Just getting started using SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) 2005 in production and I've got what should be a simple question.
How do I configure a development workstation to be able to develop SSRS reports which will run on a networked server running SQL Server 2005?
Here is my problem...
I installed VS2005 (Visual Studio Pro 2005) and SQL Server 2005 workstation components (with SQL Server SP2) on the workstation but the "Business Intelligence Projects", "Business Intelligence Wizards", and "Report Projects" are missing from the New > Project types. How do I get them added?
I can access the network SQL Server and the http://<Server>/Reports from the workstation.
On the SQL Server I can develop & deploy reports using BIDS (Business Intelligence Development Studio), on the server.
But on the workstation I cannot create a new Report Project nor can I open an existing reporting project (rptproj) or solution. (I get the error that rptproj is not intalled and that I should install the associated program...which is what?)
WORKSTATION:
Windows Vista Business with all the latest updates.
Visual Studio Pro 2005 with SP1 & Vista SP1 Update installed.
SQL Server Workstation Components (and Reporting Services components) & SP2 update installed.
NETWORK SERVER:
Windows Server 2003 StandardSQL Server 2005 Standard with SP2 & Reporting Services installed.
This should be a simple question, but I'm suprised that it is not working after installing what seemed like the appropriate components from the SQL Server 2005 disk.
Any suggestions on how to get the SSRS projects to show up and work in the Visual Studio 2005 on the development workstation?
Thanks!
-Erik
Within the SQL 2005 install program you have to go through an advanced install and select the development components to be installed as I believe they do not get installed by default.
|||I used the "Advanced" option when I installed.
But I just went back again to see it. Reporting Services is greyed out (I assume because it is already installed).
Now when I try though, I get the following messages and cannot install it.
Name: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Tools Express Edition
Reason: Your upgrade is blocked. For more information about upgrade support, see the "Version and Edition Upgrades" and "Hardware and Software Requirements" topics in SQL Server 2005 Setup Help or SQL Server 2005 Books Online.
Build version check:
Your upgrade is blocked because the existing component is a later version than the version you are trying to upgrade to. To modify an existing SQL Server component, go to Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel, select the component you would like to modify, and then click Change/Remove.
TITLE: Microsoft SQL Server Setup
None of the selected features can be installed or upgraded. Setup cannot proceed since no effective change is being made to the machine. To continue, click Back and then select features to install. To exit SQL Server Setup, click Cancel.
For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkID=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&ProdVer=9.00.1399.06&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=SQLSetup90&EvtType=28108
BUTTONS:
OK
So I'm inclined to think the Reporting Services components are already installed. Is there something I can check to verify if that is true? If not, why is it greyed out? In the advanced section I can check the Reporting Services component, but it won't let me install it, as it looks from above that setup believes it is already installed. Is there perhaps a registry key I need to manually delete, if it failed to install but left some key indicating it is installed? (It doesn't seem like this should be so hard to get going.)
Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
-Erik
|||In what order did you install VS Pro 2005 and SQL (including RS components)?
It sounds as though when you installed the RS components, the installation didn't recognize that VS was there, so it didn't integrate itself with VS. Or, if RS came first, that when when you installed VS it didn't "see" the RS components on the box.
I'm going to guess this is a Vista-related problem. Something didn't have permissions to look at something else, in the registry or wherever, when it installed and missed a stitch as a result.
I guess it could also be a mismatched edition problem. IOW, the Express version of the components don't talk to the Pro version of Studio. Studio Pro comes with the Reporting Services stuff (see http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700921.aspx) so probably the SQL components install would think it's already there.
Two things to check:
Is it possible (check your Start menu carefully) that there are *two* shortcuts to different VS versions? (this happened to me once but I couldn't tell you why)
Since your Visual Studio version is Pro, can you try adding features to it to get the Reporting (or Business Intelligence) stuff to show up, rather than trying to do it through the SQL install?
|||Order of Installation:
Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition first. (Used Custom Install and chose ALL features.)
Installed the VS 2005 SP1 update and the VS 2005 SP1 Update for Vista.
Then since I still couldn't see the SSRS projects, I installed SQL Server workstation components. (Advanced install to ensure SSRS features were included...but it seems the SSRS items were perceived as already being there.)
|||>>Permissions:
I have Admin rights on the box, so if there is a permission issue, it is not for lack of admin rights.
<,
I'm sorry, Erik, but you may be making an assumption here that is inappropriate on Vista. When you did the install, did you Run As Administrator? It doesn't matter that you have Admin rights on the box in some cases unfortunately.
>>Are the SSRS items a different VS install that I have to download and install from some MS download website? Like an add-on feature?
I didn't think so, with the Pro version, but that is not the version I have so I don't know for sure <s>. At work where I only have the Visual Web Developer Express and VB Express versions, I do have the BI components installed as a separate item from a separate add-on download. I think I got it from here http://download.microsoft.com/download/4/4/D/44DBDE61-B385-4FC2-A67D-48053B8F9FAD/SQLServer2005_ReportAddin.msi
I guess the problem might be that the SQL Server Express version that got installed with VS is the problem? There is an update to SQL Server Express with "Advanced Services" that installs "a limited version of Reporting Services" http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4C6BA9FD-319A-4887-BC75-3B02B5E48A40&displaylang=en
Do you have this?
I'm sorry I can't help you from my own experience, my edition here is "Team Edition for Developers".
But I just checked with my husband, who has the Pro version on his laptop -- he says he installed the BI pieces from SQL Server Developer Edition on top of Visual Studio install. So clearly he didn't get it from Pro.
>L<
|||If you are running VS2005 pro with Vista and trying to run reporting services there are two layer of issues, one correct features for reporting services in IIS 7 and two correct permissions to run VS2005 for web development in Vista because IIS main use is web development. The first link covers needed IIS 7 configuration for reporting services and the second covers permission and IIS issues in Vista by the Web development team at Microsoft.
One more thing VS2005 pro comes with a free developer edition you can install that as a named instance locally do the correct configuration for remote connection in configuration manager and surface area configuration tool and just use the production to run the stored procs and copy your code over to production as needed. There are about four files to copy the RDL and the related solution files you will see them under reports in your project, it makes development much easier. The only issue will be to not use Enterprise edition specific features in your development since production is standard. Hope this helps.
http://blogs.msdn.com/bwelcker/archive/2007/03/19/candy-apple-grey-installing-ssrs-and-windows-vista.aspx
http://forums.microsoft.com/MSDN/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2086062&SiteID=1
|||Hmmm...still not working. (Thanks for the helpfull links though.)
I enabled IIS as indicated in the first link. Then I opened VS2005 Pro and still did not find the Business Intelligence projects or Reporting Services project types listed when selecting new > project. Next I tried opening an existing *.rptproj project which I had already developed on the SQL Server in it's Business Intelligence Development Studio and it gave me the following error on the development workstation,
"The application for project 'L:\<path>\<filename>.rptproj' is not installed. Make sure the application for the project type (.rptproj) is installed."
It does not appear that enabling the IIS helped or made a difference. I still cannot open an rptproj project and I cannot create a new Reporting Services project type on the development workstation. Did I miss something?
Any other suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
-Erik
|||I did not add that because I assumed you will take my advice about installing the developer edition locally because I run the most expensive VS2005 called Team Suites but I still need to install the developer edition of SQL Server before getting BI development related features because I think BI development outside of the VS2005 database developer edition require SQL Server 2005 local installation. Why the VS2005 for BI development does not include the .NET languages, that is the reason to do database development in Team Suites I had to download a separate Addon.
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/aa700921.aspx
That already installed when I did the full install of VS2005 Pro. In fact, during the install of the SQL Server 2005 workstation components, it asked if I wanted to install the workstation components to the SQLExpress instance or to the default instance. (I chose the default instance.)
I feel like I'm missing something obvious here. Please let me know if you see what I'm missing.
Still welcoming suggestions and associated questions. 
Thanks!
-Erik
|||(That already installed when I did the full install of VS2005 Pro. )
No VS2005 just install Express I was telling you to install the developer edition locally and enable all the features needed for remote connection in in configuration manager go to sql server services and turn on reporting services, browser services and in sql native client configuration go to client protocols and enable both named pipes and tcp/ip. Then go to surface area configuration tool to surface area configuration for services and connection in database engine click on remote connection and enable both local and remote connection and click on using both tcp/ip and named pipes. When you have enabled all you can do reporting services development.
|||I'm not at all arguing with you, but am I understanding this correctly?
So, if I want to use Visual Studio 2005 Professional on a development workstation to make SQL Server Reporting Services reports which will be hosted and used on a networked SQL Server 2005 Standard server, I have to also purchase and install SQL Server 2005 Developer edition to install on the development workstation?
Is that correct?
Is there no other way to use VS2005 Pro to build SSRS reports which will be run on the SQL Server 2005 Standard server? If the answer is no, then can anyone suggest an alternative?
If the goal is just to be able to develop the SSRS reports on the development workstation and deploy them for use on the SQL 2005 Server, then what do I need to do that? Are there any other alternatives? If there are additional scenarios, I'd appreciate it if someone (MICROSOFT?) could list the available software scenarios that would enable someone to be able to develop SSRS reports on a development workstation, for deployment and use on a SQL 2005 Standard Server. Is there a link somewhere that explains this? I couldn't seem to find it spelled out well anywhere.
For comparison... If I have Business Objects Enterprise or Crystal Reports Server, I know I need Crystal Reports Pro or Developer, etc. on the development workstation for developing the reports -- which will be deployed to the server. I realize that with SSRS there is more than one tool that can develop the reports, but I've not seen it clearly explained what tools a development workstation needs in order to write SSRS reports for deployment and use on the SQL 2005 (Standard) Server.
Can someone please enlighten me? Multiple scenarios would be appreciated too.
Thanks much!
-Erik
|||On the server:
Windows server
SQL Server
IIS
.net
Reporting services
(of course, the above could be split into a multiple server deployment)
On the developer workstation:
windows
.net
Visual Studio
Report designer
So the question is, what is report designer? It's a plug in that adds report design capabilities to Visual Studio. How do you install it? You get the cd that has reporting services, and run a custom install. Part of the install is a choice to install the client tools. You do not need sql server / reporting services on the developer workstation, you just need the sql server / reporting services cd to do the install of the client tools.
Of course, if you wanted another answer, you could always install BIDS (business intelligence design studio, it's also on the sql server cds) intead of VS and report designer, as it essentially is BOTH in one package. That's for folks who want to do report design but NOT fun things like asp.net, and who also don't want to pay the licensing fees for a full copy of Visual Studio.
Mike G.
|||Your assumption is not correct because VS2005 pro comes with free SQL Server developer edition but it comes locked down like the Express you just need to use the steps I posted to get it to work like the standard and Enterprise. One more thing the developer edition comes with no deployment restriction so it is under $40 on th web, no RDBMS vendor gives you that option.
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