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Showing posts with label SSRS 2012. Show all posts

SSRS 2012 Interview questions and Answers

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SSRS 2012 Interview Questions with Answers

This tutorial is about SSRS 2012 Interview Questions and Answers.Here we will discuss the most frequently asked interview questions about sql server reporting services.

1.  What are data regions?
Data regions are report items that display repeated rows of summarized information from datasets.
2.  You want to generate a report that is formatted as a chart. Can you use the Report Wizard to create such a report?
No, the Report Wizard lets you create only tabular and matrix reports. you must create the chart report directly by using the Report Designer.
3. 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?
You can right-click the project in Solution Explorer and then change the Target-Server URL property.
4.What are the three SSRS command-line utilities and their primary functions?
RSConfig.exe is used to define the connection properties from the SSRS instance to the Report Server database; RSKeyMgmt.exe performs encryption key operations and scale-out deployment setup; RS.exe runs Report Server Script files that can perform report deployment and management operations.
5. Can you always create a cache of a report?
No, you can create a cache of a report only when certain requirements, such as having credentials stored in the Report Server, are met.
6. Can you edit the .rdl code associated with a linked report?
No, because a linked report has no .rdl code of its own. It refers to the .rdl code of the base report
     7.What is reporting lifecycle ?
         Reporting Services has three mainly three phases
    1. Development of Reports (Developer) – First of all a report needs to be design which is primarily done by report developer
    2. Management of Reports (DBA) – Once the Report is being developed, DBA need to ensure
    3. Security – Only authorized user should access the report
    4. Execution – How the report will be executed to optimize data sources performance
    5. Scheduling of reports – so that report are executed on scheduled timings
    6. 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 development stage.
8. What are the new features are introduced in SQL Server 2012 reporting services?   
    1. Power View - interactive data exploration
    2. SQL Server 2012 is fully integrated with SharePoint
    3.  Introduction to Data Alerts, data alerts are a data-driven alerting solution that informs you about changes in report data that are of interest to you, and at a relevant time
    4. SQL Server Data tool
    5.  new rendering extensions supports MS Office 2010
    6. Project Crescent is being introduced
           9.what is ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB ?
    1.     Reporting Services uses two SQL Server databases for storage by default, the databases are named ReportServer and ReportServerTempdb.
    2.      ReportServer is a main database, which store all internal configuration and report meta data where as ReportServerTempdb is used to store temporary data, session information, and cached reports.
    10.What is encryption key ?

    1. Encryption keys are used by the report server so that items such as connection strings are maintained securely. these keys are required in case you want to perform restoration of report server databases


SSRS 2012-2008 Introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services

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SSRS 2012 Introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services

  1. In this article i will be explaining the scenarios for using SQL Server Reporting SSRS 2012 and a small introduction to reporting services 
  2. SSRS provides the ability to present information from both Analysis Services cubes and relational data sources as reports. 
  3. With flexible report designs and a vast improvement on the visualisation of reports, you have the ability to create compelling reports. 
  4. Furthermore, interactivity can be added to allow the end user to become involved with the reports. This can be as simple as adding interaction in the form of parameter lists or drill through.
  5.  You can also empower end users to create their own reports by using Report Builder. All of this can be managed with a simplified, Web-based interface that allows you to host and deliver reports when the user needs it.
  6. SSRS provides a complete set of tools and a streamlined server architecture that is designed to support the reporting requirements across the enterprise, from a wide variety of data sources at a reduced total cost of ownership.
  7. Extensive enhancements have been introduced to the authoring capabilities within Reporting Services 2008 2012, providing the ability to create comprehensive, richly formatted reports quickly and easily through a variety of reporting tools. 
  8. The reports created are stored within a Report Definition Language (RDL) file.
  9. Reporting Services can also be tightly integrated with MOSS and provide highly customised applications within Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 2012 through the use of report viewer controls.
  10. A restructuring of the server architecture has reduced the configuration and maintenance tasks required to manage Reporting Services.
  11. For example, the dependency on IIS has now been removed, reducing the need to configure multiple service accounts.
  12.  A redesigned report and rendering engine delivers reports of any scale more efficiently.  
  13. Microsoft Word 2007 has been introduced as a new, out-of-the-box rendering format. 
  14. The delivery of reports can also be managed through subscriptions that can be controlled by the user or the administrator.
  15. With SSRS 2008, you can create, manage and deploy reports much more efficiently.

Scenarios for Using SQL Server Reporting Services 2012

  1. SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 is installed as part of the SQL Server setup. 
  2. When Reporting Services is selected in the features selection screen, the Reporting Services Configuration screen provides three options that can be selected to determine how Reporting Services can be accessed. This can be useful if Reporting Services is to be used by internal users, external users or if you wish to integrate Reporting Services with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.
  3. By selecting the Install in Native Mode default configuration option, Reporting Services is installed with all of the default options and is operational once the installation is complete. 
  4. This is an ideal choice if the Reporting Services solution is to be used by internal users only and you do not wish to change the default settings.
  5. Users will access the reports by typing the URL in Internet Explorer that goes to http://ServerName/reports.
  6. The installation allows you to integrate Reporting Services with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Assuming the Reporting Services pack is already installed on the SharePoint Server, Reporting Services will be installed in SharePoint integrated mode whereby the user will access the reports from the SharePoint site rather than the Reporting Services home page. Reporting Services can also use the features available to SharePoint Server as well.
  7. For external access, it is best practice to select the Install, but do not configure the report server option in the Reporting Services Configuration screen. 
  8. In this scenario, you will have to use Reporting Services Configuration Manager to manually set the values for the home page of the Report Server Web site, Report Manager Web site and determine how the Report Server databases are created. 
  9. Furthermore, you will have to modify configuration files to secure the traffic that is sent between the Report Server and the external clients.

SSRS 2012 2008 Reporting Tools Report Builder Manager Designer

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SSRS 2012 2008 SQL Server Reporting Services Tools
In this article i will  describes the various tools that you can use to create reports in SSRS.
The SSRS 2012 Reporting tools are 
  1. Reporting Services Configuration Manager
  2. Report Designer
  3. Report Builder
  4. Report Manager
  5. SQL Server Management Studio
  6. Command prompt utilities
  7. Use the Report Wizard
Lets explain one by one the reporting tools in SSRS 2012 and 2008 
Reporting Services Configuration Manager
  1. For post-installation configuration, the Reporting Services Configuration tool provides easier management, particularly for those moving from SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services.
  2. Introduced in SQL Server 2005 2008 Reporting Services, the notable change to this version, apart from the look, is the fact that there is only one service account that needs to be configured now that the dependency on IIS is removed. 
  3. Previous versions required a Windows service account and a Web service account to be configured. Below is a summary of options:
  • Server Node. Provides the ability to stop and start the Reporting Services.
  • Service Account. Provides the ability to change the security context under which the Reporting Services run.
  • Web Service URL. Configures the URL access to the report server by creating a URL reservation. A URL reservation defines the virtual directory, IP address, TCP port and optionally a SSL certificate. HTTP.sys uses the URL reservation to direct users requests and allow access to the URL.
  • Database. Provides the ability to change the location of the report server database and to change the credentials for connecting to the report server database.
  • Report Manager. Creates an URL reservation to access the Report Manager Web site.
  • E-mail Settings. Provides the ability to integrate with e-mail by defining a server address and an e-mail address that has the ability to send e-mail messages from the report server.
  • Execution Account. Provides the ability to specify an account to use against report data sources that do not require credentials or to access remote servers.
  • Encryption Keys. Allows the management of the keys that are used to encrypt the sensitive data that is stored in the Reporting Services database. There is the ability to back up and restore the encryption keys, change encryption keys and delete the encrypted content within the database.
  • Scale-out Deployment. Provides the ability to manage multiple instances of Reporting Services that share the same ReportServer database such as a clustered instance. SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services referred to scale-out deployment as Initialization.
Report Designer
  1. SSRS has introduced a new designer that allows business users to connect to data sources and produce richly formatted reports that provide highly visual information in a user-friendly interface. 
  2. The report designer is found within Business Intelligence Development Studio and consists of the following core elements:
  • Data pane. Provides the ability to define data sources and data sets. Items from the Data pane can be dragged onto the designer canvass.
  • Toolbox. Provides the ability to add data regions and other report items to the designer canvass.
  • Report canvass designer. Located in the centre of the Report Designer application, it allows you to develop the report in its entirety.
  • Grouping pane. A grouping pane is located at the bottom of the Report Designer. This provides a quick way of managing groups of data in the canvas designer, without the need for entering into dialog boxes.
  • Properties pane. A context sensitive pane that changes as items on the designer canvass are selected, providing rich formatting and report body options. The Properties pane provides a vast array of options than can vastly improve the visualisation of the reports
Report Builder
  1. Report Builder is an application that empowers power users to create their own ad-hoc reports. 
  2. Report Builder is available in two versions:
  • Report Builder version 1 is a ClickOnce .NET application that allows the creation of unplanned reports. For power users to use the Report Builder version 1, a report model must be created that provides an abstraction layer to the underlying data in a data source. It is also a prerequisite to be able to use the Report Builder version 1. As a result, the report model has a separate project template in Business Intelligence Development Studio.
  • Report Builder version 2 has now been introduced and is not constrained to the requirements of a report model. Report Builder version 2 has the same layout as the report designer that is available in Business Intelligence Development Studio. The application is encased within an Office 2007 application with ribbons to provide shortcut to common tasks. With Report Builder version 2, you can make use of data sources directly, providing a more flexible tool than its previous version.
Report Manager
  1. Report Manager is the Web site that is used to host the reports that are deployed to the report server. 
  2. End users will browse to a predefined URL that is the home page of Reporting Services.
  3. From here, users can browse and export reports.
  4. If they have the permission, they may also be able to subscribe to reports so that they can be delivered via e-mail.
  5. Report Manager also acts as an administrative Web site for the reports.
  6.  Report Server administrators have the same capabilities as the end users, however they can manage report execution, report history and security as well.
SQL Server Management Studio
  1. SQL Server Management Studio provides administrative capabilities for the report server. 
  2. Within the Reporting Services server type, a report server administrator can create shared schedules, create system and item-level security roles and view the jobs that are running on the report server.
  3. You can also manage the report server databases within the database engine, including backing up the database.
Command prompt utilities
There are command prompt utilities that can be used to manage Reporting Services:
  • RSConfig.exe. can be used to perform post installation tasks on the report server. The options available within RSConfig.exe are available within the Reporting Services Configuration Manager.
  • RSKeymgmt.exe. allows you to back up and restore the report server encryption keys. This feature is also available within the Reporting Services Configuration Manager. Encryption keys are used to protect the sensitive data that is stored in the report server, such as data source credentials and passwords. This uses a symmetric key to encrypt and decrypt the sensitive data. The report server service is used to create and unlock the key. If you change the identity of the Report Server service or if you migrate the report server to a new computer, the private key of the Report Server service will no longer be able to unlock the symmetric key. To restore access to the symmetric key, the symmetric key must be re-encrypted by using the private key of the new Report Server service identity. Restoring the symmetric key is the process by which the re-encryption occurs.  
  • RS Utility. The RS Utility is a script host that you can use to perform scripted operations. Use this tool to run Microsoft Visual Basic scripts that copy data between report server databases, publish reports, create items in a report server database and more.
Report Wizard
  1. Reporting Services 2008/2012 provides a wizard that will enable you to create simple reports. 
  2. On completing the wizard, the report is readily available to be deployed to the report server.
  3. Alternatively, you can use the report output from the wizard as the basis to edit the report to provide additional functionality that may not be available in the wizard.
  4. The wizard will present you with options to define a data source and data set. You can select either the table or the matrix data region within the wizard. 
  5. Therefore, if you wish to create a chart or gauge report, the Report Wizard is not appropriate.
  6. Beyond these initial options, you then specify the columns to be included within the data region and define the formatting of the report that is similar to the Report Wizard in Microsoft Access.

SSRS 2012 2008 Data sources Data sets Data regions

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Data sources - Data sets -Data regions  in SSRS 2012 2008 Reporting Services
  1. Data sources - Data sets -Data regions Core SQL Server Reporting Services Components exist that are important for creating reports in SSRS 2012 and 2008. 
  2. Here we have described this three main components for making better reports
Data sources
  1. Data sources provide the connection information that Reporting Services require to access the source data.
  2. Typical configuration for data sources involve specifying the name of the server on which the data is stored. You also specify the credentials that are required to connect to the server and the name of the database to access. You should also consider that additional settings may be required between different types of data sources.
  3. Multiple data sources can be defined and used within a single report.
  4. The following data sources are supported by Reporting Services out-of-the-box:
  • SQL Server relational databases
  • Analysis Services multidimensional databases
  • XML data sources
  • Report Server Models
  • SAP multidimensional databases
  • Hyperion Essbase
  • Oracle databases
  • Teradata relational databases
  • DB2 databases
  • OLE DB data source
  • ODBC data source
Data sets
  1. Data sets are used to return specific data from a defined data source.
  2. The data that is returned in the data set can then be used in the report.
  3. When retrieving datasets from Analysis Services or XML, the data from these data sources are flattened so that they may be used within a report.
  4. Multiple data sets can be defined and used within a single report
  5. When creating a data set against a SQL Server data source, there are three ways that the data set can be generated:
  • From a specific query
  • From a stored procedure
  • From a specific table or view
Data regions
  1. The data region is the area of the report that holds the data that is generated from a data set. 
  2. A new type of data region that has been introduced is the Tablix data region. 
  3. Tablix combines the benefits of both a table and matrix data region, which gives greater flexibility in the design of the report. 
  4. The Tablix data region is not explicitly found in any of the report authoring tools.
  5. This functionality has been added to the table and matrix data region properties in Report Designer
  6. SSRS provides the following data regions:
  • Table
  • Matrix
  • List
  • Chart
  • Gauge


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