Running Bold Reports on a Web Server and Integrating with a .NET API Website

Overview

This article explains how Bold Reports runs on a web server and how it can be integrated into a .NET API website to render reports programmatically.

Does Bold Reports Run on a Web Server?

Yes. Bold Reports is designed to run on a web server. It is a web-based reporting solution built on ASP.NET Core and ASP.NET MVC frameworks. It can be hosted on IIS, Kestrel, or any other compatible web server environment.

Integration with a .NET API Website

If you have a .NET API website and want to render reports using Bold Reports, you can integrate reporting using the following approaches.

1. Deployment Options

Option 1: Report Server Deployment

Host Bold Reports Server separately and access reports using REST APIs.

Architecture Diagram

Option 2: Embedded Reporting

Integrate the Bold Reports Viewer and Report Designer directly into your .NET application.

Architecture Diagram

2. Rendering Reports via APIs

Bold Reports provides a Report Viewer API that allows you to:

Load and render reports dynamically
Pass parameters to reports
Export reports to formats such as PDF, Excel, and Word
Handle authentication and authorization

3. Steps to Integrate

Step 1: Install Bold Reports SDK

Add the required Bold Reports NuGet packages to your .NET project.

Step 2: Configure the Report Viewer

Use the Report Viewer component in your Razor Pages or MVC views.

Configure the required properties such as:

ReportPath
ServiceUrl
ProcessingMode (if applicable)

Step 3: Use REST APIs

Bold Reports exposes REST endpoints for:

Report rendering
Exporting reports
Managing report definitions

Step 4: Configure Authentication

Secure API access using one of the following methods:

OAuth
JWT
Custom token-based authentication

Use Case Example

Suppose you have a .NET Core Web API that serves business data. You can:

Call the Bold Reports API to render reports based on that data
Return the generated report as a downloadable file
Embed the report inside a frontend application

Benefits of API-Based Integration

Scalability: Decouples reporting from core business logic
Flexibility: Enables on-demand report generation using dynamic data
Automation: Allows reports to be scheduled or triggered through backend workflows

Conclusion

Bold Reports is fully compatible with web server environments and can be seamlessly integrated into .NET API websites. Whether you choose embedded reporting or server-based report rendering using APIs, Bold Reports provides a flexible and enterprise-ready reporting solution.