Generating reports by using the structure of the dashboards created in BMC Helix Dashboards

A report is a document that contains one or more charts, tables of metrics, and descriptions for multiple entities for a selected time period. 

Generate reports for BMC Helix Continuous Optimization data by leveraging the structure of dashboards created in BMC Helix Dashboards. By using the simple and easy-to-use Helix Dashboard Report wizard, you can create and schedule reports on a specific domain or its sub-domains according to your requirements. You can then easily share reports with users within or outside your environment. 

You need to select or create a dashboard that includes the visualizations and customizations you frequently use in your reports. Using a predefined structure ensures consistency in the overall appearance and layout of your reports, maintaining a uniform user experience across all reports.

For example, you can generate separate reports for all business services in your AWS environment that can display the overall health and status of each business service based on the dashboard you select. 

Related topics

Creating-reports

Managing the global recipient lists for Helix Dashboard reports


The Helix Dashboard Report wizard guides you through creating a report configuration: 

  • Select the dashboard that includes the visualizations and customizations you need for your report
  • Select the required domain level for which data will be included in the report
  • Specify the output report format
  • Configure the time range for which data will be displayed in the report
  • (Optional) Schedule the report and configure email settings


Scenario

Paul is a capacity Planner in Apex Global company that uses BMC Helix Continuous Optimization to manage the capacity of its infrastructure. They also use BMC Helix Dashboards to create and view interactive dashboards for BMC Helix Continuous Optimization data. Paul wants to get visibility into the capacity utilization of their vCenter Global hosts and also wants to share the details with internal and external stakeholders based on the domains they are interested in.

Consider that Paul already has a dashboard that shows the resource utilization of resources with the visualizations and customizations he needs for his report. Now, Paul wants to create similar reports for different hosts. Instead of creating a report multiple times for each host, he can use the dashboard with the necessary customizations in the Helix Dashboard report wizard. Doing this saves time and quickens the process of creating new reports. 

Role-based access control for Helix Dashboard reports

Make sure that your administrator has assigned you a specific roles and permissions so that you have the correct level of access to create and manage Helix Dashboard reports. 

  • Capacity Planner and Reporting Access roles.
  • Edit permissions for dashboards in BMC Helix Dashboards. 

For details, see Managing role-based access control in BMC Helix Dashboards and Users-and-authorization-profiles.


To prepare your dashboards to be used for Helix Dashboard reports

In BMC Helix Dashboards, you need to create or prepare a dashboard that includes the visualizations and customizations you frequently use in your reports. This dashboard must meet the following requirements to be used for Helix Dashboard reports in BMC Helix Continuous Optimization:

  • Create a dashboard by using the Query Type as Optimize Services. For details, see Using-BMC-Helix-Dashboards.
  • Add the same tag that is defined in BMC Helix Continuous Optimization to the dashboard in BMC Helix Dashboards. The default tag is BHCO.  

    • As an administrator, perform the following steps to define this tag in BMC Helix Continuous Optimization:

      1. Click the BMC Helix Continuous Optimization tile. 
      2. In Administration, select System > Global Configuration.
      3. On the Global configuration page, click Edit.
      4. Click the You can manually edit system properties from this page link. 
      5. Locate the advanced.reporting.helix.dashboard.template.tags property in the list of properties, and add the relevant tag. The default value is BHCO. You can specify multiple tags separated by a semicolon. 
        Report_dash_tag.png

    • Perform the following steps to add this tag to the dashboard in BMC Helix Dashboards:
      1. Click the BMC Helix Dashboards tile.
      2. Open the relevant dashboard and click Dashboard settings dashboard_settings_icon.png.
      3. On the General tab, add the tag defined in BMC Helix Continuous Optimization. For example, BHCO. 
      4. Click Save dashboard. 
  • Add the Edit permission for your user role in the Dashboard Settings > Permissions. 
  • (Optional) Define the appid variable for this dashboard to support the Optimize domain-based reporting. For details, see To filter data based on specific domains by using variables.



To create a report configuration by using a dashboard definition

Perform the following steps: 

Task 1: Launch the Helix Dashboard Report wizard

  1. In BMC Helix Continuous Optimization, navigate to Workspace > Domains, Services & Applications.
  2.  Select the domain for which you want to create the report.
  3. Click Add works > Add Helix Dashboard report.
    The Helix Dashboard Report wizard is displayed on a new page. 

Can I initiate the report creation from any domain?

Yes. You can initiate the report creation from any domain or subdomain. However, reports cannot be created from manually added folders within the Works folder.


Task 2: Enter a name and description 

  1. Specify a name for your report.
  2. Enter an optional description.
  3. Click Next. 

Task 3: Specify the required dashboard, domains, and output report formats

  1. Select a dashboard that includes the visualizations and customizations you need for this report. The list includes only dashboards meeting the required criteria specified in the Preparing your dashboards to be used for BMC Helix Continuous Optimization reports section. 
  2. Select the formats of report results. By default, the PDF format is selected.
  3. Select the required domain level for which the data will be included in the report from the list. Based on the domain level selection, single or multiple reports are created from a single configuration. For example, if you select a child domain in the report configuration, separate reports for all business services (child domain level) in your AWS environment (root domain level) are generated at a time. 
    The following options are displayed:
    1. Current domain only (default)
    2. First level domains
    3. Second level domains
    4. Third level domains

    5. Fourth level domains
      The red vertical line is displayed for the selected level. 

      Yes. While editing the report configuration, you can modify the domain levels. However, you will not be able to rerun the reports generated for the existing level in the Works folder.Report_dashboard_domain.png

  4. Click Next.

Task 4: Select the time range

  1. Select the time range for which data will be displayed in the generated report. For details on time filters and configuring the global time filter, see Managing time filters.
    You can select the time filter from the following available options:
    • Use the time range from the dashboard: The time range defined in the selected Helix dashboard is used in the report. 
    • Time Filter: Select from a list of predefined time ranges. For example, Last 180 days, Last 30 days. 

    • Date range: Define a custom time range. Use the calendar to select the start and end dates for your custom time period. 

      Important

      If you have created a dashboard by using the Query Type as Optimize Services > Datamarts, the time range as defined in the selected data mart configuration is used in the report. 

  2. Click Next. 

(Optional) Task 5: Schedule the report and configure email settings

  1. Select whether you want to schedule this report.
    1. This option is not selected by default, meaning the report is not scheduled, and you must request a manual generation. 
    2. If you schedule this report, select the relevant report executor system task for the generation schedule. For example, you could select Daily Reports to generate this report on a daily basis. For details, see Configuring-the-Report-Executor-task.
  2. Select Send email on report generation if you want this report to be emailed to addressees specified in the Recipient List fields automatically after the reports are generated. This option is not selected by default. 
  1. In Email Configuration, configure the following email settings: 
    1. Email subject: Enter the parameters you want to include in the subject line of the email. You can use the free text with the available macros. Type % to view the supported macros:
      1. %REPNAME% - Name of the report
      2. %GENDATE% - Date when the report was generated. The date format is based on the UI Date Format set in Configuring-the-global-settings.
      3. %DOMAINNAME% - Name of the domain included in the report configuration. 
    2. Include report as: Specify whether you want to include the report in the email as an attachment, a link, or both. 

      Report_scheduling_subject.png

  2. In Report Specific Recipient List, specify the email addresses for sending the report. The recipient list includes the email addresses of stakeholders designated to receive the report automatically each time it is generated. If the selected domain has the email recipient list defined globally, it is used as a default list for scheduling emails. For details, see Managing the global recipient lists for Helix Dashboard reports.

    Can I override the recipient list defined globally?

    Yes. You can override this list by adding a report-specific recipient list within the wizard. 

    The email recipient list for the selected domain in each report configuration is used in the following order:

    • If the report configuration contains a report-specific recipient list for a specific domain, the report is sent to that list.
    • If the report configuration does not contain a report-specific recipient list, a recipient list defined globally is used.
    • In the absence of both a report-specific and globally defined recipient list for the domain, the recipient list from the parent domain will be used. That is, domains will inherit the mailing configuration of the parent domain.
    • If no recipient list is configured at any level, including the root domain, the report results will not be emailed. Instead, they will be available for viewing through the Workspace.

    1. Review the existing list. The following information is displayed in the table:

      Field

      Description

      Name

      Name of the recipient list.

      Description

      Description of the recipient list.

      Email Address

      Email addresses that are configured in the list. 

      Domain

      Domains assigned to the list. Report generated for the specified domain will be sent to the email address as specified in the list.

      Action

      Edit or delete the recipient list by clicking the respective actions from the Action menu. 

      Report_dash_list_edit.png

    2. Add a new report specific recipient list.
      1. Click +Add.
        The Add Recipient List window is displayed. 
      2. Enter a name and description for the recipient list. 
      3. Type the email addresses of recipients who should automatically receive the report each time it is generated and press Enter. You can specify multiple email addresses.
      4. Click Select Domains. 
      5. In the Select Domains window, select the relevant domains to be associated with this email list so that stakeholders receive reports relevant to their specific domain (for example, finance, marketing, platform). You can use search to filter the domains.
      6. Click Close.
        The selected domains are displayed in the Add Recipient List page. 

      7. Click Ok to add the recipient list. 

        Review the following video that shows the example of adding a recipient list and assigning the domains.

    3. (Optional) Replace or remove the email address from all mailing lists.In a case where any of the email addresses added to the list is no longer valid, you can remove the email address or replace it with the relevant email address in all report-specific recipient lists. 

      Find and replace

      Remove

      1. Click Find and Replace Email.
        The Find and Replace Email Address window is displayed. 
      2. Enter the existing email address that needs to be replaced in Target Email Address.
      3. Enter the new email address in Replacement Email Address.
      4. Click Find and Replace Email.

      The existing email address is replaced with the new one from all recipient lists.

      1. Click Remove Email.
        The Remove Email Address window is displayed. 
      2. Enter the email address that needs to be removed in Email Address.
      3. Click Remove.

      The email address is deleted from all recipient lists. 

  3. Click Next. 

Task 6: Review the report summary and access the generated reports

  1. Review the Report Summary table.
  2. (Optional) If required, make changes to the report configuration. 
  3. Click Done.
  4. (Optional) Review the report generation progress in System tasks > Report executor task.  

Based on the domain selection and report scheduling options, single or multiple reports are saved in the Works folder of the selected domain level or scheduled for the next system task run. Reports are displayed in the subdomains only after the first run of the report.

Important

When you initiate a report creation and select domain level other than current domain (for example, domain level 2), multiple reports are generated based on the number of domains in that domain level

You can access and run all reports together in the Works folder of the domain where the report configuration was created or access and run individual reports in the Works folders of the subdomains. However, you can edit or delete the report configuration only from the domain where it was originally created, not from the subdomains.


Sample report:

Sample_report.png


 

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