Creating Shared Data Source in SSRS 2008

In this post, I'll explain how to create a Shared Data Source in SSRS 2008 with an example.

We need Data Source while developing reports in Report Designer and Report Builder tools. For this example, I will be using SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio 2008.

To begin, I'll create a new Report Server Project.

Create Report Server Project

1. Open BIDS: Click on Start --> All Programs --> SQL Server 2008 --> SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio as shown below:

2. From the menu bar, select File --> New --> Project...

3. Select Report Server Project template from New Project wizard as shown below:

4. Click OK to complete the wizard.

Create Shared Data Source
Follow below steps to create a shared data source:
1. In the Solution Explorer pane, right click on Shared Data Sources folder --> click on Add New Data Source. This will open Shared Data Source Properties dialog.
2. Enter Data Source name in Name textbox (in our example its dsTestHN) and Type as Microsoft SQL Server. Click on Edit button to set connection string.

3. Enter Server name and Database name from dropdown boxes. Finally click on Test Connection to check the connection, You should receive Test connection succeeded message.

4. Click OK to complete and save changes. Now you can see dsTestHN data source in Solution Explorer pane as shown below:

That's all! We have successfully created a Shared Data Source.

Click here to understand about Data Sources Supported by Reporting Services.