Configure IIS and Deploy WebReports

This article is currently being updated

After Internet Information Services (IIS), the ASP.NET Hosting Bundle, and the WebReports database have been prepared, configure IIS and deploy the WebReports application.

This article covers:

• Creating the WebReports application pool
• Configuring the IIS website
• Configuring HTTPS
• Deploying the WebReports application files
• Configuring appsettings.json
• Launching and registering WebReports

Before You Begin

Before continuing, verify that:

• Internet Information Services (IIS) is installed.
• The ASP.NET Hosting Bundle is installed.
• Your Microsoft SQL Server or MySQL database is configured.
• You have a valid SSL certificate for the WebReports server.
• You have the WebReports license information for your organization.
• You have downloaded the latest WebReports installation package.

For the complete installation sequence, see:

Installing WebReports on Windows

Step 1: Open IIS Manager

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Go to System and Security > Windows Tools.
3. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

Step 2: Create the WebReports Application Pool

1. In IIS Manager, expand the server.
2. Select Application Pools.
3. Right-click in the Application Pools pane and select Add Application Pool.

4. Enter a name for the application pool.

   Example:

   WebReports

5. Set .NET CLR version to:

   No Managed Code

6. Click OK.

Step 3: Configure the WebReports Website

1. Expand Sites.

2. Select the website that will host WebReports.

   You can use Default Web Site or a separately created IIS website.

3. In the Actions pane, select Basic Settings.

4. Next to Application pool, click Select.
5. Select the WebReports application pool created in the previous section.
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK again to save the website settings.

Step 4: Configure the Application Pool

1. Select Application Pools.
2. Right-click the WebReports application pool and select Recycle.

3. Clear Regular time intervals.
4. Click Next, and then click Finish.
5. Right-click the WebReports application pool again and select Advanced Settings.
6. Configure the following settings:
   • Start Mode: AlwaysRunning
   • Idle Time-out (minutes): 0
   • Idle Time-out Action: Suspend
7. Click OK.

Step 5: Configure Authentication

If your WebReports environment will use Windows Authentication:

1. Select the WebReports website in IIS Manager.
2. Open Authentication.
3. Enable Windows Authentication.
4. Disable Anonymous Authentication.

[Screenshot: IIS Authentication settings for Windows Authentication]

If your WebReports environment does not use Windows Authentication, leave the authentication settings appropriate for your configured WebReports authentication method.

Step 6: Configure HTTPS

1. Select the website that will host WebReports.
2. In the Actions pane, select Bindings.

[Screenshot: IIS Site Bindings]

3. Click Add.
4. Configure the binding:
   • Type: https
   • IP address: Select the appropriate server IP address.
   • Port: 443, unless your environment requires a different HTTPS port.
   • Host name: Enter the DNS name used to access WebReports.
   • SSL certificate: Select the certificate assigned to WebReports.

[Screenshot: HTTPS Site Binding configuration]

5. Click OK.

If an appropriate SSL certificate is not available, obtain one from your organization's Certificate Authority (CA) or certificate provider before making WebReports available to users.

Remove the HTTP Binding

If WebReports should only be accessible using HTTPS:

1. Select the existing HTTP binding on port 80.
2. Click Remove.
3. Confirm the removal.

[Screenshot: Remove HTTP port 80 binding]

Step 7: Download and Unblock WebReports

Download the latest WebReports installation package:

Download the Latest WebReports Version

Before extracting the ZIP file, verify that Windows has not blocked it:

Unblock WebReports Files

Step 8: Deploy the WebReports Application Files

1. Extract the WebReports installation package.
2. Open the extracted WebReportsInstall folder.
3. Select all files and folders.
4. Copy the contents into the physical directory configured for the WebReports IIS website.

[Screenshot: WebReports installation files copied to the IIS website directory]

Copy the contents of the WebReportsInstall folder into the website directory rather than copying the parent folder itself.

Step 9: Configure the WebReports Database Connection

Open the appsettings.json file located in the WebReports application directory using a text editor.

Locate the DefaultConnection configuration and enter the connection information for the database platform used by WebReports.

Microsoft SQL Server

If WebReports uses Microsoft SQL Server, configure the connection with the SQL Server information created during database setup, including:

• Server and instance
• Database
• User ID
• Password
• Database type: MSSQL

For SQL Server configuration instructions, see:

Configuring WebReports SQL Server Using SSMS

[Screenshot: Microsoft SQL Server DefaultConnection configuration]

MySQL

If WebReports uses MySQL, configure:

• Server name or IP address
• Port
• Database
• User ID
• Password
• Connection timeout
• Database type: MYSQL

Configure Pooling according to the WebReports requirements for your MySQL environment.

For MySQL setup instructions, see:

Installing MySQL

[Screenshot: MySQL DefaultConnection configuration]

Save a backup copy of appsettings.json before making configuration changes.

Step 10: Configure WebReports Registration

In appsettings.json, enter the registration information provided with your WebReports license:

• LicenseKey
• CompanyID

[Screenshot: WebReports registration values in appsettings.json]

If you do not have your WebReports license information, contact BridgeWorks Support.

Step 11: Configure the WRXValue

Configure a unique WRXValue in appsettings.json.

The WRXValue is used when WebReports communicates with VDM and must match the value configured in the WebReports connection profile in VDM.

For more information, see:

WRXValue

[Screenshot: WRXValue configuration in appsettings.json]

Step 12: Configure Authentication Settings

If WebReports will use Windows Authentication, configure the authentication setting in appsettings.json for Windows Authentication and enter the applicable domain and user information for your environment.

[Screenshot: Windows Authentication configuration in appsettings.json]

If Windows Authentication is not being used, configure the authentication method required for your WebReports environment.

Step 13: Configure Connection String Encryption

WebReports can use an encrypted database connection string to avoid storing database credentials in plain text.

For instructions on creating an encrypted connection string, see:

Encrypting Your WebReports Connection String in VDM

After creating the encrypted connection string, configure the EncryptedConnection setting appropriately in appsettings.json.

[Screenshot: EncryptedConnection setting]

Step 14: Launch WebReports

1. Return to IIS Manager.
2. Select the WebReports website.
3. In the Actions pane, click Browse Website.

[Screenshot: Browse Website option in IIS]

4. Verify that the WebReports application loads successfully.

Step 15: Sign In and Register WebReports

Sign in to WebReports using the administrator credentials provided for your deployment.

If your deployment uses an initial or default administrator password, change it immediately after signing in.

If Windows Authentication is configured, WebReports may authenticate the current Windows user automatically instead of displaying the standard sign-in page.

Complete the WebReports registration using the license information provided by BridgeWorks.

[Screenshot: WebReports Registration page]

Next Steps

After WebReports is running successfully:

• Verify that administrators can sign in.
• Confirm that the WebReports database connection is working.
• Verify HTTPS access using the production WebReports URL.
• Complete the required WebReports application settings for your environment.

For additional setup, see the Configuration and Management sections of the WebReports Help Center.

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Article Goal

Configure IIS

In this article we are going to provide the steps to configure your server in IIS.

Steps To Configure IIS.

1. Browse to Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Tools
2. Launch Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

3. Expand the drop down and Click on Application Pools
4. Right-click in the Application Pools window and select Add Application Pool.

5. Enter an Application Pool Name. In the example below we used WebReports.

6. Set the .NET CLR version to No Managed Code, then click OK.

7. Expand the Sites folder, then select Default Web Site or create a new site.

OPTIONAL: Enable Windows Authentication and disable Anonymous Authentication 

8. Select Basic Settings under the Edit Site section.

9. Click Select for the Application Pool.

10. Select your new application pool, then click OK.

11. Click OK on the Edit Site form.

12. Click on Application Pools. Right click on the new application pool that you created, then select Recycling.

13. Uncheck the Regular Time Intervals option, then click Next.

14. Click Finish.

15. Right click on the new application pool you created again, then select Advanced Settings.

16. Change Start Mode to AlwaysRunning.

17. Change Idle Time-out (minutes) to 0.

18. Change Idle Time-out Action to Suspend, then click OK.

19. Click on the Default Web Site or create a New Site (reference IIS documentation for more information on creating a new site) then click Bindings.

20. Click Add.

21. Change the Type to https.

22. Select your IP address.

23. Enter your port. (Default port is 443)

24. Enter the DNS name of your server and select your SSL certificate, then click OK.

Note: If you do not have one, contact your certificate authority (CA).

25. Select port 80, then click Remove.

26. Select Yes.

27. Download and extract the files from the WebReportsInstall folder. See note below prior to extracting.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Unblock the files in the WebReportsInstall zip before extracting

28. Wait for the files to finish extracting.

29. Copy all of the contents in the WebReportsInstall folder. (Ctrl + A > Ctrl + C)

30. Paste them into your wwwroot folder. (Refer to step 6 : Physical Path for file location)

31. Open your appsettings.json file with a text editor.

32. Edit the appsettings.json connection string for the DefaultConnection with the following information.

IMPORTANT NOTE: / \ { } ; are not permitted in SQL passwords as they conflict with the appsettings.json file strucutre.

Using Microsoft SQL Server

- Make sure the Microsoft SQL default connection is not commented out ( // ) and that the MySQL connection is.
- Server (Found at step 2 - Configure Your Microsoft SQL Server Instance In SSMS)
- Instance Name (Found at step 7 - Microsoft SQL Express 2022 SSMS Installation)
- Database (Found at step 9 - Configure Your Microsoft SQL Server Instance In SSMS)
- User ID (Found at step 11 - Configure Your Microsoft SQL Server Instance In SSMS) 
- Password (Found at step 13 - Configure Your Microsoft SQL Server Instance In SSMS)
- Set the database type to MSSQL

Using MySQL

- Make sure the MySQL default connection is not commented out ( // ) and that the Microsoft SQL connection is.
- Server (Name / IP address of the server hosting MySQL)
- Port (Set at step 8 - Installing MySQL)
- Database (Set the name of your WebReports database here - Default can just use WebReports)
- User ID (Set at step 11 - Installing MySQL)
- Password (Set at step 11 - Installing MySQL)
- Set the connect timeout to 60.
- IMPORTANT: Pooling set to false (this is for MDS support on MySQL connections)
- Set the database type to MYSQL

33. Edit the appsettings.json with your registration information.

- LicenseKey
- CompanyID

34. Replace YOURVALUEHERE with a new WRXValue (What is WRXValue?) and enter your company ID. We recommend using a generator for the WRXValue.

IMPORTANT NOTE: / \ { } ; are not permitted as they conflict with the appsettings.json file structure.

For Windows Authentication: Set Authentication to "Windows" and set the Domain / Username for the account currently logged in.

35. Verify the EncryptedConnection setting is set to false if you are not using encrypted connections. If you are using encrypted connections, set the EncryptedConnection option to True once you have set up your encrypted connection string.

If not using encrypted connections: EncryptedConnection set to FALSE

If using encrypted connections: EncryptedConnection set to TRUE

36. Select the Default Web Site and then click on the Browse Website link.

37. Sign into WebReports using the default admin login. If you are using Windows Authentication, you will not see the login page and will be taken directly to the registration page. See step 36 for registering WebReports.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Immediately change the default Administrator password after logging in.

Username: Administrator

Password: WebReports@0001

Note: A self-signed certificate was used for the demo purpose, resulting in the "not secure" connection.

38. Enter your registration information which is included in the PDF you received with license information (same info used during VDM installation and registration). The ID section will self-populate after the registration is complete.

Note: If you do not have the license information just reach out to support@bridgeworksllc.com and we can assist you with retrieving the information.