Part 2 - Documentation

2.1 Starting Report Runner Monitor and Debugger

The Monitor and Debugger should always be run as Administrator. Why? Because of two critical features provided by the application... listing Report Runner tasks and listing schedules (and modifying task credentials) from the Windows Task Scheduler (more on both of these topics later). If you do not run the application with elevated credentials, it is unable to run the Windows API query to fetch the processes and schedules.

If you have configured the application to be run as Administrator, your icon might look like this (notice the shield added to the icon). We say "might", because not all machines will show a different icon.

To set the application to run as Administrator, just right-click on the icon, click on Compatibility tab, and select/check the option "Run this program as an administrator".

Once you double-click the icon to run the Monitor and Debugger application, you may still get prompted to run as Administrator with this pop-up... just click Yes to continue.

Note: If a CPU meter on the Process Analysis tab shows "Blocked" instead of a percentage, the Monitor and Debugger is NOT running as an administrator (see above). If a meter shows "Error", the Windows performance counters on the machine have a problem.

2.2 Process Analysis

The Process Analysis tab is the first/default tab selected when you start the application. This interface will list out all of the Report Runner processes currently running on this machine. On the right half of this window, you'll see CPU usage per process, overall CPU usage (and total CPUs installed in machine), and total memory installed and currently in use in machine. You can modify how fast this interface refreshes from 1 to 10 seconds. We recommend a setting of around 3-5 seconds.

Each job meter shows that job's share of the TOTAL machine CPU, so the job meters add up toward the overall CPU meter. For example, on a machine with 8 CPUs, one report using a full CPU will show around 12%.

Hover your mouse over any job meter to see the Process ID it is measuring (for example, PID 6008). This gives you a way to match a meter to a specific process shown in the process listing.

2.3 Windows Task Scheduler Analysis

The second tab you can select is the Windows Task Scheduler Analysis tab. This layout has four main features:

A display of ALL Windows tasks on the left and next 5 runs (black on white)
A display of ONLY Report Runner Batch tasks and next 5 runs (white on green)
A display of ONLY failures or (possible) missed runs of Report Runner Batch (white on red)
A button near the bottom left which allows for mass updating of Windows task credentials. For example, if your company security policies require frequent changes to credentials, you can mass update any schedules with this function.

You may have noticed in the previous screenshot there were no Report Runner Batch schedules shown. This was to emphasize that the left side (white on black) shows ALL Windows scheduled tasks.

Here's a good example of what a typical Report Runner Batch screen might look like. In this case, there are 9 Report Runner Batch schedules.

Note: The "Copy to Clipboard" option copies all text from that "box" so you can paste it into a text document (like Notepad) for review and/or printing.

Mass Updating Task Credentials:

When you click the mass update button, you'll enter the new ID and new password to apply. The Count shows how many Report Runner Batch tasks will be updated (based on the "Task Starts With" filter), and the "?" button will show you the list of task names before you update. After the update completes, the results will show how many tasks were updated and how many failed (if any), and a session log will open with the details. If one task fails to update, the remaining tasks are still processed.

Note: Group Managed Service Accounts (gMSA) are supported. Enter the gMSA account ID ending with the dollar sign (for example, MYDOMAIN\ReportRunnerSVC$) and leave the password EMPTY. Why no password? Because Windows retrieves the gMSA password automatically from Active Directory... there is no password for you to type. The machine must be authorized in Active Directory to use the gMSA. If it is not, the tasks will show as FAILED in the session log with the reason.

2.4 Batch Analysis

The third tab you can select is the Batch Analysis tab. This interface provides an easy way to review log files. Depending on the number of schedules that you run monthly, this interface may take a few seconds to load. There is a status bar of the load in the bottom right corner.

Once loaded, there are a few things you can do.

Load logs from the previous month (click/select the check box). By default, only logs from the current month are loaded. And only logs of SCHEDULED batches or AUTOMATED batches (think Event Server) are loaded. Batches that you ran manually from the main Report Runner Batch interface are NOT shown here.
Show ONLY logs where these batches did not complete successfully (click/select the check box).
If you double-click on of the lines/records, it will open the log file for review.
Open the log file directory (click the button near the bottom left). This will open the log file directory where you can see ALL logs from the last 30 days. We have automatic maintenance that keeps these logs reduced to the last 30 days.

The Result column will show one of the following:

GOOD - 0 Exit Code: The batch completed successfully.
Non-Zero Exit Code: The batch did NOT complete successfully. Review the log file.
Log File Missing: The log file no longer exists (see the automatic log maintenance note above).
Log Unreadable: The log file exists but could not be read. Check permissions and/or network share availability. This does NOT mean the batch failed... it means the result is unknown because the log could not be read.

If the logs cannot be found or read (for example, a permissions problem), the status line will tell you instead of just showing an empty list. An empty list with "Status: Ready" means there really were no logs for the period.

Additional Batch Knowledge Base Articles:

2.5 Event Server Analysis

The fourth tab you can select is the Event Server (Rules) Analysis tab. This interface also provides an easy way to review log files. Depending on the number of rules that you run daily (and every X minutes), this interface may take a few seconds to load. There is a status bar of the load in the bottom right corner.

Note: The Event Server Analysis loads logs for TODAY ONLY. Why? Since rules run 24x7x365, they are either working or they are not. And if they are not, you don't need to load a months worth of logs. Additionally, since these logs are automatically maintained to be retained for only 3 days, there would never be a more than that to load anyway.

Once loaded, there are a few things you can do.

Click a button to open the Event Viewer (Windows log files where you can view the JNRRB_ES logs). These logs are written to constantly by the Report Runner Event Server service, and it will show any issues with the service itself.
Click a button to open the Services interface. This will allow you to manipulate the Report Runner Event Server service or make any custom changes to the service itself.
Show ONLY logs where rules did not complete successfully (click/select the check box).
If you double-click on of the lines/records, it will open the log file for review.
Open the log file directory (click the button near the bottom left). This will open the log file directory where you can see ALL logs from the last 3 days. We have automatic maintenance that keeps these logs reduced to the last 3 days.

The Result column shows the same values described in Batch Analysis (section 2.4). Also, if the logs exist but cannot be read (for example, a permissions problem), the status line will show an ERROR instead of just an empty list.

Types of Rules/Logs:

MAIL: Trigger batches based on emails (monitors email accounts to trigger batches)
FILE: Trigger batches based on files (monitors file locations for files to "appear"... like receiving a file via FTP)
SQL: Trigger batches based on a SQL field value (runs SQL Select statements looking for logic like X = Y)

See this KB article for more information on the types of Report Runner Event Server rules (or rule "packs").

2.6 Viewer Analysis

The fifth tab you can select is the Viewer Analysis tab. This interface also provides an easy way to review log files. Depending on the number of reports that you run on a daily basis, this interface may take a few seconds to load. There is a status bar of the load in the bottom right corner.

Note: The Viewer Analysis also loads logs for TODAY ONLY. Since Report Runner Viewer is used to run reports interactively (not scheduled), this interface is mainly here to help you locate a log where a report failed earlier in the day, and you're not sure which log it is.

Once loaded, there are a few things you can do.

Show ONLY logs where reports did not complete successfully (click/select the check box).
If you double-click on of the lines/records, it will open the log file for review.
Open the log file directory (click the button near the bottom left). This will open the log file directory where you can see ALL logs from the last 30 days. We have automatic maintenance that keeps these logs reduced to the last 30 days.

The Result column shows the same values described in Batch Analysis (section 2.4), plus one more that is unique to Viewer Analysis:

Errors: The report completed, but errors were found in the log. Review the log file.

Also, if the logs exist but cannot be read (for example, a permissions problem), the status line will show an ERROR instead of just an empty list.

2.7 Backups and Recovery

The sixth and last tab you can select is the Backups and Recovery tab. This is a one-stop place to find your backups and learn how to use them.

This is what the monthly backups folder looks like for Report Runner Batch. As long as Report Runner Batch runs at least one time in a given month, there will be a backup.