Reaforce 

Windows Server 

2008R2 

û 

 

2012R2 

ü 

 

2016 

« 

 

2019 

ü 

MS SQL-Server 

2008 

û 

 

2012 

ü 

 

2014 

ü 

 

2016 

« 

 

2017 

ü 

 

2019 

ü 

.NET Framework (client & server) 

4.6+ 

minimum 4.6.2 

Microsoft Office 

2010 

û 

 

2013 

ü 

 

2016 

ü 

 

365 

ü 

Windows Client 

10 

« 

Browser 

Chrome 

« 

 

Edge 

« 

 

Firefox 

ü 

 

û 

Not supported 

ü 

Potential option 

« 

Preferred option 

Figure 1    Compatibility Matrix 

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

  1. 1.2 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. 

 

  1. 2 Client requirements 

  1. 2.1 Workstations 

 

 

Minimum 

Recommended 

CPU 

I3 or equivalent 

I7 or equivalent 

Memory 

8 GB 

16 GB 

Operating system 

Windows 10  

Windows 10  

Disk space 

1 GB available 

2GB available 

Screen resolution 

1280X1024 32 bits 

1920X1080 32 bits 

(4K only in compatibility mode) 

 

.NET Framework 

4.6.2 

4.7.1 

.NET Core 

3.1 

3.1 

 

  1. 2.2 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.  

  1. 2.3 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. 

 

  1. 3 Server requirements 

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

  1. 3.1 Application Server 

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

 

Concurrent Users 

CPU2 

Memory (available to Reaforce)1 

Disk Space 

Cores 

# Application servers  

0-10 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

5 GB 

20GB 

4 

1 

11-20 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

7.5 GB 

20GB 

4 

1 

21-30 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

1 

31-50 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

2 

51-60 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

2 

61-70 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

3 

71-80 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

3 

81-90 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

3 

91-100 

Intel Xenon  3.0 GHz 

10 GB 

20GB 

4 

4 

 

 

  1. Per Application server, Excluding database;  

  1. 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 ReaforceIt 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. 

 

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Additional settings application server 

 

  • IIS 7.x (or higher) installed 

  • Install the following roles/features 

 

 

 

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  1. 3.2 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: 

 

 

Minimal (< 10 users) 

Recommended 

CPU 

cores 

 

Intel Xenon 
2 

Intel Xenon 
4 

Memory(1) 

16 GB 

28 GB 

Disk space(2) 

20 GB 

50 GB 

 

  1. Memory available to SQL-Server and Windows 

  1. 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 

  • 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 webservices are using a SQL User account to connect to the Reasult databases on the database server. 

  • SQL user account 

  • db_reader / db_writer rights on the Reasult databases 

 

  1. 3.3 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 Cient 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. 

 

  1. 3.4 Web server 

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.  

 

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  1. 4 Reporting & Analysis (R&A) requirements 

  1. 4.1 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 

 

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 

 

Graduated scale 

CPU # cores 

 

Memory(1) 

Disk space(2) 

<100 projects 

4 Intel Xenon 

16 GB 

75 GB 

>100 projects 

4 Intel Xenon 

28 GB 

100 GB 

 

 

  1. Memory available to SQL-Server and Windows 

  1. Free space needed for SQL-Server and related data 

 

 

  1. 4.2 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: 

 

System configuration: 

  • Server A:    SQL Server 

  • Server B:    SQL Reporting Server 

Requirements: 

  • 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 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 

 

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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 namebijvoorbeeld 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. 

 

  • 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 Domain Admin account 

 

  • Enter the server information and press connect 

  • 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 thFIX 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