SQL Server^® 2008 Reporting Services:
Hands-On

What is this course about?

SQL Server Reporting Services augments the ability of SQL Server, and other relational database management systems, to seamlessly deliver reports to customers, partners, suppliers and employees. In this course, you gain the knowledge required to author reports to extract business intelligence out of your data, deploy reports to a Report Server for centralised access and administration, and and share reports throughout the organization by deploying to SharePoint. A series of extensive hands-on exercises help you acquire the skills to exploit the full power of Reporting Services, and teaches you how to go beyond the physical limitations of your organisation to deliver data and share information with others; when you want and how you want.

Who will benefit from this course?

This course is valuable for database developers, data analysts, application developers, administrators, managers, and anyone responsible for designing, creating or using reports. Those who need to understand Reporting Services, or plan to employ Reporting Services within their organisation, will also greatly benefit.

What background do I need?

It is assumed that you have a working database knowledge (i.e., SQL statements, relational model concepts) at the level of Course 137, SQL Server^® 2008: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, or equivalent experience on other relational database management systems such as Access or Oracle. A basic understanding of the Windows environment is assumed. Visual Studio knowledge and a fundamental programming background are helpful, but not required.

I've taken Course 523, SQL Server^® 2005 Reporting Services: Hands-On. Will I still benefit from taking this course?

Although there are many new features in SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services, if you have taken Course 523, you should not take this course as there is significant overlap between the two courses.

What types of upgrades from SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services will I see in this course

This course introduces enhanced reporting features. You learn how to build a Tablix, an interactive report, which is a blending of a table and a matrix. You also learn how to create charts and gauge data regions.

I am currently using a database other than SQL Server. Will this course benefit me?

Yes! While SQL Server is the database used on the course, you will find that the material in this course is applicable to any OLE DB-compliant relational database management system (RDBMS), such as Access or Oracle. One of the primary advantages of SQL Server Reporting Services is that it supports any RDBMS.

My organization uses multidimensional cubes to analyze data. Why do I need Reporting Services?

SQL Server Reporting Services provides a centralised server-based solution with deployment options such as subscription-based delivery of reports, centralised management, enhanced security and snapshots, that exceed the feature set of Access. This course has a hands-on exercise that will show you how to create reports that are based on an Analysis Services cube.

I'm a manager, will this course be too technical for me?

Although there are strong technical elements of this course, as a manager, the more you understand about the capabilities and advantages of Reporting Services, the better you will be able to work with your team on an effective product implementation.

I'm not a programmer. How much programming is done on this course?

There is no programming on the course. However, the ability to write VB expressions would be beneficial. Learning Tree has been a pioneer in the application of "Active Learning" techniques, featuring paired hands-on exercises and group activities. This ensures that, even if you have basic programming skills, you can be teamed with a fellow course participant whose skills are stronger. With this method you can learn, not only from your instructor, but from the experience of other participants.

How much time is spent on each topic?

What platform is used for the hands-on exercises?

This course uses Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 running on Windows Server 2008.

What kinds of hands-on exercises are in this course?

Approximately 40 percent of class time is spent in hands-on exercises. Practical exercises provide experience administering SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services. Exercises include:

• Producing customised reports with expressions

• Employing Tablix to produce new report formats

• Leveraging advanced reporting charts with linear and radial gauges

• Creating cached instances, snapshots and subscriptions

• Deploying reports to SharePoint sites

• Configuring and testing security on report items

• Creating reports based on Analysis Services cubes

I am currently running SQL Server 2000. Will this course be applicable to my needs?

No, you should consider taking Course 523, SQL Server^® 2005 Reporting Services: Hands-On which is targeted towards users of both SQL Server 2005 and 2000. The differences between the two versions are minor in scope and clearly highlighted in the course.

My company is switching from Crystal Reports to SQL Server Reporting Services. Will this course address this specific report conversion?

No. This course will allow you to re-author your Crystal Reports, but does not cover converting Crystal Reports to SQL Server Reporting Services.

I am not confident in my ability to write SQL queries. Will I struggle in this course?

No. This course does not expect you to write SQL queries. All of the queries used in the hands-on exercises are already written for you, you will deploy them to get data from the RDBMS.

To learn more about writing basic queries, Learning Tree offers Course 532, SQL Server Transact-SQL^® Programming: Hands-On, for the SQL environment, and Course 493, Oracle^® PL/SQL Programming: Hands-On, for the Oracle environment. Both Course 534, Developing SQL Queries for SQL Server^®: Hands-On, and Course 234, Developing SQL Queries for Oracle^® Databases: Hands-On, offer training in advanced query writing.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

The SQL Server 2008 courses you take vary depending on the role you play in your organisation. Please refer to the SQL Server 2008 Curriculum Q&A for details on which courses are most appropriate to your role and the order in which you should take them.

• 137, SQL Server® 2008: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  is strongly recommended for anyone who is not familiar with the basics of SQL Server. It is a prerequisite for this course.
• 138, SQL Server® 2008 Database Administration: Hands-On  provides detailed coverage of SQL Server 2005 from a DBA perspective. The course covers issues such as backup and recovery, database storage, jobs and alerts, and other administrative tasks.
• 382, Relational Database Design, Tools and Techniques: Hands-On emphasises the concepts and addresses the "whys" of databases. This course covers what relational databases are, why they are used, and how to design and set them up.
• 534, Developing SQL Queries for SQL Server®: Hands-On offers the knowledge and skills needed to develop complex and robust SQL queries for SQL Server 2000 and 2005.
• 535, Developing High-Performance SQL Server® Databases: Hands-On provides the skills required to achieve a high-performance SQL Server 2000, or 2005 database solution.
• 134, SQL Server® Integration Services: Hands-On provides the skills necessary to solve data management problems by creating dynamic packages for migrating, processing and reporting on data for business intelligence.

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