is the main reason behind the mismatch of numbers and Microsoft always recommends to set the audit parameters appropriately as there were so many problems present in moss2007 auditing and thats why the trimming command has been invented. but nothing to worry about because we have a powershell now to trimmed those logs :-)

      Please let me know in case of any further queries/questions, Thanks for your patience

      Delete
  2. I can get to both of those pages via Site Actions > Site Settings, then:

    The Site Administration column has the Site Usage Reports, which gives the usagedetails.aspx page

    And The Site Collection Administration column has the Usage Summary link to the first page you listed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, right as both these pages are available in MOSS 2007. The only difference is direct page links are given instead of step by step procedure in GUI mode.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've found where the other MOSS usage reports .rdlc's are located "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office Servers\12.0\Bin\Analytics", but I haven't been able to find the .rdlc's that are associated with usage.aspx and usagedetails.aspx......any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Please use reflector by which you can look at the code for the Microsoft.SharePoint.Portal.dll
    You will notice that it inherits from TopQueriesReportControl which in itself inherits from QueryTopLargeListReportControl. The QueryTopLargeListReportControl uses an RDLC file (compact Reporting Services report definition file

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks I was able to get to the .dll and find the list of usage reports. The rdlc's are stored in the path that I posted above, I'm unsure if this is the usagedetails.aspx or the usage.aspx as I've run the QueriesTop.rdlc report converted to .rdl and it did not return the same information displayed on the usagedetails.aspx. Your information was very helpful though.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have just started looking at "/_layouts/usageDetails.aspx" on my SharePoint site. I have a question on the total hits though. Do you know if this is total hits since the file or page was created or is this a 30 day number? I am trying to find definitions on these categories but I am not having much luck.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ok,Gotcha !!! Please refer this ~~

    After site usage reporting is enabled the site administrators and site collection administrators will be able to view reports detailing:

    •Requests and queries in the last day and the last 30 days
    •Average number of requests per day over the last 30 days
    •Requests per day over the last 30 days
    •Top page requests over the last 30 days
    •Top users over the last 30 days
    •Top referring hosts over the last 30 days
    •Top referring pages over the last 30 days
    •Top destination pages over the last 30 days
    •Top search queries for the last 30 days
    •Search results top destination pages
    •Number of search queries per day over the previous 30 days
    •Number of search queries per month over the previous 12 months
    •Top search queries over the previous 30 days
    •Search Queries per search scope over the previous 30 days



    Site collection administrators will be able to view reports detailing:

    •Total amount of storage used by the site collection
    •Percent of storage space used by Web Discussions
    •Maximum storage space allowed
    •Number of users for all sites in the hierarchy
    •Total hits and recent bandwidth usage across all sites

    also, Please refer this Link:
    http://www.thesug.org/mossasaurus/Wiki%20Pages/Web%20Analytics.aspx

    I guess, the above information will definately helps you and clear all the doubts regarding usage Reports !! Still, if you have any questions or queries then please let me know... I would be more than happy to answer your queries or resolve your issues !! Thanks !!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Amol! Thank you for the comment back. I read the articles but it doesn't really explain the Total Hits. I am a site administrator and I can view the total hits but the above doesn't really say if the total hits is for 30 days or not. The columns that I show are total hits and recent month. It looks like total hits are showing since the file was uploaded and recent month are the hits for the past 30 days. Would that sound right??

    Our ultimate goal is that we need to be able to view how many hits have been logged against a document in our document library. We are looking for stats from inception though and not 30 days.

    Again, thank you very much for looking at this!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Ok, Please refer this article and it will clear all doubts regarding the usage reporting !!

    http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/ha101741361033.aspx

    Specifically, Please refer the section "View reports about files" by which we can extract the report as per our requirement !! ( that is very true, it is 30 days by default)

    Before executing the process directely on Production, make some testing on Dev or Stage !! Thanks !!

    ReplyDelete
  11. how to see more than 30 days of usage analysis report. The default is only 30 days, but we want to increase the no. of days to keep the log files.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Please check this and u will find your solution !!

    http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/ha101741361033.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Any idea why it keeps prompting for credentials when i go to Site Actions->SiteSettings->Site UsageReports? (I am farm admin and site collection admin, have admin rights on the server as well). After i type in the farm admin credentials, it says i am not authorized to view the page and it kills the application pool.
    I have enterprise features enabled and the link for site usage reports points to: /_layouts/SpUsageWeb.aspx (this is the page that prompts me for pwd). However, I am able to see usageDetails.aspx, usage.aspx (by typing these in the url). Any suggestion much appreciated. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  14. The location of the pages that you are talking about is: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\12\TEMPLATE\LAYOUTS

    --I can suggest two things:
    1. If you tried to add your site to trusted location and make the settings as automatic logon with current username and password then what is the result ? After making these changes, please close the browsers and open the site in a new browser & check the results..

    2. The account that you are using to access the sharepoint site, is it the same as service account ? I am asking this because the location that i have mentioned above from which the pages are coming. If we check the security of that folder then we will find out 3-main groups which plays a very important role in sharepoint as:

    -WSS_WPG
    -WSS_ADMIN_WPG
    -Administrators

    The account that you are using to access the sharepoint site, Does that account is present in this groups ?

    Note: Account addition changes should be on each WFE.

    --If you have any doubts or queries regarding the same then please let me know..Thanks !!!

    --After making the appropriate changes then please check the results and let me know..

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am trying to access spusageweb.aspx (and it doesnt work) with the same account that i am accessing usagedetails.aspx (and this works). I double checked, the security on spusageweb.aspx is the same with the security on usagedetails.aspx (they are both admin pages in layouts folder hive12). The account that i am trying to use for spusageweb is part of administrators group, with full rights on hive12 and logs folder. Adding the site to trusted wont make any difference in this case, since i can get to http://myIntranet/_layouts/UsageDetails.aspx and not able to get to http://myIntranet/_layouts/SpUsageWeb.aspx.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Check the account that is the SSP web app's identity, does it have the permissions necessary to access the program files\common files\microsoft shared\web server extensions\12\logs folder?

    to grant the account under which you want to operate the "Manage Usage Analytics" permission (from "Personalization services permissions") from within the SSP. Once you do so, the 403 permission errors will definately disappear

    Please check and let me know !!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am using Sharepoint Designer to administer a single site. I am trying to generate usage reports, but when I click on the Reports tab, it only creates usage data for dates from 11/2007 to 10/2008. I want to see current data - within the last few days - but I cannot figure out how to customize the date range. I've tried using the Tools->Application Options->Report View dialog to set the Number of Months Shown to maximum (60). But this has absolutely no effect on the Usage report date range. Any help would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  18. from the info that you have provided, it states that usage reporting didnt work for the year-2009 and previously, it was working till 2008.
    First thing i can suggest is to check the basic settings that we apply for the usage reports.
    Central Admin as well as SSP settings !!
    Second thing, Please follow this path:
    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config

    Inside config, you will find another guid folder, click on that- now you will be able to see so many .xml files as well as one cache.ini file. Clear all the .xml files except cache.ini
    now remaining only the cache.ini, click on that- when it will, you will find some number (generally 4\5-digit, erase that number and make it as 1 & save.

    You have perform the second step on each WFE.

    if you have any doubts as we have clear the .xml files so dont worry, now reset the windows sharepoint timer service on each WFE and .xml files will be back again.

    If you have any doubts or queries regarding the above procedure then please feel free to ask !! Thanks !!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Amol.
    Thanks for the information. I tried going to the path you mentioned, but there was no SharePoint folder there. My supposition is that as a lowly site admin., I don't have power to affect the steps you mentinoed, as they would (I believe) need to be executed from the server machine, itself. So my guess is that I would need to track down the SharePoint admins. and ask them to adjust the xml files as you mentinoed. Kind of a shame, really. It would be nice if site admins. were able to retrieve the type of powerful usage information provided with Sharepoint Designer for a user-specified range of dates.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Amol ,

    I am a portal admin . I am able to view usagedetails.aspx page on a MOSS 2007 site, but anyone who is having Full Control over the site is only able to see the spusageweb.aspx . All other sites are working fine but the issue is with a particular site. Please reply. Urgent.

    ReplyDelete
  21. From the above information, it states that the users who are not able to view the usagedetails.aspx page are site owners. Please add them as site collection administrator and they will be able to view that link !!

    Please let me know in case of any issues!! Thanks for your patience !!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks Amol..But the usagedetails.aspx is not viewable to site administrators as well..they are only able to view Spusageweb.aspx .

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Amol ,

    I have fixed the issue with a very simple resolution. I took the permissions with the help of Axceler tool. And then removing the user from the site collection & then readding the user back to site collection.As the problem is with a particular user account. Anyways Thanks for replying.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Nice post covering the configuration!
    I do not understand why there's no way to get more than 30 days of data either out of the box or using the object model, specially when that historical information is stored in the database.

    This is how I got more than 30 days of data:

    http://www.sharepointwithattitude.com/archives/41

    Let me know what you think!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello karla,

    I have seen your blog and the information which is provided-really great !! Its a very true that default period is set for 30 days but long time back,i had handeled one project where we faced such requirement.

    Please refer this link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/ha101741361033.aspx

    Review the whole info, specifically "VIEW REPORTS ABOUT FILES" section in which the numbers can be chnaged by using sharepoint designer !!

    i guess, it will clear all the doubts regarding the same !! Please let me know in case of any questions or queries,Thanks !!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Anmol,

    There is a requirement of adding one more item in a select report dropdown with an event on it.
    Do you have any idea, how can this be done.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Its not possible by using default settings n you have to write code for this requirement i.e. sharepoint development,Thanks !!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi,
    I go to the home page of my intranet site. i go to site settings, i see 2 links for reports:
    1- Site Usage Reports
    2- Site collection usage reports
    i believe site collection usage reports gives that data about my top level site collection but i cnat understand what data is ''site usage reports'' showing.
    And both d reports show diff data.
    I m using moss 2007 standard edition sp2.

    Regards,
    Ankit Singhal

    ReplyDelete
  29. Usage reporting is a service that enables site administrators, site collection administrators, and Shared Services Provider (SSP) administrators to monitor statistics about the use of their sites. Usage reporting also includes usage reporting for search queries that can be viewed by SSP administrators for search and site collection administrators.

    To configure usage reporting, a farm administrator must first enable Windows SharePoint Services usage logging for the farm that hosts the Web application containing the SSP. The SSP administrator enables and configures the usage reporting service. Then, site collection administrators can activate the reporting feature to enable usage reports on the site collection.

    After usage reporting is enabled, site administrators and site collection administrators can view site usage summary pages that have the following information for their sites and site collections:

    Requests and queries in the last day and the last 30 days.

    Average number of requests per day over the last 30 days.

    A chart of requests per day over the last 30 days.

    A list of the top page requests over the last 30 days.

    A list of top users over the last 30 days.

    A chart of top referring hosts over the last 30 days.

    A chart of top referring pages over the last 30 days.

    A list of top destination pages over the last 30 days.

    Top queries for the last 30 days (if search usage reporting is enabled).

    Search results top destination pages (if search usage reporting is enabled).

    ReplyDelete
  30. hi amol I do not know where to post my queryso i doing it here

    I want to use sharpoint links to view folders on a remote local folder say for exam ple in chennai adn i have sharepoit installed in mumbai. i am connected to sharepoit through internet. when i am giving he link on the local machine it works eg. file://\\servername\sharename

    but if i try to us ethe same link from interbet it does not work. i ahve searched a lot and finnaly came to your blog. can you provide a end to end solution so taht i can browse the local folder form my site in mumbai.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi Amol, we have a problem with MOSS 2007. Y have a farm with 15 Web Applications aprox. recenlty was installed a new Intranet, the strange is that the information showned in SpUsageWeb.aspx is the same that another site in my farm, but the information of SpUsageSite.aspx is different for both sites, this is good, but the information in SpUsageWeb.aspx is bad. Can you give me any tips for solution??

    Thanks!!!!!

    Juan Pablo Maldonado from Chile

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi,
    I am facing a problem on the Home Page report under site usage summary - _layouts/SpUsageWebHomePage.aspx. The charts are blank but all the other report are working fine.
    Please suggest.

    Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
  33. -first of all-Could you please check both the settings:1-Central Administration and 2-SSP

    -Then check the site collection feature

    -If the above settings are already executed then please clear the cache.ini and wait for timer job to execute.

    -Please check timer job status too for the same operation i.e. spusage

    Please let me know in case of any queries or questions, Thanks for your patience..

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi

    I'm trying to figure out if my company can make do with the usage reports created by SharePoint Designer.
    Is there any way to view a report of monthly visits aggregating information from several sites (eg a parent site and all its subsites) or can I only see a page list per site?

    /Jens

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hello Jens,

    Please refer this link: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointdesigner/ha101741361033.aspx

    Review the whole info, specifically "VIEW REPORTS ABOUT FILES" section in which the numbers can be chnaged by using sharepoint designer...

    i guess, it will clear all the doubts regarding the same.. Please let me know in case of any questions or queries,Thanks for your patience

    ReplyDelete
  36. hi amol, I want to provide access to a business user to SSP usage reports, is there some way I cam limit the access to only this report without giving access/permission to view anything else in SSP.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hello,

    SSP is used to manage/configure the usage reports i.e. one time settings

    remaining ones can be done by means of specific site collection only so now the section comes into the picture is 'Permissions'

    You have a option of to view the reports by means of site administration and site collection administration

    Each link contains a seprate reports as per the requirements

    here are the details:

    -open the site
    -site actions
    -site settings
    -site administration/site collection administration

    You always have a option to export the reports too which is present on the same page.

    also

    You always have a option to create customize permission levels and modify the options so that the business user cant modify anything or delete anything.

    Please check and let me know in case of any issues, Thanks for your patience

    ReplyDelete
  38. Fabulous Info! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

Your feedback is always appreciated. I will try to reply to your queries as soon as possible- Amol Ghuge

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