SQL Azure Reporting Preview is a cloud-based reporting service you add to your existing SQL Azure subscription. This article contains FAQs for SQL Azure Reporting Preview.

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Scenarios

Q: What are the supported scenarios for SQL Azure Preview?

When you add SQL Azure Reporting to your SQL Azure subscription, a report server is automatically provisioned for your account. After the report server is available, you can do the following:

  • Publish reports to a SQL Azure Reporting report server from SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio. Reports display data from SQL Azure databases.
  • View embedded reports hosted on a SQL Azure Reporting report server in a Windows Azure web role or worker role that includes a Microsoft Report control in remote mode, and that you deploy from your Windows Azure account.
  • Programmatically manage reports and SQL Azure Reporting report server content by using the report server Web service SOAP endpoints.

For sample code for each of these scenarios, see SQL Azure Reporting Samples.

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Comparison

Q: How does Microsoft SQL Azure Reporting differ from SQL Server Reporting Services?

Microsoft SQL Azure Reporting Preview provides features similar to on-premise SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services configured in native mode.

For the list of differences between the platforms, see Guidelines and Limitations.

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Getting Started

Q: How do I get started using SQL Azure Reporting?

See Getting Started with SQL Azure Reporting.

Q: How do I view published reports?

Login to the SQL Azure Reporting portal by using the report server URL and either the report server administrator credentials or a the credentials provided by your administrator. Navigate the folder structure to the report, and click on the report.

For more information, see Getting Started with SQL Azure Reporting for Report Readers.

Alternatively, create a Windows Azure Web role or worker role application that points to the hosted report.

For more information, see Getting Started with SQL Azure Reporting for Application Developers.

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Connectivity and Security

Q: How do I connect to SQL Azure Reporting report server?

When you add SQL Azure Reporting to your existing SQL Azure subscription, you will get the URL to the report server, the report server administrator user name. You specify the password. Use these report server administrator credentials to:

  • Log in to the SQL Azure Reporting portal
  • Publish reports from a client authoring tool
  • View a published report

The report server URL is the Web Service URL with /reportserver appended. You must use the https protocol to access the report server. For example, if your Web Service URL is abcdefgh.database.windows.net, the report server URL is https://abcdefgh.database.windows.net/reportserver.

For a summary of when to use which credentials, see Getting Started Guides for SQL Azure Reporting.

Q: I am unable to connect to a SQL Azure database. How can I troubleshoot this problem?

For troubleshooting common connectivity problems to SQL Azure, see the SQL Azure Connectivity Troubleshooting Guide.

For troubleshooting reports and report servers, see SQL Azure Reporting Troubleshooting .

Q: Where can I find sample connection strings for SQL Azure Reporting report data sources?

Only the SQL Azure report data source type is supported. A typical connection string looks like this:

Data Source=<server>.database.windows.net;Initial Catalog=<database>; Encrypt=True; TrustServerCertificate=False

You must get database login credentials (user name and password) from the database administrator. By design, credentials are not included in the connection string.

For more information, see Troubleshooting Tips in SQL Azure Reporting Troubleshooting.

For more information about working with database administrators who manage the data that you want to use in your report, see Getting Started with SQL Azure Reporting for Database Administrators.

Q: How do I publish a report to a SQL Azure Reporting report server?

Use a report authoring client tool to publish reports to your SQL Azure Reporting report server. You can also upload reports, one at a time.

For a list of tools, see Tool Compatibility.

For a list of which credentials to use, see Credential Summary.

Q: Can I report from SQL Azure databases that are not part of my SQL Azure subscription?

Yes.

From a report published on a SQL Azure Reporting report server, data sources and data source credentials are stored on the report server. Access to databases hosted on SQL Azure require only the connection string and login credentials that you received from the database administrator.

To preview reports on a client tool, the database administrator must add your client IP address to the firewall exception list for the database.

For more information about working with database administrators who manage the data behind your report, see Getting Started with SQL Azure Reporting for Database Administrators.

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Managing Report Servers

Q: How can I create more SQL Azure report servers?

When you add SQL Azure Reporting to your SQL Azure subscription, the service provisions one report server. To provision more report servers, create additional SQL Azure subscriptions in your Windows Azure or SQL Azure platform account.

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See Also