Install Parallels RAS Reporting

To install Parallels RAS Reporting:

1. Log in to the server where you have Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services installed. Make sure you use the account with administrative privileges (AD).

Note: As was mentioned earlier, SQL Server 2017 and newer allow you to install SQL Server database engine and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) on different hosts. You need to be logged in to the server where you have SSRS installed.

1. Download the latest version of Parallels RAS Reporting from https://www.parallels.com/products/ras/download/links/.

2. Once downloaded, double-click the RASReporting-xxx.msi file to run the installation wizard.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions and proceed to the Database connection page. Specify the SQL Server database engine location:

   • Location: If the SQL Server database engine is installed on the local server (together with SSRS), select Localhost. If the SQL Server is installed on a different server, select Remote and then specify the server connection properties (see below).

   • Server: If you selected Remote, specify the FQDN or IP address of the server where you have SQL Server installed.

   • Username: Specify the username to log in to SQL Server.

   • Password: Specify the password.

4. On the same page, specify the SQL Server instance name. The default instance name is RASREPORTING. If you would like to use a different instance, you can specify it on this page. If the instance doesn't exist, you need to create it first.

5. Click Next.

6. On the Viewing Reports User page, you need to specify an Active Directory user who will be granted permissions to access the RAS reporting database. The default user is "rasreportingview" (note that the user must be created in Active Directory before it can be used here). You can specify a different Active Directory user if you wish, but you will need to change the reporting settings in the RAS Console before you can view reports (this change is described later in this chapter when the RAS reporting configuration is explained).

7. Click Next to install Parallels RAS Reporting.

Configure RAS Reporting in the RAS Console

To configure Parallels RAS Reporting:

1. Log in to the Parallels RAS Console.

2. Select the Administration category and click the Reporting tab in the right pane.

3. In the Reporting tab, select the Enable RAS Reporting option.

4. In the Server field, specify the FQDN or IP address of the server hosting your SQL Server instance. The value in the Port field is used by the service which receives data from the RAS Connection Broker. The default port is 30008.

5. Specify a user login option by selecting one of the following:

   • Prompt user for login details — If this option is selected, the Parallels RAS Console user will be prompted to enter credentials before they can run a report.

   • Use following credentials — If this option is selected, the specified username and password will be used. The default (built-in) user name is RASREPORTINGVIEW. If you specified a different user when you installed RAS Reporting, specify that user credentials here.

6. To test the database connection, click the Test connection button.

Configure advanced settings

These settings are optional, so you can configure them according to your needs.

To access advanced settings:

1. On the Administration > Reporting tab page, click the Tracking Settings button. The Advanced Setting dialog opens.

2. In the Session Information section, specify the following options:

   • Enable Tracking. Records sessions data (affects all reports except server reports).

   • Retain information for. Select for how long the information should be kept in the database.

3. In the Server Counters Information section, specify the following:

   • Enable Tracking. If selected, server counter data is recorded (affects server reports only).

   • Retain information for. Select for how long the information should be kept in the database.

   • Track CPU / Memory counter when change is more than (%). Use these two options to set the minimum CPU and Memory resource usage required to record data.

4. The Custom reports section is used to enable custom reports in the Parallels RAS Console. Select the Enable custom reports option and specify a folder name where custom reports will be stored (or use the default "Custom reports" name). Note that this is a virtual folder located on the SQL Server Reporting Services side, so you need to specify just a name (not a traditional path). You will see the folder in the Parallels RAS Console in the Reporting category together with other (predefined) folders that contain reports.