• Article

Working with Models

A report model is a metadata description of a data source and its relationships. In order to create reports using Report Builder, you must first build a report model based on your SQL Server database, SQL Server 2005 or later Analysis Services cube, or Oracle databases running version 9.2.0.3 or later. Models can be created using Model Designer, Report Manager, or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. Model Designer provides the most flexibility for designing models based on SQL Server or Oracle databases. By using Model Designer, you can select which rules are applied during the model generation process, and you can modify the model and its underlying data source view. Using Report Manager or Office SharePoint Server , you can generate models based on SQL Server databases, Oracle databases, or Analysis Services cubes, but only models based on Oracle and SQL Server can be further edited in Model Designer.

Note

If your model is generated from a Analysis Services cube and the cube has been changed, you should regenerate the model. To make the Analysis Services cube-based model more efficient, it is recommended that you make your changes within the cube. For more information about the rules of model generation for AS cubes, see Designing Cube-Based Report Models.

Tool Comparison

The following table presents a visual comparison between the tools available to create a report model. Models based on SQL Server databases and Oracle databases can be edited in Model Designer, regardless of which tool is used to generate the model.

Tool

SQL Server Database

Analysis Services Cube

Oracle Database

Teradata Database

Model Designer

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Report Manager

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

SharePoint Server

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

In This Section