SQL Server reporting tools


SQL Reporting Services offers two important tools, namely Report Builder and Report Designer, that help to create and deploy reports. These tools are basically used to create RDL files to represent the report on Report Manager. Both reporting tools point to the Tfs_Analysis and TFS_Warehouse databases. They help in creating consistent and sophisticated reports by adding bar charts, indicators, or spark lines as required.

The following figure illustrates the connection between reporting tools in Reporting Service:

Report Server is the central component of the Reporting Service's installation. It consists of a pair of report processors that execute the reports present in the server. Also, it consists of a collection of special-purpose extensions that handle authentication, data processing, rendering, and delivery operations. So, basically, it's a core engine that drives Reporting Services. Report Manager provides web-based report access and management capabilities...