Data Classification Reporting

Server
2.0
Deployment Guide
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Table of Contents
About Fortra's Data Classification Reporting Server 5

About this guide 5

Components 5

Reporting Server Users 6

Upgrading from Boldon James Reporting Server 7

Overview 7

Copying configuration files to new folders 7

Installing the Reporting Server 9

Prerequisites 9

Installation steps 11

Creating and initializing Reporting Server Databases 12

Using the Reporting Server 14

Dashboards 15

Creating new dashboards 15

Modifying a Dashboard 16

Adding and removing Tags 16

Deleting a Dashboard 17

Reports 18

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Table of Contents

Creating new reports 18

Using the Report Wizard 18

Modifying a Report 19

Adding and removing Tags 19

Deleting a Report 20

Packs 21

Roles and Permissions 22

Adding members to a role 24

Creating a custom role 24

Changing Roles on a Dashboard or Report 24

Connections 26

Creating Database Connections 26

Validating Connection 27

Auditing information 28

Contacting Fortra 29

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 About Fortra's Data Classification Reporting Server / About this guide

About Fortra's Data

Classification Reporting
Server
NOTE: The current name of this product is HelpSystems Data Classification Reporting
Server. Product rebranding will happen in a future release to reflect the company name
change from HelpSystems to Fortra.

Fortra's Data Classification Reporting Server is a web-based application providing a centralized

reporting and dashboarding solution. It enables organizations to provide their end users with
the ability to access, design, and manage dashboards and reports effectively and monitor data
classification activities.

About this guide

This guide describes how to install and use the Data Classification Reporting Server. You can
install an Intelligence Pack product after you install the Reporting Server and initialize the
databases. See the Deployment Guide for your Intelligence Pack for more information.

Components
The Reporting Server includes:

l Reporting Server Web Service: an IIS-hosted web service that provides web-based
reporting and dashboarding with granular data access control but enforcing a single-
entry point to databases.

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 About Fortra's Data Classification Reporting Server / Reporting Server Users

l SQL databases: Reporting Server requires two internal databases (Reports and
Dashboard Storage and User Role Storage). Any number of databases providing data
can then be referenced from within the application.

Reporting Server Users

The following users must be identified when deploying the Reporting Server:

User Description

SQL Database The SQL Database Administrator must have permission to create the
Administrator Reporting Server databases on the specified SQL server, but this level of
access is temporary. Post-installation actions are required for creating the
Reporting Server databases. Once these initial configuration stages are
complete, the SQL Database Administrator credentials are no longer
required.

Reporting Reporting Server requires read and write access to the two internal
Server databases created by the SQL Database Administrator. These can be the
Database User same or unique users and are configured after installation.

Reporting The Reporting Server Installer is the user that installs the Reporting Server
Server Installer software onto the web server. This user requires permissions to install the
product into the local file system and create websites within IIS.

Reporting During installation, the installer delegates a Reporting Server

Server Administrator to run Reporting Server. They will require access to the
Administrator websites file system folder for reading and writing files from the
application. This user will be automatically added to the Reporting Server
system with System Manager Role.

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 Upgrading from Boldon James Reporting Server / Overview

Upgrading from Boldon

James Reporting Server
Overview
Follow these steps if you are upgrading from a previous version of the Boldon James
Reporting Server to the Data Classification Reporting Server (version 2.0 or later):

1. Uninstall the Boldon James Reporting Server program from your Control Panel.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT delete any other Boldon James Reporting Server files from your
hard drive at this point.

2. Install the Data Classification Reporting Server. See "Installing the Reporting Server" on
page 9 for instructions.

3. Copy configuration files from the old Boldon James Reporting Server hard drive file
system folders to the new HelpSystems folders. See the section below for detailed
instructions.

Copying configuration files to new folders

You can manually copy/paste files or run a PowerShell script to ensure your previous Boldon
James Reporting Server configuration files get placed in the new HelpSystems Reporting
Server file system folders on your hard drive.

Manual steps to copy/paste files

1. Copy the connections.json file located in "C:\Program Files\Boldon James\Classifier

Reporting Server\App_Data\Settings\connections.json” and paste this file in:
“C:\Program Files\HelpSystems\Reporting Server\App_Data\Settings\connections.json”

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 Upgrading from Boldon James Reporting Server / Copying configuration files to new folders

2. Copy all *.zip files located in "C:\Program Files\Boldon James\Classifier Reporting

Server\App_Data\*.zip" and paste these files in:
"C:\Program Files\HelpSystems\Reporting Server\App_Data\"

3. Open the hidden "ProgramData" folder. Copy all sids.json and *.xml files found in
"C:\ProgramData\Boldon James\Classifier Reporting Server\Settings\*.*” and paste all files in:
"C:\ProgramData\HelpSystems\Reporting Server\Settings\"

PowerShell Script

Running a PowerShell script on the FixUpConfigFolders.ps1 file will automatically copy the
relevant files, but it assumes the default installation folder paths have not been changed.

Navigate to this folder and run a PowerShell script on the FixUpConfigFolders.ps1 file:

"C:\Program Files\HelpSystems\Reporting Server\Utils\Scripts\FixUpConfigFolders.ps1"

NOTE: Running the PowerShell script will overwrite any existing configuration in the new
default location. It is strongly recommended that once the initial upgrade is fully
operational, the old folder locations are deleted as they will no longer be required. This will
prevent overwriting subsequent changes in the event the script is accidentally run again.

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 Installing the Reporting Server / Prerequisites

Installing the Reporting

Server
Prerequisites
Requirement Description

Operating l Windows Server 2016

System l Windows Server 2019

NOTE: Reporting Server must be installed on a machine that is a

member of an Active Directory Domain.

SQL Server l SQL Server 2016

l SQL Server 2019

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 Installing the Reporting Server / Prerequisites

Requirement Description

Software l .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher)

l .NET Desktop Runtime 6.0
l ASP.NET Core Runtime 6.0 - Windows Hosting Bundle

NOTE: This must be installed after IIS is installed and its

features enabled.

Ensure the following Web Server (IIS) Roles (under Windows Server Roles)
are enabled for the Reporting Server:

l IIS Management Console

l .NET Extensibility 4.6
l HTTP Errors
l ISAPI Extensions
l ISAPI Filters
l Logging Tools
l Request Filtering
l Windows Authentication

To enable all the prerequisites for your platform, use the following command in an elevated
command prompt/PowerShell session:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /all /featurename:NetFx4

/featurename:IIS-NetFxExtensibility45

/featurename:IIS-WebServerManagementTools

/featurename:IIS-ISAPIExtensions /featurename:IIS-ISAPIFilter

/featurename:IIS-RequestFiltering /featurename:IIS-HttpErrors

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 Installing the Reporting Server / Installation steps

/featurename:IIS-LoggingLibraries

/featurename:IIS-WindowsAuthentication

/featurename:IIS-ManagementScriptingTools

Installation steps
During the installation, a Reporting Server Administrator will be required to act as the account
the server should run as within IIS.

The Reporting Server installation package does not open ports in the Windows Firewall for the
web service. If users on the local network access the web service, then ensure the required
ports are open.

1. Run the Data Classification Reporting Server.msi file.

2. Read and accept the end-user licence agreement.

3. Choose an installation folder for your files.

The default path is C:\Program Files\HelpSystems\Reporting Server

4. Choose an available TCP Port number.

5. Select an SSL Certificate to be used by Reporting Server. You can either choose an
existing certificate from your certificate store or create a self-signed certificate.

6. Enter the Reporting Server Administrator's username and password. In a production

environment, consider using a different account than the one needed to install the
software; the service account requires fewer permissions.

NOTE: You can click the Verify button to confirm the user account exists and is valid.

7. Click Next, then click Install.

8. Restart the computer to ensure all prerequisites and relevant components are fully
reloaded.

9. Verify that HelpSystems Data Classification Reporting Server appears in your Control
Panel programs.

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 Creating and initializing Reporting Server Databases /

Creating and initializing

Reporting Server Databases
The Reporting Server requires the following databases:

l the Roles Database for the user and role information

l the Document Database for dashboards and report storage

Use the PrepareDatabase application (installed with the Reporting Server) to create these
databases, and to create and secure the connections to these databases.

1. From the Start menu, locate and right-click PrepareDatabase (under HelpSystems) and
select Run as administrator.

2. In the Roles Database tab, enter the name of your SQL Server.

3. You can change the database name, but we recommend keeping the default name.

4. Select the Use SSL/TLS Encryption checkbox if you want your SQL Server connections
to be encrypted. The Reporting Server defaults to using non-encrypted connections for
new and existing connections. See Microsoft documentation for further instructions on
enabling encrypted connections to SQL Server instances.

5. Click Ensure Database Exists to check if a SQL database exists. If not, one is created.
Once the database has been created, the required schema is applied.

6. Enter your SQL Database Administrator account username and password or click the
Use Current User Credentials checkbox if you are already logged into this account.

7. Click Ensure Database Exists and close the dialog. The Output section of the Roles
Database tab will confirm whether the SQL database exists.

8. Click Configure Connection to specify how the service will connect to the database. If
the service is to use Windows Authentication (trusted connection), then select the Use
the Service’s Windows Account. If SQL authentication is to be used, then supply the

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 Creating and initializing Reporting Server Databases /

credentials. Click Set Connection and close the dialog.

9. Select the Document Database tab and repeat the above steps.

As these connections may contain SQL account details, they are stored as encrypted
strings. The Permissions tab shows which accounts have access to the connection
storage. This group will, by default, include the user who runs this application and the
service account. Once the connections have been set, only these users will have access
to read or modify these settings.

10. Click Start Web Site.

NOTE: You can install an Intelligence Pack product after you install the Reporting Server and
initialize the databases. See the Deployment Guide for your Intelligence Pack for more
information.

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 Using the Reporting Server /

Using the Reporting Server

You can launch the Reporting Server from your web browser by typing in the URL of your server
with the port number, if the default is not used, for example: https://localhost:443.

Click the navigation bar page links to start using the Reporting Server. If you only see icons and
not the page names, click to expand the view.

Page Description

Lists recent Reporting Server activities.

Create new dashboards with the designer or from an Intelligence Pack

template. See "Dashboards" on page 15.

Create new reports with the designer or from an Intelligence Pack

template. See "Reports" on page 18.

Install and manage dashboard and report templates that come with
an installed Intelligence Pack. See "Packs" on page 21.

Assign roles or create custom roles to specific users. See "Roles and
Permissions" on page 22.

Provide customizable levels of access to the data within a database.

See "Connections" on page 26.

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 Dashboards / Creating new dashboards

Dashboards
Members of the Document Author, System Document Manager, or System Manager roles can
create new dashboards with the designer tool or get started with an Intelligence Pack
template.

For information on creating a dashboard from a template, see the documentation for your
Intelligence Pack.

Creating new dashboards

NOTE: Create a connection before you create a new dashboard. See "Connections" on
page 26.

1. From the Dashboard tab, click .

2. Select Create New.

3. Click Create or the icon, then New.

The Dashboard Menu screen will appear.

4. Enter a name for the dashboard.

5. Click Create data source.

6. Select Database, and click Next.

7. Choose a data connection, and click Next.

8. Create a query or select a stored procedure.

If you create a query, click the Query radio button and enter the name for the query.
Select a SQL string or Run Query Builder.

9. Configure the query parameters. Click OK and then click Finish.

You are sent back to the Dashboard Menu screen.

10. Click Create.

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 Dashboards / Modifying a Dashboard

11. Drag elements such as tables, labels, checkboxes, and charts from the left-hand-side.

12. Click the link to bind the item to your data.

13. Configure the settings, expressions, field list, and report explorer from the right.

14. From , select Save.

The new Dashboard appears on the Dashboard tab.

Modifying a Dashboard
1. From the Dashboards tab, click from any dashboard.

2. Click and select Designer.

3. Drag an item from the toolbox or click an item in the center of the dialog.

4. Click the link to bind the item to the data.

5. Configure any values, arguments, or dimensions for the dashboard.

Adding and removing Tags

Tags are words or phrases that can be associated with a given report or dashboard. By using
the same tag on multiple documents, they can then be grouped and filtered by users. Only
Document Authors are able to add and remove tags; readers will only see tags which appear in
documents they can access.

IMPORTANT: We strongly recommend not using sensitive information in tags.

1. From the Dashboard tab, click from any dashboard.

2. In the area that says No Tags, enter any text to be used as a tag, and click the + icon.

3. Click Save.

To remove a tag, click the X in the tag name.

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 Dashboards / Deleting a Dashboard

Deleting a Dashboard
1. From the Dashboards tab, click from any dashboard.

2. Click and select Delete

3. Confirm you want to delete the dashboard.

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 Reports / Creating new reports

Reports
Members of the Document Author, System Document Manager, or System Manager roles can
create new reports with the designer tool or get started with an Intelligence Pack template.

For information on creating a report from a template, see the documentation for your
Intelligence Pack.

Creating new reports

1. From the Reports tab, click .

2. Select Create New.

An empty report opens with the name Report1 (Report).

3. Drag elements such as tables, labels, checkboxes, and charts from the left into
spreadsheet.

4. Configure the settings, expressions, field list, and report explorer from the right.

5. From , select Save or Save As.

6. Name the report, or keep the name Report1, and click Save.

The new report appears on the Reports tab.

Using the Report Wizard

You can also create a report using the Report Wizard.

1. From the Reports tab, click .

2. Select Create New.

A spreadsheet opens.

3. From , select New via Wizard.

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 Reports / Modifying a Report

4. Select a Report type, and click Next.

NOTE: If you select Empty Report, select Finish. An empty reports opens where you
can configure settings and add designer elements. The empty report is given the
name XtraReport. You can keep this name or change it when you save it.

5. Select to configure the report with or without a database. Select database if you have a
connection created. See "Connections" on page 26.

If you select Database, go to step 6. If you select No Data, go to step 8.

6. Click Next, and specify the Data Source Settings, and click Next.

7. Define the report layout, and click Next.

8. Specify the page settings, and click Finish.

The new report appears with the name XtraReports where you can configure settings
and add designer elements. You can keep this name or change it when you save it.

Modifying a Report
1. From the Reports tab, click from any report.

2. Click and select Designer.

3. Adjust the report as needed.

4. From , select Save to keep the current name of the report or Save As if you want to
modify the name.

Adding and removing Tags

Tags are words or phrases that can be associated with a given report or dashboard. By using
the same tag on multiple documents, they can then be grouped and filtered by users. Only
Document Authors are able to add and remove tags; readers will only see tags which appear in
documents they can access.

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 Reports / Deleting a Report

IMPORTANT: We strongly recommend not using sensitive information in tags.

1. From the Reports tab, click from any report.

2. In the area that says No Tags, enter any text to be used as a tag, and click the + icon.

3. Click Save.

To remove a tag, click the X in the tag name.

Deleting a Report
1. From the Reports tab, click from any report.

2. Click and select Delete

3. Confirm you want to delete the report.

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 Packs /

Packs
Intelligence Packs contain pre-defined dashboards and reports. When you install an
Intelligence Pack, you can select which dashboards and reports should appear on your
Reporting Server.

Navigate to the Packs page on the Reporting Server to install and manage Intelligence Packs.
See your Intelligence Pack documentation for additional instructions.

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 Roles and Permissions /

Roles and Permissions

Reporting Server is a role-based access-controlled application. Roles, which are assigned
specific users, are applied to documents and dashboards. Only those with System Role
Manager or System Manager roles can assign users to roles.

A number of pre-defined system roles exist within Reporting Server and users can be added
and removed from the system roles as appropriate, however system roles names, descriptions,
and permissions cannot be modified.

Active Directory Users and Groups are added using a name resolver querying Active Directory.
Any user or group resolvable in this tool can be added to the system. This means existing
active directory groups can be added to a role as a single entity without the need to add
individual users. The same permissions will be applied to all users within that active directory
group driven from the permissions of the role within Reporting Server.

Role Description

Document Document Authors can create new dashboards and reports or use installed
Author Role Intelligence Pack templates. They can also read, edit, delete, and assign roles
to read any dashboard or report that they own.

Using , authors can edit the title and description and add or remove Tags.

Click to access the designer to make changes, to apply permissions, and

to delete the dashboards from the application.

NOTE: If a document requires access control, this must be applied after the
document has been created. By default no access control is applied.

System System Document Managers can create, edit, read and delete all templates,
Document dashboards, and reports in the application. They can also manage dashboard
Manager and report access.
Role

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 Roles and Permissions /

Role Description

System System Document Readers can read any dashboard or report in the
Document application. Users with access to one or more documents can access the
Reader Role Dashboards and Reports tabs.

You can filter the main view through tags applied to the documents. Users can
select one or more tags from the dropdown panel to filter the contents.

Each document is represented by a box which contains the documents title

and description as a quick reference. Clicking this box will navigate to the

document in read-only mode. Additionally, each document box contains a

which allows you to navigate to a specific page specific in this document.

System System Managers have control (create, edit, read, and delete) over all roles,
Manager connections, templates, and documents of the application. By default, the
Role account defined during the installation is delegated as the System Manager
and they have full administrative rights over Reporting Server.

System System Role Managers create, edit, read, and delete roles. They also manage
Role role membership.
Manager
Role

<Custom Creating custom roles allows for grouping of access to documents. By

Role> applying a role to a specific group of documents and then adding users to that
role, you ensure only role members have access to that document. Modifying
access is then as easy as changing the user within the role, without having to
worry about specific documents.

We strongly recommend ensuring these names and descriptions are useful as

they are used throughout the application for reference. Once the role is
created, it will appear in the main role list window. Select it from the list and
add users using the name resolver tool. See "Creating a custom role" on the
next page for instructions.

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 Roles and Permissions / Adding members to a role

Adding members to a role

You must add members to the System Manager Role so a user has full control over Reporting
Server.

1. Click the Roles tab.

2. Click any role.

3. Enter a username or pick a user from the dropdown.

Creating a custom role

You can create custom roles to allow users or groups to be added and removed without having
to directly manage individual documents. Role creation and membership can be performed by
any members of the System Role Manager Role.

1. Click the Roles tab.

2. Click the + icon.

3. Enter a name and description. Ensure you describe exactly who or what type of user will
be included in this role.

4. Click Save.

5. Click the newly added role.

6. Enter a username or pick a user from the dropdown.

Users currently logged on to Reporting Server will be required to log off and close their
browser to see permissions changed through role access.

Changing Roles on a Dashboard or Report

When you create a new dashboard or report or add one from an Intelligence Pack, it is
automatically assigned pre-defined system roles and permissions. You cannot change the pre-
defined system roles and permissions. You can only change permissions of a dashboard or
report on a custom role. See "Creating a custom role" above.

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 Roles and Permissions / Changing Roles on a Dashboard or Report

Document permissions can only be changed by document owners or users within author roles.

NOTE: An Owner setting is available under the Permissions page of a document. This allows
a user to be given update permissions on the document outside of their role membership.
There can be only one document owner and by default the owner will be the original author
of the document.

1. From the Dashboards or Reports tab, click from any Dashboard.

2. Click and select Permissions.

3. From the Read or Update column, select the checkbox alongside the custom role.

Read allows users to see and open the document. Update allows members to modify
the document.

4. Click Save.

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 Connections / Creating Database Connections

Connections
Connections provide customizable levels of access to the data within a database. Due to the
sensitive nature of information, they can only be created and modified by members of the
“System Manager Role”. An additional Connections button will be added to the navigation
menu on the left for users with the appropriate role membership.

NOTE: The credentials require only read-access to just the tables, views, and stored
procedures enabled on the connection. Details about required tables, views, and stored
procedures for templates will be provided alongside the relevant “Intelligence Pack”.

You can apply roles to the connections using the Permissions tab. Roles can then be given
read and/or update abilities on those connections.

Connections allow control over what is exposed from a database to a given connection. The
Data tab will list all available Tables, Views and Procedures accessible by the credentials
provided for this connection. All data can be exposed using the (All) checkbox.

NOTE: When a new connection is created, no tables, views, or stored procedures are
exposed.

Creating Database Connections

Only the System Manager can create a database connection. This database must correlate
with data as referenced in the documents for the dashboards and reports to render correctly.

1. Click the Connections tab.

2. Click the + icon.

3. Enter a Connection Name that is relevant to the database context so document authors
can identify this connection when choosing from a list.

4. Click the Custom toggle switch to enter your SQL Server Connection String or skip to
step 5.

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 Connections / Creating Database Connections

5. Enter your SQL Server instance and Database names.

6. There are two checkboxes you can select:

l Select Use SSL encryption to ensure your connections are encrypted. The
Reporting Server defaults to using non-encrypted connections for new and
existing connections. See Microsoft documentation for further instructions on
enabling encrypted connections to SQL Server instances.
l Select Use Service Credentials if your credentials should be the same as the
Reporting Server credentials entered during the install. Otherwise, clear this
checkbox and enter the username and password as provided by your
SQL Database Administrator.

7. Click the newly created connection.

8. Click the Data tab.

9. Select the relevant Tables, Views, and Procedures that will apply to the dashboards and
reports that link to this connection, or click All on each tab to select every checkbox.

10. Click Save.

Validating Connection
When editing a connection, if the Connection tab shows an “!”, this means that an attempt to
connect using the configured details has failed. Ensure the following:

l your server name is still valid and pointing to an existing database

l the credentials have permissions to access the defined database
l you have network connectivity

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 Auditing information /

Auditing information
The Reporting Server logs auditing messages in the Event Viewer Windows application.

Follow this path to find to find your audit events: Applications and Service Logs/Boldon James
Auditing/Classifier/Reporting Server/Admin

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 Contacting Fortra /

Contacting Fortra
Please contact Fortra for questions or to receive information about Data Classification
Reporting Server. You can contact us to receive technical bulletins, updates, program fixes,
and other information via electronic mail, Internet, or fax.

For additional resources, or to contact Technical Support, visit support.titus.com or email at

[email protected].

For support issues, please provide the following:

l Check this guide's table of contents and index for information that addresses your
concern.
l Gather and organize as much information as possible about the problem including
job/error logs, screen shots or anything else to document the issue.

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