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SQL Server Reporting Services

Netwrix Auditor uses SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) engine for report generation.

If you want to generate reports and run search queries against data collected by Netwrix Auditor, you should configure SQL Server Reporting Services (2012 R2 and above required).

Consider the following:

  • SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting Services can be deployed on the separate machines only in commercial edition. SQL Server Express Edition with Advanced Services doesn't support such deployment scenario.

NOTE: It is recommended to use HTTPS instead of HTTP. HTTPS connection should also be configured for Reporting Service.

If you plan not to use Netwrix Auditor's built-in intelligence (search, alerts, or reports) and only receive e-mail notifications on audit data collection results, you may not need to configure SSRS or audit database settings.

Configure SSRS Account​

An account used to upload data to the SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) Server must be granted the Content Manager role on the SSRS Home folder.

NOTE: gMSA can't be used to access SSRS. Use a standard account for that purpose.

To assign the Content Manager role, complete the following steps:

Step 1 – Navigate to your Report Manager URL.

Step 2 – On the Home page, navigate to Folder Settings and click New Role Assignment (the path can slightly vary depending on your SQL Server version).

Step 3 – Specify an account in the following format: domain\user. The account must belong to the same domain where Netwrix Auditor is installed, or to a trusted domain.

Step 4 – Select Content Manager.

Grant Additional Permissions on Report Server​

To be able to generate a report, any user assigned the Global administrator, Global reviewer, or Reviewer role must be granted the Browser role on the Report Server. Netwrix Auditor grants this role automatically when adding a user. If for some reason the product was unable to grant the role, do it manually.

To assign the Browser role to a user, complete the following steps:

Step 1 – Open the Report Manager URL in your web browser.

Step 2 – Depending on the user's delegated scope, select the entire Home folder or drill-down to specific data sources or event reports.

Step 3 – Navigate to Manage Folder (the path can slightly vary depending on your SQL Server version) and select Add group or user.

Step 4 – Specify an account in the following format: domain\user. The account must belong to the same domain where Netwrix Auditor Server is installed, or to a trusted domain.

Step 5 – Select Browser.

As a rule, Auditor can use Reporting Services with the default settings. However, to ensure that Reporting Services is properly configured, perform the following procedure:

You must be logged in as a member of the local Administrators group on the computer where SQL Server 2016 Express is installed.

To verify Reporting Services installation, complete the following steps:

Step 6 – Navigate to Start >__All Apps > SQL Server__Reporting Services Configuration Manager.

Step 7 – In the Reporting Services Configuration Connection dialog, ensure that your local report server instance (for example, SQLExpress) is selected, and click Connect.

Step 8 – In the Reporting Services Configuration Manager left pane, select Web Service URL. Ensure that:

  • Virtual Directory is set to ReportServer<YourSqlServerInstanceName>_ (e.g., _ReportServer_SQLEXPRESS_ for SQLEXPRESS instance)
  • TCP Port is set to 80

Step 9 – In the Reporting Services Configuration Manager left pane, select Database. Make sure that the SQL Server Name and Database Name fields contain correct values. If necessary, click Change Database and complete the Report Server Database Configuration wizard.

Step 10 – In the Reporting Services Configuration Manager left pane, select Report Manager URL. Ensure Virtual Directory is set correctly, and that the URL is valid.