Reporting Manager 2006 Ships

System Center Reporting Manager (SCRM) 2006, Microsoft’s new tool for analyzing and reporting systems management data, is now shipping. By combining performance and event data extracted by Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 with inventory data extracted from Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, SCRM will help IT departments and managers make better operational and planning decisions. (SCRM 2006 was reviewed in depth in “System Center Reporting Manager 2006 Nears Completion” on page 6 of the Mar. 2006 Update.)

SCRM 2006 is licensed at US$2,409 on a per-server basis, regardless of the number of processors, and no Client Access Licenses are required. SCRM 2006 requires SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition, but volume licensing customers can save money by purchasing a “SCRM 2006 with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Technology” bundle, which includes a substantial discount off the Standard Edition of SQL Server 2005. However, SQL Servers licensed as part of this bundle may be used to host only the SCRM database, data warehouse, and reports; they cannot be used to host even the MOM or SMS databases that feed into SCRM. However, MOM and SMS are available in similar bundles that include restricted licenses of SQL Server.