Scheduling Installation

When installed, XLCubed Web Edition installs the Scheduling component. This is a Windows Service that can be used to automatically deliver reports to users on a schedule, or when certain conditions are met.

Installation

Installing the Windows Service

If the installation hasn't already configured the Windows Service, run the InstallService.cmd batch file located in the Scheduler directory of your XLCubed Web Edition installation.

Feature Permissions

As in the Web Edition installation guide, permissions for access to the Scheduling feature can be set by granting or revoking access to the Xml\Security\scheduling.xml file in the XLCubed Web installation folder.

Using the XLCubedWeb Management Console

You can find this configuration tool in the Start Menu of the server, called Configure XLCubed Web Edition. On the Scheduling tab, there are several options that can be used to customise your Scheduling installation.

Web address

The internal web address that the Scheduling service can use to access XLCubed Web Edition.

Public web address

The external web address that XLCubed Web users use when accessing the application. This is used to generate report URLs for emailing to users.

Repository path

The physical path to the XLCubed Web Edition repository.

Webservice timeout

The length of time the scheduling service should wait before giving up when rendering reports, in minutes. The default value is 10 minutes.

Basic authentication

The credentials to use to connect to XLCubed Web Edition to render the reports when Basic authentication is being used.

Clean repository

Automatically remove previews and unused images.

You may need to restart the XLCubed Scheduling Windows service after changing these properties.

Configuration Files

There are two sets of configuration files for the Scheduling Service.

• XLCubed.Scheduling.Service.exe.config in the Scheduler directory of your XLCubed Web Edition installation. This should be automatically populated with the correct values, and will only need modification if the website or repository are subsequently manually moved, or if the XLCubed Web Edition server uses a non-default Authentication mode.
• The schedules and other configuration files for the Scheduling Service in the XLCubed Web Repository folder, in the __xlcubed__\__scheduling__ subfolder. It is normal for there to be no files until schedules or other configuration parameters have been set up.

Authentication Mode

The Scheduling service is set up to use Windows Integrated authentication by default. To use Basic authentication instead, edit the XLCubed.Scheduling.Service.exe.config file, changing the AuthenticationType line to Basic and fill in the user name and password below it (XLCubed Web Edition v6.5.014 and higher). This account should have permission to access the XLCubed Web Edition instance, as well as any repository folders required for scheduling.

Using the Role Selector

When configuring schedules and distribution groups, the Scheduling configuration screens can offer a list of relevant roles available on the server. In order for this to work, Microsoft's Analysis Management Objects must be installed. This can be found here, included in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Management Objects Collection: Feature Pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP4

Configuring the Windows Service

The Service Identity

By default, the Scheduling Service runs under the Local System account. This allows it to have access to the necessary files, webservices and resources it needs to run reports and send emails. However, to use the Roles feature, a new identity must be chosen that is allowed to use all the roles that will be used. For simplicity, this can be an OLAP Administrator.

Starting the Windows Service

The Scheduling Service can be managed just like any other Windows Service. You can start it by running the StartService.cmd batch file located in the Scheduler directory of your XLCubed Web Edition installation or by using the Services control panel.

Other considerations and Troubleshooting

Virus and Malware Scanners

The Scheduling Service will need access to:

• its configuration files, detailed above,
• the XLCubed Web Edition web services, via HTTP or HTTPS,
• the SMTP server where emails are to be sent.

PDF Problems

The scheduled reports may suffer from problems as described on this page, even when PDF printing works for normal users. Note that the permissions on the Temp folder must be set for the Scheduling service user.

SendTimeout too short

If the SendTimeout on the relevant XLCubed Web Edition webservice is set too low, then an error similar to this one can be reported in the scheduling error log:

System.TimeoutException: The request channel timed out while waiting for a reply after 00:00:58.0399638.

By default, this timeout is set to 1 minute. In order to change this setting, use the Configure XLCubed Web Edition start menu utility to set the timeout to a larger value. You will need to restart the XLCubed Scheduling service after making any changes. Please note that this setting is available from version 7.2.37.0.

MessageSecurityException occurs when sending a Scheduled Report

The following exception may be recorded in the scheduling error log or in a failure email:

System.ServiceModel.Security.MessageSecurityException: The HTTP request is unauthorized with client authentication scheme 'Ntlm'. The authentication header received from the server was 'Negotiate,NTLM'. ---> System.Net.WebException: The remote server returned an error: (401) Unauthorized.

This issue can occur from Windows Server 2003 SP1 onwards, as described in this Microsoft Support article (926642). To resolve the issue, the DWORD Value DisableLoopbackCheck registry value can be filled in with the value 1. This registry value can be found, or should be created, here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

You may also need to follow the instructions found in this Microsoft Support article (281308) to disable strict name checking.

See Also

• Scheduling