Creating
a Data Source Connection
We learned in Managing
Reporting Services: Data Connections and Uploads that the purpose of the Report
Server is to serve, or to act as a presentation platform, for our
reports. It connects to data sources to retrieve the data that
it presents in the reports it "hosts." When we refer to a data
source in Reporting Services, we are referring to a collection of
properties, in effect, that represent a connection to a given data source.
This collection of properties has a name, as it does in other applications
where data sources exist (a scenario with which most of us are familiar). Data
sources contain the following, where applicable:
-
Specification
of the data processing extension we use to process queries of the type for
which we intend to use the connection;
-
A connection
string that allows us to locate the source;
-
Access
credentials involved in allowing us to read the data within the source.
As we have noted in
various articles of the series, a data source connection can be embedded
in a report (where it is typically defined within the creation process); it can
also be defined as a shared data source item that is managed by a Report
Server. We will be establishing a shared data source item for the Execution
Log reports, so that the entire set can reference the same self-contained, underlying
data source. In addition to ease of referencing in the reports, our shared data
source will provide the benefit of maintenance from a single location, as we
shall see.
We
will create a shared data source for the reports before we upload them
to provide an immediate mechanism to link them to the data they are intended to
present. The data source connection will be independent of the reports
themselves. Our set of sample reports will share data housed in a single
source, the RSExecutionLog database, an excellent application of a
shared data source.
NOTE: For the setup of the RSExecutionLog
database, which we will require to complete prospective steps of our
practice example, see Prepare the Execution Log for
Reporting.
Our
first step is to start Report Manager.
1.
Click Start.
2.
Navigate to
the Reporting Services program group that installs within a
typical setup. The equivalent on my PC appears as depicted in Illustration
6.
Illustration 6: Navigate
to Report Manager ...
3.
Click Report
Manager to initialize the application.
NOTE: If Report Manager does not
appear in the manner shown, whether because you declined setup of the program
group, a disablement of the feature, or other, unknown reason, simply get there
by typing the appropriate URL into the address bar of your web browser. The
default URL is as follows:
http://<webservername>/reports
As an example, my <webservername> would be MOTHER1,
the name of my server, and would appear, in this approach, in my browser Address
line as shown in Illustration 7.
Illustration 7: Navigate
to Report Manager ... Alternative Route
We
arrive at the Report Manager Folder View. Let's create a new
folder, within which we can isolate the reports we will be uploading.
4.
Click New
Folder.
The New Folder page appears.
5.
Type the
following into the Name box:
Execution Log Reports
6.
Type the
following into the Description box:
Performance & Auditing Reports based upon the Report Server Execution Log
With
our input, the New Folder page appears as depicted in Illustration 8.
Illustration 8:
The New Folder Page, with Input
We are
returned to the Home page Folder View, and see our new folder
appear on the Contents tab, as shown in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9:
The Execution Log Reports Folder, on the Folder View - Contents Tab
8.
Click the link
for the new Execution Log Reports folder, to open it.
We
enter the Execution Log Reports folder, which is empty at present.
9.
Click New
Data Source atop the Folder View, as depicted in Illustration 10.
Illustration 10: Click
New Data Source atop Report Manager Folder View
The New Data Source page appears.
10.
Type the
following into the Name box:
RSExecutionLog
11.
Type the
following into the Description box:
Shared Data Source for Execution Log Reporting
12.
Ensure that
the checkbox to the left of Enable this data source is checked (the
default).
13.
Ensure that Microsoft
SQL Server is selected in the Connection Type selector.
14.
Type the
following into the Connection String text box:
data source="(local)";persist security info=False;initial catalog=RSExecutionLog
15.
Under Connect
Using, select Windows NT Integrated Security.
NOTE: Adapt the Data Source and authentication settings to
your own environment, as necessary (for example, if the RSExecutionLog database
is on another server and access is being attempted across a network, etc.)
With
our input, the New Data Source page appears as shown in Illustration 11
below.
Illustration 11:
The New Data Source Page, with Input
16.
Click OK
to accept the shared data source.
We are
returned to the Execution Log Reports page, Folder View, and see
our new data source appear on the Contents tab, as depicted in Illustration
12.
Illustration 12:
The Data Source Appears on the Folder View, Contents Tab
Having
created a data source, we will now upload the sample Execution Log
reports from the Report Manager. We will then marry the reports to the
common data source we have created.
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