SSRS Overview

SQL Server Reporting Services Overview
This is my first article of SSRS and I would like to start from SSRS overview.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services provides a complete, server-based platform designed to support a wide variety of reporting needs enabling organizations to deliver relevant information wherever needed across the entire organization.

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is an enterprise reporting platform which supports traditional reports and interactive reports delivered over the Web or through custom applications. SSRS is data-source independent. In SSRS, Multi-dimensional data sources (Cubes) can also be used.

Using SSRS, reports can be exported in a variety of formats, including Excel worksheets and Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

Also reports can be scheduled to deliver through mail on scheduled dates to selected audiences.

Reports can be published to Report Server (http://ReportServer/reports) and accessed through browser.

The server component in SSRS is managed through a Web services infrastructure accessible using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). The client consuming the report might be as simple as a Web browser pointing to a Report Server URL. Reporting Services also has an API that allows reports to be embedded in other applications.