SSRS Interview Questions and Answers

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a server-based report generating software system from Microsoft. It is part of a suite of Microsoft SQL Server services, including SSAS (SQL Server Analysis Services) and SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services).

1.How to send an SSRS report from SSIS?

Ans:

Often there is a requirement to be able to send an SSRS report in Excel, PDF or another format to different users from an SSIS package once it has finished performing a data load. To do this, first, you need to create a subscription to the report. You can create an SSRS report subscription from the Report Manager. At the report subscription, you can mention the report format and the email address of the recipient. When you create a schedule for the SSRS report, a SQL Server Agent Job will be created. From the SSIS, by using sp_start_job and passing the relevant job name you can execute the SSRS report subscription.

2.What are things to consider before Caching, Snapshots, or Subscriptions?

Ans:

Before you schedule any (Selenium Training )caches, snapshots, or subscriptions,

Make sure:

• SQL Server Agent is running
• There are proper Execution Accounts
• Account Credentials are stored in the report server
• The schedule properly follows the requirements

3.Can you import Microsoft Excel data to SSRS?

Ans:

Reporting Services does not import data. It only queries data in whatever format it is stored in its native storage system. I will assume that you’re asking whether you can create reports and use Excel spreadsheets as data sources. The answer is Yes, Reporting Services (Sap Fico Online Training )supports a wide variety of data sources, including Excel files. You’ll get the best performance with the built-in native .NET providers but you should be able to connect to any ODBC or OLE-DB data source, whether it comes from Microsoft or a third-party company.

4.What is Intranet? How Do You Configure Such A Hyperlink?

Ans:

• Create a text box item, set the action to Go To URL, and then configure the URL.
• You Want A Report To Display Sales By Category, Subcategory, And Product. You Want Users To See Only Summarized Information Initially But To Be Able To Display The Details As Necessary.

5.What are Subscriptions?

Ans:

Subscriptions are functionality with SSRS that pushes or delivers reports to multiple users on an automatic and scheduled basis. (SVR Training Online)

6.What is a Report Server Project?

Ans:

It is the project template used to create Managed Reports. It includes all of the functionalities that developers need to retrieve data, transform it using code, and create Managed Reports or embedded reports. ( Tableau training )

7.What are Managed Reports?

Ans:

• A Managed Report is for users who know how to use all of the aspects of the reporting tool.
• They are Enterprise Reports that are managed by the SQL Developers up until the finished product.
• These users know the structure of the underlying data and they know how to retrieve the data. These reports are code-based for developers. You use the Report Designer to make Managed Reports.

8.How Would You Go About Developing A Ssrs Report?

Ans:

The general development methodology for an SSRS report is to start by creating a data source. Based on the data source create one or multiple datasets as needed for parameters and the body of the report. Add required controls from the toolbox which would act as a container for the fields in the dataset. Format the controls added to the report body. Verify and validate the report and finally deploy the report.

9.What is a Report Model Project?

Ans:

It is the VS project template used to create Ad Hoc Reports. It allows the developer to create a basic model (.SMDL file) that is the input of the Report Builder. The model is a container for metadata.

• The non-technical user can then use the Report Builder to make an Ad Hoc Report show whichever data they want. Model → Report Builder → Ad Hoc Report.

10.What Is a Reporting Lifecycle?

Ans:

Generally, Reporting Services has three main three phases:

• Development of Reports (Developer): at first reports need to be developed and it is done by the developers.
• Management of Reports (DBA): When the Report is being developed DBA ensure the following things:
• Security: only authorized user should access the report
• Execution: how the report will be executed to optimize data sources performance
• Scheduling of Reports: so that report is executed on scheduled timings
• Report Delivery (DBA + Developer): When the report is being developed and executed the report is transferred to the business users. They use it and if any modification is required the report goes back to the development stage. ( devops training  )

11.Which is the latest version of SSRS and what are the new enhancements?

Ans:

SSRS 2008 R2 is the latest RTM version of SSRS. Rich data visualizations, better programming functions for lookup and aggregation, improved performance and better control over exported data are some of the major enhancements.

12.What are the limitations of SharePoint Mode?

Ans:

There are two important limitations with SharePoint integrated mode. It does not support linked reports nor does it support performing administrative tasks such as report deployment in batch mode using the RS utility.

13.How would you deploy SSRS Reports using out-of-box functionality and how can you automate SSRS report deployment?

Ans:

Business Intelligence Development Studio is generally used to deploy SSRS reports. There is no out-of-box support in SSRS to automate reports deployment, but free third-party products like RSScripter can be used for this.

14.What is a report subscription?

Ans:

Subscriptions are standing requests to deliver report data to requested recipients. Once the report is being subscribed and the subscriber will get updates from the report server on a scheduled interval.

15.Explain how you can deploy an SSRS report?

Ans:

SSRS report can be deployed in three ways

• By Visual Studio: You can directly deploy the report in Visual Studios through solution explorer, by declaring the report server URL in project properties at Target Server URL.
• By Report Server: By browsing the report from the disk location of the server you can deploy the report to report server
• By creating the Utility: Another option is to create a customized utility to deploy the report.

16.What are Drill Down Reports?

Ans:

Drill Down Reports are reports that have hierarchies within their rows or columns. They take advantage of expanding pivot tables to give the user aggregated data that can be expanded to show greater detail.

17.What is the process of Authorization?

Ans:

After authentication, the process of authorization grants permissions to the user to access content on the report server and to perform specific actions. In native mode, Reporting Services uses a role-based authorization system to control what users can see and do on the report server.

18.What are the tools available in the market as an alternative to SQL Server Reporting Services?

Ans:

Non-Open Source:

• Actuate
• Hyperion (BRIO)
• SIEBEL-CRM
• BusinessObjects
• Oracle Express OLAP
• Qlikview
• Cognos
• Informatica Power Analyzer
• Proclarity
• IntelliView
• Dundas Chart for .NET
• MS-Excel
• SAS
• MicroStrategy
• Pentaho

Open Source:

• Jasper Reports
• JFreeReport
• BIRT (Business Intelligence Reporting Tools)
• OpenReport
• DataVision
• Pentaho

19.When to Use Null Data-driven Subscription?

Ans:

Create a data-driven subscription that uses the Null Delivery Provider. When you specify the Null Delivery Provider as the method of delivery in the subscription, the report server targets the report server database as the delivery destination and uses a specialized rendering extension called the null rendering extension. In contrast with other delivery extensions, the Null Delivery Provider does not have delivery settings that you can configure through a subscription definition.

20.How to backup SQL Server Reporting Services?

Ans:

There are mainly three things, which should be backed up as part of reporting services backup

• Report Server Databases, which can be backed up by the SQL server backup and restore method.
• SQL Server Reporting Services Configuration, SQL Server Reporting Services Configuration is saved in config files, which can be copied as part of the backup. look for others to know config files and their location.
• Encryption Keys backup, use SQL Server Reporting Services Configuration tool to backup symmetric keys.

21.What are the Server Modes for Reporting Services?

Ans:

Two server modes are available for Reporting Services: native mode and SharePoint integrated mode. The server mode you select is closely connected to the structure and usage of the report server databases so if you change modes you must create a new database.

22.What is the Report Server Database Configuration Wizard?

Ans:

The Report Server Database Configuration Wizard allows you to change the settings of the database that holds the Report Server. With it, you connect to the database server with your credentials. Then, you can change the Database Name, language, and Report Server Mode (Native or SharePoint).

23.How do users use Report Builder with SQL Server data sources?

Ans:

While models that provide access to SQL Server Analysis Services are automatically generated on the report server, the Report Builder Model Designer can be used to generate or modify the models that are built on top of SQL Server relational databases. These model-building projects are a new type of project within a Visual Studio-based development shell.

24.How to fine-tune Reports?

Ans:

To tune-up, the Reporting Services, follow the below mentioned ways: – Expand the Server or utilizing the reporting services of another database server. For better embedding of report contents, the report application’s logic and characteristics can have a duplicate copy of data. – Replication of data continuously. Using (nolock), the issues of locking can well be resolved and the performance of the query can be improved. This can be done by using dirty read at the time of duplicating the data is unavailable.

25.List out what other servers you can use with SSRS?

Ans:

Most of the times companies use SQL server with SSRS, but there are other servers you can integrate

• Oracle
• ODBC and OLEDB
• Hyperion
• Teradata
• Flat XML files

26.What are Embedded Reports for?

Ans:

SSRS allows you to develop and manage Embedded Reports for an organization’s portals or custom applications. They allow developers to integrate .NET, Java, C# codes into the report or embed the report into the codes. It is a development platform that can be used by in-house developers or third-party independent software vendors to create either Microsoft Windows or Web Reporting applications.

27.Can we deploy SSRS reports on our website?

Ans:

Your reports can only be deployed on a reporting services site. Your only option for viewing them from other sites is an HTTP link. Some tools, like SharePoint, offer controls allowing you to view reports in the context of the other websites, but the report is still deployed to and hosted from reporting services.

28.What is the web service used for reporting services?

Ans:

Reporting Service Web Service used in SSRS. By accessing this web service you can access all report server components and also get the report deployed on the report server.

29.What is a cache in SSRS?

Ans:

The report server can lay up a copy of the processed report in memory and return the copy when a user opens the report. This server memory is known as cache and the process is called caching.

30.You want to use BIDS to deploy a report to a different server than the one you chose in the Report Wizard. How can you change the server URL?

Ans:

You can right-click the project in Solution Explorer and then change the Target-Server URL property. ( big data online training )

31.What is SSRS?

Ans:

• SSRS or SQL Server Reporting Service is a server-based report generation software system from Microsoft and is part of Microsoft BI.
• It is used for preparing and delivering interactive and a variety of reports.
• It is administered through a web-based interface.
• Reporting services utilizes a web service interface for supporting and developing customized reporting applications.
• SSRS lets you create very rich reports (Tabular/Graphical/Interactive) from various data sources with rich data visualization (Charts, Maps, sparklines)

32.Explain how you would store your query in an SSRS report or a Database server?

Ans:

Storing SQL queries directly in text format in the data should be avoided. (Azure Training )Instead, it should be stored in a stored procedure in the database server. The advantage is that the SQL would be in a compiled format in an SP and gives all the benefits of SP compared to using an ad-hoc query from the report.

33.What are the Reporting Services components?

Ans:

Reporting services components assist in development. These processing components include some tools that are used to create, manage and view reports.

• Report Designer is used to creating the reports.
• Report Server is used for executing and distributing reports.
• Report Manager is used to managing the report server.

34.Mention what method you can use to reduce the overhead of Reporting Services data sources?

Ans:

Cached reports and Snapshots can be used to reduce the overhead of Reporting Services Sources.

35.What are the different Service Account types?

Ans:

The different Service Account types include:

• Local System(Uses Windows Credentials)
• Network Service(Uses the credentials supplied by your Network Connection)
• Local Service(Uses the credentials specific to the Reporting Services engine)

36.What are the Preparation Tasks for installing Reporting Services?

Ans:

Before you can begin installing Reporting Services, you must make several decisions and perform several preparation tasks:

• Understand the features supported in each of the six editions so you can choose the one most appropriate for your reporting needs
• Decide whether to implement Reporting Services in native mode or SharePoint integrated mode and whether you should deploy it in a single-server or multi-server topology. 
• Review the hardware and software requirements for Reporting Services to ensure that the installation completes successfully.
• Consider whether you need to create Microsoft Windows accounts or whether you want to use built-in accounts for use as service accounts.

37.What Is The Main Purpose Of A Query Parameter?

Ans:

• The main purpose of a query parameter is to filter data in the data source.
• You Want Your Users To Select A Parameter From A List Of Values In A.

38.What are the benefits of SharePoint Mode?

Ans:

Office SharePoint Server provides several additional business intelligence features that enable you to integrate reports into dashboard pages using a Report Viewer Web Part with SharePoint filter Web Parts.

39.Name some of the open source software that you can use in an alternative to SSR?

Ans:

Some of the open source software alternatives are

• Jasper Reports
• free Report
• BIRT (Business Intelligence Reporting Tool)
• OpenReport
• DataVision and so on

40.Explain Reporting Life Cycle?

Ans:

Reporting Services has mainly three phases:

• Development of Reports (Developer) – First of all a report needs to be the design which is primarily done by report developer
• Management of Reports (DBA) – Once the Report is being developed, DBA need to ensure
• Security – Only authorized user should access the report
• Execution – How the report will be executed to optimize data sources performance
• Scheduling of reports – so that report is executed on scheduled timings
• Report Delivery (DBA + Developer) – Once the report is being developed and executed now the report should be reached to final recipients (business users) who are going to understand/analyze report data. if any changes, we again go back to the development stage.

41.You Want To Generate A Report That Is Formatted As A Chart. Can You tell Which Rendering Formats Are Affected By The Pagesize Properties?

Ans:

Because only the Adobe PDf file, Word, and Image rendering extensions use physical page breaks, they are the only formats that are affected by the PageSize properties.

42.Explain what data regions are and what are the different data regions?

Ans:

Data regions are report items that show repeated rows of summarized information from datasets. Different data regions include

• Chart
• Gauge
• List
• Matrix
• Table

43.What kinds of accounts can Reporting Service be run under?

Ans:

The Report Server Service can be run under a built-in service account, a Windows account on your local computer, or in your network domain.

44.Explain can SSRS report Cache results?

Ans:

Caching reports enable users to access and view reports much faster. SSRS does allow Cache reports on the reporting server.

45.How can I add Reporting Services reports to my application?

Ans:

Visual Studio / SSDT / BI Data Tools (Standard and Enterprise editions) contains a set of freely redistributable Report Viewer controls that make it easy to embed Reporting Services functionality into custom applications. Two versions of the Report Viewer exist, one for rich Windows client applications and one for ASP.NET applications.

46.Do I need a report server to run reports in my application?

Ans:

In addition to publishing reports to a report server, you can build reports using the Report Designer that is directly integrated with Visual Studio language projects. You can embed reports directly in any Windows Forms or ASP.NET Web application without access to a report server. The data access in embedded reports is a natural extension of the Visual Studio data facilities. Not only can you use traditional databases as a source of data for your reports, but you can also use object collections as well.

47.What are the different types of roles provided by SSRS?

Ans:

• Browsers
• Content Manager
• My Reports
• Publishers
• Report Builder  

48.What Are The Different Kinds Of Ssrs Reports?

Ans:

Reports can be categorized into operational and analytical reports. The distinction is based on the source of data and level of analysis facilitated by any particular report. Operational reports are based on OLTP sources and are static reports and Analytical reports are based on OLAP sources and generally facilitate drill-down and drill-through for analysis. Technically, SSRS reports can be categorized into parameterized, linked, snapshot, cached, etc…

49.Mention what are the important architecture components of SSRS?

Ans:

Important architecture components of SSRS includes

Report Manager

• Report Designer
• Browser types supported by reporting services
• Report Server
• Report Server and Command-line utilities
• Report Server Database
• Data Sources

50.What is the Reporting Service Configuration Manager?

Ans:

Reporting Services Configuration Managers to allow you to manage ALL the different settings and configurations of your Reporting Services instance in one GUI based application. 

51.You Want To Include An Image In A Report. How Do You Display The Image Properties Dialog Box?

Ans:

When you drag an image item from the Toolbox window to the Report Designer, the Image Properties dialog box automatically opens.

52.You Want To Configure An Amount To Display The Value In A Currency Format. Which Property Do You Use?

Ans:

To configure an amount to display a value in a currency format, select the report item, and then set the format property to C or c.

53.What Are Data Regions?

Ans:

Data regions are report items that display repeated rows of summarized information from datasets.

54.You Want To Generate A Report That Is Formatted As A Chart. Can You Use The Report Wizard To Create Such A Report?

Ans:

No, the Report Wizard lets you create only tabular and matrix reports. you must create the chart report directly by using the Report Designer.

55.You Want To Use Bids To Deploy A Report To A Different Server Than The One You Choose In The Report Wizard. How Can You Change The Server Url?

Ans:

You can right-click the project in Solution Explorer and then change the Target-Server URL property.

56.Can You Use A Stored Procedure To Provide Data To An Ssrs Report?

Ans:

Yes, you can use a stored procedure to provide data to an SSRS report by configuring the dataset to use a stored procedure command type. However, your stored procedure should return only a single result set. If it returns multiple result sets, only the first one is used for the report dataset.

57.You Want To Use A Perspective In An Mdx Query. How Do You Select The Perspective?

Ans:

Use the Cube Selector in the MDX Query Designer to select a perspective.

58.Can You Use Data Mining Models In Ssrs?

Ans:

Yes, you can use the DMX Designer to create data mining queries for SSRS reports. However, do not forget to flatten the result set returned by the DMX query.

59.You Want Your Report To Display A Hyperlink That Will Take Users To Your Intranet. How Do You Configure Such A Hyperlink?

Ans:

Create a text box item, set the action to Go To URL, and then configure the URL.

60.You Want A Report To Display Sales By Category, Subcategory, And Product. You Want Users To See Only Summarized Information Initially But To Be Able To Display The Details As Necessary. How Would You Create The Report?

Ans:

Group the Sales information by Category, SubCategory, and Product. Hide the SubCategory group and set the visibility to toggle based on the Category item. Hide the Product category group and set the visibility to toggle based on the SubCategory item.

61.You Want To Create An Excel Interactive Report From Ssrs. In Ssrs, Can You Create The Same Interactive Experience In Excel That You Would Have On The Web?

Ans:

No, you cannot create the same experience with SSRS. you can, however, use Excel to create such an experience.

62.What Is The Main Difference Between A Matrix Report Item And A Table Report Item?

Ans:

The main difference between a Matrix and a Table report item is in the initial template. Actually, both report items are just templates for the Tablix data region.

63.When You Do Not Use Report Caching, Is It Better To Use Parameters To Filter Information In The Query Or To Use Filters In The Dataset?

Ans:

From a performance perspective, it is better to use parameters because they let SSRS pull filtered data from the data source. In contrast, when you use filters, the queries retrieve all data and then filter the information in an additional step.

64.How Do You Configure A Running Aggregate In Ssrs?

Ans:

You can use the RunningValue function to configure a running aggregate.

65.What Is The Main Purpose Of A Report Parameter?

Ans:

The main purpose of a report parameter is to add interactivity to your reports, letting users change the report behavior based on options they select.

66.You Want Your Users To Select A Parameter From A List Of Values In A List Box. How Should You Configure The Parameter?

Ans:

You should create a data source that contains the possible values and then bind the data source to the parameter.

67.What Is The Main Benefit Of Using Embedded Code In A Report?

Ans:

The main benefit of using embedded code in a report is that the code you write at the report level can be reused in any expression in the report.

68.What Programming Language Would You Use To Create Embedded Functions In Ssrs?

Ans:

An SSRS report supports only visual Basic .nET embedded code.

69.Is Ssrs Support Other Databases Except Ms Sql Server?

Ans:

Yes. SSRS can be built based on relational or multidimensional data sources like Oracle, OLEDB. ODBC etc.

70.What Is The Chart In Report?

Ans:

Chart reports are for graphical representation. You can get pie charts, column charts and various other options. 3D charts are also available in reporting services.

71.Can We Use Data-grids For Our Report In Ssrs?

Ans:

We have an ASP.NET project that populates a data-grid. Using data-grid as my data-source for my report using SQL Server Reporting Services. Is this possible? The simple answer is no. However, nothing’s ever simple. A set of reporting controls was added in Visual Studio 2010 allowing you to report in a data-set, on data that was supplied by you. So, if you retrieved your data into a data-set, bound the data-grid to the data-set so it had data to display, you could then use that data-set as the data-source for the reporting controls. These are then client-side reports, not server reports though.

72.What Are Parameterized Reports? What Are Cascading Parameters In Ssrs Reports?

Ans:

Reports that accept parameters from users to fetch and report data conditionally, are known as parameterized reports. When you have multiple parameters in a report and values of different parameters are dependent and populated dynamically based on the value of parent parameters, it’s known as a cascading parameter.

73.What Is A Dataset And What Are The Different Types Of Datasets?

Ans:

A dataset is similar to a query definition, which is executed when the report is executed. Datasets are of two types: Shared and Embedded. An embedded dataset is private to the report in which it exists and shared datasets can be shared across reports.

74.Would You Store Your Query In A Ssrs Report Or A Database Server? State The Reason Why?

Ans:

Storing SQL queries directly in text format in the dataset, should be avoided. Ideally it should be stored in a stored procedure in the database server. The benefit is that the SQL would be in a compiled format in a SP and brings all the benefits of using an SP compared to using an ad-hoc query from the report.

75.What Is Tablix?

Ans:

A Tablix can be seen as a control with combined capabilities of a table and a matrix, which facilitates asymmetric and flexible, row and column level, static and dynamic groupings.

76.How Would You Access Ssrs Reports Deployed On Report Server?

Ans:

Reports Manager is the most straight-forward way to access SSRS reports deployed on the report server. Apart from executing the reports, it is the main administration console for SSRS servers to manage reports.

77.Have You Used The Report Viewer Control / Web Part? What Are The Limitations?

Ans:

The report viewer control / web part is the basic control to integrate SSRS reports with external applications. Using these interface applications can link and display SSRS reports within the application. The parameters toolbar in these controls have a limited programmable interface to decorate and blend it with the theme of the application.

78.What Is a Report Builder?

Ans:

Report Builder is an ad-hoc report authoring tool primarily targeted to be used by business analysts to facilitate self-service report authoring. Report Builder 3.0 is the latest version available as of date.

79.What Is Drill-down And Drill-through In Ssrs?

Ans:

• Drill-down is a mechanism of decomposing summarized information to a detailed level.
• Drill-through is a mechanism of decomposing the problem by drilling information generally using more than one report.

80.What Is Sql Server Reporting Services Or Ssrs?

Ans:

SQL Server Reporting Services or SSRS is a server based report generation software system. It is developed by Microsoft Corporation. It is administered via a web interface. It is used to generate and deliver interactive and printed reports. We can use it instead of Crystal Reports and other reporting tools. The entire report and data source definition is stored as a simple XML file. The reporting engine uses this file to render reports.

81.What Is The History Of Ssrs?

Ans:

Microsoft released SSRS in 2004 for SQL Server 2000. The second version was released in November 2005 for SQL Server 2005. The latest version was released in April 2010 for SQL Server 2008 R2.

82.What Are The Reporting Service Components In Ssrs?

Ans:

• Report Designer: a place where the report is designed or created.
• Report Server: provides services for implementation and delivery of reports.
• Report Manager: a web-based administration tool to manage the Report Server.

83.What Are The Core Components Of Ssrs?

Ans:

SSRS includes the following core components:

• A complete set of tools that can be used to create, view and manage report
• A Report Server component that hosts and processes reports in a variety of formats like HTML, PDF, TIFF, Excel, CSV, and more
• An API that allows developers to integrate in custom applications or to create custom tools to build or manage reports

84.What Is Data Set In Report?

Ans:

Data set is a set of data which we want to show in a report. Data source is the source of data from where we are getting this data (database server name, database name, connection string).

85.What Are The Different Types Of Data Sources In Ssrs?

Ans:

SSRS uses different data sources. Some of them are listed below:

• Microsoft SQL Server
• OLEDB
• Oracle
• ODBC
• SQL Server Analysis Service
• Report Server Model
• SAP Net weaver BI
• Hyperion
• Teradata
•  XML

86.What Are The Types Of Ssrs?

Ans:

The types of SSRS are given below:

• Parameterized reports
•  Linked reports
• Snapshot reports
• Cached reports
• Ad hoc reports
• Clickthrough reports
• Drilldown reports
• Drillthrough reports
• Subreports

87.What Are Advantages Of Ssrs Or Why We Should Use Ssrs?

Ans:

The SQL Server Reporting Services or SSRS has some Advantages. Such:

•  It is faster and cheaper
• Efficient reporting access to information residing in both Oracle and MS SQL Server databases
• No need for expensive specialist skills
• The default report designer is integrated with Visual Studio .NET so that we can create application and its reports in the same environment
• The security is managed in a role-based manner and can be applied to folders as well as reports
• Once parameters are defined, the UI for these parameters is automatically generated
• Subscription based reports are automatically sent by mail to the users

88.What Are The Limitations/Drawbacks Or Ssrs 2008 R2?

Ans:

The SSRS 2008 R2 has some limitations. Some limitations are given below:

• There is no print button. In order to print need to export excel, PDF or others format
• It is very hard to debug expression or custom code
• Its does not use page number or total pages in report body
• Don’t support rounding rectangle
• There is no way to pass values from subreports to main report
• It is not possible to insert a subreport into the page header or page footer
• Page header creates extra spaces in the next pages.

89.What Are The Export Options Of Ssrs?

Ans:

SSRS allow many ways of rendering the reports:

• HTML (MHTML)
• Excel
• Acrobat
• Tiff (image)
• XML
• CSV

90.What Are The Limitations In Ssrs On Sql Server Express Edition?

Ans:

Microsoft offers reporting services free as part of SQL Server Express with Advanced Services edition. But it has the following limitations:

• Management Studio cannot be used to administer report server
• Report Models will not be available
• Report Builder is not available
• Caching, History and Delivery of Report is not available.
• SQL Server agent is not available
• No scheduling is possible
• Remote server database is not available for Report Data Source (Local SQL Server is a only option,)
• We cannot store the report server database on a remote server (it has to be local only)
• Reports can be rendered only in Excel, PDF, Image formats only
• Reporting Services will not be able to use more than 1 GB of RAM
• No Subscriptions (Standard and Data Driven) can be made
• Can not be integrated with SharePoint
• Can not implement Role based security
• Only named instances is supported
• Scale-out Report Servers will not be available

91.Can We Run Reporting Services With Sql Server Express Edition, Which Is A Free Version Of Sql Server?

Ans:

Yes we can. SQL Server Express Edition with Advanced Services support Reporting Services. This is the free version.

92.What Are The Tools Available In Market As An Alternative To Sql Server Reporting Services?

Ans:

Non-Open Source:

• Actuate
• Hyperion (BRIO)
• SIEBEL-CRM
• BusinessObjects
• Oracle Express OLAP
• Qlikview
• Cognos
• Informatica Power Analyzer
• Proclarity
• IntelliView
• Dundas Chart for .NET
• MS-Excel
• SAS
• MicroStrategies
• Pentaho

Open Source:

• Jasper Reports
• JFreeReport
• BIRT (Business Intelligence Reporting Tools)
• OpenReport
• DataVision
• Pentaho

93.How To Deploy The Report?

Ans:

We can deploy SSRS reports in three ways.

Using Visual Studio

In the visual studio we can directly deploy the report through Solution explorer by providing the report server URL in project properties at Target Server URL. As our choice this will deploy the entire project or single report as.

Using Report Server

We can directly go to the report server and deploy the report by browsing the report from the disk location of the server.

Creating the Utility

SQL Server provides the facilities to Create a customize utility to deploy the report.

94.What Is Rs.exe Utility?

Ans:

Rs.exe utility is used for deploying the report on the report server. It is built in with the report server and can be customized.

95.What Is a Reporting Services Web Service?

Ans:

The web service used in reporting service or SSRS is Reporting Services Web service. With this Web service SSRS provides a single entry point to the full functionality of the report server. This Web service uses SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) over HTTP and acts as a communications interface between client programs and the report server. The Web service and its methods represent the functionality of the report server and allow us to create custom tools for any part of the report life cycle (from management to execution).

96.What Are The New Features Of Sql Server 2008 R2 Reporting Service?

Ans:

The SQL Server 2008 R2 has introduced a lot of new features. Some of them are given below:

• New Report Types – Table, Matrix, List, Chart, and Sub report
• Some New Tools is added to report designer Toolbox
• Report Data Panel – built in page numbers
• Report Builder 3.0

97.What Are The New Features Of Sql Server 2012 Reporting Service?

Ans:

The SQL Server 2012 has introduced a lot of new features. Some of them are given below:

• Power View – interactive data exploration
• SharePoint integration
• Introduction to Data Alerts
• SQL Server Data tool
• New rendering extensions (supports MS Office 2010)
• Project Crescent is being introduced

98.What Is a Sub Report?

Ans:

Sub Reports is a kind of child report which opens in the main report when the main report loads. We can pass parameters to sub report.