FluenceXL Web Edition Installation Guide/Version 9.1
Contents
[hide]Overview
To install XLCubed Web:
- Run the setup program while logged onto the server as a user with administrator permissions
- Once installed, copy the provided license key (xl3web.license) into the website folder, which is by default: C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWeb
- When installed, the application is accessed by navigating to http://<yourservername>/XLCubedWeb
- XLCubedWeb is the default website name during installation, but can be changed as required during the installation process
- Please note versions 5 and below are not upgraded: this version will install as a separate product
Installation Prerequisites
Server Requirements
- Windows 2000 Server or above
- Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 or above (including the required authentication methods, static content and asp.net)
- Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0
Hardware Requirements
Recommended specification is dependent on the cube size and design, the number of users, and the pattern of usage. Having Analysis Services on the same machine will also have an impact.
As an absolute minimum we recommend:
- Memory: 2GB
- Processor: Dual Core 2.2 GHz
Client Requirements
- Internet Explorer 7.0 or above
- Google Chrome 5.0 or above
- Mozilla Firefox 3.6 or above
- Safari 5.0.6 or higher
Pre-Requisites
The installation will automatically download and install any required Microsoft redistributables. If desired or if Internet access is restricted, these can be downloaded and installed manually before running the XLCubed setup process. A list is available here.
IIS8/Windows 8
The following features must be enabled for XLCubed Web to work:
- Control Panel / Programs and Features / Turn Windows features on or off / .Net Framework 3.5 / Windows Communication Foundation HTTP Activation
- Control Panel / Programs and Features / Turn Windows features on or off / .Net Framework 4.5 Advanced Services / WCF Services / HTTP Activation
Configuration
After the installation has completed you will be shown the configuration utility:
(If the server is running a version of IIS older than 7 you will need to follow the old installation guide here)
Authentication
You will need to decide on the type of Authentication, here's a brief summary of each option:
Anonymous
A user account needs to be specified, all users will connect to the data source as this user. The database server can be on a different machine to the web server.
This would be typically used where XLCubedWeb needs to be available to everyone with no restrictions, such as on the Internet or available to an entire organisation (with no restrictions) on an Intranet.
Basic
The client will be prompted for a user-id and password - this will be authenticated against local users (if no domain is specified) or the active directory users. The database will be accessed using the given account and can be located on a different server to the web server.
This would typically be used where it's not possible to configure Kerberos or if the set of users need to be maintained locally on the machine (independent of the Active Directory/Domain users)
Windows
The default and most common method. The client's current credentials will be passed to the server and they will be used when connecting to the datasource. If the database server is on a different server then they will only receive the credentials if Kerberos has been configured, see Kerberos Delegation for more information. (Kerberos will need to be set up and configured by a domain administrator. Most large organisations will have an existing process for doing this - the previous article contains all the information required.)
This method would be used in most organisations as authentication, and therefore access, is controlled through the same mechanisms as other network resources.
HTTPS
If the website has been set up to use HTTPS (see this Microsoft support article for more information) then "Use HTTPS" will be checked. Click the "Apply" button to ensure XLCubedWeb has the correct settings to support this.
Repository Access
The repository, visible in the left hand pane of the web application, is simply a folder on the Web Server within which additional subfolders can be added. All published reports are held within the repository folder, or subfolders within it. The permissions for the repository can be controlled by clicking on "Repository Access". You will be presented with the form for maintaining which groups have access and the level (write for publishing reports, or read-only for viewing reports only)
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Finer control can be maintained by navgating to the repository folder in windows explorer, the folder location will by default be:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWeb\Repository
Additional folders can be added as required, at the level immediately beneath the Repository folder itself, for example one folder per user group. If the user has the permissions, they can maintain the folder structure by right-clicking on the "Publish Report" screen in the Excel client.
The temp folder should also have these permissions set on it. Its default location is:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWeb\temp
Windows permissions determine which folders are visible within the web application to any given user, e.g. can be configured such that the 'Sales' function cannot see the 'Finance' function folder and vice versa. This is all handled transparently by the application, and set at the Windows folder level permissions level. The same logic is true of read/write vs. a read-only split between user groups.
Note that every user has a 'My Reports' folder, which is the equivalent of 'My Documents' in Windows, and is only accessible by the individual user. These are held in the location below:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWeb\Repository\__userfolders__
Licensing
To apply a license key, click on "Licensing":
Click "Apply New Key" and select the appropriate license key file. You will be given a summary about the key (such as the number of concurrent users and any expiration date)
Setting up the XLCubed Web Edition application manually
This step is usually not required, as the setup program will create the web application for you. It may be necessary if:
- During the setup process, the Add XLCubed Web Edition to IIS checkbox was unselected
- Your web server is set up in a non-standard configuration, especially where the Default Web Site has been modified
- You wish to create the web application yourself for whatever reason
Note that in the non-standard configuration, you may receive the following error message from the setup program: Failed while processing WebVirtualDirs. (-2147024894)
In any of these cases, the setup program will have copied the application files to the web server, but you will have to create the site yourself. To do this:
- Open Internet Information Services Manager (inetmgr.exe)
- Under the Application Pools node, ensure that the XLCubed application pool has been set up. It must be configured to use v4.0 of the .NET Framework and use the Classic pipeline mode.
- Under the Sites node, open the website in which XLCubed Web Edition should be made available (usually the Default Web Site).
- Usually the XLCubedWeb Virtual Directory will already exist within the website. If this is the case, then right-click on it and select Convert to Application. If not, right-click on the website instead and select Add Application...
- In the Add Application dialog, ensure that the XLCubed application pool is selected and, if necessary, choose the correct path.
This will set up the application's web site. Further security setup and other configuration will likely be necessary. Information can be found below.
Functional User Permissions
Access to the application, and the type of access is controlled by two files located in:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWeb\Xml\Security
To enable or disable user or group access to the Web Edition, enable or disable read access for the relevant user or group to:
system.xml
'Ad hoc' access gives users the ability to build their own report from scratch. This access is controlled via the adhoc.xml file. To restrict users to be able to view only pre-published reports, revoke access to:
adhoc.xml
The scheduling features allows users to schedule reports, if Web Edition scheduling is licensed. To enable or disable user or group access to this feature, enable or disable read access to:
scheduling.xml
Published Connections
When a user publishes a connection to XLCubed Web, which may contain custom calculations, etc, they are published to:
C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWebv6\Repository\__xlcubed__\__connections__\Published Connections
or to subfolders which have been created within this.
Published Favourites When a user published a report favourite to the web, they are published to:
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\XLCubedWebv6\Repository\__xlcubed__\__grids__\Published Favourites
XLCubed Web reports can be accessed either through the Web Edition homepage, or accessed directly by URL within other portals.
To get the URL for a specific report, in the homepage of XLCubed Web:
- Click on the View parameters for this report icon:
- Then press the Get Url button:
The provided URL can be used to embed the report within other portals and frames as required. In the case of SharePoint, the URL is used within a sitelink web part.
Additional configuration options accessible as suffixes on the URL are:
| HorizontalScrollbar | true/false |
| VerticalScrollbar | true/false |
| SheetTabs | true/false |
| Toolbar | true/false |
| DefaultTargetFrame | text |
For example, for the report above, to include the toolbar in the rendered version, the URL would become:
http://localhost/XLCubedWeb/WebForm/ShowReport.aspx?rep=Demos%2FInterlinked+Charting.xml&dpi=96&Toolbar=True
System Configuration Settings
Behavioural Configuration
The web.config file held within the XLCubedWeb folder determines various behavioural aspects of the product. The following settings are held within the <appSettings> section.
| LogErrors | write errors to Error.log file |
| LogPerformance | for debug only |
| ShowErrorMessages | show detailed error messages or just a reference to the log file |
| DefaultChartSeries | default number of series to chart on an ad-hoc report |
| MaxChartSeries | maximum number of series to chart on an ad-hoc report |
| DisplaySystemMemProps | show system member properties available for selection |
| DrillthroughDefaultMaxRows | default maximum rows on a drillthrough |
| DrillthroughAbsoluteMaxRows | maximum permitted rows on a drillthrough |
| RepositioryRootUNC | No longer supported - listed for compatibility reasons. To create a shared repository, use MKLink [1] to replace the folder with a Symbolic Link to a network share. |
| ClearLevelsMovedToFilters | Where an entire level is selected on an axis (potentially a large number of members), and is dragged onto the slicer, the selection is changed to the default member (Typically 'All'). This is to prevent users accidentally creating a very slow running query by individually aggregating all the members dragged to the slicer |
| DefaultCulture | Backup culture where it cannot be retrieved from the browser |
| QueryActiveDirectory | Used to display the user name on homepage |
| WritebackTimeout | Writeback timeout in milliseconds |
| PdfConverterUserName | No longer required |
| PdfConverterPassword | No longer required |
| PdfUseAppPoolUserForXpsPrint | true to use the IIS configured application pool user for creating the XPS during the PDF print; false uses the impersonated user. Must be true for 64-bit application pools |
| PdfUseAppPoolUserForPdfConversion | true to use the IIS configured application pool user for creating the PDF during the PDF print; false uses the impersonated user. Must be true for 64-bit application pools |
| DocumentDomain | Used when embedding XLCubed within an iframe on a different server |
PDF Printing Configuration
To configure the web edition to use the impersonated user instead of the application pool user, see Version 7.1 instructions.
- Set PdfUseAppPoolUserForXpsPrint and PdfUseAppPoolUserForPdfConversion to true
- Ensure the application pool user has read and write access to the "Temp" folder, \inetpub\wwwroot\xlcubedweb\temp
Data Configuration Settings
Updating Data Configuration Settings may be done to affect connection behaviour by advanced users, although it is not recommended to do this without advice from XLCubed support.
Application Usage
- Please refer to the help menu within the product for an overview of all functionality.
