Create Reports from Any Data Source Using SQL Server Reporting Services Custom Data Extensions

SQL Server Reporting Services makes it easy to build reports from database data, but what if the data isn't in a database? This article shows you how to take advantage of Reporting Services' unique extensibility model to build reports from ADO.NET datasets.

by Teo Lachev

April 25, 2006

ince its first release, Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) has supported a plethora of data sources. Out of the box, its data modules, called data extensions, allow you to build reports from SQL Server and Oracle database, as well as any other database that comes with an OLE DB or ODBC provider. But what if you want to build a report from a data source that isn't a database or doesn't have a provider? For example, what if you want the report source to be data from an ADO.NET dataset? To meet such requirements, you can extend SSRS by writing (or acquiring) a Custom Data Extension (CDE).

Choosing Data Integration Approach
Before deciding to write a custom data extension, it's worth exploring all your data integration options with non-standard data sources. Table 1 enumerates some of them.

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