ReportServer provides an extremely flexible open source reporting and dashboard environment. It supports Eclipse Birt, JasperReports and SAP Crystal Reports reporting engines in addition to its own ad-hoc oriented reporting tools. The user interface is web based and it supports a wide range of admin tools.
Central to ReportServer is the Dynamic List. This is the preferred method supporting a wide range of functions such as column selection, filtering, sorting, grouping, sub-totals, calculation and so on. JasperReports and Eclipse Birt tend to be used for ‘pixel perfect’ reporting with output to a pdf file. Finally Script Reports are used for particularly complex reports, and require programming skills to use.
Interactive dashboards are supported and are generally constructed for items called dadgets (Dashboard Gadgets) – these can be anything from a report to an interactive HTML5 app.
Currently supported data sources include Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM Informix, IBM DB2, mySQL, PostgreSQL, h2 and of course csv files.
As with all open source BI bundles users can opt to get training, consulting and support from ReportServer if they wish.
ReportServer 3.0 now comes in two versions, a free Community Edition and a commercial Enterprise Edition. With that change all documentation is now free of charge.