Article Highlights:
· Reporting: Challenges
· Introduction of Microsoft Reporting Solution
· What is Reporting Services?
· Reporting Services Architecture
· Reporting Services Key Concepts
· Report Delivery Mechanisms
· Reporting Services Integration
· Reporting Services Pros & Cons
Reporting Challenges:
· Data resides in many places
· Needed “in” applications
· Users’ Reporting Needs Change
· Web Interface
· Multiple Formats Wanted
· High Scale Reporting
How do I?
We can achieve these challenges to build a report with multiple data sources, enable interactive access to information, enable an end user to build (or modify) their own report, provide reports in a format that end users wants and integrate reporting into applications easily.
Introduction of Microsoft Reporting Solution
Microsoft introduce a server-based reporting platform that you can use to create and manage tabular, matrix, graphical, and free-form reports that contain data from relational and multidimensional data sources. The reports that you create can be viewed and managed over a World Wide Web-based connection.
· A complete set of tools that you can use to create, manage, and view reports.
· Variety of outputs including HTML, PDF, TIFF, Excel, CSV, and more.
Note: SQL Server 2008 SSRS can also prepare reports in (DOC) format.
· Set of APIs.
What is Reporting Services?
Reporting Services is an open and extensible platform supporting the authoring, management and delivery of rich, interactive reports to the entire enterprise. SSRS Enhance Reporting Capabilities:
· Scalable Server
1. Rich, Enterprise Reporting Platform
2. Scalable, Multiple data sources with multiple delivery options
3. manageable Web Services architecture
4. Scheduling, Snapshots, Caching, more…
· Advanced Authoring Tools
· End-user, Ad Hoc Reporting
· Strong Management Story
1. SOAP Web Service APIs
2. Report Manager portal
3. Extensible security model
4. Integration with SSAS, SSIS, management tools
Reporting Services Architecture
Scale-Out Architecture
Report Server Catalog
· The SSRS catalog encompasses two databases: Report Server database (the default name is ReportServer) and Report Server temporary database (the default name is ReportServerTempDB). Report Server database is a SQL Server database that stores part of SSRS configuration, report definitions, report metadata, report history, cache policy, snapshots, resources, security settings, encrypted data, scheduling and delivery data, and extension information.
· Another database that SSRS uses is the Report Server temporary database. This database is responsible for storing intermediate processing products, such as cached reports, and session and execution data.
· Report Server periodically cleans expired and orphan data in ReportServerTempDB.
Reporting Services Key Concepts
· Reporting Services Configuration Manager
· Report Manager
· Report Designer
· Report Model Designer
· Report Builder
· Report Server
· Data Source (.ds)
· Data Source View (.dsv)
· Report Model (.smdl)
· Report Definition (.rdl)
Report Designer
· Integrated into Visual Studio 2005
o Supports all languages (C#, VB, J#)
· Drag & drop metaphor, similar to Windows Forms Designer
· Use tables, lists, charts, matrices, etc. to display data
· Specify grouping, sorting, filtering, etc.
· Style the report by specifying fonts, colors, etc.
· Use expressions to change style dynamically based on data values
· Publishing and deployment features
Report Builder
· Ad hoc Reporting for the End-User
· Click Once Install
· With Report Builder you can:
1. Modify a Report
2. Build a New Report
3. Report on Relational or OLAP data
Report Designer vs. Builder
Modular Designer
· Hosted in Visual Studio 2005 (new project type)
· For generating or editing models used by Report Builder
· Auto-generation of models from data sources
Report Controls
· Controls make it easy to embed reporting functionality into applications
· Windows Forms (rich client) and Web Forms (ASP.NET) control
· Local processing mode (no server) or connected server mode
Report Delivery Mechanisms
· Pull Delivery
1. URL Access
2. Web Services
3. Share point web parts
· Push Delivery
1. Standard Subscription
2. Data Driven Subscription
· Local Delivery
1. Window form control
2. ASP.NET server control
· Ad hoc report via Report Builder
Web Services Interface
· Namespace Management
· Item Properties
· Reports Parameters
· Report Execution
· Data Source Management
· Report History
· Scheduling
· Job Management
· Model Management
· Subscription & Delivery
Reporting Services-Pros
· It is free (provided you have the SQL server license)
· Tight data integration with SQL Server, but it handles anything .NET can (Oracle, ODBC etc...).
· 2008 has native support for Terra data too
· Integration with the Visual Studio, Management studio, SharePoint and PPS.
· It is just a web application though so integration into any web page or application that can talk to a web server is easy too.
· Built in tools to do subscriptions (i.e. emails that get sent out on a regular basis to a list of people with the report on them).
· Export to a variety of formats (XML, CSV, Excel, PDF etc...)
· 2008 adds Doc too
· Ability to design templates which power users can use to build reports without knowing SQL.
Reporting Services-Cons
· Charting controls look like Excel 2003 and are limited.
· 2008 has the Dundas controls in by default so they are much more powerful, more varied and better looking.
· 2008 removes that as it is no longer an IIS web app. It runs it's own web server based off the IIS core but is closer to a stand alone app - so the security issues aren't a problem
· Designer support is a pain. 2000 Reports must be developed in VS 2003, 2005 reports must be developed in VS 2005, 2008 reports must be developed in VS 2008. By Visual Studio I mean the normal one or the thin downed version you get with the SQL Management tools.
· Compatibility. Each version of reporting services can run only the current version and one version back of the reports.
· Security is limited to Integrated Windows or Anonymous
· 2008 has added support for forms based security and for custom providers, like you get with ASP.NET
Features - Out of Article Scope
· SharePoint Web Parts
· Rich Client Printing
· Visual Studio Integration
· Management Studio Integration
· Subscription
· Caching
· Snapshot
· Security management
· New features in SSRS 2008
· Scale-out Reporting Server environment
I’ll cover these features in Overview SSRS PART –II……………………………….
Thanks,
Krishan
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