Configuring SQL Server Reporting Services

In my previous article we have covered installing reporting service. The next step in reporting service is to configure them according to your environment.

There are many options are available in reporting service configuration. You need to configure all these values with respect to your environment. There are two ways to configure reporting service a.) Using Reporting service configuration GUI and b.) Reporting service configuration command line utility (RSConfig.exe located @ C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server90ToolsBinn directory). The reporting service GUI configuration tool is very simple to use and many prefer this. Lets configure reporting service using this GUI too.

Configuring Reporting Service

  • To open Reporting service GUI go to Run > Type rsconfigtool.exe and press enter. The utility will be opened.
  • The first thing is that you need to connect to the correct reporting instance to configure the same. (In this example Ive used a default instance of reporting service)

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  • Lets discuss on reporting service configuration window and then the options parameters for reporting services.

Left Pane

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The left pane in Reporting service configuration window provides the list of parameter options that is need to be configured. The icon left to these parameters state that whether the parameters are configured, running or any problem with the configuration. You can find legend for this icon in the right pane as shown below

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In the right pane you can find the information about reporting service status, reporting service instance name and its directory as shown below. Down this you have legend status too.

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Parameters

 

Parameters Description
Server Status When you go to this option you will be shown with the reporting service status, legends screen. This is the default option shown when you connect to RS configuration tool
Report Server Virtual Directory The report server and Report Manager are ASP.NET applications accessed through URLs. The report server URL provides access to the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) endpoints of the report server.Each URL includes a virtual directory that you specify in the Reporting Services Configuration tool.rs-conifugre-5
Report Manager Virtual Directory The report server and Report Manager are ASP.NET applications accessed through URLs.The Report Manager URL is used to launch Report Manager. Each URL includes a virtual directory that you specify in the Reporting Services Configuration tool.
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Windows Service Identity Reporting Services requires service accounts to run the Report Server Web service and Microsoft Windows service. The Report Server Windows service is configured during setup, but can be modified using the Reporting Services Configuration tool if you update the password or want to use a different account.
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Web Service Identity The Report Server Web service cannot be configured if you are using Microsoft Windows XP or Windows 2000 servers. The ASP.NET security identity is always used to run the Report Server Web service on those operating systems. If you are using Windows Server 2003, the Report Server Web service uses the security identity of the application pool as its service account. You can use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to create new application pools that are automatically configured for report server operations. You can also choose an existing application pool.rs-conifugre-8
Database Setup The report server is a stateless server that requires a SQL Server database for internal storage. You can use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to create and configure a connection to the report server database. You can also select an existing database as long as it uses the schema for SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services. An upgrade option is provided so that you can update the database to the new schema.
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Sharepoint Integration If you are using sharepoint integration with report server then this option is enabled and it will allow you to configure the same.rs-conifugre-11
Encryption Keys Reporting Services uses a symmetric key to encrypt and decrypt sensitive data such as stored credentials and database connection information. Creating and storing the symmetric key is performed during an initialization process that prepares a report server for encryption operations. Managing the symmetric key is important for report server recovery if there is a hardware failure or a planned migration to another computer. The Reporting Services Configuration tool provides options for backing up, restoring, and recreating encryption keys, and for deleting encrypted values if recovery is not possible.
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Initialization In Reporting Services, an initialized server is one that can encrypt and decrypt data in a report server database. Initialization is a requirement for report server operation. Initialization occurs when the Report Server service is started for the first time. It also occurs when you join the report server to the existing deployment, or when you manually recreate the keys as part of the recovery process.If initialization fails for some reason, the report server returns an RSReportServerNotActivatederror in response to user and service requests.rs-conifugre-13
Email Settings Reporting Services includes a report server e-mail delivery extension that allows report subscribers to get reports delivered to an electronic mailbox. The e-mail delivery extension uses a Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) to deliver the report or notification. You can use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to specify which SMTP server or gateway on your network to use for e-mail delivery.rs-conifugre-14
Execution Account Setting this account is optional, but not setting it limits your use of external images and connections to some data sources. When retrieving external image files, the report server checks to see if an anonymous connection can be made. If the connection is password protected, the report server uses the unattended report processing account to connect to the remote server. When retrieving data for a report, the report server either impersonates the current user, prompts the user to provide credentials, uses stored credentials, or uses the unattended processing account if the data source connection specifies Noneas the credential type. The report server does not allow its service account credentials to be delegated or impersonated when connecting to other computers, so it must use the unattended processing account if no other credentials are available.rs-conifugre-15

For more on configuring reporting option check the Microsoft KB article Reporting Services Configuration How-to Topics. This KB article covers how to run reporting service under non default website, share point integration etc.

 


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