Report Management - Professional SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services - page 433

Private schedules, on the other hand, are not handled centrally and require the user to manage each
schedule individually. Schedules can also be managed programmatically. In that case, shared and private
schedules are handled the same.

The scheduling mechanism is based on the SQL Server Agent , which fires and executes events at specific
times. When the subscription is triggered, SQL Server Agent adds an entry to the database queue, where
it's polled by the Reporting Services Windows service. There are advantages to using both types of
scheduling options. Let's take a closer look at working with shared schedules.

Creating a shared schedule makes it easier to schedule multiple events to run at the same time, and indi-
vidual schedules don't have to be set up for each event. This may be an appropriate solution when you
need to run several reports during off-peak hours when the server isn't busy with live user requests.
Although this may be more convenient, a significant penalty is realized when the server tries to run
demanding jobs at the same time. For reports that are long, perform complex calculations, or consume a
lot of data, you may want to stagger the schedules to prevent this condition.

Delivering Reports
Reports can be delivered to users in multiple ways and rendered in multiple formats. Rendering in
multiple formats occurs quickly, because the intermediate report format shortcuts most of the original
report processing as discussed earlier. Out of the box, reports can be rendered in these formats:

❑ HTML: For static snapshots.

❑ DHTML (the default): Allows dynamic behavior such as expanding report sections.

❑ PDF: Adobe Acrobat is needed on the client to view the file.

❑ DOC: Microsoft Word.

❑ XLS: Microsoft Excel; test well, especially if your report has dynamic behavior.

❑ CSV: Standard comma-delimited format.

The rendering format is specified by the user at runtime or when a subscription is configured. Reports
can be rendered in Web or Windows applications, or delivered to an end point for easy user access.

Two delivery options are provided: e-mail delivery and file share delivery.

E-Mail Delivery
Delivering reports by e-mail requires that a configured SMTP server is available. When Reporting
Services is first installed, the Setup Wizard prompts for the mail server name and address information.
If you launch the setup wizard again, it will not prompt for this information.

To modify or set the e-mail server information, you can edit the RSReportServer.config file or use
SQL Server Management Studio. When working directly with the configuration file, e-mail options are
set under the RSEMailDPConfiguration element in the Delivery section of this file. For more informa-
tion on modifying configuration settings, see Chapter 11.