Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

• Architecture Overview
• Presented by Adam Cogan
• Chief Architect of SSW and
• Microsoft Regional Director
• http://www.ssw.com.au/
• Delivering Awesome Web Applications

Agenda

• Why Upgrade?
• Installing
• Architecture
• IIS
• Report Processing Changes
• Report Design Improvements
• Memory Improvements / Performance
• Discontinued Features

Why Upgrade (to SSRS 2008)?

• Dundas Charts – Beautiful charts
• No IIS – will improve performance
• Stability
• 503 errors: server too busy
• Performance – big reports always work now
• Report Builder 2.0 – Report development in the browser
• Tablix control – Table + Matrix

Performance (how to measure)

• Create Web Test
• Record Contacts.rdl (6704 pages)
  • Open SSRS
  • Open Contacts Report
  • Goto last page
  • Goto random pages
• Look at ‘Total Time’
  • Add Duration field to Test Results pane
  • Run a couple of times each
  • Run both 2005 and 2008

Rule #49

• never accept user’s emotive description of performance slowness
• measure before and after

How was it faster?

• The new architecture allows them to cache a few bytes per page
• Enables quick restart of pagination of a partially/fully…

Ways to install

• Upgrade
• Side by Side
• Fresh Install

Green ticks on installation… Next

• Next get 2005 and 2008 working – using Justin King’s blog to help
• Upgrading
• Show a few new features

Architecture Changes

• Report Server is not hosted in IIS
• IIS is re3place by SQL Server internal components
• Report Manager is gone (moved to part of Windows Service)

Upgrading

• No Support for custom virtual directories

Why remove IIS?

• IIS complexity increased support costs
• Now easier to configure
• Too many other IIS settings impacted RS
• Other application hosted in IIS impacted RS
• IIS required a two service model
  • Hard to deliver features like resource governing
  • Communication between services causes problems
• Reusing SQL Server components has great benefits
• Sometimes block deploying RS in the enterprise
• Management don’t like IIS not on same machine as SQL Server
• Cross platform environment on Web

IIS – The Lost Functionality

• Some IIS functionality is not provided
  • Anonymous and Digest authentication
  • Client certificates
• ISAPI’s are not supported
  • Use ASP.NET HTTP Modules instead
  • Most impacted are Single Sign on solutions
  • ISA Server is…

Report Builder 1.0

• Only worked on Reporting Models
• Accessible from tool bar

Report Design Improvements – Reports Builder 2.0

• A Standalone Report Designer (don’t need VS.NET)
• (Not included in RTM – download)
• Layout surface shared with Visual Studio…

Discontinued Features

• IE 5.5 support
• …