Phantom Data Extensions
There are two “shy” data extensions that come with RS 2005 but you won’t see when you create a data source.
The first one (SSIS data extension) enables interesting integration scenarios with SQL Server 2005 Integration Services. It allows you to author reports that use data generated by running an Integration Services (SSIS) package. The second one is the SAP data extension for integrating SSRS with mySAP Business Suite.
By default, these extensions are disabled and commented in the rsreportserver.config file:
<!– <Extension Name=”SSIS” Type=”Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.DtsClient.DtsConnection,Microsoft.SqlServer.Dts.DtsClient, Version=9.0.242.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91″/> –>
<!– <Extension Name=”SAP” Type=”Microsoft.Adapter.SAP.SAPConnection,Microsoft.Adapter.SAP.SAPProvider, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35″/> –>
Why are these extensions doomed to obscurity, you may ask? The reason is that they have setup dependencies. It could have been nice if the SQL Server 2005 setup program could verify these dependencies (e.g. if SSIS is selected for install) and enables the extensions accordingly so the users know about their existence but this feature was cut out due to time constrains. Assuming that you install the required components, you can just comment out the extension to enable it.
