Chapter 9: Reporting Services 339 Extensions be deployed. You can create additional Extensions that perform operations specific to your own needs and business practices. The required Extension types are: Security Extensions, Data Processing Extensions, Rendering Extensions, Report Processing Extensions, and Delivery Extensions. Security Extensions It is the Security Extension’s function to authenticate users and groups to a Report Server. You can create a custom Security Extension to replace the default Security Extension, but only one Security Extension can be used in each installation of Reporting Services. Windows authentication is used in the default Security Extension. Data Processing Extensions Data Processing Extensions query a data source and return a tabular result set. Reporting Services provides Data Processing Extensions for SQL Server, Oracle, Analysis Services, OLE DB, and ODBC data sources. You can also develop your own Data Processing Extensions. Reporting Services can also use any ADO.NET data provider. Query requests from the Report Processor are processed with the Data Processing Extensions and perform tasks such as: opening a connection, analyzing or running a query, returning a list of field names or a rowset, iterating through rows or rowsets, passing parameters to a query, and retrieving metadata information. Rendering Extensions Rendering Extensions do the work of transforming the retrieved data and layout information from the Report Processor into a device-specific format. Reporting Services includes seven rendering extensions: ᭤ HTML Rendering Extension The Report Server uses the HTML Rendering Extension to render the report, when a report is requested through a Web browser. ᭤ Excel Rendering Extension The Excel Rendering Extension is used to render reports that can be viewed and changed in Microsoft Excel 2000 or later. ᭤ CSV Rendering Extension The Comma-Separated Value (CSV) Rendering Extension is used to render reports in comma-delimited plain text fi les. ᭤ XML Rendering Extension The XML Rendering Extension is UTF-8 encoded and renders reports in XML fi les. 340 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide ᭤ Image Rendering Extension The Image Rendering Extension renders reports to bitmaps or metafi les and can render reports in the following formats: BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and WMF. The default image rendered is in TIFF format. ᭤ PDF Rendering Extension The PDF rendering extension renders reports in PDF fi les. Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or later is used to open or view these reports. Report Processing Extensions The Report Server uses Report Processing Extensions to process report items such as tables, charts, text boxes, lists, images, lines, rectangles, and even subreports. You can add custom Report Processing Extensions to handle specialized report items or actions pertinent to your business operations. Delivery Extensions The Delivery Extensions are used by the Scheduling and Delivery Processor to deliver reports to various locations. Reporting Services includes two Delivery Extensions: ᭤ E-mail Delivery Extension This extension sends an e-mail message via the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) and can include the report or a URL link to the report. You can also send notices that do not include the report or URL link to devices such as pagers or telephones. ᭤ Shared Folder Delivery Extension This extension sends reports to a shared folder on your network and allows you to specify a location, fi lename, format, and overwrite options for the fi le. You can use Delivery Extensions to work in combination with subscriptions. You can create a subscription and choose a Delivery Extension for report delivery. Report Manager The Report Manager is the primary tool for accessing and managing Reporting Services reporting solutions. The Report Manager is an ASP.NET Web-based application and is accessed by pointing your Web browser to http://<servername>/ reports. You can see the Report Manager in Figure 9-3. You can use the Report Manager to manage the content of the Report Server instance such as the folder hierarchy and security access settings. The Report Chapter 9: Reporting Services 341 Manager enables you to view and manage all of the reports that have been deployed to the Report Server. Using the Report Manager, you can create and manage data sources and connection strings, folders, report models, linked reports, report history, schedules, and subscriptions. The Report Manager allows the Reporting Services Administrator to set up the security and manage role definitions for the reports that can be accessed using Reporting Services. You can also launch the Report Builder design tool to create or modify model-based reports. Reporting Services Configuration and Management Tools Reporting Services includes a visual tool called the Reporting Services Configuration tool, as well as several command-line utilities, that allow you to deploy, upgrade, and manage Report Servers. Figure 9-3 Reporting Services Report Manager 342 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide Reporting Services Confi guration Tool The Reporting Services Configuration tool is a visual utility that allows you to configure Report Server instances. This tool can be used to modify the settings of a Report Server that was installed with the default configuration and can also be used to configure local or remote Report Server instances. You can also use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to update a ReportServer database to a new format from a previous version. If you modify the configuration through other tools, such as the command-line utilities, the Reporting Services Configuration tool will automatically detect those changes when you connect to the instance of Report Server. NOTE If you installed a Report Server in an offline state, you need to use this tool to configure the server so that it can be used. To start the Reporting Services Configuration tool, go to Start | Programs | Microsoft SQL Server 2005 | Configuration Tools. Then click the Reporting Services Configuration option. An Instance Selection dialog will be displayed like the one in Figure 9-4. After selection of an instance of Report Server to configure, the Report Server Configuration Manager will be displayed. Figure 9-5 shows the Report Server Configuration Manager. As you can see in Figure 9-5, each of the Report Server components is shown on the left side of the dialog, and each component that is already configured includes a green check mark next to it. Each of the components that need to be configured has Figure 9-4 Report Server installation instance selection Chapter 9: Reporting Services 343 a red x-mark next to it. You can select each of the components regardless of whether they have been configured already or not, and make changes to their settings. ᭤ Server Status This displays the Report Server instance information and properties. ᭤ Report Server Virtual Directory This allows you to specify a virtual directory for the Report Server. You can also create a new virtual directory and optionally require Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connections. ᭤ Report Manager Virtual Directory This allows you to specify a virtual directory for the Report Server reports. You can also create a new virtual directory. ᭤ Windows Service Identity This allows you to specify the user account under which the Report Services Windows service runs. ᭤ Web Service Identity This allows you to specify the account under which the Report Services Web service runs. For those machines running IIS 5 or older, the specifi ed account is a ASP.NET Machine account, and for those running IIS 6 or later, the Web service runs under the context of the application pool. Figure 9-5 Report Server Configuration Manager 344 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide ᭤ Database Setup Here you can select the ReportServer database and connection permissions that are used by this instance of Report Server. You can also create the database if it does not already exist, verify a ReportServer database version, set the DSN, and grant user access rights from this display. ᭤ Encryption Keys This option lets you back up, restore, and manage the encryption keys for the Report Server instance. ᭤ Email Settings This allows you to set the e-mail address and delivery method for the Report Server to send e-mail notifi cations. ᭤ Execution Account Use this option to set the account to use if the Report Server is to perform unattended operations. Report Server Command-Prompt Utilities When you install a Report Server, three command-prompt utilities that you can use to administer the Report Server are also automatically installed. They are the rsconfig utility, the rs utility, and the rskeymgmt utility. The rsconfig Utility The rsconfig utility is a tool that allows you to configure and manage a Report Server connection to the ReportServer database. It also permits you to configure an account that the Report Server can use for unattended report processing. The rsconfig utility stores connection and account values in an RSReportServer.config file. You can run the rsconfig utility on a local or remote instance of Reporting Services, but you need to be a local administrator on the computer that hosts the Report Server you are configuring and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) must be installed on the computer that you are configuring. To use the rsconfig utility, you execute the rsconfig.exe program that is located in the \Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn directory. The following shows an example, and the arguments that can be used with the rsconfig utility are listed in Table 9-4. rsconfig -? rsconfig -e -u <DOMAIN\ACCOUNT> -p <PASSWORD> -t The rs Utility The rs utility is a tool you can use to run VB .NET scripts and perform scripting operations to publish reports and create or copy items in ReportServer databases. The script file must be written in VB .NET code and stored in a Unicode or UTF-8 text file with an .rss file extension. Chapter 9: Reporting Services 345 To run the rs utility, you need to have the proper authority to connect to the Report Server instance you are running the script against. To use the rs utility, run the rs.exe file located in the \Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn directory. The following code shows example uses of rs, and the arguments that can be used with the rs utility are listed in Table 9-5. rs -? rs –i c:\script_copy.rss -s http://localhost/reportserver The rskeymgmt Utility The rskeymgmt utility is an encryption key management tool that you can use to back up, delete, or restore the key set that is defined during Setup. You can also use Command-Line Switch Requirement Description {–?} Optional Displays syntax help. {–c} Required if –e argument is not used Indicates the connection string and data source values to connect a Report Server to the ReportServer database, will be included in arguments –m, –s, –i, –d, –a, –u, –p, or –t. {–e} Required if –c argument is not used Indicates that the unattended report execution account will be included with arguments –u and –p, or –t. {–m computername} Required if configuring a remote Report Server instance Name of the computer hosting Report Server. Default value is localhost. {–i instancename} Required if you are using named instances The named instance of the ReportServer database. {–s servername} Required The SQL Server instance that hosts the ReportServer database. {–d databasename} Required The name of the ReportServer database. {–a authmethod} Required The Report Server authentication method for connection to the ReportServer database. Values can be Windows or SQL (not case-sensitive). {–u [domain\]username} Required with –e, optional with –c A user account for the ReportServer database connection. {–p password} Required if –u is specified The password to use with the –u argument. Can be blank, is case-sensitive. {–t} Optional Outputs error messages to the trace log. Table 9-4 Arguments to rsconfig 346 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide this tool to attach a report server instance to a shared report server database. You can use the rskeymgmt utility in database recovery operations, and if the keys cannot be recovered, the rskeymgmt tool provides a way to delete the encrypted content that is no longer useful. The rskeymgmt tool can be run only on a computer that hosts the Report Server, and you need to be a local administrator on that computer. You cannot use the rskeymgmt utility to manage the encryption keys of a remote Report Server instance, but it can be used it to join a remote Report Server instance to a Report Server Web farm. To run the rskeymgmt utility, you need to have the proper authority to connect to the Report Server instance you are running the script against. To use the rskeymgmt utility, run the rskeymgmt.exe file located in the \Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn directory. The following code shows an example, and the arguments that can be used with the rskeymgmt utility are shown in Table 9-6. rskeymgmt -? rskeymgmt -a -f a:\backupkey\keys -p <password> Command-Line Switch Requirement Description {–?} Optional Displays syntax help. {–i input_file} Required The .rss file to execute. {–s serverURL} Required The Web server name and Report Server virtual directory name. {–u [domain\]username} Optional A user account for the ReportServer connection. If omitted, the default is the current Windows user account. {–p password} Required if –u is specified The password to use with the –u argument. Is case-sensitive. {–l time_out} Optional The number of seconds before server connection times out. Default is 60. A value of 0 specifies no timeout. {–b} Optional Sets commands in the file to run in batch mode. {–v globalvar} Optional Global variables that are used in the script. {–t} Optional Outputs error messages to the trace log. Table 9-5 Arguments to rs Chapter 9: Reporting Services 347 Command-Line Switch Requirement Description {–?} Optional Displays syntax help. {–e} Optional Extracts key for encryption/decryption for copying to a file. Requires –f and –p arguments. {–a} Optional Applies a saved copy of the key to a report server instance. Requires –f and –p arguments. {–d} Optional Deletes all encrypted data in a Report Server database and identifiers from the public key table for a Report Server instance. {–s} Optional Generates a new key and re-encrypts all content using the new key. {–j} Optional Joins a remote Report Server instance to an existing Report Server Web farm. {–r installationID} Optional Removes the installationID (GUID) value for a Report Server instance. {–f file} Required if –e or –a is specified Path to the file that stores a backup copy of the keys. For –e argument, file is written to a file. For –a argument, key value stored in the file is applied to the Report Server instance. {–p password} Required if –f is specified The password used to back up or restore a key. Cannot be empty. {–i instancename} Required if you are using named instances A local Report Server instance. {–m computername} Optional Name of the remote computer hosting Report Server that you are joining to a Web farm. {–n servername} Required if you are using named instances The name of the Report Server instance on a remote computer. {–u useraccount} Optional The administrator account on the remote computer that you are joining to the Web farm. {–v password} Required if –u is specified The password to use with the –u argument. {–t} Optional Outputs error messages to the trace log. Table 9-6 Arguments to rskeymgmt 348 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide Report Authoring Tools Reporting Services reports are created using the Report Designer or the Report Builder. The Report Designer has a fully graphical design surface and interface program using the Visual Studio 2005 shell to enable you to interactively design and test reports. The Report Builder is a client-side report designer that allows end users to create ad hoc reports based on a report model and then deploy them to the server or export them to a local computer. Another tool, the Report Model Designer, is used to define the report models that the Report Builder uses. After a report is designed, the report definitions are stored in the ReportServer database. Reporting Services reports are stored in a new XML-based data format called Report Design Layout (RDL). By default, these RDL definitions are stored in SQL Server 2005’s ReportServer database. In addition to the report’s RDL specifications, the ReportServer database also stores information about a report’s security and destination. Report Designer Report Designer is a graphical tool with design surfaces used to preview and publish reports. Within the Report Designer environment, tabbed windows are provided that allow you to interactively design reports, including data panes, layout panes, report elements, and preview panes. Tools such as query builders, an Expression editor, and wizards are also included to help you step through the process of creating a simple report. There are several ways you can create a report using the Report Designer. The Report Wizard is a tool that will guide you through the steps necessary to create a simple tabular or matrix-type report. You can create a blank report using the Report Project template in the development environment and add data queries and layout information to it. Using the Report Wizard to Create a Report To use the Report Wizard to create a report, you open up SQL Server 2005’s Business Intelligence Development Studio and then select the File | New | Project. On the New Projects dialog, click the Business Intelligence Projects options from the Project Types list box to view the installed BI project templates and select the Report Project Wizard template. Type a name and location for the project and click OK. A series of wizard dialog boxes will be displayed to step you through the report creation process. The first wizard dialog will prompt you for a data source. The next . application pool. Figure 9-5 Report Server Configuration Manager 344 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide ᭤ Database Setup Here you can select the ReportServer database and connection permissions. log. Table 9-4 Arguments to rsconfig 346 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Developer’s Guide this tool to attach a report server instance to a shared report server database. You can use the rskeymgmt. database. {–s servername} Required The SQL Server instance that hosts the ReportServer database. {–d databasename} Required The name of the ReportServer database. {–a authmethod} Required The Report Server