Introduction

A report server — is an additional server that combines restaurants into a single network. For one to three restaurants, it's possible to operate without report servers. In this case, data is processed by the reference server.
The report server is identical to the reference server in terms of functions and properties, with one exception — nothing can be edited on the report server.

Reports can be viewed in the manager station. To generate them, you need to license the reference server and configure a connection to an external database in MS SQL Server 2012. Thus, the reference server can function as a report generation server or a report server. When the number of restaurants in the database increases to several dozen, the load on the reference server also grows. Therefore, r_keeper 7 provides the capability to create intermediate servers, which are implemented through the report server — rkReportServer.exe.

The report server's executable file is rkReportServer.exe, and the default configuration file name is repserv.ini.

• When installing r_keeper 7 from an archive, the REPSERV.INI file should be copied from the \bin\win\ini\ folder to the working directory \bin\win\, where rkReportServer.exe is located.
• When installing r_keeper 7 via the installer, the server and its configuration file are located in the installation path\instance name\Rk7Reports folder.

Note: The server and configuration file names can be arbitrary. By default, the server will look for the configuration file REPSERV.ini unless another INI file is specified. For details on using other configuration files, see below.

The use of the report server depends on the license:

• If the report server is licensed, you can connect to it using the manager station and view reports.
• If the report server is not licensed, it can only be used as a transit node for data transfer. An unlicensed server can be used an unlimited number of times. The central report server can collect data from local servers, which receive data from cash register servers when the client has multiple restaurants with cash register servers.

The relationship between servers is shown below:

To configure the report server, you must first create it in the manager station and then edit the configuration file. 

Creating a Report Server

To create a report server:

1. Go to Settings > OLAP Reports > Report Servers.
2. Right-click in the left pane and select New Report Server.
3. In the Main block, fill in the Name field, assign a Network ID — this identifier will be used to connect to the report server. Change the server status from Draft to Active.
4. In the Basic block, in the Serves Restaurant line, select your restaurant.
5. In the Synchronization block, activate all settings.
6. Save the changes.

Done, the report server is created. Next, it needs to be licensed.

Licensing

Important

The license is tied to the full object code and the key code.

The process of licensing a report server is identical to the process of licensing a reference server, described in the article about the Reference Server.

The steps are as follows:

1. Specify the enterprise code and object code.
2. Go to Settings > OLAP Reports > Report Servers.
3. Select the server.
4. Choose the protection key in the License Information > Protection Key > Physical Number field.
5. Generate a license request — right-click the report server icon, then Actions > Generate License Request.
6. Generate a license for this request in the licensing system and enter it in the License Information > License Key field.
7. Save the changes.
8. Configure the connection to the external database if reports are required.

Launching

To launch the report server:

1. Add the following parameters to repserv.ini in the [Config] section:

   Client = "REPSRV3001"                         the report server's network ID
   RefServer = "RK7SRV3001"                      the network ID of the upper-level server (this can be either a reference server or a report server).

2. Start the server.

If the report server needs to access external databases, perform the following steps:

1. Create a database in Management Studio.
2. Configure the connection to this database using the instructions in the article about configuring a connection to MS SQL.
3. If the report server is already running, stop it.
4. In the repserv.ini configuration file, change the UseSql parameter value from 0 to 1.
5. Start the server.

The first launch should always be performed as an application with the /desktop parameter. Also, ensure the launch is performed as an administrator.
By default, the server's configuration file is repserv.ini. If you need to launch the Report Server with a different INI file, use the following command: rkReportServer.exe /ininame: newname.ini /desktop.

The report server, like the reference server, can also be launched as a service. For this, use the /install parameter.

After launching the server as an application rkReportsServer.exe/desktop, an icon  will appear in the notification area on the desktop. 

Description of the Repsserv.ini File

Copy the repserv.ini file from the RK7/BIN/WIN/ini folder if you haven't already done so, and place it in the same folder where RKREPORTSSERVER.EXE is located — RK7/BIN/WIN/.

Verifying Settings

You can check the correctness of the report server configuration by recalculating cubes. The cubes are located in the Settings > OLAP Reports > Cubes and Reports directory. Cubes are calculated automatically or manually.

• Automatic cube recalculation can be checked in the cube properties — in the Data Processing section. Each cube has a list of report servers and information about cube recalculation: frequency, calculation time, last error, etc.
• For manual recalculation, right-click the cube and select Actions > Recalculate. If everything is configured correctly, the Data Processing section will display the current date of cube recalculation.

Starting from version 7.06.04.041, if the server has more than 2 GB of RAM, you can use the new utility for building cubes — bldcubex.exe. To do this, add the following setting to repserv.ini:

[CONFIG]
cubesBuildTool = "bldcubex.exe"

And restart the report server. After this, a new manager station file, rk7manex.exe, will appear. Use it to build cube reports.

It is advisable to create a new role with permissions only for cubes and reports, while hiding all other elements in the manager station. Then create a shortcut for such a manager station with a name like "Reports."

Starting from version 7.4.20.60 and above, you can automatically recalculate all cubes that would be recalculated when performing the Recalculate All Cubes action in the manager station at a specified time by adding the following command to the INI file:

RecalcAllCubesAt = "2015" (The time is written without a colon "HHMM")

Its value can easily be checked via the web interface.

Updating the Report Server

When you right-click the report server icon, the server properties will open in a browser. The default HTTP port can be assigned in the manager station by specifying a new port in the report server properties: HTTP Server > HTTP Data Port.

After launching the report server, check its connection to the upper server.

Updating the report server is similar to updating the reference server. After updating, be sure to restart the report server; otherwise, the changes will not take effect.