2.3 How Novell File Reporter Works

Novell File Reporter was developed to examine and report on terabytes of data—in other words, millions of files, folders and volumes, scattered among the various storage devices that make up your network. This reporting includes the associated rights of these files, folders, and Novell network volumes or Microsoft network shares.

To report on this data efficiently, Novell File Reporter disperses the work among a Web application, NFR Engine, NFR Agents, either a PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server (2012 or later) database, and either eDirectory or Active Directory.

Figure 2-1 Novell File Reporter Work Process

2.3.1 Web Application

The Web application runs on top of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and is the means of all administrative interaction. Among other things, the Web application is responsible for:

  • Management of scan policies and report definitions

  • Generating Preview reports

  • Access to stored reports

  • All other management functions

2.3.2 NFR Engine

The NFR Engine is the mechanism that runs Novell File Reporter. It can be hosted on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, 2012, or 20012 R2. It can also run on a sufficiently enabled 64-bit Windows 7 or Windows 8 workstation.

The NFR Engine does the following:

  • Stores scans in the database

  • Schedules the scans that the NFR Agents conduct

  • Processes the scans and compiles them for inclusion in a report

  • Runs scheduled reports

  • Manages scan delegations to NFR Agents

  • Sends notifications that Novell File Reporter has completed a scan or generated a report

2.3.3 NFR Agents

NFR Agents are compact programs that can run on Novell Open Enterprise Server and Microsoft Windows Server hosts. NFR Agents can examine and report on Novell NSS and Windows NTFS file systems. Additionally, NFR Agents examine and report on file system security, including file and folder rights, trustee assignments, and permissions. For more information, see Section D.0, NFR Agent Scan Capabilities.

IMPORTANT:For optimal results, you should install an NFR Agent on every server that has a volume or share you want to report on.

NFR Agents cannot be installed on NAS devices or clustered hardware devices. For Novell File Reporter to report on these type of devices, NFR Agents can be set up as proxy agents.

2.3.4 Database

The database stores information needed for generating reports. This information includes:

  • Cached Active Directory and eDirectory objects

  • Scans

  • Identity system information such as names of eDirectory trees and Active Directory domains and forests

  • Schedule information pertaining to scans and reports

  • Notification information

  • Report definitions

  • Scan history

  • Scan policies

  • Volume free space

2.3.5 Scans

Through the NFR Agent, Novell File Reporter takes a “scan” of the file system’s storage resource at a given moment. A storage resource can be a Novell network server volume or a Microsoft network share.

Scans are indexed data that are specific to a storage resource. They are the means of generating a storage report. Scans include comprehensive information on the file types users are storing, when files were created, when they were last modified, permission data on the folders where these files reside, and much more.

Novell File Reporter collects scans from the NFR Agents, compresses them, and sends them to the NFR Engine, where it then decompresses them and stores the scan information into the database.

You can conduct scans at any time, but we recommend using a scheduled time after normal business hours to minimize the effect on network performance.

NOTE:Procedures for performing scans are documented in Section 5.0, Scheduling and Performing Scans.

2.3.6 Reports

When Novell File Reporter has a scan of a storage resource, you can utilize it to generate a report. You can generate reports through the following means:

  • Built-in Reports

  • Custom Queries

Built-in Reports

Generating a built-in report is as simple as selecting the report type from a menu.

To generate a report, the NFR Engine takes all of the needed scans that are applicable to the specifications of the report and consolidates them into a single report by indexing the applicable scans.

Table 2-1 Built-in Report Types

File System Reports

Security Reports

Trending Reports

Folder Summary

Assigned NCP Permissions

Volume Free Space

Detail Reports

Assigned NTFS Permissions

 

File Extension

Permissions by Path

 

Duplicate Files

Permissions by Identity

 

Date-Age

Historic NCP Permissions Comparison

 

Owner

Historic NTFS Permissions Comparison

 

Storage Cost

 

 

Comparison

 

 

Directory Quota

 

 

Historic File System Comparison

 

 

Novell File Reporter lets you present built-in reports in various formats including PDF, Microsoft Excel, RTF, HTML, TXT, and CSV. The product also includes built-in graphs for certain report types.

Figure 2-2 Sample Report in Graphical Format

Custom Queries

These reports allow administrators who are familiar with querying the database to generate very specific report data that might not be available through one of the built-in report types.

Custom query report data can be further customized for layout and presentation from a Windows workstation with the Report Designer.

Figure 2-3 Page from a Custom Query Report Designed with the Report Designer.