New design, more information and built with current branch in mind.
When I think back to the very first version of the Power BI Dashboard I created, I see how far Power BI and Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) have come, and how the ConfigMgr dashboard has evolved with it. This exciting dashboard version is something entirely new and has been built from the ground up!
So what is the PowerON BI ConfigMgr Dashboard?
If you have never had the opportunity to use the previous iterations of the PowerON BI ConfigMgr dashboard, it utilises Microsoft Power BI to connect your Microsoft ConfigMgr database to display powerful visuals and useful data about your environment.
Whats new?
With the shift to Microsoft ConfigMgr Current Branch and the enhancements to Power BI, we felt this was an excellent time to go back to the drawing board and revisit the dashboard from the ground up. We’ve made improvements to the SQL queries, increased the relationship data between the tables and much more! We’re excited to show you what’s new.
Devices
The Devices page replaces the old workstation and server breakdown page so now you can filter the page by OS type and even by collections respectively.
The devices page contains overview information of your managed devices. You can also view client compliance, see last activity date, drill down from manufacturers right down to BIOS manufacturers and installation dates.
Applications
The applications page contains visuals relating to application deployment. It allows you to see the overall deployment state, overview information for the application and creations dates.
Collections
The Collections page allows you to view collections by member count, by scan times and even membership.
Another feature for this page is that you can gain visibility over collections which could potentially be causing performance issues by running unnecessary evaluation scans.
Users
The User page gives you a broader picture of how a device is being used. It contains overview information of the last recorded device user login and primary user status.
We’ve also included some useful visuals on the number of user logins and average device usage time.
Client Health Summary
The Client Health Summary page returns with enhanced visuals for scan statuses and last management point communication.
The relationships across the tables have been improved, and the device overview now has more information than ever before.
Update Compliance
Updates have had a significant overhaul in this new dashboard; the Update Compliance page contains overview information for updates where they are deployed, enabled and not superseded.
You can see the overall compliance for an update by devices, get a breakdown for updates by the OS there is even a matrix for whether an update is marked as installed or required.
Update Assignment
In addition to Update Compliance, the Update Assignment page gives you visibility over software update group assignments and their compliance.
You can see how many devices the assignment is targeting, the date a software update group was assigned and so much more.
EndPoint Compliance
The EndPoint Compliance page contains visuals for viewing your devices EndPoint state. The view comprises of visuals for EndPoint client and engine versions, signature age and general protection status.
Endpoint Threat Detection
The Threat Detection page is another page to have an overhaul, we’ve added more information about the devices remediation and the threat type of any detected threats, making it easier for you to remediate the threats.
Device encryption
The Device Encryption page requires the BitLocker hardware inventory class to be enabled. It contains overview information for device encryption, including the protection status, encrypted drive letters and the chassis type for the encrypted device.
Device TPM
The Device TPM page contains visuals for check TPM readiness, ownership, activation and more. Note, this page requires the TPM and TPM Status classes in hardware inventory enabling.
Devices Windows 10 servicing
With Windows 10 servicing added as part of Current Branch, the Devices Windows 10 Servicing page compliments this by displaying managed Windows 10 devices by branch version and state.
OS Support lifecycle
The OS Support Lifecycle page contains information about managed workstation devices and their OS support lifecycle. The lifecycle information is retrieved from Microsoft’s lifecycle support factsheet and joined with the ConfigMgr database to return the start and expiration for Windows 7 and above operating systems.
Admin centre
This page is a valuable asset for admins. It contains overview information for the ConfigMgr Site and informative blogs from the Microsoft Technet Blog site.
Site updates and servicing
The Site Updates and Servicing page is a new page for assisting with the current branch updates and version guidance.
Prerequisites
- ConfigMgr Current Branch (Tested on 1710 or Above)
- Minimum SQL data reader rights to connect to the ConfigMgr Database
- Internet access from the device with Power BI Desktop
- The latest Power BI Desktop
- Purchase the PowerON Power BI ConfigMgr Dashboard template file
Recommended BitLocker, TPM and TPM Status hardware inventory classes enabling for Device Encryption and TPM information pages
Setup
- Download the latest Power BI Desktop
- Before attempting to open the template file, open Power BI Desktop first
- Go to File > Options and Settings > Options > Security
- Under Native Database Queries, untick Require user approval for new native SQL queries
- Close the open Power BI desktop and open the template file
- Enter the SQL server or instance name where the Configuration Manager site database is located
- Enter the SQL database name for the Configuration Manager site.
- If prompted, click OK the authentication methods and encryption support prompt.
Note: On slow connections, the queries may timeout, if it doesn’t load the first time, cancel the loading screen and hit the refresh button at the top to retry.
Next Steps
If you’re licensed for Power BI Pro, you can upload the report and utilise the wonders Power BI online to share, use and query the report. Otherwise, you can share the report for free via a shared location and Power BI desktop.
Finally, big thanks to all those who used the original dashboard, helped with testing this new one or assisted in getting this out to the community, we hope you enjoy using it :).
