Reporter Settings
To modify Reporter settings, go to Administration > Configuration and click the Reporter Settings button.
You can also go the Administration > Services page. In the Services tab, select the Host you wish to edit and click the Global Reporter Settings button for the selected Reporter.
The window displays.
Servers Tab - Reporter Settings
The Servers tab shows a list of the available Reporters. Click the Add button to add a new server. This option is used when configuring multiple Reporters.
Add or Edit a Reporter Server
The Edit Server window is accessed through the Edit link. Click the Add button to add a Reporter server.
Add or Edit Server
This window is used to add or edit a server for a Reporter. You must always restart the Reporter for these changes to take effect.
· Server ID: This must be numeric (mandatory)
· IP: The IP of the Reporter (mandatory)
· Restricted: If Restricted is enabled, the Reporter processes only Reports where the 'Run only on Server' designation contains this server. If no Reporter servers have been selected, it will run on any Reporter server that has not been assigned as 'Restricted'.
· URL: The Reporter ‘URL’ field is optional. If it is empty, the WebAdmin automatically composes the URL using the IP address as a URL host name. If this IP is a private IP address that is not accessible outside your local network, you need to explicitly specify the URL for access to your Reporter. The reporter URL should look like: http://<reporter server host name>/remotereporter
· URL In Email: The ‘URL in the Email’ field is optional. It is used when sending emails regarding Reports for the selected Report server. This option displays links for Report output. It is the Reporter server URL that is included in reports sent by email. If the field is empty the WebAdmin uses the URL field (specified or composed) instead. If, for some reason, the URL included in emailed reports should be different you must specify it here.
· Comments: Enter comments for this server (optional)
Settings Tab: Enabling One or More Report Types
In the ‘Reporter Settings’ section of the ‘Reporter Service’ page, select the checkbox beside a report type to enable that report type, or clear the checkbox to disable that report type. The ‘Allow Demand Reports’ setting also enables the functioning of ‘Quick Search’ and ‘Quick Demand Reports’. These options are enabled by default.
If you modify and then submit any of these Reporter Settings, you will need to restart the Reporter(s).
Setting Limits on Report Size, Number, Frequency
This section of the page places limits on the number and size of reports. All size fields accept numbers followed by k or kb for kilobytes, m or mb for megabytes and g or gb for gigabytes.
Setting | Default | Description |
Allow Demand Reports Processing | Enabled | This setting enables Demand Report Processing. |
Allow Scheduled Reports Processing | Enabled | This setting enables Scheduled Report Processing. |
Allow Continuous Reports Processing | Enabled | This setting enables Continuous Report Processing. |
Max Number of Demand Reports Processing Threads | 3 | If report processing is creating a heavy load on your system, you may want to decrease this limit to one. |
Max number of Scheduled Reports Processing Threads | 3 | If report processing is creating a heavy load on your system, you may want to decrease this limit to one. |
Max number of Continuous Reports Processing Threads | 5 | If report processing is creating a heavy load on your system, you may want to decrease this limit to one. |
Max Number of Reports Processing Concurrently per Thread | 1 | By default, this setting is 1. This means that one thread will process one report. If the number is increased, it will process more reports on one thread. This setting will only work for Scheduled Reports. |
Max Report Size | 1 gb | Reports that exceed this size do not process. |
Max Temporary File Size Per Concurrent Report | 10 gb | When processing a log file for a report, the Reporter harvests log entries that match the report’s criteria. This information goes into a temporary file that the Reporter uses to create the report and afterwards deletes. However, because the Reporter uses disk space intensively while processing a report, you may need to adjust your report based on the available disk space, throughput, user base size, system configuration, and other factors. One of the other factors that can be adjusted downward is the time period covered by a report. |
Max Disk Space for All Reports | 10 gb | This is a limit on the total disk space allowed for all reports on the server. If the total exceeds the limit, the Reporter removes the oldest reports.
|
Max Email Size | 1 mb | If a report exceeds this size, one of the following occurs, depending on the setting: · The Reporter sends no email, · The Reporter sends an email with links to the report on the server, or · The Reporter sends a notification indicating that the report was too large. |
Max Number of Report Instances per Report | 3000 | Each time a scheduled report generates, the Reporter creates a new instance of the report. This setting limits the maximum number of report instances stored on the server. Once that limit is reached, Lenovo NetFilter deletes the oldest report to make room for a new report. Lenovo NetFilter may remove old reports before the instance limit is reached if the limit on the maximum disk space for all reports is surpassed first. See also ‘Default Report Instances Expire Time’ below. |
Default Report Instances Expire Time (days) | 0 | This is the number of days until reports expire. The default is 0 (zero) which means the instances will be kept until the ‘Max Number of Report Instances per Report’ setting (above) is reached. |
Directory for Reporter Temporary Files |
| This field contains the directory location for the Reporter temporary files. Default: /usr/local/ netsweeper/reports/ |
IP Addresses Size in Reports | Variable, IPv4 and IPv6 | There are three options that let you specify IP address size in the Report fields. · Variable, IPv4 and IPv6: is the default setting and is used for mixed address deployments. · 4 bytes, only IPv4: is selected when only IPv4 is used. The fields will be too small for IPv6. · 16 bytes, IPv4 and IPv6: is used for IPv6 only deployments but will waste space if IPv4 addresses are written. |
'Report has no Data' Email Message | Default text | This is the message sent by email when an empty report generates. In the actual email, the variable %N is replaced by the name of the report and the variable %D is replaced by the date of the report. Note – Whatever message you use, substitute %N for the report name and %D for the report processing date. |
Paper Size for PDF Documents | A4 | The options are: letter, legal, A3, A4, and A5 |
Unused Reports Warning Delay (days) | 0 Disabled | This is threshold setting for the number of days since the report was last viewed or edited. When this number is reached a warning email message is sent to the report’s owner. The message text for the email is found in the ‘Unused Reports Warning Email Message’ option. The system uses the latest timestamp for all reports owned by the user. This setting must be lower than ‘Unused Reports Disable Delay’ (see below). By default, this field is set to zero indicating it is disabled. The Warning delay can be sent as a reminder without using the ‘Disable Delay’ option below. |
Unused Reports Disable Delay (days)
| 0 Disabled | This is threshold setting for the number of days since the report was last viewed or edited. When this number is reached, all reports owned by the user are set with a status of ‘Temporary Stopped’. The system uses the latest timestamp for all reports owned by the user. By default, this is set to zero indicating it is disabled. |
Unused Reports Warning Email Message
| Default email message | This field contains the text of the email warning message that is sent to a Report’s owner based on the number of days entered in ‘Unused Reports Warning Time’. The message can include a link to the special page that confirms subscription and updates timestamps for all reports. See ‘Email – Subscription Information’ below for more information. |
Buffer Size for fast ‘Top N’ grouping | 2000 | This sets the buffer size for the ‘Add Top N Group’ option found in Custom Reports. A bigger buffer provides results with better precision but increases memory consumption. The minimal size is 100. The WebAdmin does not validate it but the Reporter replaces small numbers with 100. There is no upper limit for this setting but 2000 provides almost precise results at least for the first 10 entries.
|
Reporter Settings Tab: Unused Reports Settings
The Reporter can disable a report after a period of time if no one is viewing the report output. Reports are checked by the system for their ‘edited’ and ‘seen’ timestamps. A ‘seen’ report is a report whose instance has been viewed (i.e. the View link has been clicked for a Report Instance) or it has been exported in another format. When thresholds are reached, warning emails are sent and eventually all reports owned by an individual user will be temporarily stopped. Three options: Unused Reports Warning Delay (days), Unused Reports Disable Delay (days), and Unused Reports Warning Email Message can be set in ‘Reporter Settings’
Reporter Settings: Email – Subscription Confirmation for Unused Reports
Emailed Reports are not considered as ‘seen’. If a user doesn't open Reports in the ‘WebAdmin’ or ‘Profile Manager’ but gets all reports by email, no report will be marked as ‘seen’. For such cases, the system can send a special email message to request the ‘Subscription Confirmation’. The ‘Unused Reports Warning Email Message’ text is entered in ‘Reporter Settings’. The message can include the link to a special page that confirms subscription and updates ‘seen’ timestamps for all reports. For security reason when the warning message is prepared, the system generates a ‘secret key’ and saves it in the database. The link to the ‘Subscription Confirmation’ page should include the secret key. If the page is opened with an existent key it updates all ‘seen’ timestamps, enables temporary disabled reports, removes the stored secret key from the database and shows the message that the subscription was confirmed. This link will not work after the Report has been disabled by this feature.
The proper link is generated automatically and can be inserted into the page instead of %L[...] substitution. The text in the square brackets is the visible link text, e.g. "click here".
Reporter Settings: Re-enabling Disabled Reports
Once reports are disabled, they can be re-enabled in three ways.
1. For Quick Reports, you can open the Quick Report window and click Save. This updates the edited timestamp and starts the Reports.
2. Go to the Scheduled Reports window and click the View link for the Stopped Report. Click Cancel Temporary Stop. This will restart the Reports. However, you should view or edit one of the Reports to set the ‘Seen’ or ‘Edited’ timestamp.
3. Go to the ‘Report Admin’ window and scroll to the bottom. Select the interval for the Report or Reports you want to enable. Click the Cancel Stop for Selected or the Cancel Stop for All button. You should view or edit one of the Reports to set the ‘Seen’ or ‘Edited’ timestamp.
Unused Reports in the Profile Manager and WebAdmin
The ‘Stopped’ state is shown on the ‘Quick Reports’ page in the ‘WebAdmin’ and the ‘Reports’ tab in the ‘Profile Manager’. If the user has access to the ‘Scheduled Reports’ list, they can reset the state as usual in each report details page.
Disk Space Quota Reporter Settings
Default Per-User Quota
This quota is for all users to whom you have not assigned an individual quota for space for the storage of reports. Zero means no limit. Type in the numeric value for the quota followed by mb for megabytes or gb for gigabytes– all lower case.
Account Group Quotas – Add Quotas
Use this window if you have one or more Accounts that you wish to assign report storage space than the default per user quota. Select one or more Accounts. If you want to give the quota a custom name, use the optional 'Custom Name' checkbox to display the Quota Name field and enter the name. Type in the numeric value for the quota followed by mb for megabytes or by gb for gigabytes- all lower case. Click Submit. The new individual account quota will appear in the 'Quota Account' list. You must always restart the Reporter for these changes to take effect.
1. Click the Add button to add the Accounts to the window.
2. Select the name of the account(s) for whom you want to set a quota.
3. To give the quota a custom name (optional), place a checkmark beside Custom Name for This Quota to display the ‘Quota Name’ field.
4. Enter a name in the Quota Name field.
5. Type in the numeric value for the quota followed by mb for megabytes or by gb for gigabytes– all lower case.
6. Click Submit. The new individual account quota appears in the Quota Account list.
HTML Page Extension Reporter Settings
Lenovo NetFilter directly logs the number of requests, not the number of Web pages or files. (Requests include both pages and files. An individual Web page may contain multiple files.) You may find it more helpful to compare either the number of Web pages your users accessed or the number of files your users accessed. The number of requests is inflated by the number of files embedded on one page.
New HTML file extensions emerge and change over time. By enlisting your help in keeping the definitions of HTML file extensions up to date, Lenovo NetFilter can use the raw request counts to determine the exact number of Web pages and files that users attempt to access.
The Reporter uses the HTML file extension list to classify all requests as either pages or files, based on their file extension. Only those requests with a file extension in the HTML Extensions list are classified as pages, while all other requests are classified as files.
Adding or Removing File Extensions
Lenovo NetFilter directly logs the number of requests, not the number of Web pages or files. (Requests include both pages and files. An individual Web page may contain multiple files.) You may find it more helpful to compare either the number of Web pages your users accessed or the number of files your users accessed. The number of requests is inflated by the number of files embedded on one page.
New HTML file extensions emerge and change over time. By enlisting your help in keeping the definitions of HTML file extensions up to date, Lenovo NetFilter can use the raw request counts to determine the exact number of Web pages and files that users attempt to access.
The Reporter uses the HTML file extension list to classify all requests as either pages or files, based on their file extension. Only those requests with a file extension in the HTML Extensions list are classified as pages, while all other requests are classified as files.
Related Articles
Reporter Logging
When an Internet request goes through the Lenovo NetFilter filtering system, Lenovo NetFilter records information about the request in its ‘Request Logs’. You can use the Lenovo NetFilter Reporter subsystem to create different kinds of reports from ...Editing List Settings
List Settings Tab The ‘Lists' window is the main window for managing Lists. It is found under the Policies menu. Use the 'Lists' window to create, manage and assign Lists for filtering. Lists support URLs and URL parts (such as scheme, path, or ...Report Admin
The Report Admin is used to review and modify the number of reports that are active and those that are waiting to be processed. It displays an overview of the performance of the reporting daemon. This window does not provide specific error messages ...Quick Reports
Quick Reports displays the available (enabled) Scheduled Report Templates. Each template can be enabled for different enabled frequencies which include daily, weekly, and monthly. Click the Manage Reports button and select the check box beside the ...Custom Reports Overview
Use the Custom Report page to create or edit a report. Enter the Report Name, Description and Owner. For Report Type, if Demand is chosen, select the Date Range. For Scheduled Reports, select the Interval and Start Date and for Continuous Reports, ...