Specifications

180 CHAPTER 9 Reporting Services Enhancements
Services can respond to a report request faster, and users are generally happier with the
reporting system. However, cache storage is not unlimited. Periodically, the cache expires
and the next person that requests the report has to wait for the report execution process to
complete. A workaround for this scenario is to create a subscription that uses the NULL deliv-
ery provider to populate the cache in advance of the rst user’s request.
In SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services, a better solution is available. A new feature
called Cache Refresh allows you to establish a schedule to load reports into cache. In addition,
you can congure Cache Refresh to load shared datasets into cache to extend the perfor-
mance benet to multiple reports. Caching shared datasets is not only helpful for reports,
but also for any dataset that you use to populate the list of values for a parameter. To set up
a schedule for the Cache Refresh, you must congure stored credentials for the data source.
Then you congure the caching expiration options for the shared dataset and create a new
Cache Refresh Plan, as shown in Figure 9-16.
FIGURE 9-16 The Cache Refresh Plan window
Report Parts
After developing a report, you can choose which report items to publish to the report server
as individual components that can be used again later by other report authors who have
permissions to access the published report parts. Having readily accessible report parts in a
central location enables report authors to build new reports more quickly. You can publish
any of the following report items as report parts: tables, matrices, rectangles, lists, images,
charts, gauges, maps, and parameters.