Report Packs and SQL Server Express

The SQL Server team recently released eight new SQL Server 2005 Report Packs for download.

Use the Report Packs as way to get up and running on Reporting Services in SQL Server 2005 Express. The Report Packs include sample reports and databases for views into commonly used application data such as IIS logs, and SharePoint Portal Server stats. You can also share your own samples by uploading the bits to https://www.gotdotnet.com/codegallery/codegallery.aspx?id=7727c619-25c0-4664-87ef-4f818c4a57b3 and contributing to the message boards.

To run these reports on SQL Server Express, you need to attach the included databases (.mdf files) included with the report packs to SQL Server Express (hint: you can use SQL Server Management Studio Express, where you can also easily browse the database schemas and get a better understanding of how the report packs work). Also, you will likely need to make two changes in Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS). First, change your project’s report server URL to https://localhost/reportserver$SQLExpress (go to Project-> <Project name> Properties). You will also need to change the connection string for your data source to ".\SQLEXPRESS". Once you’ve done that, you should be able to preview your reports in BIDS and then deploy them to your report server.