SSIS
- SQL Server Integration Services
Q:
What is SSIS? How it is related with SQL Server.
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a component of SQL Server
which can be used to perform a wide range of Data Migration and ETL operations.
SSIS is a component in MSBI process of SQL Server. This is a platform for
Integration and Workflow applications. It is known for a fast and flexible OLTP
and OLAP extensions used for data extraction, transformation, and loading . The tool may also be used to automate
maintenance of SQL Server databases and multidimensional data sets.
Q:
What are the tools associated with SSIS?
We use Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) and SQL Server
Management Studio (SSMS) to work with Development of SSIS Projects.We use SSMS
to manage the SSIS Packages and Projects.
Q:
What are the differences between DTS and SSIS
|
Data Transformation
Services
|
SQL Server Integration
Services
|
|
Limited Error Handling
|
Complex and powerful
Error Handling
|
|
Message Boxes in
ActiveX Scripts
|
Message Boxes in .NET
Scripting
|
|
No Deployment Wizard
|
Interactive Deployment
Wizard
|
|
Limited Set of
Transformation
|
Good number of
Transformations
|
|
NO BI functionality
|
Complete BI
Integration
|
Q:
What is a workflow in SSIS 2014 ?
Workflow is a set of instructions on to specify the Program Executor on how to
execute tasks and containers within SSIS Packages.
Q: What is the control flow?
A control flow consists of one or
more tasks and containers that execute when the package runs. To control order
or define the conditions for running the next task or container in the package
control flow, we use precedence constraints to connect the tasks and containers
in a package. A subset of tasks and containers can also be grouped and run repeatedly
as a unit within the package control flow. SQL Server Integration Services
(SSIS) provides three different types of control flow elements: Containers that
provide structures in packages, Tasks that provide functionality, and
Precedence Constraints that connect the executables, containers, and tasks into
an ordered control flow.
Q:
What is the data flow?
Data flow consists of the sources and destinations that extract and
load data, the transformations that modify and extend data, and the paths that
link sources, transformations, and destinations The Data Flow task is the
executable within the SSIS package that creates, orders, and runs the data
flow. A separate instance of the data flow engine is opened for each Data Flow
task in a package. Data Sources, Transformations, and Data Destinations are the
three important categories in the Data Flow.
Q:
How does Error-Handling work in SSIS
When a data flow component applies a transformation to column data, extracts
data from sources, or loads data into destinations, errors can occur. Errors
frequently occur because of unexpected data values.
Type of typical Errors in SSIS:
-Data Connection Errors, which occur incase the connection manager
cannot be initialized with the connection string. This applies to both Data
Sources and Data Destinations along with Control Flows that use the Connection
Strings.
-Data Transformation Errors, which occur while data is being transformed
over a Data Pipeline from Source to Destination.
-Expression Evaluation errors, which occur if expressions that
are evaluated at run time perform invalid
Q:
What is environment variable in SSIS?
An environment variable configuration sets a package property equal to the
value in an environment variable.
Environmental configurations are useful for configuring properties that are
dependent on the computer that is executing the package.
Q:
What are the Transformations available in SSIS?
AGGREGATE - It applies aggregate functions to Record Sets to
produce new output records from aggregated values.
AUDIT - Adds Package and Task level Metadata - such as Machine
Name, Execution Instance, Package Name, Package ID, etc..
CHARACTERMAP - Performs SQL Server column level string operations
such as changing data from lower case to upper case.
CONDITIONALSPLIT– Separates available input into separate output
pipelines based on Boolean Expressions configured for each output.
COPYCOLUMN - Add a copy of column to the output we can later
transform the copy keeping the original for auditing.
DATACONVERSION - Converts columns data types from one to another
type. It stands for Explicit Column Conversion.
DATAMININGQUERY– Used to perform data mining query against analysis
services and manage Predictions Graphs and Controls.
DERIVEDCOLUMN - Create a new (computed) column from given
expressions.
EXPORTCOLUMN– Used to export a Image specific column from the database
to a flat file.
FUZZYGROUPING– Used for data cleansing by finding rows that are likely
duplicates.
FUZZYLOOKUP - Used for Pattern Matching and Ranking based on
fuzzy logic.
IMPORTCOLUMN - Reads image specific column from database onto a
flat file.
LOOKUP - Performs the lookup (searching) of a given reference
object set against a data source. It is used for exact matches only.
MERGE - Merges two sorted data sets into a single data set into a
single data flow.
MERGEJOIN - Merges two data sets into a single dataset using a join
junction.
MULTICAST - Sends a copy of supplied Data Source onto multiple
Destinations.
ROWCOUNT - Stores the resulting row count from the data flow /
transformation into a variable.
ROWSAMPLING - Captures sample data by using a row count of the
total rows in dataflow specified by rows or percentage.
UNIONALL - Merge multiple data sets into a single dataset.
PIVOT– Used for Normalization of data sources to reduce analomolies by
converting rows into columns
UNPIVOT– Used for denormalizing the data structure by converts columns
into rows incase of building Data Warehouses.
Q:
How to log SSIS Executions?
SSIS includes logging features that write log entries when run-time events
occur and can also write custom messages. This is not enabled by default.
Integration Services supports a diverse set of log providers, and gives you the
ability to create custom log providers. The Integration Services log providers
can write log entries to text files, SQL Server Profiler, SQL Server, Windows
Event Log, or XML files. Logs are associated with packages and are configured
at the package level. Each task or container in a package can log information
to any package log. The tasks and containers in a package can be enabled for
logging even if the package itself is not.
Q:
How do you deploy SSIS packages?
SSIS Project BUILD provides a Deployment Manifest File. We
need to run the manifest file and decide whether to deploy this onto File
System or onto SQL Server [ msdb]. SQL Server Deployment is very faster and
more secure then File System Deployment. Alternatively, we can also importthe
package from SSMS from File System or SQL Server.
Q:
What are variables and what is variable scope?
Variables store values that a SSIS package and its containers, tasks, and event
handlers can use at run time. The scripts in the Script task and the Script
component can also use variables. The precedence constraints that sequence
tasks and containers into a workflow can use variables when their constraint
definitions include expressions. Integration Services supports two types of
variables: user-defined variables and system variables. User-defined variables
are defined by package developers, and system variables are defined by
Integration Services. You can create as many user-defined variables as a
package requires, but you cannot create additional system variables.
Q:Can you name five of the
Perfmon counters for SSIS and the value they provide?
§ SQLServer:SSIS Service
§ SSIS Package Instances
§ SQLServer:SSIS Pipeline
§ BLOB bytes read
§ BLOB bytes written
§ BLOB files in use
§ Buffer memory
§ Buffers in use
§ Buffers spooled
§ Flat buffer memory
§ Flat buffers in use
§ Private buffer memory
§ Private buffers in use
§ Rows read
§ Rows written
SSAS
- SQL Server Analysis Services
Q:
What is Analysis Services? List out the features?
Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Analysis Services (SSAS) delivers online analytical
processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for business intelligence
applications. Analysis Services supports OLAP by letting us design, create, and
manage multidimensional structures that contain data aggregated from other data
sources, such as relational databases. For data mining applications, Analysis
Services lets we design, create, and visualize data mining models that are
constructed from other data sources by using a wide variety of
industry-standard data mining algorithms.
Analysis Services is a middle tier server for analytical
processing, OLAP, and Data mining. It manages multidimensional cubes of data
and provides access to heaps of information including aggregation of data. One
can create data mining models from data sources and use it for Business
Intelligence also including reporting features.
Analysis service provides a combined view of the data used in OLAP or Data
mining. Services here refer to OLAP, Data mining. Analysis services assists in
creating, designing and managing multidimensional structures containing data
from varied sources. It provides a wide array of data mining algorithms for
specific trends and needs.
Some
of the key features are:
§ Ease of use with a lot of wizards
and designers.
§ Flexible data model creation and
management
§ Scalable architecture to handle
OLAP
§ Provides integration of
administration tools, data sources, security, caching, and reporting etc.
§ Provides extensive support for
custom applications
Q:
What is UDM? Its significance in SSAS?
The role of a Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) is to provide a bridge between
the user and the data sources. A UDM is constructed over one or more physical
data sources, and then the end user issues queries against the UDM using one of
a variety of client tools, such as Microsoft Excel. At a minimum, when the UDM
is constructed merely as a thin layer over the data source, the advantages to
the end user are a simpler, more readily understood model of the data,
isolation from heterogeneous backend data sources, and improved performance for
summary type queries. In some scenarios a simple UDM like this is constructed
totally automatically. With greater investment in the construction of the UDM,
additional benefits accrue from the richness of metadata that the model can
provide.
The
UDM provides the following benefits:
• Allows the user model to be greatly enriched.
• Provides high performance queries supporting interactive analysis, even over
huge data volumes.
• Allows business rules to be captured in the model to support richer analysis.
Q:What is the need for SSAS
component?
Analysis Services is the only
component in SQL Server using which we can perform Analysis and Forecast
operations.
SSAS is very easy to use and
interactive.
Faster Analysis and
Troubleshooting.
Ability to create and manage Data
warehouses.
Apply efficient Security
Principles.
Q:
Explain the TWO-Tier Architecture of SSAS?
§ SSAS uses both server and client
components to supply OLAP and data mining functionality BI Applications.
§ The server component is implemented
as a Microsoft Windows service. Each instance of Analysis Services implemented
as a separate instance of the Windows service.
§ Clients communicate with Analysis
Services using the standard XMLA (XML For Analysis) , protocol for issuing
commands and receiving responses, exposed as a web service.
Q:
What are the components of SSAS?
§ An OLAP Engine is used for enabling
fast adhoc queries by end users. A user can interactively explore data by
drilling, slicing or pivoting.
§ Drilling refers to the process of
exploring details of the data.
§ Slicing refers to the process of
placing data in rows and columns.
§ Pivoting refers to switching
categories of data between rows and columns.
§ In OLAP, we will be using what are
called as Dimensional Databases.
Q:
What is FASMI ?
A database is called an OLAP Database if the database satisfies the FASMI rules
:
§ Fast Analysis– is defined in the OLAP scenario in
five seconds or less.
§ Shared – Must support access to data
by many users in the factors of Sensitivity and Write Backs.
§ Multidimensional – The data inside the OLAP Database
must be multidimensional in structure.
§ Information – The OLAP database Must support
large volumes of data..
Q:
What languages are used in SSAS ?
§ Structured Query Language (SQL)
§ Multidimensional Expressions (MDX)
- an industry standard query language orientated towards analysis
§ Data Mining Extensions (DMX) - an
industry standard query language oriented toward data mining.
§ Analysis Services Scripting
Language (ASSL) - used to manage Analysis Services database objects.
Q:
How Cubes are implemented in SSAS ?
§ Cubes are multidimensional models
that store data from one or more sources.
§ Cubes can also store aggregations
§ SSAS Cubes are created using the
Cube Wizard.
§ We also build Dimensions when
creating Cubes.
§ Cubes can see only the DSV( logical
View).
Q:
What is the difference between a derived measure and a calculated
measure?
The difference between a derived measure and a calculated measure is when the
calculation is performed. A derived measure is calculated before aggregations
are created, and the values of the derived measure are stored in the cube. A
calculated measure is calculated after aggregations are created, and the values
of a calculated measure aren’t stored in the cube. The primary criterion for
choosing between a derived measure and a calculated measure is not efficiency,
but accuracy.
Q:
What is a partition?
A partition in Analysis Services is the physical location of stored cube data.
Every cube has at least one partition by default. Each time we create a measure
group, another partition is created. Queries run faster against a partitioned
cube because Analysis Services only needs to read data from the partitions that
contain the answers to the queries. Queries run even faster when partition also
stores aggregations, the pre calculated totals for additive measures.
Partitions are a powerful and flexible means of managing cubes, especially
large cubes.
Q:
While creating a new calculated member in a cube what is the use of
property
called non-empty behavior?
Nonempty behavior is important property for ratio calculations.
If the denominator Is empty, an MDX expression will return an error just as it
would if the denominator Were equal to zero. By selecting one or more measures
for the Non-Empty Behavior property, we are establishing a requirement that
each selected measure first be evaluated before the calculation expression is
evaluated. If each selected measure is empty, then The expression is also
treated as empty and no error is returned.
Q:
What is a RAGGED hierarchy?
Under normal circumstances, each level in a hierarchy in Microsoft SQL ServerAnalysis Services (SSAS) has the same number of members above it as any other
member at the same level. In a ragged hierarchy, the logical parent member of
at least one member is not in the level immediately above the member. When this
occurs, the hierarchy descends to different levels for different drilldown
paths. Expanding through every level for every drilldown path is then
unnecessarily complicated.
Q:
What are the roles of an Analysis Services Information Worker?
The role of an Analysis Services
information worker is the traditional "domain expert" role in
business intelligence (BI) someone who understands the data employed by a
solution and is able to translate the data into business information. The role
of an Analysis Services information worker often has one of the following job
titles: Business Analyst (Report Consumer), Manager (Report Consumer),
Technical Trainer, Help Desk/Operation, or Network Administrator.
Q:
What are the different ways of creating Aggregations?
We can create aggregations for faster MDX statements using Aggregation Wizard
or thru UBO – Usage Based Optimizations. Always, prefer UBO method in realtime
performance troubleshooting.
Q:
What is WriteBack? What are the pre-conditions?
The Enable/Disable Writeback dialog box enables or disables
writeback for a measure group in a cube. Enabling writeback on a measure group
defines a writeback partition and creates a writeback table for that measure
group. Disabling writeback on a measure group removes the writeback partition
but does not delete the writeback table, to avoid unanticipated data loss.
Q:
What is processing?
Processing is a critical and resource intensive operation in the data warehouse
lifecycle and needs to be carefully optimized and executed. Analysis Services
offers a high performance and scalable processing architecture with a
comprehensive set of controls for database administrators.
We can process an OLAP database, individual cube, Dimension or a specific
Partition in a cube.
Q:
Name few Business Analysis Enhancements for SSAS?
The following table lists the business intelligence enhancements that are
available in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS). The table also
shows the cube or dimension to which each business intelligence enhancement
applies, and indicates whether an enhancement can be applied to an object that
was created without using a data source and for which no schema has been
generated.
|
Enhancement
|
Type
|
Applied
to
|
No
data source
|
|
Time
Intelligence
|
Cube
|
Cube
|
No
|
|
Account
Intelligence
|
Dimension
|
Dimension
or cube
|
No
|
|
Dimension
Intelligence
|
Dimension
|
Dimension
or cube
|
Yes
|
|
Custom
Aggregation
|
Dimension
|
Dimension
(unary operator) or cube
|
No
|
|
Semiadditive
Behavior
|
Cube
|
Cube
|
Yes
|
|
Custom
Member Formula
|
Dimension
|
Dimension
or cube
|
No
|
|
Custom
Sorting and Uniqueness Settings
|
Dimension
|
Dimension
or cube
|
Yes
|
|
Dimension
Writeback
|
Dimension
|
Dimension
or cube
|
Yes
|
Q:
What MDX functions do you most commonly use?
This is a great question because you only know this answer by experience.
If you ask me this question, the answer practically rushes out of me.
“CrossJoin, Descendants, and NonEmpty, in addition to Sum, Count, and
Aggregate. My personal favorite is CrossJoin because it allows me
identify non-contiguous slices of the cube and aggregate even though those cube
cells don’t roll up to a natural ancestor.” Indeed, CrossJoin has easily
been my bread and butter.
Q:
Where do you put calculated members?
The reflexive answer is “in the Measures dimension” but this is the obvious
answer. So I always follow up with another question. “If you want
to create a calculated member that intersects all measures, where do you put
it?” A high percentage of candidates can’t answer this question, and the
answer is “In a dimension other than Measures.” If they can answer it, I
immediately ask them why. The answer is “Because a member in a dimension
cannot intersect its own relatives in that dimension.”
Q:
How do I find the bottom 10 customers with the lowest sales in 2003 that were
not null?
A: Simply using bottomcount will return customers with null sales. You will
have to combine it with NONEMPTY or FILTER.
SELECT { [Measures].[Internet Sales Amount] } ON COLUMNS ,
BOTTOMCOUNT(
NONEMPTY(DESCENDANTS( [Customer].[Customer Geography].[All Customers]
, [Customer].[Customer Geography].[Customer] )
, ( [Measures].[Internet Sales Amount] ) )
, 10
, ( [Measures].[Internet Sales Amount] )
) ON ROWS
FROM [Adventure Works]
WHERE ( [Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].&[2003] ) ;
Q:
How in MDX query can I get top 3 sales years based on order quantity?
By default Analysis Services returns members in an order specified during
attribute design. Attribute properties that define ordering are "OrderBy"
and "OrderByAttribute". Lets say we want to see order counts for each
year. In Adventure Works MDX query would be:
SELECT {[Measures].[Reseller Order Quantity]} ON 0
, [Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].Members ON 1
FROM [Adventure Works];
Same query using TopCount:
SELECT
{[Measures].[Reseller Order Quantity]} ON 0,
TopCount([Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].Members,3, [Measures].[Reseller
Order Quantity]) ON 1
FROM [Adventure Works];
Q:
How do you extract first tuple from the set?
Use could usefunctionSet.Item(0)
Example:
SELECT {{[Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year].Members
}.Item(0)}
ON 0
FROM [Adventure Works]
Q:
How can I setup default dimension member in Calculation script?
You can use ALTER CUBE statement. Syntax:
ALTER CUBE CurrentCube | YourCubeName UPDATE DIMENSION , DEFAULT_MEMBER='';
SSRS - SQL Server
Reporting Services
Q: What is SSRS?
SQL Server Reporting Service is one of the server-based software systems that
generate reports developed by Microsoft. It is used for preparing and
delivering interactive and variety of printed reports. It is administered
through an interface that is web based. Reporting services utilizes a web
service interface for supporting and developing of customized reporting
applicatons. It can be competed with Crystal Reports and other business
intelligence tools.
Q: Explain SSRS Architecture?
Reporting services architecture comprises of integrated components. It is a
multi-tiered, included with application, server and data layers. This
architecture is scalable and modular. A single installation can be used across
multiple computers. It includes the following components: - Report Manager,
Reporting Designer, Browser Types Supported by Reporting services, Report
server, Report server command line utilities, Report Server Database, Reporting
Services Extensibility, Data sources that is supported by Reporting Services.
Q: Explain Reporting Life Cycle?
The Reporting Lifecycle includes - Report designing – The designing is done in
Visual Studio Report Designer. It generates a class which embodies the Report
Definition. - Report processing – The processing includes binging the report
definition with data from the report data source. It performs on all grouping,
sorting and filtering calculations. The expressions are evaluated except the
page header, footer and section items. Later it fires the Binding event and
Bound event. As a result of the processing, it produces Report Instance. Report
instance may be persisted and stored which can be rendered at a later point of
time. - Report Rendering: Report rendering starts by passing the Report
Instance to a specific rendering extension (HTML or PDF formats). The instance
of reports is paged if paging supported by output format. The expressions of
items are evaluated in the page header and footer sections for every page. As a
final step, the report is rendered to the specific output document.
Q: How to finetune Reports?
To tune-up the Reporting Services, follow the below mentioned ways: - Expand
the Server or utilizing the reporting services of another database server. For
better embedding of report contents, report application’s logic and
characteristics can have a duplicate copy of data. - Replication of data
continuously. Using nolock, the issues of locking can well be resolved and the
performance of the query can be improved. This can be done by using dirty read
at the time of duplicating the data is unavailable.
Q: What are Data Driven Subscriptions?
Reporting Services provides data-driven subscriptions so that you can customize
the distribution of a report based on dynamic subscriber data. Data-driven
subscriptions are intended for the following kinds of scenarios: Distributing
reports to a large recipient pool whose membership may change from one
distribution to the next. For example distribute a monthly report to all
current customers. Distributing reports to a specific group of recipients based
on predefined criteria. For example send a sales performance report to the top
ten sales managers in an organization.
Q: What is Linked Report?
Q: What are different types of roles provided by SSRS?
Q: Difference between Logical Page an Physical Page in SSRS.
Logical page breaks are page breaks that you insert before or after report
items or groups. Page breaks help to determine how the content is fitted to a
report page for optimal viewing when rendering or exporting the report. The
following rules apply when rendering logical page breaks: Logical page breaks
are ignored for report items that are constantly hidden and for report items
where the visibility is controlled by clicking another report item. Logical
page breaks are applied on conditionally visible items if they are currently
visible at the time the report is rendered. Space is preserved between the
report item with the logical page break and its peer report items. Logical page
breaks that are inserted before a report item push the report item down to the
next page. The report item is rendered at the top of the next page. Logical
page breaks defined on items in table or matrix cells are not kept. This does
not apply to items in lists.
Q: User want only to display only pdf as export option in report
Manager. How to acheive this?
Q: Name and Describe few console utilities for SSRS?
Q: Name few Endpoints exposed by SSRS 2012?
Q: Describe different Processing Modes offered by SSRS?
Q: When to Use Null Data driven Subscription?
Create a data-driven subscription that uses the Null Delivery Provider. When
you specify the Null Delivery Provider as the method of delivery in the
subscription, the report server targets the report server database as the delivery
destination and uses a specialized rendering extension called the null
rendering extension. In contrast with other delivery extensions, the Null
Delivery Provider does not have delivery settings that you can configure
through a subscription definition.
Q: How can you monitor the report Usage?
Q: How does the report manager work in SSRS?
Report manager is a web application. In SSRS it is accessed by a URL. The
interface of this Report manager depends on the permissions of the user. This
means to access any functionality or perform any task, the user must be
assigned a role. A user with a role of full permissions can entire all the
features and menus of the report. To configure the report manager, a URL needs
to be defined.
Q: What are the Reporting Services components?
Reporting services components assist in development. These processing
components include some tools that are used to create, manage and view reports.
A report designer is used to create the reports. a report sever is used to
execute and distribute reports. a report manager is used to manage the report
server.
Q:SQL Server Reporting Services vs Crystal Reports.
Crystal reports are processed by IIS while SSRS have a report server. Caching
in Crystal reports is available through cache server. On the other hand,
caching in SSRS is available for Report history snapshots. Crystal reports have
standards and user defined field labels. SSRS allows only user defined field
labels.
Q: What is Report Builder?
Report Builder is a business-user, ad-hoc report design client that allows
users to design reports based on the business terms (Report Builder model) they
are familiar with, but without needing to understand database schemas or how to
write SQL or MDX queries. Report Builder works with both SQL Server and
Analysis Services data sources.
Q: How does Report Builder support Analysis Services cubes?
Report Builder supports relational SQL and Analysis Services data sources in
SQL Server. To create a model for Analysis Services cube, go to Report Manager or
Management Studio, create a data source for your Analysis Services database,
and then select the Generate Model option to create the model.
Q: How do users use Report Builder with SQL Server data sources?
While models that provide access to SQL Server Analysis Services are
automatically generated on the report server, the Report Builder Model Designer
can be used to generate or modify the models that are built on top of SQL
Server relational databases. These model-building projects are a new type of project
within a Visual Studio–based development shell.
Q: How do I get Report Builder to generate a parameter that can be
set by users viewing the report?
In the filter dialog box, click the name of the criteria that you would like to
prompt the user for when viewing the report. For example, for the criteria
Order Year=2000, click Order Year. Select the Prompt option in the drop-down
list.
Q: What new data source types were added in SSRS 2014?
In addition to the data source types available in SSRS (SQL Server, Oracle,
ODBC, OLE DB), the following have been added in SSRS 2012: SQL Server Analysis
Services SQL Server Integration Services SQL Server Report Builder Models XML
(through URL and Web services)
Q: How can I add Reporting Services reports to my application?
Visual Studio / SSDT / BI Data Tools (Standard and Enterprise editions)
contains a set of freely redistributable Report Viewer controls that make it
easy to embed Reporting Services functionality into custom applications. Two
versions of the Report Viewer exist, one for rich Windows client applications
and one for ASP.NET applications.
Q: Do I need a report server to run reports in my application?
In addition to publishing reports to a report server, you can build reports
using the Report Designer that is directly integrated with Visual Studio
language projects. You can embed reports directly in any Windows Forms or
ASP.NET Web application without access to a report server. The data access in
embedded reports is a natural extension of the Visual Studio data facilities.
Not only can you use traditional databases as a source of data for your
reports, you can use object collections as well.
Q: Can you import Microsoft Excel data to SSRS?
Reporting Services does not import data. It only queries data in whatever
format it is stored in their native storage system. I will assume that you're
asking whether you can create reports and use Excel spreadsheets as data
sources. The answer is Yes, Reporting Services supports a wide variety of data
sources, including Excel files. You'll get the best performance with the
built-in native .NET providers but you should be able to connect to any ODBC or
OLE-DB data source, whether it comes from Microsoft or a third-party company.
Q: Can we deploy SSRS reports on our personal website?
Your reports can only be deployed on a reporting services site. Your only
option for viewing them from other sites is an HTTP link. Some tools, like
SharePoint offer controls allowing you to view reports in the context of the
other websites, but the report is still deployed to and hosted from reporting
services.
Q: Can we use datagrids for our report in SSRS?
We have an ASP.NET project that populates a datagrid. Using datagrid as my
datasource for my report using SQL Server Reporting Services. Is this possible?
The simple answer is no. However, nothing's ever simple. A set of reporting
controls was added in Visual Studio 2010 allowing you to report in a dataset,
on data that was supplied by you. So, if you retrieved your data into a
dataset, bound the datagrid to the dataset so it had data to display, you could
then use that dataset as the datasource for the reporting controls. These are
then client-side reports, not server reports though.
Q: What are the drawbacks of reporting in SSRS?
For many years, Microsoft had no direct solution for reporting with the SQL
Server besides Crystal Reports. Now, they have SQL Server Reporting Services,
but it does have several drawbacks. It is still complex to understand the
complete functionality and structure of this new component, and many users are
still relying on the reporting application they are more familiar with, which
is Crystal Reports. Also, components in SSRS like Report Builder and Report
Designer are meant for different users for different aspects of the report
process, yet complete understanding and exposure to both is important to
utilize both functions fully and extensively. There are also issues when
exporting very large reports to Microsoft Excel, as it can lead to a loss of
data.
Q: Will running SSRS on Windows XP limit the number of users?
Yes, but not because of SSRS. The Internet Information Services (IIS) component
of Windows XP only allows a small number of users to connect to the website at
once. As SSRS runs via IIS, this would prevent more than a few people from
using SSRS at once. Also, the only edition of SSRS that will install on Windows
XP is the Developer Edition. This edition can not be used for production use.
You need Standard or Enterprise Edition for production use, which requires a
Server OS to install on (Windows 2003 Standard, Windows 2008 Standard, etc).
Q: Are there issues when exporting SSRS reports into Microsoft
Excel?
When my users are trying to export a SSRS report into Microsoft Excel, one or
two columns in the report appear to merge together. Why might this be?
Exporting from SSRS is not always perfect, even if you stay within the
Microsoft range of products. If you have extra resources, you could splurge for
an add-on that offers much better control over exporting to Excel, such as
OfficeWriter. From my experience, though, it is usually headers or footers that
cause exporting issues. If any of these headers or footers overlap with data
columns in your report, you will find that the exported version of the report
has merged cells. Also, check columns next to each other to make sure that
there is no overlap, as well.
Q: How to send a SSRS report from SSIS?
Often there is a requirement to be able to send a SSRS report in Excel, PDF or
another format to different users from a SSIS package one it has finished
performing a data load. In order to do this, first you need to create a
subscription to the report. You can create a SSRS report subscription from
Report Manager. At the report subscription you can mention the report format and
the email address of the recipient. When you create a schedule for the SSRS
report, a SQL Server Agent Job will be created. From the SSIS, by using
sp_start_job and passing the relevant job name you can execute the SSRS report
subscription.
SSRS
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What are data
regions?
Data regions are report items that
display repeated rows of summarized information from datasets.
2) You want to
generate a report that is formatted as a chart. Can you use the Report Wizard
to create such a report?
No, the Report Wizard lets you
create only tabular and matrix reports. you must create the chart report
directly by using the Report Designer.
3) You want to use BIDS to
deploy a report to a different server than the one you chose in the Report
Wizard. How can you change the server URL?
You can right-click the project in
Solution Explorer and then change the Target-Server URL property.
4) What are the three SSRS
command-line utilities and their primary functions?
RSConfig.exe is used to define the
connection properties from the SSRS instance to the Report Server database;
RSKeyMgmt.exe performs encryption key operations and scale-out deployment
setup; RS.exe runs Report Server Script files that can perform report deployment
and management operations.
5) Can you always create a
cache of a report?
No, you can create a cache of a
report only when certain requirements, such as having credentials stored in the
Report Server, are met.
6) Can
you edit the .rdl code associated with a linked report?
No, because a linked report has no
.rdl code of its own. It refers to the .rdl code of the base report
7)
What is reporting lifecycle?
Reporting Services has three
mainly three phases
Development of
Reports (Developer) – First of all a report needs to be design which is
primarily done by report developer
Management of Reports (DBA) –
Once the Report is being developed, DBA need to ensure
Security – Only authorized user
should access the report
Execution – How the report will be executed
to optimize data sources performance
Scheduling of reports – so that
report are executed on scheduled timings
Report
Delivery (DBA+Developer) – Once the report is being developed and executed
now the report should be reached to final recipients (business users) who are
going to understand / analyze report data. If any changes, we again go back to
development stage.
8)
What are the new features are introduced in SQL Server 2012 reporting services?
Power
View -
interactive data exploration
SQL Server 2012 is fully
integrated with SharePoint
Introduction to Data Alerts,
data alerts are a data-driven alerting solution that informs you about changes
in report data that are of interest to you, and at a relevant time
SQL Server Data tool
New rendering extensions supports
MS Office 2010
Project Crescent is being
introduced
9) What is ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB ?
Reporting Services uses two SQL
Server databases for storage by default; the databases are
named ReportServer and ReportServerTempdb.
ReportServer is a main
database, which store all internal configuration and report meta data where
as ReportServerTempdb is used to store temporary data, session
information, and cached reports.
10)
What is encryption key?
Encryption keys are used by the
report server so that items such as connection strings are maintained securely.
These keys are required in case you want to perform restoration of report
server databases
11)
Mention what is SSRS?
SSRS or SQL Server Reporting
Services is a server-based reporting platform that gives detailed reporting
functionality for a variety of data sources. Reporting services include a
complete set of tools to manage, create and deliver reports and APIs that
allows developers to synchronize data and report process in custom application.
12)
Mention what are the important architecture components of SSRS?
Important architecture components
of SSRS includes
Report Manager
Report Designer
Browser types supported by
reporting services
Report Server
Report Server and Command line
utilities
Report Server Database
Data Sources
13)
Explain what data regions are and what are the different data regions?
Data regions are report items that
show repeated rows of summarized information from datasets.
Different data regions include
Chart
Gauge
List
Matrix
Table
14)
Explain what are the different stages of Report Processing?
Different stages of Report
Processing includes
Compile: It analyze expressions in the
report definitions and save the compiled intermediate format internally on the
server
Process: It run dataset queries and combine
intermediate format with data and layout
Render: It sends processed report to a
rendering extension to tell how much information fits on each page and create
the page report
Export: It exports the reports to a
different file format
15)
Mention what are the new features in SSRS?
New features in SSRS includes
Excel
File Export: The
files can be exported into Excel file formats, earlier only XLS files were only
exported
Data
Alerts: The
new data alerts allow to create alert threshold which are evaluated on a user
defined schedule, also there is data alert manager for alerting administrators
Power
View: With
the new RDLX file format, power view is a new interactive Business Intelligence
feature
These are the new features
included, apart from these, if you are using SSR on SharePoint it gives
additional benefits like drag and drop ad hoc reporting and sending e-mails
when data changes.
16)
Explain what is a sub-report?
Sub-report are inserted into the
main part, just like a main report, you also pass queries and parameters to
it. In other words, a sub-report can be considered as an extension to
your main report, but it consists of a different data set. For example,
you can prepare a report of customers and then use a sub-report to show a list
of orders for each customer.
17)
List out what other servers you can use with SSRS?
Most of the times companies use
SQL server with SSRS, but there are other servers you can integrate
· Oracle
· ODBC and OLEDB
· Hyperion
· Teradata
· Flat XML files
18)
Mention what are the core components of SSRS?
The core components of SSRS
includes
A set of tool to View, Create and
Manage report
A report server component that
hosts and processes reports in a different formats like PDF, HTML, Excel, CSV,
An API, which enables developers to
integrate with custom applications or to create custom tools to manage or build
reports
19)
Mention what are the different types of SSRS reports?
The different types of reports
include
Parameterized reports
Snapshot reports
Cached reports
Clickthrough reports
Drilldown reports
Drillthrough reports
Sub-reports
Linked reports
Ad-hoc reports
20)
Name some of the open source software that you can use in alternative to SSR?
Some of the open source software
alternatives are
Jasper Reports
JFree Report
BIRT (Business Intelligence Reporting
Tool)
OpenReport
DataVision and so on
21)
Mention what are the reporting service components in SSRS?
The reporting service components in
SSRS includes
Report
Designer: It
is a place where the report is created or designed
Report
Server: It
provides services for delivery of reports and for implementations
Report
Manager: A
web based administration tool to manage the report server
22)
Explain can you implement data mining in SSRS?
Yes, it is possible to implement
data mining in SSRS by using DMX designer to create data mining queries for
SSRS reports.
23)
Explain how you can configure a running aggregate in SSRS?
To configure a running aggregate
in SSRS, you can use the Running Value function.
24)
Mention what is the main function of a query parameter?
The main function of a query
parameter is to filter data in the data source.
25)
Explain can SSRS reports Cache results?
Caching reports enables users to
access and view reports much faster. SSRS does allow Cache reports on
reporting server.
26)
Mention what are the three command line utilities and what are their primary
functions?
The three command line utilities
include
· RsConfig.exe: It is used to determine the
connection properties from the SSRS instance to the Report Server database
· RsKeyMgmet.exe: It executes scale out deployment
set-up and encryption key operations
· Rs.exe: It executes Report server Script
files which can perform management operations and report deployment
27)
Explain how you can deploy an SSRS report?
SSRS
report can be deployed in three ways
· By Visual Studio: You can directly deploy the
report in Visual Studios through solution explorer, by declaring the report
server URL in project properties at Target Server URL.
· By Report Server: By browsing the report from the
disk location of the server you can deploy the report to report server
· By creating the Utility: Another option is to create
customized utility to deploy the report
28)
Mention what method you can use to reduce the overhead of Reporting Services
data sources?
Cached reports and Snapshots can
be used to reduce the overhead of Reporting Services Sources.
29)
Explain what is the difference between Tabular and Matrix report?
· Tabular Report: Tabular report is the most
basic type of report. Each column relates to a column chosen from the database
· Matrix Report: A matrix report is a
cross-tabulation of four groups of data.
30)
Explain how would you store your query in an SSRS report or a Database server?
Storing SQL queries directly in
text format in the data should be avoided. Instead, it should be stored
in a stored procedure in the database server. The advantage is that the SQL
would be in a compiled format in an SP and gives all the benefits of SP
compared to using an ad-hoc query from the report.
31)
What are the different kinds of SSRS Reports?
Reports can be categorized into
operational and analytical reports. The distinction is based on the source of
data and level of analysis facilitated by any particular report. Operational
reports are based on OLTP sources and are static reports and Analytical reports
are based on OLAP sources and generally facilitate drill-down and drill-through
for analysis. Technically, SSRS reports can be categorized into parameterized,
linked, snapshot, cached, etc...
32)
What are parameterized reports? What are cascading parameters in SSRS reports?
Reports that accept parameters from
users to fetch and report data conditionally are known as parameterized
reports. When you have multiple parameters in a report and values of different
parameters are dependent and populated dynamically based on the value of parent
parameters, it's known as a cascading parameter.
33)
How would you go about developing a SSRS report?
General development methodology
for a SSRS report is to start by creating a data source. Based on the data
source create one or multiple datasets as needed for parameters and the body of
the report. Add required controls from the toolbox which would act as a
container for the fields in the dataset. Format the controls added to the
report body. Verify and validate the report and finally deploy the
report.
34)
What is a dataset and what are the different types of datasets?
A dataset is similar to a query
definition, which is executed when the report is executed. Datasets are of two
types: Shared and Embedded. An embedded dataset is private to the report in
which it exists and shared datasets can be shared across reports.
35)
Would you store your query in a SSRS report or a Database server? State the
reason why.
Storing SQL queries directly in
text format in the dataset should be avoided. Ideally it should be stored in a
stored procedure in the database server. The benefit is that the SQL would be
in a compiled format in a SP and brings all the benefits of using an SP compared
to using an ad-hoc query from the report.
36)
What is Tablix?
A Tablix can be seen as a control
with combined capabilities of a table and a matrix, which facilitates
asymmetric and flexible, row and column level, static and dynamic groupings.
37)
How would you access SSRS reports deployed on report server?
Reports Manager is the most
straight-forward way to access SSRS reports deployed on report server. Apart
from executing the reports, it is the main administration console for SSRS
server to manage reports.
38)
Have you used the Report Viewer control / web part? What are the limitations?
The report viewer control / web
part is the basic control to integrate SSRS reports with external applications.
Using these interface applications can link and display SSRS reports within the
application. The parameters toolbar in these controls have a limited
programmable interface to decorate and blend it with the theme of the
application.
39)
Which is the latest version of SSRS and what are the new enhancements?
SSRS 2008 R2 is the latest RTM
version of SSRS. Rich data visualizations, better programming functions for
lookup and aggregation, improved performance and better control over exported
data are some of the major enhancements.
40)
What is Report Builder?
Report Builder is an ad-hoc report
authoring tool primarily targeted to be used by business analysts to facilitate
self-service report authoring. Report Builder 3.0 is the latest version
available as of date.
41)
How would you deploy SSRS Reports using out-of-box functionality and how can
you automate SSRS report deployment?
Business Intelligence Development
Studio is generally used to deploy SSRS reports. There is no out-of-box support
in SSRS to automate reports deployment, but free third-party products like
RSScripter can be used for this.
42)
What is drill-down and drill-through in SSRS?
Drill-down is a mechanism of
decomposing summarized information to a detailed level. Drill-through is a
mechanism of decomposing the problem by drilling information generally using
more than one report.
43)
You want to include an image in a report. How do you display the Image
Properties dialog box?
When you drag an image item from the Toolbox window to the Report Designer, the
Image Properties dialog box automatically opens.
44)
You want to configure an amount to display the value in a currency format.
Which property do you use?
To configure an amount to display a value in a currency format, select the
report item, and then set the format property to C or c.
45)
What are data regions?
Data
regions are report items that display repeated rows of summarized information
from datasets.
46)
You want to generate a report that is formatted as a chart. Can you use the
Report Wizard to create such a report?
No, the Report Wizard lets you create only tabular and matrix reports. you must
create the chart report directly by using the Report Designer.
47)
You want to use BIDS to deploy a report to a different server than the one you
chose in the Report Wizard. How can you change the server URL?
You can right-click the project in Solution Explorer and then change the
Target-Server URL property.
48)
Which rendering formats are affected by the PageSize properties?
Because
only the Adobe PDf file, Word, and Image rendering extensions use physical page
breaks, they are the only formats that are affected by the PageSize properties.
49)
Can you use a stored procedure to provide data to an SSRS report?
Yes,
you can use a stored procedure to provide data to an SSRS report by configuring
the dataset to use a stored procedure command type. However, your stored
procedure should return only a single result set. If it returns multiple result
sets, only the first one is used for the report dataset.
50)
You want to use a perspective in an MDX query. How do you select the
perspective?
Use the Cube Selector in the MDX Query Designer to select a perspective.
51)
Can you use data mining models in SSRS?
Yes,
you can use the DMX Designer to create data mining queries for SSRS reports.
However, do not forget to flatten the result set returned by the DMX query.
52)
You want your report to display a hyperlink that will take users to your
intranet. How do you configure such a hyperlink?
Create a text box item, set the action to Go To URL, and then configure the
URL.
53)
You want a report to display Sales by Category, SubCategory, and Product. You
want users to see only summarized information initially but to be able to display
the details as necessary. How would you create the report?
Group the Sales information by Category, SubCategory, and Product. Hide the
SubCategory group and set the visibility to toggle based on the Category item.
Hide the Product category group and set the visibility to toggle based on the
SubCategory item.
54)
You want to create an Excel interactive report from SSRS. In SSRS, can you
create the same interactive experience in Excel that you would have on the Web?
No, you cannot create the same experience with SSRS. you can, however, use
Excel to create such an experience.
55)
What is the main difference between a Matrix report item and a Table report
item?
The
main difference between a Matrix and a Table report item is in the initial
template. Actually, both report items are just templates for the Tablix data
region.
56)
When you do not use report caching, is it better to use parameters to filter
information in the query or to use filters in the dataset?
From a performance perspective, it is better to use parameters because they let
SSRS pull filtered data from the data source. In contrast, when you use
filters, the queries retrieve all data and then filter the information in an
additional step.
57)
How do you configure a running aggregate in SSRS?
You
can use the RunningValue function to configure a running aggregate.
58)
What is the main purpose of a report parameter?
The main purpose of a report parameter is to add interactivity to your reports,
letting users change the report behavior based on options they select.
59)
What is the main purpose of a query parameter?
The main purpose of a query parameter is to filter data in the data source.
60)
You want your users to select a parameter from a list of values in a list box.
How should you configure the parameter?
You should create a data source that contains the possible values and then bind
the data source to the parameter.
61)
What is the main benefit of using embedded code in a report?
The
main benefit of using embedded code in a report is that the code you write at
the report level can be reused in any expression in the report.
62)
What programming language would you use to create embedded functions in SSRS?
An SSRS report supports only visual Basic .nET embedded code.
63)
Do you create your reports using the wizard or manually?
As with most Microsoft tools, SSRS
includes a wizard that helps you create reports. The wizard is great for people
who are new to the product, but it’s not good if you can’t go beyond the tools
and create a report from scratch. Before you go for your interviews, make sure
you can create a report from scratch without any wizards or tools to create
them for you. Most companies need someone who can customize reports, and
wizards leave room for very little customizations.
64)
What are query parameters?
Query parameters are the parts of
an SQL query that allow you to filter results. Parameters are contained in the
SQL’s “where” clause. These parameters tell the SQL server which records you
want to update, select, or delete. In other words, if it wasn’t for the where
clause parameters, you would affect all records in your tables.
65)
What is a sub-report?
Sub-reports are inserted into a
main report. Just like a main report, you also pass parameters and queries to
it. Think of a sub-report as an extension to your main report, but it contains
a different data set. For instance, you could create a report of customers and
then use a sub-report to display a list of orders for each customer.
66)
What are RDL files?
RDL files are like the “language”
for SSRS servers. However, RDL files are created in XML, so really the
“language” of SSRS servers is XML. RDL files contain the queries and layout
format for your reports.
67)
What is a data set?
Data sets are the components that
contain your records. You can have a blank data set, a data set with one
record, or a data set with millions of records (although millions of records
will probably cause performance issues for your users). You can view a data set
like a customized table. The data set has the columns and rows like a table,
but you determine the columns and number of rows using your SQL statements.
68)
What is a data source?
A data source is the database and
tables where your data set comes from. You must define the data source when you
create your database connection. Every data set needs a source from which to
pull the data. Your reporting server can be SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008 and
2012.
69)
What servers can be used with SSRS?
While most companies use SQL Server
with SSRS, you can also integrate other database servers with your SSRS
reports. SSRS is compatible with Oracle, ODBC and OLEDB connections, Hyperion,
Teradata and flat XML files that contain data.
70)
What is mixed mode database security?
When you install SQL Server, you
have the option to allow SQL Server to integrate with Windows or require users
to have a separate SQL Server user name and password. While Windows integration
is convenient, it’s not considered the most secure of the two security options.
Instead, it’s better to require a separate SQL Server user name and password
when logging in to the database server. Your reports will need their own user
name and password to run reports from SSRS.
71)
Can SSRS reports cache results?
Caching reports makes it much
faster for users to access and view data. If you have common data that doesn’t
change often, it’s best to cache results. SSRS lets you cache reports on your
reporting server. This means that it reduces the load on the SQL Server and
your users can quickly access data without querying the server several times.
72)
What formats can SSRS export or render to?
SSRS is compatible with several
file formats. When the user runs the report, the default format prints to the
web browser. You can also save or export to HTML, Excel, CSV, Image, PDF and
XML formats. The SSRS reporting software has buttons at the top of each report
that the user can use to export these files.
73)
How do you deploy a report to a reporting server?
The SSRS reporting software
includes tools to deploy directly to the SQL Server reporting server. After
you’ve configured your software with the proper SQL Server, user name and
password, you just need to right-click the report you want to deploy and click
“Deploy.” Make sure you test the report after you deploy it to ensure there are
no bugs and that the data returned is correct.
74)
How do you edit a report?
Open SQL Server Management Studio
and the reporting project. Expand the node that contains your reports. Right-click
the report and click “Edit.” You can also save your reporting file from this
view.
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Team RedBush
