How to Setup Jet Hub & Jet Service Tier for Jet Reports in D365 Business Central

Introduction:

The story starts with one of our clients who want to have Jet Report installed along with Dynamics 365 Business Central.

After procuring the licenses, the client realizes he needs to connect Jet Reports to his home PC as well which may cost an additional license cost since Jet Report uses O365/M365 and Device Details as well to register its client. This means that it is not totally remote like Business Central(SaaS). So we need something that has all the data in the center but can connect to O365 as well as re-activate once the user changes the devices.

It would have been easier if the client connected his home PC with office Azure AD, transfer the logins and AD metadata but that's unethical to some IT policies. 

So after nearly 2 weeks of back and forth, the jet team suggested using Jet Hub, and the caveat was only 5% of the companies who install Jet Reports choose this option due to its complexity.

 Meanwhile, I lost my patience and interfered thinking "How hard could it be?" as this was one of the defining moments and clearly everyone was tired of things dragging along.

So I took up this challenge and I would say that although the links helped tremendously it was not an end-to-end explanation. So enough of the intro and let's start now!
Note that, All the content provided in reference is being followed but might or might not provide you the solution Hence, I have written this blog capturing steps one by one.

Jet Report Architecture with Jet Hub

Pre-requisites:

• Understanding of IIS Web Server
• Understanding of SQL Server
• Understanding of Jet Reports
• Understanding of Azure App Registration
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
• Microsoft SQL Server & SSMS - Download Link
• Jet Reports Setup - Download Link
• Microsoft Office 365 Subscription
• Microsoft Azure
• Static IP Address for the Server
• DNS assigned to the Server

References:

• https://support.jetglobal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020223634-Installing-the-Jet-Service-Tier-Jet-Hub-with-Azure-Active-Directory
• https://support.jetglobal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042582993-Jet-Hub-Error-IDX20803-Unable-to-obtain-configuration-from-file-PII-is-hidden-
• https://olisterr.blogspot.com/2020/11/setup-jet-reports-add-in-in-excel-for.html

Demonstration:

0. Pre-installation setup:

I. Networking Setup

 i. After you get a VM / On-Premise Server ensure that wherever the clients will be, the clients can connect to the Server. It is recommended to have a  Static Public IP Address

ii. Along with the Public IP Address, the DNS is also set up and pointing towards the Server.

iii. Add port 7090,80,443 to Inbound Rules. In the below image, I have added how to add an Inbound Rule in Azure portal

In firewall settings, you can add Inbound Rule as per the below screenshot

iv. Installed SQL Server, and get SQL credentials to insert in Jet Hub / Jet Service Setup 

1. Installation of Jet Hub & Jet Service Setup:

i. Setup Azure App Registration:

Basic details -

Redirect URls:

• https://<JetHubURL>/account/logout
• https://<JetHubURL>/signin-aad
• https://<JetHubURL>/identity/signin-aad
• https://<JetHubURL>/identity/external/callback

Front-Channel Logout URL

• https://<JetHubURL>/account/logout

Client Secret

API Permissions: 
Microsoft Graph - Application Permissions

--Directory.ReadAll

--Group.ReadAll

Microsoft Graph - Delegated Permissions

--Group.ReadAll

Grant Admin Consent

Copy the Application ID and Directory ID on App Registration

ii. Installing Jet Hub and Jet Service Tier:
Run the Jet Reports setup downloaded from the link above
Accept the Agreement

After the installation is completed, go to IIS and complete the certificate binding

Now browse and sign in with the Admin Account in our Jet Hub

If for some reason you are facing login issues
- Check your DNS (Fully Qualified Domain Name) calling including ports and certificates

- Check your redirect URL in Azure App Registration

- Check if you are logged in with a different Office 365 / Microsoft 365 Account

2. Installation of Jet Clients and connection with Jet Hub & Jet Service:

• Make sure to sign in with your own account in Excel.
• Make sure to copy the Self-Signed certificate from Server and installed it in the Trusted Root Certification authority if you are not using SSL.

After you have installed Jet Client in your desktop, Open Excel and under the Jet Tab, you will find the Activate Jet Reports > Activate Jet via Service Tier

This should open up the same URL as the one it opened on Jet Hub URL, you need to sign-in. 
Sign in with the Admin Account here.

After this, you can create a DataSource refer to my blog  Jet Reports Add-In Setup for the same.
Try and Run the Jet Sample Reports to confirm connectivity. if the Jet Report Add-in asks for sign-in make sure to do with your account and not the admin account.

3. Final Outcome:

Conclusion:

If you have made it here without a doubt/ issue, Congratulations!!

This was one of the hardest blogs I had to write because of the issues faced, lessons learned and many complicated steps and core infrastructure knowledge that without a support it is difficult to make through. Hence, the purpose of this blog.

Feel free to drop any comments and don't forget to contact Jet Support if you need any help!!