Reporting Services Configuration Files

Reporting Services stores component information in configuration files that are copied to the file system during setup. Configuration files contain a combination of internal-use-only and user-defined values. User-defined values are specified through Setup, the configuration tools, the command line utilities, and by manually editing the configuration files.

Modifying Configuration Files

Configuration settings are specified as either XML elements or attributes. If you understand XML and configuration files, you can use a text or code editor to modify user-definable settings. Some settings must be modified through tools. For example, encrypted values such as those used to configure a report server connection must be specified through the Reporting Services Configuration tool, the Setup program, or the rsconfig command line utility.

If you modify a configuration setting manually and the change is valid, the configuration setting is seamlessly incorporated into the current server session. If the change is not valid, the report server logs an error to the Windows application log and either fails to start or uses a default value, depending on the error:

  • If the error is malformed XML, the report server will not start. If the report server is running when you introduce the error, the report server ignores the invalid configuration file until the report server restarts or the application domain is recycled. Once the error is detected, the report server will no longer start.
  • If the error is an invalid configuration value, the report server will use the default value if the configuration setting has one. Otherwise, the report server fails to start.

Not all configuration settings can be modified. If you modify a setting that is reserved for internal use, you may disable your installation. Generally, editing configuration settings is not recommended unless you are trying to solve a specific problem. You can use the information provided in this section to learn which settings are safe to change. For more information about configuration files, see the Microsoft .NET Framework product documentation.

Configuration File Overview

The following table describes the application configuration files that are included with Reporting Services. Security policy configuration files are discussed in another topic. For more information about RSMgrPolicy.config, RSPreviewPolicy.config, or RSSrvPolicy.config, see Using Reporting Services Security Policy Files.

Component Configuration File Description

RSReportServer.config

Report Server Web service and Windows service configuration file. For more information, see RSReportServer Configuration File.

RSWebApplication.config

Report Manager configuration file. For more information, see RSWebApplication Configuration File.

ReportingServicesService.exe.config

Report Server Windows service configuration file. This configuration file specifies trace settings. For more information, see ReportingServicesService Configuration File.

RSReportDesigner.config

Report Designer configuration file. For more information, see RSReportDesigner Configuration File.

See Also

Concepts

Administering Reporting Services
Starting and Stopping the Report Server Windows Service

Other Resources

Deploying Reporting Services
Reporting Services Extensions
rsconfig Utility

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance