Let me preface this post by saying that I've researched this/these topic(s) in just about every way without finding much guidance.
I work for a company that hosts databases for numerous clients and provides online access to reports. We have several hundred clients across multiple servers. Each client has their own database and has a dozens of SSRS reports. I have been tasked with researching possible improvements that can be made to our processes and system. Many of these reports boil down to 12 base reports copied over and over differentiated only by the name of each client and the location of the database. I've thought about passing the name and connection string to one base report. Not sure of all the cons.
Points I've been asked to research:
- Is there a way to use the 12 or so base reports and re-use them for all clients instead of having thousands of copies?
- Can the RDL code be saved to a SQL database and retrieved, customized on the fly, and presented via the report viewer in an ASP.net page? I know that technically on the report server, reports are saved in the content table.
- Is there a way to allow the client to build ad hoc reports using our ASP.net site and save the report for future use?
So, some of my questions are:
- Are there any good resources that anyone could point me to to accomplish any of the above items?
- Can #3 above be accomplished without using Report Builder in any way. We want to use seamless branding in the application. Report Builder would work for us internally, but it doesn't seem like a product meant for a third party.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!
