Getting Started Guide for Application Developers (SQL Azure Reporting)

• Prerequisites
  
  
• Authentication to SQL Azure Reporting
  
  
• SQL Azure Reporting Reports in ReportViewer Controls
  
  
• SOAP Management Endpoint Programmatic Access
  
  
• Security Considerations
  
  
• Next Steps
  
  

Review the following topics for requirements, guidelines, compatibility, and unsupported features:

• Before You Begin
  
  
• Tool Compatibility
  
  
• Guidelines and Limitations for SQL Azure Reporting Preview
  
  
• SQL Azure Reporting Limited CTP Release Notes
  
  

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Because SQL Azure Reporting implements a custom authentication extension to provide a forms authentication interface, you must accommodate for it when programming against the report server. This custom extension works in the way described in Security Extensions Overview (SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services). In short, you must do the following:

1. Supply the SQL Azure Reportingcredentials in the way supported by the forms authentication extension.
   
   
2. Save the authentication cookie from the authentication attempt with the report server.
   
   

Sample reports developed in SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio and that use SQL Azure databases are included in SQL Azure Reporting Samples.

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The ReportViewer controls manages the authentication cookie, making your tasks easier. To display reports deployed to a SQL Azure Reporting report server in the ReportViewer controls, you supply the report server URL and the report path as you would for any server report, and implement the IReportServerCredentials interface and use it in ServerReport.ReportServerCredentials.

The following example shows how to implement and use the IReportServerCredentials to access SQL Azure Reporting reports:

public partial class Default : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Init(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
         ReportViewer1.ServerReport.ReportServerUrl = new Uri(String.Format("https://{0}/reportserver", ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["SERVER_NAME"]));
         ReportViewer1.ServerReport.ReportPath = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["REPORT_PATH"];
         ReportViewer1.ServerReport.ReportServerCredentials = new ReportServerCredentials();
    }
}

/// <summary>
/// Implementation of IReportServerCredentials to supply forms credentials to SQL Azure Reporting using GetFormsCredentials() 
/// </summary>
public class ReportServerCredentials : IReportServerCredentials
{
    public ReportServerCredentials()
    {
    }

    public WindowsIdentity ImpersonationUser
    {
        get
        {
            return null;
        }
    }

    public ICredentials NetworkCredentials
    {
        get
        {
            return null;
        }
    }

    public bool GetFormsCredentials(out Cookie authCookie, out string user, out string password, out string authority)
    {
        authCookie = null;
        user = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["USERNAME"];
        password = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["PASSWORD"];
        authority = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["SERVER_NAME"];
        return true;
    }
}

Then, in the Web.config or App.config file, specify the application settings in the <appSettings> element.

<appSettings>
  <add key="SERVER_NAME" value="<INSTANCE_NAME>.report.int.mscds.com" />
  <add key="USERNAME" value="<USERNAME>"/>
  <add key="PASSWORD" value="<PASSWORD>"/>
  <add key="REPORT_PATH" value="<REPORT_PATH>"/>

</appSettings>

For more information on the IReportServerCredentials interface, see the corresponding API reference topic in ReportViewer Controls Programming Reference on MSDN. For Windows Forms applications, use the Microsoft.Reporting.Winforms Namespace. For ASP.NET applications, use the Microsoft.Reporting.Webforms Namespace..

See Security Considerations for information on how to secure sensitive data like report server URL, username, and password.

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When accessing the SOAP management endpoint, you use the endpoint’s LogonUser() method to authenticate with the endpoint. You then need to save the authentication cookie returned by the HTTP response and include it in each subsequent operation request. The easiest way to do this is to create a new instance of CookieContainer and assign that to the CookieContainer property of the proxy class before calling LogonUser().

To generate the proxy class

To authenticate and authorize with the management endpoint

See Security Considerations for information on how to secure sensitive data like report server URL, username, and password.

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Strings such as the report server URL, username, and password, are protected information, and must be stored in the <appSettings> section in the Web.config or App.config file of your application. As a best practice, encrypt this data in your configuration file. The following links are four-part series showing you how to encrypt your data in the <connectionStrings> section. The same steps apply to the <appSettings> section.

• Securing Your Connection String in Windows Azure: Part 1
  
  
• Securing Your Connection String in Windows Azure: Part 2
  
  
• Securing Your Connection String in Windows Azure: Part 3
  
  
• Securing Your Connection String in Windows Azure: Part 4
  
  

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After you develop your applications, you can choose from one of the following guides as a next step:

• How to: Use ReportViewer in a Web Site Hosted in Windows Azure
  
  
• Getting Started Guide for Report Authors (SQL Azure Reporting)
  
  
• Getting Started Guide for Report Readers (SQL Azure Reporting)
  
  

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Reference

Other Resources