Using the Managed Reporting JSP Login Page
By Susan Trommer
It has come to my attention recently that people using the WebFOCUS Managed Reporting applet interface do so through the HTML login page, http://server:port/ibi_html/workbnch/mrlogon.htm, not the JSP login page that has been available since Release 7.1.
Why? The HTML login page is the one your fingers know or that you have bookmarked in your browser. You may also have applications that have a link to access Managed Reporting and you don’t pay any mind to what URL is being submitted.
Why switch to the Managed Reporting JSP login page? The JSP login page makes it easier to configure Managed Reporting security because you don’t have to manually manipulate HTML and XML settings to produce the desired behavior.
As of Release 7.1 the JSP login pages for Managed Reporting Applet,
Dashboard and Change Management call a servlet that uses an API function
to determine the security configuration of the installation. By ultimately
reading the Realm Driver configuration file (mrrealm.cfg) the
API determines if the login page should be
- Rendered with a “Change Password” button (the default).
- Rendered without the “Change Password” button (certain external authentication scenarios).
- Bypassed completely (when web server sign-on integration is configured).
Another reason to make the change to the Managed Reporting JSP login page sooner than later is the next major WebFOCUS new feature release, after the 7.6.x releases, will not include the Managed Reporting HTML login pages. This decision has been made to reduce the entry points for Managed Reporting so resources can be dedicated to strategic product initiatives.
If you are licensed for Managed Reporting and haven’t used the JSP login page, the URL is http://host:port/ibi_apps/login/mr/mr_login.jsp
Where:
- http is the protocol which could also be ‘https’. The value should be the same as what you used for the MR HTML login pages.
- host:port is the value for the application server and port on which the WF Client is deployed. The values are the same as you used for the Managed Reporting HTML login page.
- ibi_apps is the default URL context for the WebFOCUS Client web application. This value can be customized, so check with your site WebFOCUS Administrator to confirm what value to use.
To start using the JSP login page for the Managed Reporting Applet
you can open a browser and enter the full URL to the JSP login page
or you can save your fingers some typing and enter http://server:port/ibi_apps/ to
access the WebFOCUS Welcome page.
Within the WebFOCUS Welcome page’s Dashboard and Managed Reporting
section, select Managed Reporting (Applet) Interface, which submits
the URL to the JSP login page.
The next phase of your evaluation for changing to use the JSP login page is to confirm if your site has made any customizations to the HTML login page. If you have made customizations to the HTML login page, review them to determine whether they will need to be migrated to the JSP login page.
Customizations to the HTML login page have to be manually migrated so you will need a resource that knows JSP or someone who is eager to learn. If you have difficulty migrating your customizations, contact customer support and we will do our best to assist you.
