Barracuda Report Creator

With the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator, you can customize reports on Barracuda NextGen X-Series Firewalls with the statistics and logs that are collected on the appliances. If you want to generate a collective report for multiple X-Series Firewalls, you can organize the appliances into consolidation groups. The report content is fully configurable and can provide the following information:

• The activities of a specific user or IP address.
• Most blocked and allowed URL categories.
• Most blocked and allowed application categories.
• Application usage.

You generate a report by combining templates that specify what appliances or consolidation groups are included in the report, the type of information to include in the report, how the report is formatted, and how the report should be delivered. You can either use predefined templates or customize your own templates.

Set Up and Generate a Report

Step 1. Install the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator

To configure reporting for X-Series Firewalls, you must install the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator:

1. Go to BASIC > Administration
2. In the Reporting section, select Yes to Enable Reporting.
3. Click Save.
4. Click Download Barracuda Report Creator.
5. After the download finishes, install the application.

Step 2. Add Your Barracuda NextGen X-Series Firewalls

In the Appliances section of the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator, create an entry for every X-Series Firewall that you want to generate a report for. In each entry, specify the settings for connecting to the appliance.

1. Click the Templates tab.
2. In the Appliances section in the left pane, click the plus sign ().

3. Select Barracuda X Series Firewall from the Type list.

4. Enter the Management IP or Hostname of the X-Series Firewall.
5. Enter the Login and Password.
   
6. Click Test Connection to verify that the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator can connect to the appliance.
7. Click Save.
   

If you are creating reports for a large number of firewalls, sort them into Consolidation Groups:

1. Click the Templates tab.
2. In the left menu, click Consolidation Groups. 
3. For every consolidation group that you want to create:
   
   1. Click the plus sign ().
   2. Right-click the group name, select rename, and enter an appropriate name.
   3. In the Consolidation Group "Group name" section, select the X-Series Firewalls you want to add and click the right arrow icon to add them to the Appliances in this Group list.
       
4. Click Save. 

The Barracuda NextGen Report Creator is now configured to create reports containing the selected data from your X-Series Firewalls.

Step 3. Configure Report Data

The Report Data templates specify the type of information included in the report. The following predefined report types are available:

• Top Applications – Create reports summarizing the usage of applications. By default, the top 25 applications are displayed, covering the last 7 days. Settings can be changed in the template. 
• Top Allowed Applications – Create reports summarizing the usage of allowed applications. By default, the top 25 applications are displayed, covering the last 7 days.
• Top Blocked Applications – Create reports summarizing the access of blocked applications. By default, the top 25 applications are displayed, covering the last 7 days.
• Top URL Categories & Websites – Create reports summarizing accessed URL categories and websites. By default, the top 25 accessed URLs are displayed, covering the last 7 days.
• Top Allowed URL Categories & Websites – Create reports summarizing the top 25 allowed URL categories and websites.
• Top Blocked URL Categories & Websites – Create reports summarizing the top 25 access attempts to URL categories and websites that have been blocked by the X-Series Firewall.
• Application Usage and Risks – Create reports summarizing used applications and risks covering the last 7 days.

1. Click the Templates tab.
2. In the left menu, click Report Data.
3. To modify the settings, select the predefined report in the Report Data section.
4. Change the settings as necessary. For example, change the time span, or enable Source IP Address Anonymization if you do not want to include the source address in the report.
   
5. Click Save.

The template is available for selection when configuring the report. If you need information in your report that is not provided by the predefined reports, you can create your own custom report. For more information, see How to Create Custom Reports.

Step 4. Configure the Report Layout

Create a Report Layouts template to configure how the report is displayed.

1. Click the Templates tab.
2. In the left menu, click Layouts.
3. Either select the Standard Layout default template, or create a new template by clicking the plus sign ().
4. Right-click the template name, select rename, and enter a name.
5. Configure the following settings for the layout:
   
   • Report Title – The heading text that is displayed on the first page of the report.
   • Front Page Logo – The larger image that is displayed on the first page of the report. This image must be in PNG format. Your custom logo image is not automatically resized. Use images with a maximum width of 500 pixels.
   • Header Logo – The small logo that is displayed in the headline. This image must be in PNG format and have a maximum height of 44 pixels. The custom header image is automatically resized to 155 X 44 pixels. Upload it in multiples of these values to get the best results.
   • Page Size – The print page size.
   • Font Name – The font used in the report.
   • Font Size – The size of the font for the continuous text. Headlines have a fixed size that cannot be changed.
      
6. Click Save.

Step 5. Configure Report Delivery

Create a Deliveries template to specify how the reports are delivered. You can either store reports in a local directory or email the reports.

1. Click the Templates tab.
2. In the left menu, click Delivery. 
3. Click the plus sign ().
4. Right-click the template name, select rename, and enter an appropriate description.
5. To store the reports in a local directory, select FILE from the Type list and then configure the following settings:
   
   • Filename – The report's file name. When the report is generated, a time stamp is appended to the report name. For example, report_2013_08_06_09_53_50.pdf
   • Folder – The folder where the reports are saved.
      
6. To email reports, select EMAIL from the Type list and then configure the following settings:
   
   • Sender – The sender email address.
   • Recipient(s) – The email addresses that should receive the report. Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon (;).
   • Mail Text – (Optional) Text for the email body.
   • Server Address – The IP address of the email server.
   • Port – The SMTP port on the email server to connect to. Common default values are:
     
     • 25 – Anonymous sending.
     • 587 – TLS authenticated sending.
   • Force TLS encryption – Enables authenticating at the email server, with the username and password configured below. This option requires a valid Sender Address.
   • Use anonymous authentication – Allows use of the email server without a username and password. This option does not require a valid Sender Address.
   • User Name and Password – If required, the credentials to authenticate on the email server.
7. Click Save.

Step 6. Generate a Report

After setting up the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator, you can generate a report.

1. Click the Reports tab on the upper left of the window.
2. In the Reports section in the left menu, click the plus sign ().
3. Left-click the template name, select rename, and enter a name for the report.
4. In the Content section of the main pane, repeat the following steps for each appliance or consolidation group you want to add to the report: 
   
   1. In the Appliances section, click the plus sign () and then select the consolidation group or appliance.
   2. In the Data for "your appliance name" section, click the plus sign () and then select the types of reports that you want to generate.
5. Select the Layout from the list. 
6. In the Delivery section, click the plus sign () and then select the delivery method you previously configured:
   • EMAIL – Sends the report to the email address specified in the Deliveries template.
   • FILE – Saves the report in the location path specified in the Deliveries template
7. Click Save.

Step 7. Run the Report

Click Run Now to generate the report. The report is sent to your desktop or delivered via email, depending on the configuration of the selected Deliveries template.

Step 7. Automate Report Creation

To automate the reporting, schedule a task and specify how often the report is generated.

1. Click the Reports tab.
2. In the left pane, select a report.
3. Click Schedule .
4. In the Schedule Task for Report Delivery window, specify the delivery times for the report and enter the password for your Windows user.
   
5. To open the Windows Task Scheduler, click Create Custom Task. Barracuda NextGen Report Creator tasks are stored in the BarracudaNGReportCreator subfolder.
   
6. Click OK . Your scheduling task is created in the Windows Task Scheduler.
7. Save your configurations.

Using keyboard shortcuts

You can use various keyboard shortcuts within the Barracuda NextGen Report Creator: