How to Transition from FastReport Publisher to the Corporate Server

We have already reviewed the differences between Publisher, Corporate Server, and Cloud in the previous article. In this material, we will discuss the reasons for replacing Publisher with the Corporate Server along with a migration plan.

When is it time to move to the Corporate Server?

FastReport Publisher is a solution that is quite sufficient for a small business that does not require a large number of users, connections to multiple data sources, or scalability through Kubernetes. However, as the company grows, so do its needs for report generation and document management. New departments and branches emerge, signaling that it's time to upgrade the infrastructure.

To make sure you need more server capabilities, refer to the comparison table at this link.

Next, let’s review the steps to transition from FastReport Publisher to FastReport Corporate Server. 

Guide for Quickly Switching Between Solutions

First, you need to purchase a license for the Corporate Server and then get a new product key. You can do this in two ways:

• Fill out the form on the product page, and our manager will contact you.
• Or send an email to sales@fast-report.com, and you will quickly receive assistance in purchasing the new license.

Next, you will need to replace the key in the configuration file. Once you have the new key, add it to the appsettings.Production.json configuration file in the folder where Publisher is installed. To do this, find the “License” field in the file and set the new license key value ("License": "your new key").

The next step is to restart the service. After installing the new key, you should run the files DockerShutdownServer.bat and DockerStartServer.bat sequentially. These files contain commands to stop the service (docker-compose down) and then start it again (docker-compose up). Once these files have finished running, the Corporate Server will be accessible at the same address as before (by default https://localhost:8080) without the previous limitations.

If necessary, you can configure Kubernetes. In the previous section, the Corporate Server was run on a single computer using docker-compose. However, if you need more computing resources and greater scalability with high availability, you should migrate the solution to the Kubernetes platform or an equivalent. For instructions on setting up your reporting cluster, see the installation guide for the Corporate Server on Kubernetes.

Conclusion

We have reviewed the reasons and options for upgrading the document creation system from Publisher to the advanced version—the Corporate Server. If you encounter any difficulties or errors during the transition process, please contact our support team. Our specialists will answer all your questions and offer solutions to any problems.