Creating Test/Dev Report Server 1

[ousoonerjoe]

Using Reporting Services 2008 R2.

SSRS does not exactly support a Testing/Dev setup. Since it wants to deploy directly to the publish site. How have you worked around this? What is a good setup for creating and testing reports and have production reports live and active?

Just looking for ideas and suggestions. Thank you.

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Stubbornness is a virtue -- if you are right. --Chuck Noll
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[RiverGuy]

Has something changed since 2008 R1? It's no issue to change your deployment location within Visual Studio and deploy to a dev/test server. Or you can change your folder location and deploy to a test folder.

 

[ousoonerjoe]

In order to change the Deploy location, the Project file has to be altered, it is not possible to change the deploy location for just a single report, correct?

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Stubbornness is a virtue -- if you are right. --Chuck Noll
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[RiverGuy]

You're correct. I reckon you cannot temporarily change the deployment location?

 

[ousoonerjoe]

By changing the Project file, it lends itself to deploying to the wrong place. I'll see if we can't start deploying to a "Test Location" and then moving the report to its "Home" via the server and updating the connection object once there.

We call most of our reports via the central operations application. Due to some issues with our remotes locations, we have to call them via the web browser rather than using Report Viewer that we built-in to the application (highly irritating).

I was really hoping there was a better mechanism for this process.

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Stubbornness is a virtue -- if you are right. --Chuck Noll
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[RiverGuy]

Another option I thought of would be to use a testing VS solution. Set the project properties to deploy to the test server. When it's ready to go to production, move the .rdl to your production VS solution and deploy.

Also, I'm thinking that you might be deploying the entire solution at a time with multiple reports and data sources going to the server. I tend to deploy each object individually by right-clicking on the item. You might try this as well if it makes it easier for you.

 

[ousoonerjoe]

We tend to deploy one at a time. Which is why I am wanting to avoid having to change the Project File every time we want to deploy.

So far, the deploy to test bed then move to production and updating the connection object at the server looks like our best option at this time. It won't play well with the application calling, but at least the users can still go view the changes with manual entry arguments so they can sign off on the changes.

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Stubbornness is a virtue -- if you are right. --Chuck Noll
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[xlbo]

As per RiverGuy - We used to have 2 VS solutions - one for test and one for live. Test set to deploy to test server. Live set to deploy to live server

All dev was done on test solution. when test complete, rdls and any data sources were imported into live solution and then deployed

Worked pretty well for us - better than manually changing deployment locations esp if people forgot to deploy just a single object and accidently deployed everything in the solutution to the live environment including changes that were most definitely work in progress!!!

Rgds, Geoff

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