File IQ Reporting

  • Updated on Jul 16, 2025
  • Published on May 23, 2025
  • 18 minute(s) read
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Overview

The Nasuni File IQ Reporting feature offers valuable datasets and insights into Nasuni volumes that are not accessible through the existing dashboard-based experience of Nasuni File IQ.

This Reporting feature includes the following capabilities:

  • Reporting on volume metadata and activity state

  • PDF, CSV, and ZIP archive report output

  • Scheduled and ad-hoc report execution

  • Persistence of report output to a user-configured volume location

  • Report download via the Nasuni Edge Appliance Web Access UI

  • Configurable email notifications as reports become available

  • Support for reporting on selected volumes only

Terminology

Audit Event: A representation of a file operation on an NEA. For example, a create, read, write, rename, delete, or move event, along with the associated metadata.

Filesystem Metadata: Filesystem metadata describes a file or directory rather than its content. This includes details such as the file name, size, type, disk location, timestamps (creation, modification, and access times), ownership, and permissions.

Nasuni Edge Appliance (NEA): The virtual or physical appliance that integrates with your infrastructure via CIFS (SMB), NFS, FTP/SFTP, or HTTPS/REST protocols. The Nasuni Edge Appliance can be mapped as a network drive.

Nasuni Edge Appliance (NEA) Configuration UI: Port 8443. The Web-based graphical user interface with which you configure and manage the Nasuni Edge Appliance. The Nasuni Edge Appliance user interface is accessible with supported Web browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome.

Nasuni Edge Appliance (NEA) Web Access UI: Port 443. The Web Access user interface used for downloading reports.

File IQ: The virtual appliance that monitors the file usage on the NEAs, generates business knowledge from that usage, and allows you to access that insight.

Nasuni Management Console (NMC): The Web-accessible appliance with which you can configure and manage multiple Nasuni Edge Appliances. The Nasuni Management Console is accessible with supported Web browsers, including Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome.

Share/export: An access point to a directory on a volume that can be shared or exported on your network. Access to a CIFS (SMB) share can be customized on a user-level or group-level basis. You can create many shares or exports on a volume for different purposes or audiences.

Volume: A set of files and directories. Volume protocols include CIFS (SMB), NFS, and FTP/SFTP.

Report Intervals and Scheduled Execution

Each report type has a fixed weekly or monthly schedule that executes in the local time zone of the Nasuni File IQ Appliance.

The following table lists the execution time for both the weekly and monthly reports:

Report Interval

Execution Time

Weekly

Every Sunday at 6AM

Monthly

First Saturday of the month at 6AM

Note: File IQ Administrators can execute a report at any time using the Nasuni File IQ Appliance Edge UI Report Management view.

Reporting Periods

Volume activity reports are temporal, characterizing activity (audit event) data over a period of time.

The period for which a Volume Activity report executes is dictated by its interval - weekly or monthly:

  • A weekly report captures data for the previous week

  • A monthly report captures data for the previous month

Weekly Reports

The following example shows that a weekly activity report, regardless of the day it is generated, always reflects activities from the previous week:

Monthly Reports

The following example shows that a monthly activity report, regardless of the day it is generated, always reflects activities from the previous month:

Report Data Retention and History

Report files stored in the designated report volume and path are retained indefinitely.

You can view the execution history of these reports on the Grafana Report History Dashboard for up to one year. After that, older history is automatically removed on a daily basis.

Status Page

When the Reporting feature is enabled, the Nasuni File IQ Status page performs checks on several health aspects, including:

  • Nasuni File IQ Reporting Service health

  • Report volume configuration and state

  • Report path configuration and state

  • Report execution failures during the previous 24 hours

Configuration

To enable the Reporting feature, the File IQ Appliance administrator must complete the following tasks:

  • Configure a report volume

  • Configure a report directory

  • Enable reporting

  • Enable the individual File IQ reports

This section describes the process of each task.

Configuring a Report Volume

To enable the Reporting feature, a volume must be configured and designated as the report volume. Report files are available in PDF, CSV, and ZIP formats and are stored in a defined report path on this volume.

Customers can access reports through CIFS shares or NFS exports. Additionally, CIFS shares can be set up to download reports directly from the Nasuni Web Access user interface.

Note: If you are creating a CIFS volume and want to utilize the Web Access feature, you must create a reporting share.

This section describes how to configure a CIFS or an NFS report volume.

Configuring a Report Volume for Multiple File IQ Appliances

When sharing a report volume among multiple File IQ Appliances, configure a dedicated report path for each appliance.

For instance, if setting up a shared report volume for the appliances niq-docs-1 and niq-docs-2, configure the report staging directories as follows: /nasuni/reports/niq-docs-1 and /nasuni/reports/niq-docs-2.

Create and secure these directories before enabling the Report feature on each appliance.

Report Path

PDF, CSV, and ZIP report archive files are stored on a designated report volume. Reports are saved within this volume under a specified report path. The File IQ Administrator configures both the report volume and the report path. Important considerations for setting up report paths are documented in Configuring a Report Volume for Multiple File IQ Appliances. Additional subdirectories are automatically created under the report path for each individual report. The structure of these directories varies depending on the report type and interval.

Weekly Report Path

The weekly report path indicates the effective date of the report execution.

This path is structured as follows:

  • The configured report path, where all reports are staged.

  • The year component of the report’s effective date.

  • The month component of the report’s effective date.

  • A directory for the week.

  • The week number component of the report’s effective date, which represents the week number in the month (ranging from 1 to 6).

  • The output artifact filename consists of the report name along with the scheduling timestamp.

Monthly Report Path

The path for the monthly report indicates the effective date of the report execution.

It includes the following components:

  • The configured report path is where all reports are stored.

  • The year corresponding to the report’s effective date.

  • The month corresponding to the report’s effective date.

  • The output artifact filename consists of the report name along with the scheduling timestamp.

Configuring a CIFS Report Volume

To configure a CIFS report volume, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the NMC UI.

  2. Click the Volumes tab.

  3. From the left side menu, click Create Volume.

  4. Use the Target Filer drop-down to select the target filer.
    Important: The volume must be owned by an Edge Appliance and not the File IQ appliance itself.

  5. Click the Protocol drop-down and select CIFS (Windows clients).

  6. Use the Name field to enter a volume name.

  7. Use the Cloud Provider drop-down to select a cloud provider.

  8. Ensure that Create a default Share/Export is checked so that you can later on mount this volume on your workstation in order to create the report staging directory.

  9. Ensure that Authenticated Access displays in the User Authentication drop-down.

  10. Click Create Volume.

  11. Click Remote Access.

  12. Check the box for your new report volume and click Edit 1 Volume.

  13. Click the button to enable remote access and set the Remote Access Permissions to Read/Write.

    Note: Configuring a report volume as read/write is the exception to existing recommendations regarding the exclusive use of read-only volumes with Nasuni File IQ Appliances.

    Note: Volume-related health checks may temporarily fail until the Read/Write volume is configured as the Reporting Volume at the Nasuni File IQ Appliance Edge UI.

  14. Click Save Remote Access Settings.

  15. From the left-side menu, click Connect Volume.

  16. Under Actions and in the row corresponding to the new volume, click the corresponding Edit Connections.

  17. Using the pop-up box:

    1. Check the File IQ Appliance from the Filers list.

    2. Using the Storage Access drop-down, select Skip creating storage access points.

    3. In the Inherit Settings section, disable the Inherit Pinning/Auto Cache Settings and enable Inherit Snapshot Schedule Settings and Inherit Sync Schedule Settings.

    4. Click Save Connections.

      Note: After configuring the connected volume as the Report Volume, synchronization occurs every ten minutes.

  18. Create a report staging directory. These steps vary depending on your environment and organizational policies; however, they consist of the following steps:

    1. Mount the volume to a host.

    2. Create the staging directory (or directories).

    3. Configure the appropriate permissions for the staging directory. This typically involves setting CIFS permissions that grant access to a set of designated users or groups.

      Important: Files written to this path are created with world-readable permissions, so security must be enforced at the directory level. Apply permissions appropriate to your organization to ensure only authorized users have access.

      Note: If sharing the volume between multiple Nasuni File IQ Appliances, apply the recommended directory naming strategy.

  19. Configure a snapshot schedule for the reporting volume.

    1. Navigate to the NMC UI.

    2. Click the Volumes tab.

    3. From the left-side navigation, click Snapshot Schedule.

    4. From the list, expand the report volume and select the File IQ Appliance. Click Edit Volumes.

    5. Under Snapshot Schedule, use the following options to set the snapshot schedule.

      1. To copy settings from another volume, select the volume from the Copy Settings drop-down list. The settings from that volume appear in the dialog box.

      2. To select or deselect all days for snapshots to occur, click Select/Deselect All.

      3. Select the Days for snapshots to occur (for example, Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday).

      4. To specify snapshots 24 hours a day, select the All Day check box.

      5. If you do not select All Day, select the time to start initiating snapshots from the Start drop-down list.

      6. If you do not select All Day, select the time to stop initiating snapshots from the Stop drop-down list. The Stop time indicates the time after which snapshots are no longer scheduled, not the time at which all snapshots stop running. If a snapshot is already running when the Stop time is reached, the snapshot continues. Also, if there are any snapshots in the queue behind the currently running snapshot, those snapshots also run.

      7. Select the frequency for snapshots from the Frequency drop-down list. If the volume does not have Remote Access enabled, your choices are 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours. If the volume does have Remote Access enabled, your choices are 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, or 30 minutes, or 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours.

        Note: Volumes that do not have remote access enabled only have Frequency options of hours, not minutes. For snapshots more frequent than 1 per hour, enable remote access for the volume.

    6. Click Save Configuration.

  20. Disabling the sync schedule for the reporting volume by following these steps:

    Note: The sync schedule for the reporting volume is managed internally by the File IQ Appliance.

    1. Click Volumes.

    2. Click Sync Schedule.

      The Sync Schedule pane appears.

    3. Select the report volume.

    4. Expand the volume's list to display the associated NEAs and File IQ Appliances.

    5. Select only the File IQ Appliance on which you are configuring reporting.

    6. Click Edit Volumes.

      The Sync Schedule dialog box appears.

    7. Click Select/Deselect all until all of the Days turn from colored to grey.

    8. Click Save Schedule.

      The changes are saved.

      The changes might take up to 10 minutes to apply.

Configuring the Reporting Share

CIFS volume shares support the Web Access feature, allowing authenticated users to access generated reports through a web browser and the Nasuni Appliance Edge Web Access UI. Once configured, download links become available in the following locations:

  • The Report Management page on the File IQ Appliance Edge UI

  • The Report History dashboard on the File IQ Appliance Grafana UI

  • Report ready Alert Email notifications

To configure the reporting share, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the NMC UI.

  2. Click the Volumes tab.

  3. From the left-side menu, click Shares.

  4. Click Create Share.
     

  5. In the Filer field, click the drop-down and select the File IQ Appliance.

    Note: Ensure that the File IQ Appliance is selected and not the Nasuni Edge Appliance (NEA).

  6. In the Volume field, click the dropdown and select the CIFS volume.

  7. Click the Folder field and select the staging directory previously created.

  8. Scroll down and click the Web Access checkbox.

  9. (Optional) To configure report download links, see Configuring Report Download Links.

  10. Click Create Share.

Configuring an NFS Report Volume

To configure an NFS report volume, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the NMC UI.

  2. Click the Volumes tab.

  3. From the left side menu, click Create Volume.

  4. Use the Target Filer drop-down to select the target filer.
    Important: The volume must be owned by an Edge Appliance and not the File IQ appliance itself.

  5. Click the Protocol drop-down and select NFS (Unix clients).

  6. Use the Name field to enter a volume name.

  7. Use the Cloud Provider drop-down to select a cloud provider.

  8. Use the Credentials drop-down to select cloud provider credentials.

  9. Ensure that Create a default Share/Export is checked so that you can later on mount this volume on your workstation in order to create the report staging directory.

  10. Click Create Volume.

  11. Click Remote Access.

  12. Check the box for your new report volume and click Edit 1 Volume.

  13. Click the button to enable remote access and set the Remote Access Permissions to Read/Write.

    Note: Configuring a report volume as read/write is the exception to existing recommendations regarding the exclusive use of read-only volumes with Nasuni File IQ Appliances.

    Note: Volume-related health checks may temporarily fail until the Read/Write volume is configured as the Reporting Volume at the Nasuni File IQ Appliance Edge UI. Completing the Reporting configuration addresses this situation, as it automatically corrects at the next daily volume scan.

  14. Click Save Remote Access Settings.

  15. From the left-side menu, click Connect Volume.

  16. Under Actions and in the row corresponding to the new volume, click the corresponding Edit Connections.

  17. Using the pop-up box:

    1. Check the File IQ Appliance from the Filers list.

    2. Using the Storage Access drop-down, select Skip creating storage access points.

    3. In the Inherit Settings section, disable the Inherit Pinning/Auto Cache Settings and enable Inherit Snapshot Schedule Settings and Inherit Sync Schedule Settings.

    4. Click Save Connections.

      Note: After configuring the connected volume as the Report Volume, synchronization occurs every ten minutes.

  18. Create a report staging directory. These steps vary depending on your environment and organizational policies; however, they consist of the following steps:

    1. Mount the volume to a host.

    2. Create the staging directory (or directories).

    3. Configure the appropriate permissions for the staging directory. This typically involves setting NFS permissions that grant access to a set of designated users or groups.

      Important: Files written to this path are created with world-readable permissions, so security must be enforced at the directory level. Apply permissions appropriate to your organization to ensure only authorized users have access.

      Note: If sharing the volume between multiple Nasuni File IQ Appliances, apply the following directory naming strategy.

  19. Configure the snapshot schedule for the reporting volume.

    1. Navigate to the NMC UI.

    2. Click the Volumes tab.

    3. From the left-side navigation, click Snapshot Schedule.

    4. From the list, expand the report volume and select the File IQ Appliance. Click Edit Volumes.

    5. Under Snapshot Schedule, use the following options to set the snapshot schedule.

      1. To copy settings from another volume, select the volume from the Copy Settings drop-down list. The settings from that volume appear in the dialog box.

      2. To select or deselect all days for snapshots to occur, click Select/Deselect All.

      3. Select the Days for snapshots to occur (for example, Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday).

      4. To specify snapshots 24 hours a day, select the All Day check box.

      5. If you do not select All Day, select the time to start initiating snapshots from the Start drop-down list.

      6. If you do not select All Day, select the time to stop initiating snapshots from the Stop drop-down list. The Stop time indicates the time after which snapshots are no longer scheduled, not the time at which all snapshots stop running. If a snapshot is already running when the Stop time is reached, the snapshot continues. Also, if there are any snapshots in the queue behind the currently running snapshot, those snapshots also run.

      7. Select the frequency for snapshots from the Frequency drop-down list. If the volume does not have Remote Access enabled, your choices are 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours. If the volume does have Remote Access enabled, your choices are 1, 5, 10, 15, 25, or 30 minutes, or 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, or 24 hours.

        Note: Volumes that do not have remote access enabled only have Frequency options of hours, not minutes. For snapshots more frequent than 1 per hour, enable remote access for the volume.

    6. Click Save Schedule.

Enabling the Reporting Feature

Important

In order to enable the reporting feature, wait for the newly created report staging directory to be replicated to the File IQ appliance.
You can use the NMC to check the Last Snapshot on the NEA where you created the directory and the File IQ appliance.

For example, the screenshot below demonstrates that the reports volume is still being pushed to the cloud from the etg-nea NEA, and therefore the etg-niq-test File IQ appliance does not yet have the latest version of this volume.

After configuring both the report volume and report path, enable the Reporting feature.

To enable the Reporting feature, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the File IQ UI.

  2. Click the Configuration tab and select Reporting Configuration.

  3. Check the Enable Reporting box.

  4. Click the Report Volume drop-down and select the volume where reports are staged.

  5. Click the Report Path drop-down and enter the path where reports are staged.

  6. (Optional) In the Report Footer field, enter the footer text included on generated reports.

  7. Click Test & Save.

Enabling Individual File IQ Reports

Once the report volume, path, and reporting features are enabled, activate the individual File IQ reports. Each report shares a similar configuration, including an enablement checkbox and volume selection.

Go to the File IQ Available Reports page for more information about each File IQ report, its configuration, and functionality.

Configuring Report Download Links

Report download links are only available for CIFS volumes and display in the following locations:

  • The Report Management page on the File IQ Appliance Edge UI

  • The Report History Dashboard on the File IQ Appliance Grafana UI

  • Report Ready Alert Email notification

All report download links target the File IQ Appliance host, which makes report details available via Web Access on the File IQ Appliance. The hostname used in the links is the appliance’s fully qualified hostname by default, but can be overridden at the Nasuni Management Console by configuring CIFS Share Web Access Settings.

Important: For all configurations, clients must be able to resolve the hostname in report download links to the File IQ Appliance IP address.

Hostname Configuration

Configure the File IQ Appliance hostname using one of the following methods:

DHCP Configuration: Ensure that your DHCP server is set up to assign a hostname that corresponds to the IP address of the File IQ Appliance that serves the download links.

Hostname Configuration: Manually set the appliance's hostname. Ensure you update your DNS records accordingly so clients can resolve the hostname to the correct IP address.

Web Access External Hostname Configuration

When the appliance hostname is unsuitable for report links - whether due to DNS resolution issues, internal network constraints, firewall restrictions, or other environmental factors - use the External Hostname property of Web Access Settings to override it.

The CIFS volume must have Authenticated Access for this configuration to be available.

The following fields are inconsequential when using this configuration:

  • Maximum Expiration

  • Require Password

  • Allow Writable Shared Links to Directories

  • Shared Link Permissions

When configured, report download links no longer target the Nasuni File IQ hostname. Instead, they use the external hostname.

Configuring Report Ready Email Alerts

Nasuni File IQ sends Report Ready alerts via email to designated users after a report runs successfully. The recipient list is configured in the Nasuni Management Console.

This section describes the process of creating a dedicated group for Report Ready email alerts, or alternatively, enabling an existing group to be notified.

Creating a Dedicated Group for Report Ready Email Alerts

To configure a dedicated Report Ready email alerts group, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate the NMC UI.

  2. Click the Console Settings tab.

  3. From the left side menu, click the Users/Groups option.

  4. Click Manage Groups.

  5. Click Add Group.

  6. Enter a Group Name.

  7. For Access Type, select User Interface Access.

  8. In the Filer Permissions section, ensure that Receive Filer alert emails is selected.

  9. In the Email Subscriptions section, deselect Receive all alerts and select Nasuni File IQ Report Ready Alerts.

  10. (Optional) To configure alerts for users who are not in the system, add their email addresses to the Extra Emails field.

  11. In the Filer Access section, grant access to the Nasuni File IQ Appliance.

  12. Click Add Group to finish.

Enabling Report Ready Email Alerts for an Existing Group

To enable Report Ready email alerts for an existing group, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate the NMC UI.

  2. Click the Console Settings tab.

  3. From the left side menu, click the Users/Groups option.

  4. Click Manage Groups.

  5. For every group receiving File IQ Report Ready alerts, click the edit icon.

  6. In the Filer Permissions section, ensure that Receive Filer alert emails is selected.

    Note: If Manage all aspects of the Filer is selected, Nasuni File IQ Report Ready Alerts is implicitly selected.

  7. In the Email Subscriptions section, select Nasuni File IQ Report Ready Alerts.

  8. (Optional) To configure alerts for users who are not in the system, add their email addresses to the Extra Emails field.

    Note: Individuals added to this field receive alerts for all configured alert types. If this is not desirable, consider creating a dedicated group for reporting alerts.

  9. Click Save Group.

Operational Usage

This section outlines the different functionalities of File IQ Reporting that can be used after configuration.

Report Management

The Report Management View at the File IQ Appliance Edge UI provides the following:

  • The most recent state of all reports

  • Ad-hoc report Execution

  • Report Cancellation

  • Report Download

To access the Report Management interface, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the File IQ UI.

  2. Click the Reporting tab and select Report Management.

    The Nasuni File IQ Report Management interface opens.

This view provides functionality similar to that of the Grafana Report History Dashboard. A key difference is that it allows Nasuni File IQ Administrators to execute reports at any time and manage report queues by cancelling running reports.

Ad-hoc Report Execution

To execute an ad-hoc report, check the box located next to it and click Execute Now.

Cancelling an Ad-hoc Report

To cancel an ad hoc report after it has been executed, check the box next to it and click Cancel Now.

Resetting the File IQ Reporting Configuration

Resetting the Reporting feature configuration initiates the following changes:

  • The Reporting feature is disabled

  • The report volume configuration is reset

  • The report path resets to /nasuni/reports

  • The report footer text resets to Nasuni File IQ Reporting

To reset the Reporting feature to the default configuration, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the File IQ UI.

  2. Click the Configuration tab and select Reporting Configuration.

  3. Click Reset to Default.

  4. In the Confirmation Phrase text box enter the value Reset Reporting Configuration.

  5. Click Confirm.

    A notification dialog appears in the top right of the page confirming the reset action with the text Reporting configuration reset successfully.

    The Reporting feature is reset.

Disabling Reporting

To disable the Reporting feature, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the File IQ UI.

  2. Click the Configuration tab and select Reporting Configuration.

  3. Uncheck the Enable Reporting box.

  4. Click Test & Save.

    A notification dialog appears in the top right of the page confirming the save action with the text Reporting configuration saved successfully.

    The Reporting feature is disabled.

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