SQL Reporting Dashboard

[Makwak]

Hey Guys,

I have been getting my google on, trying to find something to display real time data from a MSSQL back end. I currently use Crystal Reporting, as I don't believe that SQL reporting services has the features that I desire.

My requirements would be :

• to display data through an IE8 browser, without requiring any additional installation.
• Have the ability to restrict access based on AD or some other kind of authentication control
• Viable to be introduced into a government agency (no nasty adware e.t.c)
• Preferably be open source
• parse specific SQL commands in as the foundation for charts/tabular data

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If there is no free tool available that could do all this, I would be happy to learn a language that is appropriate to generate this form of information. I have played around with VB6, C++, Java previously.

[Falcon]

What exactly is reporting services lacking that is making you avoid it?

the only thing i see in your list is 'open source'

everything else is well and truly taken care of.

[Makwak]

We are currently running mssql2005 and the reporting services application is extremely basic. From what I have seen you are locked into a very basic, chart, tabular, matrix format, with only one kind per report. Maybe what I really need is to investigate reporting services more?

[gcflora]

Are you after open source, or free? (they are not the same)

[Soarer GT]

I run a linux vm and use php to do reporting on MSSQL 2000 and MSSQL 2008.

Dashboard refreshes every 60 seconds or you can change the variables and have dynamic reporting (ie. all data between this date and that date) or for x or y client.

To get started :

Knowledge :
SQL
HTML
Basic PHP.

Infrastructure :
MSSQL must be in mixed authentication mode and a new user with read only access to the various tables you want to query.
a 2CPU, 1 gig ram VM with 15 gig of HDD space. You can cut it down to 8 gig hdd, but I like to have a bit of room...

[Makwak]

Originally Posted by gcflora

Are you after open source, or free? (they are not the same)

Open source would be ideal but free is the main aspect required

Originally Posted by Soarer GT

I run a linux vm and use php to do reporting on MSSQL 2000 and MSSQL 2008.

Dashboard refreshes every 60 seconds or you can change the variables and have dynamic reporting (ie. all data between this date and that date) or for x or y client.

To get started :

Knowledge :
SQL
HTML
Basic PHP.

Infrastructure :
MSSQL must be in mixed authentication mode and a new user with read only access to the various tables you want to query.
a 2CPU, 1 gig ram VM with 15 gig of HDD space. You can cut it down to 8 gig hdd, but I like to have a bit of room...

At the moment the only server available is a windows 2003 however what you are saying should work on that also potentially?

[xishnik]

as far as i understand you want web based excel with user level security?

If you have sharepoint on your Intranet with powerpivot then a well developed excel 2010 workbook will do what you need for most part. Publish it to sharepoint site and control access to it using AD accounts on sharepoint.

Otherwise you will need custom created web page. HTML5/Javascript with some webservices on the SQL server end will work, but will be a it of development time. Otherwise buy an off the shelve dashboard tool, Google should turn up a few of them.

although i might be misunderstanding your requirements...