Planning network usage
Mobile devices often have a lower network bandwidth than a typical office network and the users can have data plans that charge for data transfers. If you expect mobile users will view your BIRT document, consider using some of the following suggestions to minimize network usage:
*Use BIRT report document files to minimize delays from database queries.
*If database queries are required, keep the queries on the server side to minimize data transfer.
*If you expect users to interact with filters, transfer more data with the document to avoid each filter change requesting new data from the server.
*If your data will be aggregated, keep the aggregation on the server side using data models and data cubes.
*Test reports over the different expected network speeds. The fast WiFi network access is not always available to mobile devices.
*Keep images small. For example using HTML5 or SVG image charts are often smaller than the same size of PNG or JPG image.
*If you have small sub reports, consider adding them to the BIRT document and displaying the requested content instead of having multiple reports that require additional requests to the server for content.
These are considerations, not rules. For example, if your mobile users are expected to access reports from the office wireless network then bandwidth will be less of a concern. If your mobile users are a traveling sales team, the mobile users may not always have a network connection and the network speed will be slower than in the office.