ssrs export to excel slow perfomance?

Question

Good day. I have a report wich consist of several textboxes and a tablix with row grouping. I have another two tablixes inside that group(perhaps I should merge them, since they consume the same dataset? They were separated due to the designer's requirements). Each group has a page break and group name(a critical condition- excel's sheets should be named). Those two tablixes consist of ~50 columns and two rows- one for headers and one for values. The largest possible dataset consist of 31 * 24 * 16 rows. All cells use an evaluation function for background color's value(it's not very complicated). And it takes ~15 seconds for SSRS to generate a preview for this report. Using .NET LocalReport class this report is exported to the Excel. On my machine and on the development server it takes something about 20 seconds. On one of the client's machines it takes more than 15 minutes. I've already removed all functions for aggregation. And there is only one merged column header in report. What else might help?

Answer 1

The performance of your report can be affected by various factors. Here are some suggestions to improve the performance:

Dataset Optimization: Ensure that your dataset query is efficient and returns only the necessary data. Avoid unnecessary joins, filters, or complex calculations in the query if possible.

Tablix Optimization: Since the two tablixes use the same dataset, consider merging them into a single tablix. This can reduce the rendering time by eliminating the need to render the same data twice.

Grouping: Grouping can impact performance, especially if there are multiple levels of grouping or if the dataset is large. Review your grouping logic and make sure it is necessary for your report. Consider removing any unnecessary groupings or find ways to simplify the group expressions.

Pagination: Check the settings for pagination in your report. Excessive page breaks or unnecessary pagination can affect performance. You may need to adjust the page break settings or remove unnecessary page breaks to improve performance.

Report Design: Simplify the report design by reducing the number of textboxes or other report elements if possible. Complex layouts or excessive elements can slow down rendering. Also, ensure that you're using the appropriate data visualization controls for your requirements.

Caching: If the data in your report doesn't need to be real-time, you can consider implementing caching mechanisms. This way, the report doesn't need to fetch data from the database every time it's run, improving performance.

Hardware and Environment: Compare the hardware and environment settings between your machine, the development server, and the client's machine. Ensure that the client's machine meets the recommended system requirements for running SSRS reports. Check if there are any differences in network speed, available resources (CPU, memory), or software configurations that could impact performance.

Report Server Configuration: Review the SSRS server configuration settings, such as the maximum memory limit, execution timeouts, or other performance-related settings. Adjust these settings based on the available hardware resources and workload requirements.

Network Latency: If the client's machine is accessing the report remotely, network latency could be a contributing factor. Check the network connectivity and speed between the client's machine and the report server.

Diagnostic Tools: Use diagnostic tools provided by SSRS or third-party tools to identify performance bottlenecks. These tools can help pinpoint areas of the report that are causing delays or consuming excessive resources.

By implementing these optimizations and analyzing the specific factors affecting performance in the client's environment, you should be able to improve the report rendering time significantly.