Capabilities and Limitations of the Report Application Server
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When you compare the functionality of the Report Application Server with that of the other two editions of Crystal Enterprise (Standard and Professional), you will quickly realize that the Report Application Server is very limited in what it can do for you. Much of the enterprise-level functionality such as multiserver deployment, scheduling, and security has been removed. What you are left with is a server that processes reports only on demand, a set of report viewers that allow report viewing and modification, and a limited set of APIs for building custom web-based reporting applications. In addition, the Report Application Server does not contain any functionality for managing reports, folders, users, or permissions.
| Note | For more details about the features of Crystal Enterprise, see Chapter 23. |
In addition to the limited functionality that is available in the Report Application Server, its licensing limits the number of users that can access it at any one time to five, and it cannot ever be deployed on more than one web server unless extra licenses are purchased from Crystal Decisions. You are also prohibited from including it in a custom installation program.
| Tip | Trying to understand the ins and outs of Crystal Decisions’ licensing scheme for the Report Application Server can be a bit daunting. You can try it for yourself by viewing the license agreement in the license.rtf file that is in the root directory of the Report Application Server installation CD. |
Since the Report Application Server is so seemingly limited, you may be wondering exactly what it can be used for. The answer is that it can be used for creating a custom, web-based reporting system that will give users the ability to view their reports using a web browser. It also serves as a development platform in that custom applications developed on it can easily be migrated to the more full-featured editions of Crystal Enterprise.
| Note | We don’t mean to sound negative about the Report Application Server: It is a fine platform for small departmental use and for use as a development tool. But you will need to upgrade to Crystal Enterprise Standard or Professional as your reporting environment and enterprise-wide reporting requirements grow. |
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Pages: 217