Hi everyone,
The post will focus on how to use data sources in Report builder 2.0 of Reporting services 2008.
· Best practice- use shared data sources:
A shared data source is defined on a report server and your report includes a reference to it.
Typically, a shared data source includes credentials that are saved on the report server.
You do not need to specify credentials for shared data sources and you cannot change them.
You can only preview reports with shared data sources when you have a valid connection to the report server.
You cannot modify a shared data source.
You cannot change the type of credentials that set for a shared data source.
In Report Builder 2.0, you can create a new data source that is a reference to a shared data source on a report server or an embedded data source that only your report uses.
To include a shared data source, you must have access to a report server and know where to find shared data sources.
1. Select General on the Data Source Properties dialog box to select a shared data source from a report server or to create or modify connection information for a data source embedded in the report.
2. Click on “Browse” to find the data sources on the server.
You can find it under the data sources folder.
Credential
The credentials for an embedded data source can be specified in the following ways:
Windows Integrated Security - When you select Use Windows Authentication (integrated security), the security token of the user accessing the report is passed to the server hosting the external data source. In this case, the user is not prompted to type a user name or password. This approach requires that impersonation and delegation features are enabled. If these features are not enabled, you can only use this approach if all the servers that you want to access are located on the same computer.
User Name and Password Login - When you select Use this user name and password, a name and password must be supplied to access the data source. For a SQL Server database, these are the credentials for the database login account. The credentials are passed to the external data source for authentication.
Prompted Credentials - When you specify prompted credentials, each user who accesses the report must enter a user name and password to retrieve the data. This approach is recommended for reports that contain confidential data. From a data source in an authoring environment, prompted credentials are for a database login. From a published data source, prompted credential can be a Windows account or a database login. If the database server cannot authenticate the credentials that you provide, the connection fails.
No Credentials - Credentials are not required for this data source.
Important notes:
If you cannot preview a report after you choose a shared data source, or if you are prompted for credentials, verify whether you are connected to the report server. verify the status for this data source and the report server.
You also need to credentials to browse to a report server to save reports, and view shared data sources and model. These credentials are granted by the report server administrator and saved in your user settings. If you browse to a report server and do not see shared data sources, models, or reports, your report server administrator can grant you proper credentials.
To remove all stored credentials on your local computer, on the Report Builder button, click Options, and then select Clear all recent item lists. This clears both the report server credentials and credentials that you have saved locally for data sources that use stored credentials.
Have fun and remember - always keep it simple = KIS
Ronen