Chapter 1: Overview

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW
Objectives
The objectives are:

Identify available reporting features in Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012.

Explain how reporting features are used in Microsoft Dynamics AX

2012.

Explain how Role Centers use other reporting features in Microsoft

Dynamics AX 2012.

Introduction
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses a model-based approach for creating reports
by providing project templates and modeling tools that are incorporated into the
Microsoft Visual Studio development environment. The reporting features that
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides are tightly integrated with SQL Server
Reporting Services (SSRS). Visual Studio reporting projects are incorporated
into the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Application Object Tree (AOT).
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 includes several features for developing reports
and displaying data. Reports are designed using Visual Studio, and they are
deployed using Visual Studio, the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client, or
Windows PowerShell. Additionally, reports are displayed in SQL Server
Reporting Services or within Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
Data can also be displayed in the Role Center page in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012. The Role Center is a home page where users can display reports or
graphical data. Data is collected, aggregated, and formatted using SQL Server
Analysis Services (SSAS) and displayed using features in Role Centers. SSRS
reports can also be displayed on the Role Center home page.
Earlier versions of Microsoft Dynamics used the MorphX development
environment to create and modify reports. The reporting framework in Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 is improved to take advantage of existing Microsoft
technologies such as SQL Server Reporting Services and Visual Studio. Visual
Studio includes tools and templates to create new and modify existing reports.
All the standard reports that are included with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 are
SSRS reports.
Reporting security is integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 security.
SSRS uses Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 security to control access to the report
data. SSAS uses security roles that are independent of Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012 roles, but can be manually aligned to provide the same security.

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Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

SQL Server Reporting Services

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) delivers web-enabled
reporting functionality available across the enterprise, so that you can create
reports that draw content from a variety of data sources, publish reports in
various formats, and centrally manage security and subscriptions. The Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 database can be one of the data sources from which SSRS
draws its content.
SSRS ships as part of Microsoft SQL Server and requires no additional licensing.
SSRS provides a full range of ready-to-use tools and services to help you create,
deploy, and manage reports for your organization, in addition to programming
features that allow you to extend and customize your reporting functionality.
SSRS is a server-based reporting platform that provides comprehensive reporting
functionality for a variety of data sources. SSRS includes a complete set of tools
for you to create, manage, and deliver reports, and Application Programming
Interfaces (APIs) that enable developers to integrate or extend data and report
processing in custom applications. SSRS tools work within the Microsoft Visual
Studio environment and are fully integrated with SQL Server tools and
components.
With SSRS, you can create interactive, tabular, graphical, or free-form reports
from relational, multidimensional, or XML-based data sources. You can publish
reports, schedule report processing, or access reports on-demand. SSRS also
allows you to create customized reports that are based on predefined models, and
to interactively explore data within the model. You can select from a variety of
viewing formats, export reports to other applications, and subscribe to published
reports. The reports that you create can be viewed over a web-based connection
or as part of a Microsoft Windows application or SharePoint site. SSRS provides
the key to your business data.

Reporting Services Components and Tools

SSRS processing is distributed across multiple components. Central and
specialized processors are used to retrieve data, process report layout, render
presentation formats, and deliver to target destinations. Presentation processing
occurs after the data is retrieved and is decoupled from data processing, which
allows multiple users to review the same report simultaneously in formats that
are designed for different devices. Additionally, users can quickly change the
report's viewing format, from HTML to PDF or Microsoft Excel or XML. The
modular architecture is designed for extensibility. Developers can include
reporting functionality in custom applications or extend reporting functionality to
support custom features.

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Chapter 1: Overview
Developing Reports
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides a model-based approach for creating
reports by providing project templates and modeling tools that are incorporated
into the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment. The reporting
features that Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides are based on a tight
integration with SQL Server Reporting Services.
By using the Microsoft Visual Studio reporting tools with Microsoft Dynamics
AX 2012, you can realize the following benefits:

Creating reports quickly by using the auto design reporting feature.

This feature automatically creates a report design that is based on the
report data.

Using SQL Report Designer for reports that require a customized

design.

Creating a consistent appearance for your reports by using style

templates. One style template can be applied to many reports. Style
templates allow you to separate the style settings from the actual
report definition.

Previewing reports at design time from within the Microsoft Visual

Studio development environment.

Reports that are created by using the Microsoft Visual Studio reporting tools can
be integrated into Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. They can be displayed as menu
items in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client and in Enterprise Portal Web
parts.

Extending SSRS Reports

Another advantage of SSRS is how it renders reports. SSRS reports can be
printed on paper, and rendered in a virtual format, which can then be applied to a
variety of publishing formats:

Documents (Microsoft Office Word)

Spreadsheets (Microsoft Office Excel)

Web components

.NET applications

Email

Earlier versions of reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX limited formatting to the

size of the paper being used. Printer drivers define the boundaries of the printable
space, and the report is formatted line-by-line to fit within those confines. Such
paper-driven report formats do not translate well to other publishing outlets such
as spreadsheets, email, web components, or NET-connected applications.

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Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

SSRS can be linked to various data sources, allowing data that is external to
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 to be incorporated on a report that uses internal
data involving Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) connections, Common
Language Runtime (CLR) Interop, or some other method of accessing external
data.

SQL Server Analysis Server

Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) delivers online analytical
processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for business intelligence
applications. SSAS supports OLAP by letting you design, create, and manage
multidimensional structures containing data that was aggregated from other data
sources, such as relational databases. This includes the Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012 database. For data mining applications, SSAS lets you design, create, and
visualize data mining models that are constructed from other data sources by
using a wide variety of industry-standard data mining algorithms.
SSAS ships as part of Microsoft SQL Server and requires no additional licensing.

Analysis Services Components and Tools

SSAS is the Business Intelligence part of the Reporting and Business Intelligence
cluster, yet the lines between the two are becoming somewhat blurred. SSAS can
be used to drill down into data from a high level (for example, Total sales by
month) into much earlier levels (for example, Sales by item, by employee, by
day, and so on). The blurring occurs with data presentation. In Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012, this kind of data is most frequently displayed on the Role
Center or Enterprise Portal, side-by-side with reports that are generated by SSRS.
Reporting formats are moving away from paper-based formatting to more
flexible and visual formatting (such as reports and charts that are displayed in the
Role Center), and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) data mining data being
displayed in a similar flexible and visual manner. As a result, all data is provided
to the user, regardless of its extraction technique, and has a consistent appearance
and behavior.

Analysis Services Architecture

Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) uses both server and client
components to supply online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining
functionality for business intelligence applications:

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The server component of Analysis Services is implemented as a

Microsoft Windows service. SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services
supports multiple instances on the same computer, with each
instance of Analysis Services implemented as a separate instance of
the Windows service.

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Chapter 1: Overview

Clients communicate with Analysis Services using the public

standard XML for Analysis (XMLA), which is a SOAP-based
protocol for issuing commands and receiving responses, and is
exposed as a web service. Client object models are also provided
over XMLA, and can be accessed either by using a managed
provider, such as ADOMD.NET, or a native OLE DB provider.

Query commands can be issued using the following languages

o
o
o
o

SQL.
Multidimensional Expressions (MDX), an industry standard
query language for analysis.
Data Mining Extensions (DMX), an industry standard query
language oriented toward data mining.
Analysis Services Scripting Language (ASSL) can also be used
to manage Analysis Services database objects.

SSAS also supports a local cube engine that enables applications on disconnected
clients to browse locally-stored multidimensional data.
The primary advantage of using SSAS is the ability to drill down into several
subgroups and permutations of data. Using the example of a Key Performance
Indicator (KPI) dashboard, trends can be spotted at a high level (for example,
slower than usual production in a certain month), and then by using the power of
SSAS, a user can quickly drill into the data to find the underlying cause of the
trend. This can either help a user determine a problem or identify an opportunity.

Microsoft Dynamics AX Role Center

The Role Center feature in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 acts as a home page or
a starting point for a user's session in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. It provides
snapshots of information that have specific interest for a user who is performing
a certain role in the company. For example, the information that a CEO would be
interested in will differ from the information that an Accounts Payable clerk, or
Production Manager, would be interested in. The Role Center brings data from
different sources into one place for simple analysis of the current business
situation.

Role Center Page

The Role Center brings together the power of SSRS and SSAS and displays the
customized results for a specific role all in one location. This means that the user
does not have to run a collection of reports each day from the Microsoft
Dynamics AX 2012 menu.
A Role Center page can be displayed in the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 client
and in the Enterprise Portal. By incorporating the Role Center into the client, all
users can now enjoy the benefits that the role-driven Enterprise Portal could
bring (using web components), directly in the client that they use at their desk or
workstation. The Role Center is essentially an Enterprise Portal webpage being
displayed in the rich client.

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Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

The Enterprise Portal can contain Role Center pages for the various roles that
users can have in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012. If a user is not assigned to a
specific role, the default role center page is displayed.
A role center page can contain the following.

Cues: These web parts display a pictorial representation of some

activity for a business, such as the number of open sales orders.

Quick Links: These web parts display a collection of links that the
Enterprise Portal administrator or user can modify. The links provide
quick access to other resources, such as locations in Enterprise Portal
or external websites.

Work Lists: Dynamics Unified Worklist web parts display the list of
activities, alerts, workflow approvals, and workflow tasks for the
user.

KPIs: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Key Performance

Indicator web parts are used to display KPIs.

Business Overview: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server Business

Overview web parts are used to display period comparison
information for multiple KPIs.

Dynamics Report Server Report: These web parts display

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services reports for Microsoft
Dynamics AX.

Role Center Functions

The Role Center is used to display the results of SSRS and SSAS reports and
analysis. The resulting presentation can display the critical indicators and data for
a specific role that the user needs to make business decisions. The Role Center
can also be used as a starting point to display a user's task list and provide
visibility to records that require action, all of which is presented in a single page
that is created with familiar development tools.

Summary
Arguably, reporting can be one of the most important features of any enterprise
system. The data that is contained in the system is only valuable to the extent that
it is accessible. Report developers must be able to deliver accurate reports
quickly. Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 helps speed the process by equipping the
developer, end-user and decision makers with familiar tools and formats so that
they can obtain the data that they need.
Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses familiar tools such as SQL Server Reporting
and Analysis Services for developing and deploying reports and analyzing data.
Role Centers are used to display the resulting data in a variety of formats.
Additional resources for these Microsoft tools are MSDN, TechNet and the
Microsoft Dynamics Community.

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Chapter 1: Overview

Test Your Knowledge

1. What component is used to develop reports in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012?
( ) Visual Studio
( ) Application Object Tree
( ) MorphX
( ) Crystal Reports
2. Which reporting option in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses Online
Analytical Processing (OLAP)?
( ) SQL Server Integration Services
( ) SQL Server Analysis Services
( ) SQL Server MDX Services
( ) SQL Server OLAP Services
3. Which reporting features can be displayed on a Role Center? (Select all that
apply)
( ) Cues
( ) KPIs
( ) SQL reports
( ) Work List

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Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

Quick Interaction: Lessons Learned

Take a moment and write down three key points you have learned from this
chapter
1.

2.

3.

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Chapter 1: Overview

Solutions
Test Your Knowledge
1. What component is used to develop reports in Microsoft Dynamics AX
2012?
() Visual Studio
( ) Application Object Tree
( ) MorphX
( ) Crystal Reports
2. Which reporting option in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses Online
Analytical Processing (OLAP)?
( ) SQL Server Integration Services
() SQL Server Analysis Services
( ) SQL Server MDX Services
( ) SQL Server OLAP Services
3. Which reporting features can be displayed on a Role Center? (Select all that
apply)
() Cues
() KPIs
() SQL reports
() Work List

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Reporting in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

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