Lesson 10: Presentation Reports

New User Quick Start | Web Security Solutions | Version 7.7.x


Learn what presentation reports are, and how to generate reports from report templates, and how to create custom reports.

Presentation reports offer a view into the Internet filtering information stored in the Websense Log Database. Predefined charts and tabular reports, called templates, make it easy to generate a consistent presentation of data on a particular topic, such as the categories that have been blocked the most during a particular time frame.

In networks that use delegated administration, Super Administrators control who has access to these features.

Exercise 1: Generate a report from a template

In TRITON - Web Security, go to Reporting > Presentation Reports.

In the Report Catalog tree, expand the Internet Activity heading, and select the Top Sites Visited report.

Immediately after installation, only report templates appear in the tree. If the software has been in use for some time, the tree may also include:

Favorite reports (marked with a star)

Custom reports

Click Run at the top or bottom of the list.

Fill out the Run Report page as follows:


Field	Description
Start date End date	Leave the default dates, which define a report covering the current day's activities.
Output format	Select HTML to display the finished report in the browser window.
Top N	Leave the default setting of 10. (This reports on the top 10 sites.)

Deselect Schedule the report to run in the background. The report will be generated in a pop-up window in the foreground.


	Tip It is usually most efficient to run reports in the background. You can opt to receive email notification when the report is complete, and use the Presentation Reports > Review Reports page to access the report.

Click Run.

Websense software displays a progress window while it gathers the appropriate records from the Log Database, and then prompts you to display the report in a new window.

Exercise 2: Create a custom report and edit its filter

Select Presentation Reports in the left navigation pane, and then select the Top Sites Visited report under Internet Activity.

Click the Save As button.

In the Save As New Report page, change the Report catalog name to New Top 5 Sites Visited. This name appears on the Presentation Reports page.

Click Save and Edit to display the Edit Report page, where you can customize the elements of the report.

Accept the default (all items reported), and click Next to move through the Clients, Categories, Protocols, and Actions tabs.

When generating future reports you can use these tabs to fine-tune the content of the report.

In the Options tab, change the Show only top setting to 5 to have the report show only the top 5 sites visited. Then, click Next.

In the Confirm tab, select Save and run, and then click Finish.

On the Run Report page, set the Output format to HTML, deselect Run the report in the background, and then click Run.

Websense software gathers the appropriate records from the Log Database, and displays the report in a new window.

The changes you made in the report filter are saved with the new report. The new name appears on the Presentation Reports page. Any time you choose this report to run, it uses the filter you defined.

Exercise 3: Configure distribution for scheduled reports

A few basic settings must be configured before you can schedule presentation reports for distribution. If these settings have already been configured, skip to Exercise 4.

If they have not been configured and you are a Super Administrator, you can perform the configuration. Otherwise, ask a Super Administrator to perform the configuration before you continue with Exercise 4.

In TRITON - Web Security, go to Settings and click Reporting in the left navigation pane.

Click Preferences.

Enter the Email address from which reports should be sent.

Enter the IP address or name of the email server that will distribute scheduled reports to their email recipients in the SMTP server IP or name field.

Click Save Now to implement the changes.

Exercise 4: Schedule reports to run periodically

Click the Main tab, and then go to Reporting > Presentation Reports.

Click Scheduler in the toolbar at the top of the page.

Use the Schedule Report tab to set the following options. Then, click Next.

Job name: Test

Recurrence Pattern: Daily

Schedule time: 10 minutes from your current system time

Schedule Period: End after 2 occurrences

In the Select Reports tab, select the New Top 5 Sites Visited report and click the right arrow (>) to move it to the Selected list. Click Next.

In the Date Range tab, select Relative Dates from the drop-down list, and then select Last 2 and Day(s). Click Next.

In the Output tab, set the following:

File format: PDF

Recipient email addresses (Cc): enter your own email address

Click Save Job to save and implement the schedule.

Starting in 10 minutes, Websense software gathers the appropriate records from the Log Database, and creates the report as a PDF file. It then sends you the PDF file via email. The report will be generated twice: today and tomorrow.

Continue with Lesson 11: Investigative Reports.