Power Management in SCCM
User Guide (v1.1)
Overview
Photo: Adam Mulligan via Flickr (CC by-nc-sa)
Microsoft Service Centre Configuration Manager (SCCM) allows monitoring and management of many aspects of
the computing estate of the University. This now includes computer Power Management reporting as described
below.
This guide comprises a series of structured practical activities to introduce Power Management in SCCM. It is
intended to help users understand the key features of this system and the reports it generates so that they may
subsequently carry out independent, on-going monitoring of the energy usage by computers in their collections.
The aim of this is to identify areas where action can be taken to reduce energy use and associated costs. Further
support will be provided to assist staff in implementing such changes.
This document accompanies the Quick Start guide to Power Management in SCCM. While it provides more
detailed procedural guidance, users are still encouraged to explore the tools freely once they have worked
through the tasks and have become familiar with the basics of how the system functions.
Power Management in SCCM
Power Management in SCCM
Task 1-1
In your browser, go to the web address:
http://bit.ly/ncl-sccm
This shortened URL will take you directly to the Power Management area of SCCM.
You will now see the SCCM Power Management reports.
Power management reports
There are 18 reports in total. You will have an opportunity to explore all these reports during this
session. We would encourage you to explore freely once you are familiar with the basics of how
the reports work.
Quick Start
If you prefer a more experiential approach to learning, you may wish to use the Quick Start guide
to Power Management in SCCM.
Task 1-2
From the top of the page, click Details View or Tile View
This allows you to toggle the display of the reports to a format you prefer.
The detail view makes the report descriptions somewhat easier to read and may be useful while
you become familiar with them.
Details view
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Task 1-3
We will now explore selected reports to consider how these work.
Click Power Management – Computer Activity
We now need to apply some filters to generate the report.
For the field labelled Start date, click the calendar icon
and select a report date.
You might want to choose a day/date you suspect will be relatively active (e.g. weekday during
term) to generate a more interesting report. Note that as this report covers only a single day, no
end date is required.
Report date filter
Now from the Collection filter, select a set of computers you are responsible for (e.g. NetskillsStaffPCs, ISS-TURF cluster…).
Click the View Report button to create your report.
You report will now be displayed. This should look similar to the example shown below to
highlight the report layout.
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Power Management in SCCM
Breadcrumb
Filters
Controls
Title
Summary
Graph
Data table
Report layout
Familiarise yourself with the report layout and features highlighted in the figure above. These
are standard across most reports.
Task 1-4
Select some different report Start dates to view a range of data to see how it is presented and to
familiarise yourself with generating reports. Note that you can change the report date on the
report page and simply click View Report to refresh the data.
You may also want to look at other collections.
Task 1-5
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From a Computer Activity report page, scroll down the page and notice that the data used to
draw the graph is presented as a table.
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Report data
This data table is often split across two pages. To access further pages of data, use the page
controls under the report filter.
Report page controls
Task 1-6
Notice that the table data is hyperlinked. This allows you to drill down to further investigate the
data.
Click on a linked item of data, such as in the column labelled Number of Computers On.
Drilling down on the data
You will now see a more detailed report for each (in this case, active) computer in the collection.
Computer activity details
This is a filtered version of the standard Computer Activity report as you can see in the
breadcrumb menu.
Breadcrumb navigation
This menu can help you get back to higher levels of the Power Management area. However,
given the relatively simple structure, the back button might be easier.
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Power Management in SCCM
Task 1-7
From the data table, notice that computer names are also hyperlinked. Again, this lets you drill
down to see further details about the activity of a specific computer.
Click on one of the computers in you collection to view the Computer Activity by Computer
report.
From under the graph, click the link Click for detailed information.
This will present a full report on the power management capabilities of the selected computer.
Trend spotting
While we are highlighting the ability to inspect the behaviours of specific computers, the aim of
implementing this system is to reveal broad trends and spot exceptions, not to monitor specific
machines.
Task 1-8
Return to the Power Management – Computer Activity report (using browser back button).
From the tool bar at the top of the screen (under the report filters) click Export
This allows you to export the report and data in your preferred format.
Export options
These format options are fairly self-explanatory; however you may want to test their functionality
and formatting. Be warned that some work better than others!
For example, while PDF might seem like a useful format, the pagination often results in graphs
and data being split over multiple pages making it difficult to read.
You may find the Excel and Word formats to be more useful, with the option of making a PDF
from these if required.
Other icons
Export to data feed (potentially) allows you to setup a dynamic data feed to display data
elsewhere. Requires the PivotExcel addin for Excel.
Task 1-9
From the breadcrumb menu, click Power Management to return to the index of reports.
Most reports work in a similar way to that just demonstrated. Some require more specific date
ranges, others selection of a subset of computers in a collection.
We will now explore a couple more of the reports identified as "useful" to familiarise you with
them. Again, once you have mastered the basics, please do explore freely and try your own filter
parameters and other collections as appropriate.
Task 1-10
From the report list, click Power Management – Insomnia Report
Set the filters to appropriate values and click View Report. Consider the data presented.
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Power Management in SCCM
Insomnia report
Explore some of the items in more detail by clicking the links to Affected Computers for some of
the causes of insomnia listed. This shows the Insomnia Computer Details page listing specific
computers affected.
From here you can click through to the computer details report to examine the power settings.
Task 1-11
You can also view an aggregated report on computer power settings.
Return to the Power Management reports page.
Click Power Management - Power Settings
Select a collection and click View Report
Aggregated power settings for a collection
Explore the data presented for your collection.
You can drill down to view more detail on a set of computers grouped by a power setting by
clicking on the link in the column Computers.
From here, you can again link to details of specific computers.
Task 1-12
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Return to the Power Management reports page.
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Power Management in SCCM
Click Power Management - Energy Cost
Energy cost report parameters
Notice the parameters you need to set for this report are different to those seen so far. They
include fields to set the Cost of kWh (to allow setting on an approriate unit price to calculate
costs) and units for Currency (simply to label the Y axis.)
Set the report parameters to some appropriate values and click View Report.
Task 1-13
Return to the Power Management reports page.
Click Power Management - Environmental Impact
Choose a reporting period (month range) and collection and click View Report.
Notice that this report generates two graphs as shown below.
Environmental impact graphs
The first is the average environmental impact of each computer in the collection. The second
graph shows the overall environmental impact of all computers.
Note also the Energy Consumption Constants on which these graphs are based.
Task 1-14
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Explore some of the other Power Management reports available. The table below provides
guidance on which may be most useful, but explore any you are interested in.
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Name
Description
Computer Activity
Graph of monitor, computer and user activity for a specified
collection over a specified time period.
Computer Activity by Computer
Graph of monitor, computer and user activity for a specified
computer on a specified date.
Computer Activity Details
List of the sleep and wake capabilities of computers in the
specified collection for a specified date and time.
Computer Details
Detailed information about the power capabilities, power settings
and power plans applied to a specified computer.
Computer Not Reporting Details
List of computers not reporting any power activity for a
specified date and time.
Computers Excluded
List of computers excluded from the power plan.
Computers with Multiple Power Plans
List of computers with conflicting power settings.
Energy Consumption
Total monthly energy consumption (in kWh) for a specified
collection over a specified time period.
Energy Consumption by Day
Total energy consumption (in kWh) for the last 31 days for a
specified collection.
Energy Cost
Total monthly energy consumption cost for a specified collection
over a specified time period.
Energy Cost by Day
Total energy consumption cost for a specified collection over the
past 31 days.
Environmental Impact
Graph of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated by a specified
collection over a specified time period.
Environmental Impact by Day
Graph of CO2 emissions generated by a specified collection over
the past 31 days.
Insomnia Computer Details
Detailed information about computers that did not sleep or
hibernate within a specified time period.
Insomnia Report
List of common causes that prevented computers from sleeping or
hibernating and the number of computers affected by each cause
for a specified time period.
Power Capabilities
Power management capabilities of computers in the specified
collection.
Power Settings
Aggregated list of power settings used by computers in a specified
collection.
Power Settings Details
Further information about computers selected in the power
settings report.
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