Building ASP.NET Reporting OLAP-Based Application Part-3

In the previous two posts building the Cube and building the Report, we discovered how BIDS helps in developing BI applications in robust, managed and organized way. I believe if you have few BI concepts you can do this walkthrough in 10 minutes.
Let’s come to the last layer which I see it’s the presentation layer. One question may come to your mind why I build ASP.NET application over Reporting Service? Why I don’t give the end user Reporting Service Server URL. Because of security? NO. Reporting Service Server can manage different types of security which doesn’t put headache on your development team but what if your end user need UI layer say in Silverlight? How can you embed in the Reporting Service. We have ReportViewer Windows\Web control which provides a very rich of functionality to View Reporting Service (Local and Server) Reports. In our walkthrough we use Server Report.
Let’s open our previous solution and add a new ASP.NET web application project: InternetSalesWebsite
Default.aspx page open in source view, switch to Design view. 

Building ASP.NET Reporting OLAP-Based Application Part-2

In the previous post we learned how to build simple cube using BIDS, and if you’re follower I’ve forgot something important is deployment the cube on the Analysis Services.
1- We just need to add some attributes to the dimensions(DimPromotion, DimProduct) as each of which pure (contains just the key) for some reasons we need to show the user the name of product, or the promotion because it very hard to make human treat with numbers contrary to machines which prefer them. We shall add some attributes to the dimensions to make it meaningful.

2- Double click on DimPromotion; the dimension design window opened you find Data Source View, Hierarchies and Attributes; simply drag EnglishPromotionName from the Data Source View table to Attributes.
3- Repeat the previous step with the DimProduct to add EnglishProductName

Building ASP.NET Reporting OLAP-Based Application Part-1

Here I’ll talk about how to integrate your asp.net application with Reporting Service through ReportViewer web control which provides rich functionality to deliver Reporting Service Report through asp.net applications.

In real life applications; Analysis Service and Reporting Service on server machine, Web Server another server machine and clients usually on another domain access the website to do something.

Let’s take a look on this diagram to visualize what happened in intra applications which one of its functionality shows reports this reports actually based on OLAP Data (SSAS used here)

Here we build OLAP Cube as Report data source.

So, let’s begin to build our report based on Cube which built from AdventureWorksDW

SSW Rules to Better SQL Reporting Services

A away from being talking about SSRS 2005, but it presents really useful and beneficial information and tricks to SSRS developers and designers 

Rules to Better SQL Reporting Services

1. Do you know the 5 user experiences of Reporting Services: Vanilla, Website, Email, Windows?
2. Do you know when to use Reporting Services?
3. Do you check that “RS Configuration Manager” is all green ticks?
4. Do you check out the built-in samples?
5. Do you know your 2 migration options to show your Access reports on the web?
6. Layout – Does your report print and display on the web correctly?
7. Layout – Do you include a useful footer at the bottom of your reports?
8. Layout – Do you avoid using word ‘Report’ in your reports?

More on:
http://www.ssw.com.au/Ssw/Standards/Rules/RulesToBetterSQLReportingServices.aspx

SSRS 2008 new features

If you’re SSRS developer\designer you MUST check the new features which Microsoft had presented in its 2008 version, I recommend you to take this free E-Learning clinic: http://www.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/gotoResource.aspx?resourceId=fed36581-4a07-4988-b7f4-3a51d5cd5d6d