Reporting Services Overview

Reporting Services is Microsoft’s software for managed reporting: designing, generating, and distributing organized views of database data to decision-makers who need them on an ongoing basis. A simplified view of a Reporting Services system and its major components is shown here.

The heart of the system is one or more report servers (center). Report servers host report definitions (in Microsoft’s Report Definition Language, or RDL) that are stored with configuration information, cached reports, and other data in a Reporting Services database. Report servers generate reports from a variety of data sources, including IBM DB2, Oracle, the SAP Business Warehouse, and SQL Server. Reports can be customized for particular audiences by supplying parameters (such as particular date ranges or sales regions) during report generation. Reporting Services reports can also include graphical elements (such as charts) and interactive features to drill down or roll up records or link to related reports. Report servers can produce a variety of digital output formats, including HTML, Excel, and Adobe PDF. They can deliver reports on demand over the Web and can also send reports to subscribed users on a regular schedule via e-mail, file shares, or other means.