Integrating SSRS with SharePoint

1. July 26, 2014
13 Tips for Integrating SQL Server Reporting Services
with SharePoint
The Baker’s Dozen
Business Intelligence
13 SQL Server /
Business Intelligence
Productivity Tips
Kevin S. Goff
Microsoft SQL Server MVP

2. Kevin S. Goff – Brief BIO
• Developer/architect since 1987 / Microsoft SQL Server MVP
• Columnist for CoDe Magazine since 2004,
“The Baker’s Dozen” Productivity Series”, 13 tips on a SQL/BI topic
• Wrote a book, collaborated on a 2nd book
• Frequent speaker for SQL Server community events
• Email: kgoff@kevinsgoff.net
• My site/blog: www.KevinSGoff.Net (includes SQL/BI webcasts)
• Releasing some SQL/BI video courseware later in 2014
28/4/2015 13 topics for SSRS/SP Integration

3. Reporting Services with SharePoint
• More organizations moving to SharePoint as a corporate portal
• While majority of SSRS deployments are still to native (non-SharePoint) servers,
that’s starting to change
• SharePoint 2010/2013 provides the following:
– a means for users to run SSRS reports inside a SharePoint portal
– a means to have SSRS reports automatically delivered to SharePoint document areas
– a means to create a web dashboard that contains not only SSRS reports but other corporate
information
• Goals
– Deploy an SSRS report to SharePoint server
– Run the report in the SharePoint area
– Schedule reports for automatic delivery to a SharePoint Document library
– Create a dashboard page that contains (among other things) SSRS reports
• Some challenges:
– Integration between SSRS and SharePoint is different, depending on which version
– Before SQL/SSRS 2012, SSRS performance in SharePoint could be sluggish
– Linked Reports (feature in SSRS native deployment mode) is not available in SharePoint
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4. Why is this topic important?
• More organizations are moving to SharePoint as a corporate
portal standard
• While majority of SSRS deployments are still to native (non-
SharePoint) servers, that’s starting to change
• SharePoint 2010 provides the following:
– a means for users to run SSRS reports
– a means to have SSRS reports automatically delivered to their SharePoint
document areas
– a means to create a web dashboard that contains not only SSRS reports but other
corporate information
• Goals
– Deploy an SSRS report to SharePoint server
– Run the report in the SharePoint area
– Schedule reports for automatic delivery to a SharePoint Document library
– Create a dashboard page that contains (among other things) SSRS reports
8/4/2015 13 topics for SSRS/SP Integration 4

5. The Agenda
1. Installing/Configuring SQL Server 2008R2/SSRS
2. Installing SharePoint 2010 – SSRS 2008R2 Integration
3. Configuring SharePoint for SSRS 2008R2 Use
4. SharePoint 2010 SP1/2013 with SSRS 2012 (alternative to steps 2-4)
5. Setting up a SharePoint Site collection for SSRS reports
6. Deploying an SSRS Report to a SharePoint site
7. Viewing the Report Document Library after Deploying
8. Viewing the report in SharePoint using the Report Viewer
9. Automatic delivery of SSRS reports to SharePoint pages using SSRS data-
driven subscriptions
10. Integrating SSRS with PerformancePoint Services
11. Creating reports against SharePoint 2010 Lists
12. Data Alerts (SSRS 2012 Only)
13. Power View (new Data Visualization Tool, SSRS 2012 Only)
At the end, some notes on upcoming SSRS integration with Power BI
8/4/2015 13 topics for SSRS/SP Integration 5

6. 1) Installing/Configuring SSRS 2008
SQL Server 2008/2008R2 SQL Server 2012
Currently, same in SQL 2014
SharePoint 2007 • Must install separate add-in,
Reporting Services Integration
with SharePoint
SharePoint 2010 • Must install separate add-in,
Reporting Services Integration
with SharePoint
• Requires Service Pack 1 of SQL 2012
• Can be installed as a Service
application
• Slightly better performance than
SQL 2008 in SharePoint
SharePoint 2013 • Must install separate add-in,
Reporting Services Integration
with SharePoint
• Can be installed as a Service
Application
• Slightly better performance than
SQL 2008 in SharePoint, though
SharePoint 2013 requires more
memory
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Overall version Matrix: key point, with SQL 2012 and beyond, can run as a
SharePoint Service Application. Prior to SQL 2012, must install integration add-in

7. 1) Installing/Configuring SSRS 2008
• In a nutshell, we need to tell SSRS 2008R2 that it
will use SharePoint Integrated Mode
– Report Server (provisioning) database
– Report Server Web Service URL
• Then we need to tell SharePoint about the
instance of SQL Server and the SSRS Web
Service URL
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8. 1) Installing/Configuring SSRS 2008
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2) SharePoint
Installation
1) SQL Server
Reporting Services Installation
(SSRS Configuration Manager)
Must set Report Server
configuration
(provisioning) database
and define as SharePoint
integrated
Must define SSRS Web
Service URL
Needs to know about the
instance of SQL Server
And also the SSRS Web
Service URL
SSRS Integration add-on for
SharePoint will make sure
that all SSRS activity in
SharePoint “funnels
through” to SSRS Web
Service URL

9. 1) Installing/Configuring SSRS 2008
• Make sure to install SSRS as part of the database install
• Make sure to install SSRS for Integrated Mode with SharePoint
• This creates a database on the database server called ReportServer (or
whatever the DB winds up being called)
• The SSRS Configuration Manager contains a Database tab that allows us
to view/change the Report Server database
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10. 1) Installing/Configuring SSRS 2008
• In the SSRS Configuration Manager, also check the Web Service URL:
• SSRS Web Service URL (used by SharePoint 2010) contains the web
server, the default ReportServer application name (ReportServer) and the
database instance (my SQL database instance is SQL2008R2).
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11. 2) Installing Sharepoint 2010 & SSRS Integration
• Part of SharePoint 2010 Installation process is a set of
installer prerequisites
• Reporting Services Integration with SharePoint is part of
the installer prerequisites–installs automatically if using
Windows Server (or download manually from web)
– http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff686706.aspx
• If installing SharePoint 2010 using Windows 7 (for
development), must install manually:
– http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=192588
– Nice for testing, but must be running 64 bit
– http://www.codeproject.com/KB/sharepoint/Install_SP2010_on_Win_7.aspx
• Option for Windows 7/8 gone in SharePoint 2013
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12. 3) Configuring SharePoint 2010 for SSRS 2008 Use
• In SharePoint Central Administration, go to General
Application Settings and then into Reporting
Services....this got created from the prerequisite install
Only appears if Reporting
services pre-requisite
installed
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13. 3) Configuring SharePoint 2010 for SSRS 2008 Use
• Go to Reporting Services Integration
– Specify the Web Service URL (from the SSRS configuration), plus
credentials from an Administrator Group
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14. 3) Configuring SharePoint 2010 for SSRS 2008 Use
• Go to “Add a report Server to the Integration”
– Specify your server name, database instance, and Admin or
other service account for the server – must be a Domain Account
– SharePoint 2010 and SSRS 2008 are now talking to each other!
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15. 3) Configuring SharePoint 2010 for SSRS Use
• In SharePoint 2010, if
we want to generate
report output to
HTML pages on a
schedule and allow
users to view them in
the browser….
• Must set this option
in Web Application
General settings
(Strict is the default,
must change to
Permissive)
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16. 4) Using SSRS 2012 as a SharePoint Service App
• Can install SSRS 2012 as a SharePoint Service Application
• Requires SQL Server 2012 (recommend Service Pack 1)
• Also requires SharePoint 2010 SP1 or SharePoint 2013
• Benefit – slightly faster SSRS performance, fewer integration
points to worry about
• Good link that covers the steps:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219068.aspx
• Run following PowerShell commands:
– Install-SPRSService
– Install-SPRSServiceProxy
– get-spserviceinstance -all |where {$_.TypeName -like "SQL Server Reporting*"} | Start-
SPServiceInstance
• Then go into Manage Service Applications and create a new SSRS Service App
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17. 5) Setting up a SharePoint Site collection for SSRS
• Create a Site Collection (TestSSRSSite)
– Go to Central Administration
– Go to Create Site Collection, call it TestSSRSSite
• Go to the site collection
• Create a new document library (as a report library for
deployed reports)
• Create a second document library (for Generated
Reports) – will set up a report schedule to deliver output
to this folder
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18. 6) Deploying SSRS Reports to a SharePoint site
• In the SSRS project properties, set deployment URLs
At minimum, need to provide:
• TargetDataSourceFolder
• TargetReportFolder
• TargetServerURL
TargetDataSetFolder and
TargetReportPartFolder are
optional – only if you’re
using Shared Datasets and
Report Parts
Sadly, this dialog doesn’t expand.
Makes it a bit difficult for long URLs
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19. 7) Viewing List of Deployed Reports
• Deployed reports in SharePoint, in Report Doc Library
• Data Sources document library contains data sources
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20. 8) Viewing Deployed reports
• Viewing report…can even click on state to launch new report
Toolbar similar to Toolbar in
native SSRS mode, but
w/additional option for Alerts
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21. 8) Viewing Deployed reports
• Shows vendors by state based on prior report
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22. 8) Viewing Deployed reports
• Demonstrates sparklines and performance gauges
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23. 9) Automatic delivery of reports
• Can run report schedules - send output to user Document
Libraries
• Uses SQL Server Agent – make sure Agent is running
• Create report shared schedule
– Site Actions/Site Settings/Reporting Services-Manage Shared Schedules
– Add a new schedule (actually writes a job entry in SQL Server Agent)
• Modify report data source to store credentials securely on the
server (for unattended execution)
• Create a new subscription for the report
– Go to Report/Manage Subscriptions/Add subscription
– Deliver to SharePoint Document Library (Generated reports)
– Set output format
– Associate with the report schedule
– Assign any parameters (can’t used Linked Reports)
– You may want to schedule an execution snapshot as well
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24. 9) Delivery through Data Driven subscriptions
• Instead of creating subscriptions manually, we can
populate a relational control table with entries we’d
otherwise provide manually
• SharePoint interface will prompt us for necessary fields
• Once again, the source of data (as well as the data source
for the relational control table that contains the
subscription information) must have credentials securely
on the server (for unattended execution)
• This can be a time saver – if you have a large # of
recipients
• Also dynamic – will pick up changes when we insert new
rows to the relational control table
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25. 9) Data Driven subscriptions
T-SQL code to create tblSubscriptionFileShare, to store data-driven subscription information
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Key value that Parameter expects:
gets difficult when dealing with
OLAP parameters

26. 10) SSRS reports inside PerformancePoint Server
• If you’re using PPS to create SharePoint dashboards
against analytic databases (using SSAS OLAP or SSAS
Tabular), you can devote specific dashboard pages
to SSRS reports
• Can seamlessly integrate deployed SSRS reports,
and take advantage of hierarchical PPS dropdown
filters
• We can place them in specific PPS page zones –
arguably works cleaner than web parts
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27. 10) SSRS reports inside PerformancePoint Server
• By default, the
dropdown list doesn’t
allow expand or
collapse
• We could use web
parts and SSAS filters,
but they have
flexibility issues, and
require modifications
to the source report
• Instead, we can bring
the report into a PPS
dashboard page
(which can be
deployed back to
SharePoint) and use
much better
dropdowns
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28. 10) SSRS reports inside PerformancePoint Server
• End result: we can bring in an SSRS report to a PPS Dashboard page
• We can link it to year in the KPI scorecard, and from a hierarchical dropdown filter
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29. 10) SSRS reports inside PerformancePoint Server
• Must create a PPS report
as an SSRS report type
• Must specify the report
server URL, and the
location of the report
• (No help with discovery –
have to provide the URLs
ourselves)
• Might need to _vti_bin as
part of the Report Server
URL (sometimes requires
some trial and error)
SharePoint 2013
has ability to
browse for the
report
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30. 10) SSRS reports inside PerformancePoint Server
• Must create a PPS
filter against an OLAP
source
• Uses MDX
Descendants function
to get everything
from the top level in
the geography, down
to the City level, and
everything in
between
8/4/2015 13 topics for SSRS/SP Integration 30Back to TOC

31. 11) SSRS reports against SharePoint 2010 Lists
• SSRS 2008R2 now offers a direct data source type for
SharePoint 2010 Lists
• No need to specify ASMX, only need to specify site
collection
• Much easier to specify the specific list
Core Site
Collection
Select
custom
list
Make
sure
to
set
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32. 12) Data Alerts in SharePoint 2010 with SQL 2012
• Data Alerts – can set up rules for report executions, to notify
users of data changes
• Alerts can go to email addresses
• Only available when using SSRS 2012 (or higher) and
SharePoint 2010 (or higher). Not available for “native mode”
SSRS environments without SharePoint
• Relies on SQL Server Agent – must have agent running
• SMTP4Dev – simple Email server from CodePlex
• Won’t send email anywhere – great for
development/testing
• Configured for local Server
• Must specify server in:
• http://win-f44mi1754cm:17225/_admin/globalemailconfig.aspx
• Also specify mail settings in SSRS Service app or
configuration settings
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33. 13) Power View-new SSRS 2012 tool w/Sharepoint
• New Data Visualization Tool in SharePoint for SQL 2012
• Works against SSAS 2012 Tabular Models, Deployed
PowerPivot models
– Support for traditional SSAS Multi-dimensional OLAP
databases added in SQL Server Cumulative Update 4 for SQL
Server 2012 Service Pack 1
• End-user reporting tool, visual subset of SSRS
• Nice capability for storyboarding capability
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34. Power View visualization
against the Power Pivot
Data Model
User can
filter on
Country
– State
Province
Scatter chart
plotting city
observations of
Sales revenue and
# of orders
Can use year as “Play
axis” to show that while
Beaverton is top city in
Oregon across all
years, it wasn’t top city
in 2007
13) Power View-new SSRS 2012 tool w/Sharepoint
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35. We can even select a single city
and plot the progression of
annual sales for a city over time
While this has nice interactive features, advanced users
might want to show a linear regression line, and also the
correlation coefficient (impact of order count on sales)
Here is where tools like SSRS or even Excel Pivot Charts
are a better option – Power View does not have these
features
13) Power View-new SSRS 2012 tool w/Sharepoint
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36. Cross filtering – I can click on the
pie slice for Australia, and the
bar chart above shades the
monthly sales just for Australia
13) Power View-new SSRS 2012 tool w/Sharepoint
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37. Coming soon!!! SSRS with Power BI
• Power BI sites (in the cloud)
• Next release (later in 2014) will be able to “connect
back” to on-premises data sources
• SSRS reports deployed to Power BI site can use on-
premises data sources through a Data Gateway
8/4/2015 13 topics for SSRS/SP Integration 37

38. Coming soon!!! SSRS with Power BI
8/4/2015 13 topics for SSRS/SP Integration 38
Power BI
Site “in the
cloud”
Local
SSRS
project
Deploy project
to Power BI site
Company on-premises
database
Secured Data
Gateway, so cloud
reports can access
on-premises data
Users access
reports in
Power BI
Dashboards
Follow the blog of Chris Webb for details
http://cwebbbi.wordpress.com/