ptg 531 Reporting Services Add-In for SharePoint 31 Report Server DB. Report Server ensures that the copy of the reports in Report Server DB is kept in sync with the master copy in the SharePoint Content DB via a catalog- synchronization feature. Any metadata associated with the reports such as schedules, subscriptions, and snapshots for report history or report execution is stored only in the Report Server DB. Figure 31.1 shows catalog synchronization as a feature in Report Server in SharePoint inte- grated mode. This is a background process that is triggered automatically whenever a report item is created, updated, or retrieved. It ensures that the copies kept in Report Server DB are in sync with the SharePoint Content DB. When report items are deleted from the SharePoint site, the Report Server performs peri- odic verification and removes any copies from the Report Server database along with any associated report snapshots, subscriptions, and other metadata for the report. At daily intervals, the Report Server runs a cleanup process to verify that items stored in the Report Server database are associated with a report in the SharePoint Content database. The frequency of the cleanup process is controlled by the DailyCleanupMinuteofDay property in the RSReportServer.config file. Security Management For authentication, both the Windows integrated and trusted account modes are supported between SharePoint Server and Report Server. Figure 31.2 shows how the authentication information flows between the SharePoint and Report Server. In SharePoint integrated mode, SSRS uses a security extension to maintain report security in MOSS or WSS. SharePoint security features can be used to access report items from SharePoint sites and libraries. Once you integrate Report Server and SharePoint, the exist- ing site and list permissions for your users automatically give them permissions for Report Server operations. For example, the SharePoint View Item permission means the user can also view reports, whereas the Add Item permission translates to rights for creating new Windows (Kerberos)User WSS Web Application with Windows Authentication Report Server WSS Web Application (non- Kerberos or Custom Authentication) Non- Windows (non- Kerberos) User Windows User Trusted Account and SharePoint User token FIGURE 31.2 Security authentication modes. From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 532 CHAPTER 31 SSRS 2008 SharePoint Integration Architecture reports, data sources, and report models on the SharePoint site. A list of SharePoint permissions and how they map to Report Server operations is provided in Chapter 33. Deployment Architecture Prerequisites for SSRS to integrate with SharePoint include the following: . Install SSRS 2008 in SharePoint integrated mode, which is available in the following editions: Developer, Evaluation, Standard, and Enterprise. . Install the same type and version of SharePoint WFE on the Report Server machine as is on the SharePoint Server that will be used for integration. Integration is supported for WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 Standard or Enterprise editions. If you inte- grate with WSS, install the WSS WFE on the Report Server machine; for MOSS, install the MOSS WFE. . Install the RS add-in on each SharePoint WFE that will be used to view and man- age reports. To plan your system architecture, here are the variations of deployment topologies to consider: . Single machine: Figure 31.3 shows all SSRS and SharePoint components working together on the same machine. Putting everything on a single computer may not be practical for an enterprise production deployment, but it is attractive in a develop- ment or testing environment to save costs (for example, hardware and software licensing costs). . Distributed servers: It is common to separate the application server and database server on separate machines even for a single instance of SSRS or SharePoint Server. RS Add-in Clients Clients Clients IE SharePoint WFE RS Server RSDB Flat Files, OLE DB, ODBC SQL, AS, DB2, Oracle, Teradata, etc. MOSS or WSS Report Server Report Catalog Reporting Data Single Box FIGURE 31.3 Single-machine deployment of SSRS and SharePoint. From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 533 Summary 31 For example, you may have all the databases for SharePoint and Report Server on one machine, Report Server on another machine, and the SharePoint web applica- tion on a third machine. As long as you install a SharePoint WFE on the Report Server machine and the RS add-in on the SharePoint web application, the deploy- ment topology is sound and provides better resource isolation between the servers. . Scalable deployments: To support a large number of users or workloads, multiple instances of the same server component can be deployed, such as multiple Report Servers or multiple SharePoint sites (also called a SharePoint farm). Figure 31.4 shows a series of computers being used for SSRS scale out and a series of computers being used for a SharePoint farm. NLB in Figure 31.4 stands for network load balancer. The entire SharePoint farm must be configured to use a virtual Report Server URL as a single point of entry. Individual SharePoint sites in a farm cannot be configured against different Report Servers. SSRS does not provide load-balancing features or the ability to configure a virtual server URL out of the box. Therefore, a hardware or software load-balancing solution must be used. Summary SSRS SharePoint integration is enabled via deep database and security integration between Report Server and SharePoint via the Report Server SharePoint integrated mode. An RS add- in is required to be installed on the SharePoint web application to view and manage reports and to interact with SSRS. All user actions are initiated via the SharePoint UI, which uses a proxy to communicate with Report Server and complete any actions on report items. A variety of deployment topologies can be picked for integration between SharePoint and SSRS, such as single machine, distributed servers, and scalable deployments. Clients Clients Clients NLB Flat Files, OLE DB, ODBC SQL, AS, DB2, Oracle, Teradata, etc. NLB RS Server + SharePoint WFE RS Server + SharePoint WFE RS Server + SharePoint WFE RS Add-in SharePoint WFE RS Add-in SharePoint WFE RS Add-in SharePoint WFE SharePoint Farm RS Scale Out Deployment Report Catalog Reporting Data SharePoint and SSRS Scaled Out FIGURE 31.4 Multiple-machine deployment in a scale-out farm. From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg This page intentionally left blank From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg CHAPTER 32 Installation of Reporting Services Integrated with SharePoint IN THIS CHAPTER . Installing Reporting Services . Installing SharePoint . Configuring Report Server in SharePoint Integrated Mode . Installing Reporting Services Add-In for SharePoint . Configuring Report Server Integration Via SharePoint Central Administration . Upgrading from SSRS2K5 SP2 . Scaling-Out Deployments . Troubleshooting T he preceding chapter covered deployment architectures, which can help you to decide whether to integrate SharePoint with Reporting Services on a single machine, distributed servers, or scalable farms. Traditionally, you can launch Microsoft software installa- tion by clicking setup.exe without much planning and troubleshoot if something goes wrong. Customers have found that installation and configuration of the integration between SharePoint and Reporting Services can be hard to troubleshoot. There might also be additional steps needed to configure your specific deployment environment. Therefore, we highly recommend that you spend some time planning the list of tasks for your integrated deployment before you actually start installation. The recommended order for setup and configuration is as follows: 1. Install Reporting Services. 2. Install SharePoint. 3. Configure Report Server for SharePoint mode. 4. Install the RS add-in for SharePoint. 5. Configure SharePoint to work with Report Server. From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 536 CHAPTER 32 Installation of Reporting Services Integrated with SharePoint NOTE Basic (default) installation of SharePoint Server will install an Embedded Edition of SQL Server that is used for storing the SharePoint Content and Configuration databases. If you are installing SharePoint Server and Reporting Services on the same machine, note that Reporting Services cannot use the Embedded Edition of SQL Server for stor- age. You will have to install a database engine from the SQL Server CD along with Reporting Services. Installing Reporting Services Follow the steps from Chapter 6, “Installing Reporting Services.” Step 10 and Figure 6.9 show how to specify the installation mode on the Reporting Services Configuration page. To pick the default configuration for SharePoint integrated mode installation, select the Install the SharePoint Integrated Mode Default Configuration option. This option will configure the Report Server web service, Report Server database, the service account, and connections needed for access. An alternative is to pick the Install, but Do Not Configure the Report Server option. This is called a Files Only mode of installation. This will require post-installation configuration steps that provide more opportunities to pick URLs, port numbers, and names for web services and databases. Installing SharePoint You can do a fresh install of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 (WSS) or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS) or use existing SharePoint deployments to integrate with Reporting Services. Refer to tutorials or books on WSS and MOSS for information about topics such as administration of SharePoint farms. For many readers, you are likely to have existing installations of WSS or MOSS, and your SharePoint administrator can help you with the integration tasks. If you are installing a new SharePoint Server, you can reduce the number of database engines to manage by reusing the SQL Server 2008 database you just installed with SSRS 2008 as your storage location for SharePoint. NOTE If your deployment topology includes installing the Report Server and SharePoint Server on separate machines, remember to install a SharePoint Web Front End (WFE) on the Report Server computer, too. The WFE type and version should be the same as on the SharePoint Server (WSS or MOSS) that you are integrating with SSRS. Follow steps 1 through 3 described in the instructions to set up WSS 3.0. From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 537 Configuring Report Server in SharePoint Integrated Mode Here are the basic steps to set up WSS 3.0 to use for reporting integration: 1. WSS 3.0 is available as a free download as a setup file called SharePoint.exe . Download it and launch SharePoint.exe . 2. Click the Advanced installation type and select Web Front End. 3. To configure the WFE, use the SharePoint Configuration Wizard. If you are installing just a WFE on the machine, choose the Connect to an Existing Server Farm option and you should be done. 4. To continue to set up a new SharePoint Server, choose the Create a New Server Farm option. 5. Pick the database server where the SharePoint Configuration database should live. Note that if you have installed SSRS 2008 already, you can try to use the same data- base as Reporting Services. You will need to specify Windows account credentials for WSS to connect to the database. We recommend using a domain account. 6. Create a web application and site collection via the SharePoint Central Administration application. 7. From the Application Management tab, click the Create or Extend Web Application link and choose Create a New Web Application. 8. Choose the Use an Existing IIS Web Site option to use the default website. 9. Choose to Create New Application Pool and select the Network service account as the security account for the application. 10. Click the Create Site Collection link on the Application Created page and pick a name for the portal site. 11. Enter a Windows domain account as your primary site collection administrator. A new site collection is created with a top-level site (for example, http://servername ). 12. If you want, you can create a new subsite (for example, reports) from the top-level site using the Site Actions drop-down menu on the top right. Now http://servername/reports is ready to host any documents (in this case, reports). Configuring Report Server in SharePoint Integrated Mode You can use the Report Server Configuration tool to create a Report Server database in SharePoint integrated mode and configure the Report Server Service. Chapter 34, “Tools Support for SSRS Integrated with SharePoint,” is about using tools with SharePoint mode, and Figure 34.3 shows the Report Server Database Configuration Wizard, which you can use to create the Report Server database in SharePoint mode. Note that you have to configure the Report Server Service to run under a domain account if Report Server and application databases are on one computer and the SharePoint web application is on another computer. Chapter 33, “SharePoint Mode Administration,” provides more information about security. 32 From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 538 CHAPTER 32 Installation of Reporting Services Integrated with SharePoint FIGURE 32.1 SharePoint Central Administration: Reporting Services management. Installing the RS Add-In for SharePoint Go to www.microsoft.com/downloads and search for “Reporting Services add-in for SharePoint.” NOTE There are multiple versions of the SSRS add-in. You need to download the 2008 Reporting Services add-in for SharePoint for the language of your choice. Version 10.00.2531.00 released on April 7, 2009 is the most current update and includes the Report Builder 2.0 Click Once update (www.microsoft.com/downloads/ details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=58edd0e4-255b-4361-bd1e-e530d5aab78f). Run the rsSharePoint.msi on each SharePoint Web Front End (WFE) that is part of your SharePoint farm and will be used to run and manage reports. Doing so requires SharePoint farm administrator privileges. Configuring Report Server Integration Via SharePoint Central Administration Launch your SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration and click the Application Management tab (see Figure 32.1). From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 539 Configuring Report Server Integration Via SharePoint Central Administration If the RS add-in for SharePoint was properly installed and activated, you should see a section for Reporting Services with the following links: Grant Database Access, Manage Integration Settings, and Set Server Defaults. If you don’t see these links, navigate to Site Actions, Site Settings, Site Collection Features, and find Report Server Integration Feature in the list and click Activate (see Figure 32.2 and Figure 32.3). 32 FIGURE 32.2 SharePoint Central Administration: Site Collection Features. FIGURE 32.3 SharePoint Central Administration: Activate Report Server Integration Feature. From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. ptg 540 FIGURE 32.4 Reporting Services Application Management: Manage Integration Settings. FIGURE 32.5 Reporting Services Application Management: Grant Database Access. Once the Reporting Services section shows up under Application Management, you can use the various links under it to configure SharePoint to talk to Report Server. First, click Manage Integration Settings (see Figure 32.4). In the first field, you can specify the Report Server web service URL, which represents the target Report Server in SharePoint mode. This is the same value as the web service URL from the Reporting Services Configuration tool. The second field is a drop-down choice for authentication mode (between Windows authentication or trusted authentication), which can be selected based on what type of authentication mode is used for the SharePoint web application. CHAPTER 32 Installation of Reporting Services Integrated with SharePoint Now, click Grant Database Access (see Figure 32.5) to allow the Report Server Service to access the SharePoint Configuration and Content databases. Specify the Report Server name and database instance name. When you click OK, a pop-up dialog will request credentials for connecting to the Report Server. The last link under Reporting Services Application Management is Set Server Defaults (see Figure 32.6). From the Library of STEPHEN EISEMAN Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. [...]... SSRS Integrated with SharePoint SQL Server Management Studio Starting with the SQL 2008 release, SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) supports management of Report Server in SharePoint integrated mode (see Figure 34.4) You can connect to a Report Server in SharePoint mode by entering the URL to the SharePoint site in the Connect to Server dialog box (example syntax: http:// /) and entering... way with Report Server in SharePoint integrated mode as with Report Server in native mode: The Report Server Configuration tool can be used to set up and configure the Report Server It has the option to create the Report Server database in native or SharePoint mode SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) can be used by administrators to monitor and manage security and roles for the Report Server and for... Install a SharePoint Web Front End (WFE) on the Report Server machine Install the Reporting Services add-in on the SharePoint Server Activate the Report Server feature in SharePoint Central Administration Create or point to a Report Server database in SharePoint integrated mode via the Reporting Services Configuration tool Configure Report Server integration via SharePoint Central Administration... authentication between clients and servers and between servers and other servers It is considered more secure, flexible, and efficient than NTLM You must have already enabled Kerberos on your SharePoint farm or single -server installation Here are the steps to enable SSRS for Kerberos authentication: 1 Create a service principal name (SPN): setspn.exe –A HTTP/SSRS _Server domain\RS_Service_Login For... individual Report Servers You can create a single point of entry to the scale-out deployment via a URL that resolves to a virtual IP for the NLB cluster for Report Server instances Make sure you install the minimum SharePoint installation such as WFE on the SSRS machines Otherwise, you will see the error The Report Server cannot access settings in the SharePoint Configuration database NOTE SQL Server Books... automate Report Server deployment and administrative tasks Microsoft has not yet gotten around to supporting it in SharePoint integrated mode Report Services Configuration Tool This tool is used to configure an initial installation of SSRS or to fix existing Report Server configuration settings such as report service accounts, web service URLs, and the Report Server database The Report Server mode is... administrator To view the RS integration feature in the site, you need the site collection administrator to activate the Report Server feature NOTE There is a white paper titled “Troubleshooting Integration with SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft SharePoint Technologies” at http://msdn .microsoft. com/en-us/library/ bb969101.aspx Even though it was created for 2005 SP2, it is relevant for 2008 integration, too... credentials FIGURE 34.4 SSMS connected to Report Server in SharePoint integrated mode The following administration tasks can be performed via SSMS: View and set Report Server properties Figure 34.4 shows SSMS connected to a Report Server in SharePoint integrated mode The menu option for Properties on the connected Report Server brings up the dialog box for the Report Server properties, as shown in Figure 34.4... the same way with Report Server in SharePoint integrated mode as with Report Server in native mode The primary difference is that Report Manager is replaced by the SharePoint site as the tool for viewing and managing reports in SharePoint integrated mode The Reporting Services Configuration tool allows creation of a Report Server database in SharePoint integrated mode SQL Server Management Studio allows... Report Server will not generate clickthrough reports for reports that use a report model as a data source Custom Report Builder Launch URL: The ability to specify the launch URL for the Report Builder that ships with SQL Server 2008 or Report Builder 2.0 If you are using a SharePoint farm or a scale-out reporting deployment topology and don’t want to repeat these configuration steps manually on each server, . Distributed servers: It is common to separate the application server and database server on separate machines even for a single instance of SSRS or SharePoint Server. . to activate the Report Server feature. NOTE There is a white paper titled “Troubleshooting Integration with SQL Server 2005 and Microsoft SharePoint Technologies”