How K2 Reporting has changed since K2 4.5

UPDATED

Introduction

There have been changes to the way K2 blackpearl works with SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) since K2 blackpearl 4.5. This article summarizes these changes.

Out of box reports

In K2 blackpearl 4.5, the way out of the box reports are retrieved and rendered was changed to remove the dependency on SSRS.

Prior to 4.5:

• The report definitions were retrieved from the SSRS server
• The reports were rendered on the SSRS server and then transferred page by page to the site hosting the report (SharePoint/K2 Workspace)

Post-4.5:

• The report definitions are stored in the SourceCode.Workspace.OOBReports.Resources.dll assembly
• The reports are  rendered within the context of the site (SharePoint/K2 Workspace)

These changes allow for the removal of the dependence on an SSRS server and, in turn, the requirement that the SSRS Server was running native mode vs. integrated mode. What this means is that you can publish reports in SSRS in integrated mode and run our out of box reports using the same configuration with no issues. Prior to K2 blackpearl 4.5 this was not possible. However, since the storage location and rendering engine has changed, you can no longer access the out of the box K2 reports on the SSRS server.

Note:  The K2 RDL Export Tool can be used for generating the Report Definition Language (.rdl) files from the SourceCode.Workspace.OOBReports.Resources.dll file and is available on K2Underground.com.

The Report Designer

The K2 Report Designer renders custom reports in the same way that 4.5 out of the box reports are rendered, which is how custom reports have always been rendered within K2 Workspace. With 4.5, however, the report definition is dynamically built at runtime from custom XML which is stored in the Workspace database. Reports that are imported into K2 Workspace function the same way that the out of the box reports functioned prior to K2 blackpearl 4.5 , since K2 Workspace imports reports from SSRS.

The K2 for Reporting Services component (optional installed component)

The K2 for Reporting Services component requires SSRS to run in native mode and is not supported in integrated mode.

It provides for the following:

• Import/Export functionality in the K2 report designer
• Allows custom reports designed using the Microsoft tools to use the SOURCECODE data provider and retrieve SmartObject data.

FAQs

What is SSRS integrated mode and why would I want to use it?

The following points in this section and the next section are included here for guidance only. These points are common to any SSRS installation and do not relate directly to how K2 renders reports.

• Integrated mode is where the report definitions are stored and retrieved from a document library instead of from SQL Server (where they are stored in native mode)
• Integrated mode is required for the Microsoft SharePoint Report Viewer Web Parts to operate
• Since the definitions are hosted in SharePoint you gain all the benefits of hosting a normal document in SharePoint (centrally located, access rights, versioning, and collaborative design)
• You can also design dashboards using multiple connected Web Parts (one setting change affects all Web parts)

Why wouldn’t I want to use integrated mode?

• Integrated mode may slow down performance of report rendering
• You cannot take advantage of row limitations and filtering
• There may be some extra authentication issues

What is supported in 4.5 with SSRS integrated mode?

• Viewing out of box reports
• Allows non-K2 SSRS integrated mode reports (in SharePoint)
• Designing a report in the report designer

What is NOT supported in 4.5 with SSRS integrated mode?

• Import/Export from the K2 Report Designer
• The K2 for Reporting component
• Designing custom reports using SmartObject data and RDL design tools other than the K2 Workspace report designer
• Loading the K2 out of the box reports from a different context (custom site/application). This includes the Report Viewer Web Parts.