Skip to content
eSHARS Operations

INFRA-0004: Dual App Setting Keys for MvcReportViewer

Status

Accepted

Date

2026-03-25

Context

When updating App Service settings to change the SSRS URL, updating only the camelCase key (MvcReportViewerReportServerUrl) did not fully fix report viewing. Investigation revealed two distinct keys are required:

Key 1 — dot-notation: MvcReportViewer.ReportServerUrl

  • Read by the MvcReportViewer NuGet package (v0.8.3) at runtime
  • Used to render the MvcReportViewer.aspx page (the iframe host)

Key 2 — camelCase: MvcReportViewerReportServerUrl

  • Read by C# code in ReportsController, SAFormService, and ReferralFormService
  • Used when constructing SSRS URLs programmatically

Both keys must resolve to the same SSRS base URL. If only one is updated, some report paths work and others don’t — creating a confusing partial failure.

This is not a pattern we chose — it’s a constraint of the MvcReportViewer package and the existing C# code. The package uses dot-notation because Azure App Service historically didn’t support dots in setting names (it does now, but the package predates that). The C# code uses camelCase, likely added later without awareness of the package’s own key.

Decision

Always update both keys together when changing the SSRS URL. Treat them as a pair. Document this requirement explicitly wherever the configuration is referenced.

There is no value in consolidating to one key without a code change to the C# consumers and/or a MvcReportViewer package upgrade. That work is out of scope and would require testing across all report types.

Consequences

Positive

  • Operators are aware of the dual-key requirement before making changes — prevents partial failures
  • Both keys are documented with their sources

Negative

  • Two settings must always be kept in sync — operational overhead
  • Easy to miss if someone doesn’t read the documentation

Where These Keys Live

EnvironmentKey StoreNotes
nonprod slots (dev, qa, reg, uat)Azure App Service application settingsSet directly
trn slotKey Vault refs → kv-eshars-trainingDifferent pattern — see INFRA-0003
prodAzure App Service application settingsScheduled update — see Change Record

Current Values (nonprod, post 2026-03-25)

KeyValue
MvcReportViewer.ReportServerUrlhttp://10.1.0.4/{instance}
MvcReportViewerReportServerUrlhttp://10.1.0.4/{instance}

Where {instance} is QAReportServer, REGReportServer, or UATReportServer depending on the slot.