General

Compatibility Matrix

The table below shows relevant releases of Reasult products and their dependencies/demands regarding operating systems, databases, etc. 

Compatibility Matrix

Databases should not be configured in SQL Server 2008 compatibility mode.

Server implementation scenarios

When using multiple Reasult applications these can be deployed and divided over servers in multiple ways. The optimal setup is dependent on the number of users, the amount of (portfolio or project) data, and the number of Reasult applications that are used. As such, there is no single optimal deployment scenario to be depicted. Please contact Reasult for more information about the most cost-effective setup for your specific case.

Client requirements

Workstations

Client software

For reporting purposes Reasult software should be able to launch:

• Microsoft Office 2016 or higher
• Adobe Acrobat Reader or another compatible PDF Reader. 

• Terminal Services

Reaforce software may be used together with Microsoft Windows Terminal Server, Citrix Metaframe and/or VMware Server. 

For the best graphical experience, it is recommended to optimize Font Smoothing or ClearType settings.

Server requirements

In using Reaforce the following minimum hardware and software requirements apply:

Application Server

The advised minimum server capacity is strongly dependent on the number of concurrent users. The table below depicts some reference usages: 

1. Per Application server, Excluding database; 
2. 64-Bits Server recommended.         

When more than 30 concurrent users need to be supported or when in need of more application performance, it is recommended to deploy multiple application servers. The load is, in that case, spread over these servers. In any scenario, only one database server is used, per implementation of Reaforce. It is possible and recommended though to use a separate database server for the production and the acceptance environment.

The application server runs on the Windows Server operating system. The software makes use of Windows Active Directory.

Additional settings application server

• IIS 7.x (or higher) installed
  1. Install the following roles/features

Database server

The above application server configuration is based on a separate application server and database server. It is possible to run both database and application on the same server. However, this may impact system performance. The requirements for a separate database server for Reaforce are as follows:

1. Memory available to SQL-Server and Windows
2. Free space needed for SQL-Server and related data

In case the Reporting & Analysis (R&A) solution is used on top of Reaforce, also Microsoft Reporting Services (SSRS), Microsoft SQL-Server Integration Services (SSIS) and Microsoft Analysis Services (SSAS) need to be installed on the SQL-Server environment of R&A.

The database server should be equipped with enough disk space and RAM. In case a single database server is used for the combination of Reaforce and R&A, the additional RAM requirements for SSRS, SSIS and SSAS need to be taken into account (see Chapter 4).

Additional settings database server

• SQL server running mixed mode

If the SQL server is running on a different server then the application the MS DTC settings need to be configured. A SQL user is also required so that the web services can connect to the Reasult database. 

The following MS DTC settings need to be configured on the application server and database server:

Configure MS DTC settings (Windows 2008 or higher):

• Start – dcomcnfg
• Open properties from Local DTC
• Select  Network DTC Access
• Select Allow Inbound and Allow Outbound and Mutual Authentication Required
  1. Or use existing setting from database server also on application server

This configuration change needs a restart of the MS DTC settings

SQL User:

The Reasult web services are using a SQL User account to connect to the Reasult databases on the database server.

• SQL user account
  1. db_reader / db_writer rights on the Reasult databases

TLS 1.2 support

When TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 are disabled the Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server does not work anymore to connect to the Reaforce database. The solution is to use the SQL Server Native Client 11.0 for the database connection. The driver (sqlncli.msi) must be installed on the application server and is part of the installation package. After the driver installation, the ServerDB.txt must be changed so that the Provider=SQLNCLI11.1; is used.

Webserver

A web server needs to be installed before installing the .NET application. The web server requires Internet Information Server (IIS), with ASP.NET and .NET core hosting enabled. 

Reporting & Analysis (R&A) requirements

General

Reporting & Analysis (R&A) involves the reporting and business intelligence solutions for the Reasult suite, based on Microsoft technology. R&A is available as add-on on all major Reasult applications.

The requirements for R&A look as follows:

• Microsoft SQL-Server 2016 is required for supporting "record-based security". This means that access to specific R&A data can be defined per user. For older SQL-Server versions, all R&A data will be accessible for any user that can access the R&A database. 
• When using “record-based-security” and the SSRS service\portal is located on a different server than the database server, extra configuration is needed. See the Kerberos paragraph for information.
• Microsoft Reporting Services (SSRS), Analysis Services (SSAS) and Integration Services (SSIS) should be installed with SQL-Server.
• Per instance of R&A (test and production are separate instances), 2 GB of RAM is needed on the database server in addition to the Reaforce requirements.
• Microsoft Excel is required for running analysis cubes (pivots) on the R&A database. 
• Powershell 5.1 needs to be available on the application server. 
• To be able to test the R&A templates we need access to an environment where there is Excel available. This could be for example a Citrix or Terminal Server environment. It would be preferred to login on the same environment as the users so that we can test like a Reaforce user.

Verify Powershell version:

• Open Powershell command prompt as administrator

Type: ($PSVersionTable).PSVersion 

If the version is lower then 5 then install Windows Management Framework 5.1

Download Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54616

Remarks

• When using virtual servers, processor and memory requirements apply to the virtual servers and not to the physical machine below.
• If applications are shared on the same application or database server, these other applications and the processes they use can impact the performance of the Reaforce reporting & analysis processes negatively.

Kerberos

When SSRS is on a different server than the database server and using “record-based security” additional configuration is needed to ensure correct authentication.  See chapter 4.1 for detailed information.

Processor and memory recommendations when using R&A

Enabling Kerberos Authentication for Reporting Services

When there is a separate Reporting server for the Reasult reports and the Reasult databases are stored on another SQL server then additional configuration steps are required for authentication. 

For more information:

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2010/08/23/reporting-services-double-hop-authentication.aspx?m=1

System configuration:

• Server A:         SQL Server
• Server B:         SQL Reporting Server

Requirements:

• Microsoft® Kerberos Configuration Manager for SQL Server

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39046

• The SQL Reporting Service needs to run under a domain account
• The SQL Service needs to run under a domain account
• Admin rights to execute the SPN registration

Actions:

• Configure SPN’s as a domain admin for SQL and Report Server services
• Configure Account Delegation in Active Directory for the service accounts and the servers
• Configure Report Server config file

Service Principle Names

Remark: Admin rights are required 

• Open a command prompt as an admin
• Create the following SPN for the SQL server:

setspn -A MSSQLSvc/ServerA.mydomain.com:1433 MYDOMAIN\SQLServiceAccount

setspn -A MSSQLSvc/ServerA:1433 MYDOMAIN\SQLServiceAccount

• Create SPN for the Report server:

setspn -A HTTP/ServerB.mydomain.com:1433 MYDOMAIN\RSServiceAccount
 setspn -A HTTP/ServerB:1433 MYDOMAIN\RSServiceAccount

• When using an instance the portnumber 1433 must be replaced with the instance name, bijvoorbeeld TEST

setspn -A MSSQLSvc/ServerA.mydomain.com:TEST MYDOMAIN\SQLServiceAccount

setspn -A MSSQLSvc/ServerA:TEST MYDOMAIN\SQLServiceAccount

• Use the command setspn -L to verify the SPN settings

setspn -L MYDOMAIN\SQLServiceAccount

setspn -L MYDOMAIN\RSServiceAccount

Account Delegation

• Start Active Directory and Computers
• Open the properties for the Reporting Service account
• Select the tab Delegation and select Trust this user for delegation

• Repeat this step also for the SQL service account
• Repeat this step also for the SQL server and Report Server computer accounts

Report Server:

• Create a backup from the file RsReportServer.config, see example folders

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSRS1X.MSSQLSERVER\Reporting Services\ReportServer

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services\SSRS\ReportServer

• Open the file RsReportServer.config
• Go to the section <Authentication>

            <AuthenticationTypes>

                        <RSWindowsNTLM/> 

            </AuthenticationTypes>

• Change <RSWindowsNTLM/> in <RSWindowsNegotiate/>

            <AuthenticationTypes>

                        <RSWindowsNegotiate/>

            </AuthenticationTypes>

• Save the file RsReportServer.config

All settings are now configured and restart the SQL service and the Report Service to activate the changes.

After the services have been restarted the settings can be verified with the Kerberos Configuration Manager.

Microsoft® Kerberos Configuration Manager for SQL Server

• Download and install the Kerberos Configuration manager

This can be done on a desktop machine.

• Open the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Kerberos Configuration Manager for SQL Server
• Start KerberosConfigMgr with a Domain Admin account

• Enter the server information and press connect
  1. Check both servers
• You can now verify if the SPN settings and Delegation settings are configured correctly

• If the status is not set to Good, then you can press the FIX button to correct the setting
• The setting will then be configured, and the status will be changed to Good

Testing the reports 

• Start the Reasult Portal
• Choose Reaforce reports
• Open a Reaforce report
• The report should now be displayed without an authentication error