Deploy the ADO.NET Provider for ServiceDesk Plus on an SSRS Report Server

Jerod Johnson
Jerod Johnson
Director, Technology Evangelism
Connect to ServiceDesk Plus data from multiple reports and pick up updates immediately: Create a shared data source on a native mode report server or a report server on a SharePoint farm.

In this article, we will guide you through the deployment process of the CData ADO.NET Provider for ServiceDesk Plus on an SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) report server. Additionally, you will learn how to establish a shared data source, which facilitates connectivity to real-time ServiceDesk Plus data from various reports. You can then access these shared data sources from the Report Designer within Visual Studio. For detailed instructions on creating datasets in Report Designer using ADO.NET, please refer to the "Using ADO.NET" section in the help documentation.

Deploy the ADO.NET Provider

The provider installation automatically deploys the provider on report servers in native mode. On report servers in SharePoint mode, you can use the install-sprs.ps1 PowerShell script to deploy. Simply run the script from the lib subfolder in the installation directory, or pass in the "path" parameter.

Create a Shared Data Source for ServiceDesk Plus

You can create shared data sources directly from a report server or SharePoint site. Alternatively, you can use Report Designer to create shared data sources.

Report Designer

You can use Report Designer to create shared data sources on native mode report servers and report servers on a SharePoint server farm.

  1. In a Report Server Project in Visual Studio, right-click Shared Data Sources in Solution Explorer and click Add New Data Source.
  2. Enter a name for the data source and in the Type menu select CData API Report.
  3. In the Connection String box, enter the connection string to connect to ServiceDesk Plus. A typical connection string is below: 
    Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;

    Using OAuth Authentication

    ServiceDeskPlus uses Zoho OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. To set up OAuth access:

    1. Register your application in the Zoho Developer Console at https://api-console.zoho.com
    2. Configure your redirect URI to match your application setup
    3. Note your Client ID and Client Secret from the application settings

    After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
    • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Zoho application Client ID.
    • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Zoho application Client Secret.
    • Scope: Set this to the required ServiceDeskPlus permissions (default includes read access to requests, problems, assets, and projects).
    • Domain: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus domain
    • Portal: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus portal

    Example Connection String

    Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;

    When you configure the connection, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

  4. Set the folder and server URL in your project properties. If you are publishing to SharePoint, the values for all properties must be fully qualified URLs. For example:
    • Report Server: http://MyServerName/ReportServer
    • SharePoint: http://MyServerName/MySite/MySubsite
  5. Right-click the shared data source and click Deploy.

Report Manager

On native mode installations of report server, you can use Report Manager to create shared data sources. You must have permissions to manage data sources on the report server.

  1. From the Home page in Report Manager, click New Data Source. The New Data Source page is displayed.
  2. Enter a name for the data source and in the Data Source Type menu, select CData API Report.
  3. In the Connection String box, enter the connection string to connect to ServiceDesk Plus. A typical connection string is below: 
     Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;

    Using OAuth Authentication

    ServiceDeskPlus uses Zoho OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. To set up OAuth access:

    1. Register your application in the Zoho Developer Console at https://api-console.zoho.com
    2. Configure your redirect URI to match your application setup
    3. Note your Client ID and Client Secret from the application settings

    After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
    • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Zoho application Client ID.
    • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Zoho application Client Secret.
    • Scope: Set this to the required ServiceDeskPlus permissions (default includes read access to requests, problems, assets, and projects).
    • Domain: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus domain
    • Portal: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus portal

    Example Connection String

    Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;

SharePoint

Follow the steps below to create a shared data source on a SharePoint site. Note that this step has the following prerequisites in SharePoint 2013:

  • The Reporting Services add-in for SharePoint
  • The Report Server Integration site collection feature

Follow the steps below to add the report server content types to your library:

  1. Log into SharePoint and open the library where you want to save the .rsds file.
  2. Click Library on the ribbon and then click Library Settings.
  3. In the General Settings section, click Advanced Settings.
  4. In the Content Types section, select Yes to allow the management of content types. The Content Types section is added to the Library Settings page.
  5. On the Library Settings page, click Add from existing site content types.
  6. In the Available Site Content Types list, select Report Data Source and click Add.

You can then create the shared data source. You will create an .rsds file that contains the connection information to ServiceDesk Plus.

  1. Log into SharePoint and open the library where you want to save the .rsds file.
  2. On the ribbon click Documents -> New Document -> Report Data Source.
  3. Enter a name for the data source.
  4. In the Data Source Type menu, select CData API Report.
  5. In the Connection String box, enter the connection string to connect to ServiceDesk Plus. A typical connection string is below: 
    Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;

    Using OAuth Authentication

    ServiceDeskPlus uses Zoho OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. To set up OAuth access:

    1. Register your application in the Zoho Developer Console at https://api-console.zoho.com
    2. Configure your redirect URI to match your application setup
    3. Note your Client ID and Client Secret from the application settings

    After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

    • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuth.
    • OAuthClientId: Set this to your Zoho application Client ID.
    • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to your Zoho application Client Secret.
    • Scope: Set this to the required ServiceDeskPlus permissions (default includes read access to requests, problems, assets, and projects).
    • Domain: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus domain
    • Portal: Set this to your ServiceDeskPlus portal

    Example Connection String

    Profile=C:\profiles\ServiceDeskPlus.apip;ProfileSettings="Portal=itdesk;Domain=.in;Scope=SDPOnDemand.requests.READ SDPOnDemand.problems.READ SDPOnDemand.assets.READ SDPOnDemand.projects.READ";AuthScheme=OAuth;OAuthClientId=your_client_id;OAuthClientSecret=your_client_secret;

Ready to get started?

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