Build an XML Data Extension for SQL Server Reporting Services

QL Server Reporting Services (RS) is:

• A new component of the SQL Server platform that Microsoft recently made available (January 27, 2004)
• A server-based package that comes in four configurations: Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Developer Edition, and Evaluation Edition
• Part of the SQL Server 2000 license (If you have a licensed copy of SQL Server 2000, you may run RS on the same server for no additional license fee.)

Microsoft designed the SQL Server RS architecture to expose all its SQL Server functionalities through a Web service-based interface. With Report Manager (an ASP.NET-based application) and URL access to reports built on top of this Web service interface, developers get out-of-the-box, IE-based access to RS functionalities without having to write a single line of code. Figure 1 shows the overall architecture of RS.

As you can see, RS is a totally server-based solution. As such, it doesn't require you to install any additional software on client machines in order for them to consume reports. A SQL Server database acts as the repository for reports definition and the overall server configuration. The API for storing, managing, and running reports is exposed as a set of Web service methods. The Web service interface dispatches requests to the report processor. The report processor calls into the selected data-processing extensions (unless caching options state otherwise) and then into a rendering extension. While Web service access is the preferred way to access RS management functions, a WMI provider is available as well.