SharePoint 2010 Business Intelligence

Module 10: Reporting Services

Overview

Reporting ServicesReports

Lesson: Reporting Services

IntroductionFeatures

Introduction

Reporting Services is a part of SQL Server Introduced in SQL Server 2005

Allows seamless: Authoring, publishing, viewing and security of Reports

Integration with SharePoint started with SQL 2005 SP2 Report manager was removed in lieu of SharePoint

permission management Reporting database got new structure and RS Add-In was

required to be installed on SharePoint farm Reporting server must also have SharePoint and be a part

of the farm

Features

Allows rendering of your reports in the browser Parameters are supported All basic Reporting service features are enabled through

SharePoint UI (caching, scheduling, etc)Reporting Services web part allowed in page renderingRDL files in document libraries could simply be clicked on to render/run the reportReport Builder was integrated into UI

SharePoint Integration

Deep integration with the Microsoft SharePoint Technologies

Enables publishing, viewing, management, and delivery of reports

Provide report web part for hosting rich reports in BI dashboards

Leverage SharePoint collaboration and workflow capabilities with rich reporting

Shared security principles across Reporting Services & SharePoint

SharePoint 2010 Features

Allow installing RS Add-in before SharePoint 2010 One step integration via RS Add-in Add-in installer is fixed!

Local mode Report viewing in AJAX enabled Report Viewer

Selecting a report parameter does not cause a postback!SSRS is the reporting engine for Access Services reporting. Native support for Reporting on SharePoint ListsULS Logging supported

Reporting Services New Features

ATOM and Word 2007 Rendering37 languages supportedRemoved additional hop between UI and proxy with RS Add-in

Lesson: Reports

Report LifecyclePlanning ReportsCreating ReportsData SourcesLayoutsVisualizations

Report Lifecycle

Author Excel, Visual Studio Report Designer, Report Builder, other

3rd party toolsDeliver

Runtime report rendering (HTML, PDF, TIFF, CSV, XML) Push and Pull delivery supported

Manage Scalable web service architecture Managed report execution (On-demand, Multi-user shared

cache, Scheduled, Historical snapshots) Role-based security model

Planning Reports – Example Steps

1. Interview business users to create specs2. Review all expressed needs, desires, fantasies 3. Start will full list of candidates4. Give each report a name or description5. Rate each report based on business value and the effort to

build (scale of 1 to 10)6. Prioritize the list of candidates7. Group related reports8. Review priorities with small group of users9. Identify 10-15 reports & Negotiate a cutoff point10. Handoff the lower priority reports back to the business

experts

Creating Reports

Three main components of a report: Data Sources Layouts Visualizations

It is important to understand these three components as they drive how successful a report will beOther components include:

Fields, Parameters, Aggregations (Avg, Count, Sum), Conditional Formatting, Groupings, header and footers, images, SubReports

Developer Tools

Model Designer Define, edit and publish models for use in Report Builder

Report Designer Visual Studio project template for building reports

Report Builder A .NET ClickOnce application for designing customized

versions of Published reports using Report Models.

Data Sources

How easy is it to connect to the data?Do you know where your data is and what it looks like?

Teradata, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, SAP, SQL Azure OLEDB – Informix, Sybase XML ODBC (Text, Excel, CSV) SharePoint Lists

Performance will differ depending on where your data resides and how you gain access to it

Displaying Data

Numerous ways to display data from your data sources Tables Charts Lists & Matrices Gauge Maps Tablix (mix between table and matrice) SubReports

Layouts

So you found your data, what should the layout of the raw data look like?What do you want executives or more importantly, what do they want to see?

Tables, Matrices or any combination of it… Parallel Groupings Asymmetrical columns/rows Mix of dynamics/static rows and groups

Visualizations

The basic table won’t cut it eh? Make it look fancy with Visualizations:

Charts, Pyramids, Pie, Donuts, Gauges Maps Sparklines, Data bars, Indicators

Delivering Reports

Subscriptions allow reports to be distributed Email File share SharePoint libraries Custom destinations

Report Formats include: Runtime report rendering (HTML, PDF, TIFF, CSV, XML) Excel is 2007 based (65K rows only)

You should always monitor Subscription settings Errors (sending email, copying to destination) Inactive subscriptions and reports

Managing Report Services

Reporting services components include: Reporting Service web service Databases (ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB)

Web service security must allow access to SharePoint and Reporting services databasesDatabases can get very large when snapshots and history is enabledDebugging can be done via the log files:

\Microsoft SQL Server\<SQL Server Instance>\Reporting Services\LogFiles\ReportServerService_<timestamp>.log

Managing Reports

You should also think about enabling: Cached Instances

Enhances speed of processing by caching dataCached data expires

Report SnapshotsSchedule automated execution of reportAllows for static parameters to be usedMust use stored credentials

Report HistoryKeep copy of the report at that moment in time for historical purposes

Lab 1: Reporting Services

Integrate SQL Server Reporting Services

Lab 2: Reporting Services

Create a ReportExplore integration features

Lab 3: Automating Reports

Create and Execute Report Schedules

Review

Your instructor will ask a series of questions on this module

Summary

Reporting Services integrates seamlessly with SharePointRDL files can be rendered directly from SharePoint Lists or web partsAll the features of Reporting Services standalone are available via the Reporting Services add-in for SharePoint