How to Extract and Restore Necessary Files on a Bold Reports Windows Server

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Introduction

This article provides a step-by-step guide on restoring a Bold Reports server environment, including extracting files and restoring them to a new server.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the necessary permissions to access the Bold Reports deployment location and databases involved. This includes read, write, and delete access for both the file system and database operations.

Procedure For Windows

Stop the BoldReports_EnterpriseReporting Application in IIS:
Before modifying Bold Reports files, it’s crucial to stop the service to prevent conflicts.
Data Backup

Locate the Bold Reports deployment directory on Server-1. For example, it might be C:\BoldServices.
Copy the entire App_Data folder within BoldServices. This folder contains critical application data.
When copying the App_Data folder, you can delete unnecessary files to save space. These files can be reinstalled later.
The following file is unnecessary:
Puppeteer:
In Bold Reports, Puppeteer is used for tasks such as exporting data visualization items. Chromium packages are necessary to achieve image and PDF export functionalities in reports, schedules from Bold Reports. Without these packages, the image and PDF export options in reports and schedules will no longer be available.

You can find and delete the files at the following location:
```
{Deployed Location}\app_data\reporting\exporthelpers\
```
Note: Make sure to reinstall Puppeteer during the restore process.

Backup Database
You need to take a backup of all the databases used in Bold Reports applications. Please follow the steps below to backup the databases:

Use SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to connect to the SQL Server on Server-1.
Expand Databases and select the database(s) used by your Bold Reports applications.
Right-click on the selected database(s) and navigate to Tasks -> Back Up.
In the Back Up Database window, choose Full as the backup type and select Back up to as Disk under the Destination section.
Select the Remove button to remove the default destination location.
Click the Add button to select the destination and name for the database backup file.
Select the required folder for the backup file, enter the file name (it should be the same as the database name with a .bak extension).
Click OK to complete the backup process.

Restore

On Server-2, navigate to the Bold Reports deployment location (e.g., C:\BoldServices).
Paste the copied App_Data folder from Server-1 into this location.
During the restore, reinstall the deleted file (Puppeteer).

Note: Refer to Bold Reports documentation for installation instructions: Puppeteer.

Restore SQL Database Using SSMS

Open SSMS and connect to your database in server-2.
Right-click on Databases and select Restore Database.
In the Restore Database window, select Device under the Source section and click the Browse button.
Now Select Backup Device window will open. Select the Backup media type as File and click Add.
Select the backup file which you want to restore and click OK.
The .bak file will be listed in the Select Backup Device window. Click OK.

Update Database Connection String in Bold Reports

The database connection string in the config.xml file located at C:\BoldServices\app_data\configuration needs to be updated.
To change the database connection string, download the utility from the provided link.
Extract the zip file.
Create a new folder named app_data\configuration in the utility, as shown in the screenshot below.
Copy the config.xml and privatekeys.dat files from C:\BoldServices\app_data\configuration and paste them under adminutils-1865244183\app_data\configuration.
Navigate to the utility directory in the command prompt and run the following command:
```
Syncfusion.Server.Commands.Utility.exe dbconfig -servername “localhost” -databasename “BoldReportsMasterDatabase” -u “Admin” -p “Admin@12345” -iswindowsauthentication false -sslenabled false
```
Command details:
servername: Server hostname/IP
databasename: Database name (e.g., IDP)
u: Server username
p: Server password
iswindowsauthentication: Is Windows authentication required (optional)
sslenabled: Is an encrypted connection required (optional)
Once it runs successfully, copy the config.xml and privatekeys.dat files from adminutils-1865244183\app_data\configuration in the utility folder and replace them in Deployed location:\BoldServices\app_data\configuration on Server-2.
Check and update IP address or localhost port in the config.xml file and product.json under BoldServices\app_data\configuration on Server-2. If you are using DNS, leave it as it is since it will already be available when copying the files from server-1 to server-2.
Make sure to bind your DNS in IIS on server-2 which you have used in server-1. If it’s not used, please ignore this step.
Start the BoldReports_EnterpriseReporting application in the IIS manager.
Go to site listing page of UMS application.
Go to settings and change the site url with your domain name like below
Now, your report sites will launch with your existing data.

For more information, please refer to the documentation.

Note: To download the utility for Linux, you can use the same utility that is referred to for Windows.

How to Extract and Restore Necessary Files on a Bold Reports Windows Server

Introduction

Prerequisites

Procedure For Windows

See Also

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