A while back I blogged about switching Reporting Services from native to SharePoint Integrated mode and then the issues faced by existing applications utilizing the same instance of Reporting Services and which are dependent on Reporting Services being configured in native mode (http://mindsharpblogs.com/kathy/archive/2007/12/10/3788.aspx). If you’re considering adding Reporting Services reports into your SharePoint sites but want to maintain Reporting Services in native mode here are some alternative options.
1. Use the RSWebParts.CAB Web parts
These Web parts are installed as part of the SQL Server 2005 standard installation and are typically located at %SystemDrive%:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Reporting Services\SharePoint\RSWebParts.cab. To access the Web parts, you will need to install and register them in the SharePoint Global Assembly Cache (GAC) using the SharePoint command line editor:
stsadm.exe –o addwppack –filename “<file path of CAB>\rswebparts.cab” -globalinstall
I also found I needed to increase the trust level in the site’s web.config file to WSS_Medium before I could add the Web parts to a SharePoint page, i.e. <trust level=”WSS_Medium” originalUrl=”” />. In my case I was also running my Reporting Services in SharePoint Integrated mode, including the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Server 2007.
There are two Web parts included in the CAB and deployed to SharePoint Web Part Gallery when the CAB is installed - a Report Viewer and Report Explorer, seen below added to a SharePoint page (note, seen here where Reporting Services is configured in SharePoint Integrated mode). Further details on how to install and configure the Web parts working with Reporting Services in native mode can be found at http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms159772.aspx.
Pros/Cons: The RSWebparts also work with SharePoint Portal Server 2003/WSSv2 whereas the SharePoint Integrated mode/Reporting Services Add-in scenario only supports SharePoint Server 2007/WSSv3. You won’t get the rich integration features included with SharePoint Integrated mode and the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Server 2007, but you will be able to add Reporting Services reports to SharePoint Web pages, where Reporting Services is configured in native mode.
2. Use PerformancePoint Server 2007 Dashboard Designer
Dashboard Designer includes the ability to create a reference to an existing Reporting Services report, where Reporting Services is either configured in SharePoint Integrated or native mode, for example in native mode, http://server_name/reportserver. The following figure shows configuration options for a Reporting Services report, in this case SharePoint Integrated mode is selected and the URL to the respective report within my SharePoint Document Library added.
Below, two instances of the same Reporting Services report are added to a SharePoint page. The top instance is added using the SQL Server Reporting Services Report Viewer which is installed as part of the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint Server 2007 (SharePoint Integrated mode). The bottom instance is added using the PerformancePoint Dashboard Item Web part.
Pros/Cons: If you are not planning on deploying PerformancePoint then this probably isn’t an option. If you do deploy PerformancePoint then you’ll have this option plus all the other benefits of the product (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/performancepoint/FX101680481033.aspx?ofcresset=1). Remember too that while PerformancePoint lets you create references to Reporting Services reports in either native or SharePoint Integrated mode when building dashboards, certain administrative aspects of PerformancePoint Server 2007, i.e. the operational and business reports location, are not supported on a report server that is configured to run in SharePoint Integrated mode.