How to: Install and Configure Reporting Services on Windows Server 2008

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This topic explains the requirements and steps for installing and configuring Reporting Services on Microsoft Windows Server 2008. You can install any edition of 32-bit or 64-bit Reporting Services on any edition of Windows Server 2008.

Installing Reporting Services in the default configuration is recommended because there are known issues with the Reporting Services Configuration tool when configuring a files-only installation. The installation mode is specified during setup. You can specify a default installation when you choose the Install the default configuration option in the Report Server Installation Options page.

Prerequisites

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is required for running SQL Server components on Windows Server 2008.

Before installing Reporting Services, you must enable ASP.NET and IIS. To enable these features, configure a server role:

  1. Click Start.
  2. Click Server Manager at the top of the Start menu.
  3. Right-click Roles, and select Add Roles.
  4. On the Select Server Roles page, click Web Server (IIS). Selecting the Web Server role also selects File Server as role dependency. Click Next.
  5. In the Role Services page, keep all the items that are selected by default, and then add the following additional items:
    1. In Common HTTP Features, select all the items in this section.
    2. In Application Development, select ASP.NET. You will be prompted to enable dependent services. Click OK to add the required role services.
    3. In Security, select Windows Authentication.
    4. In Management Tools, in IIS 6 Management Capability, select all the items.
  6. Click Next, and then click Install.

If any of these features are not enabled, Setup will exclude Reporting Services from the Components to Select page.

After you enable the required features, you must start the World Wide Publishing Service if you want to install the default configuration of Reporting Services. Otherwise, you must install Reporting Services in files-only mode and configure the report server after SQL Server Setup is finished.

Note

If you are upgrading both the report server instance and the operating system, and the report server instance is SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services, you must run Setup with SKUUPGRADE=1. For more information, see How to: Upgrade a SQL Server Express Report Server to Another SQL Server Edition. Note that there are known issues with edition upgrades. Check the SP2 readme for more information.

To install Reporting Services SP2

  1. Log on to Windows Server 2008 and enable ASP.NET and IIS features as described in the Prerequisites section.

  2. Verify that the World Wide Web Publishing service is started. If it is not started, configure it for Automatic startup:

    1. Click Start.
    2. Click Control Panel.
    3. Click System and Maintenance.
    4. Click Administrative Tools. You might have to scroll down the panel until you see it.
    5. Double-click Services.
    6. Click Continue.
    7. Right-click World Wide Web Publishing, and select Properties.
    8. In Startup Type, click Automatic.
    9. Click Apply.
    10. Click Start.
    11. Click OK to close the window.

  3. Install SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services:

    • If you are installing SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services, install SP2. To download SP2, see Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services Service Pack 2 on the Microsoft Web site.
    • For all other editions, you must install the original product release. The Program Compatibility Assistant will warn you that the current release is not compatible. Click Run Program to continue installation. For instructions on how to install Reporting Services, see Reporting Services Installation How-to Topics.
    • The Installation Wizard includes the Report Server Installation Options page. On this page, you can select the default configuration or install program files and configure the server later.
      For best results on Windows Server 2008 Beta 3, choose the Install the default configuration option. If you cannot choose this option, you must choose the Install but do not configure the server option. Note that if you do are installing the SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services, you will encounter configuration errors when you configure the software after Setup is finished. For tips on how to troubleshoot these errors, see the Troubleshooting Installation Problems at the end of this topic.

  4. Apply SP2.

    • To download SP2, see How to obtain the latestSQL Server2005 Service Pack on the Microsoft Web site. If you installed the SP2 version of the Express Edition with Advanced Services, you can skip this step because SP2 is already applied.
    • During SP2 setup, you can stop services in order to avoid a system restart. To stop the services, open Control Panel, click Administrative Tools, double-click Services, right-click the service, and click Stop.
    • Do not stop services prior to running Setup. The service must be running to perform an authentication check.
    • If the Provisioning Tool opens, start the services before you use it. You can use the tool to easily add Windows user accounts to the SYSADMIN fixed server role.

  5. Start the services if you have not done so already. If you are installing the Express Edition with Advanced Services, reset IIS. To reset IIS, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, select Run as administrator, type iisreset, and press ENTER.

Configure Reporting Services

  1. Start the Reporting Services Configuration tool. To open the tool, click Start, click All Programs, click SQL Server 2005, click Configuration Tools, and then click Reporting Services Configuration.

  2. Click Continue.

  3. In the Instance Selection dialog box, select the report server instance and then click Connect.

  4. Set the application pool for Report Manager and the Report Server Web service to ReportServer or Classic .NET AppPool:

    1. Open the Web Service Identity page.
    2. Select the ReportServer application pool.
    3. Click Apply.

    You cannot use Default Application Pool with Reporting Services. Reporting Services runs as a legacy application on IIS 7.0 and requires that you use an application pool that has Managed Pipeline Mode set to Classic. Avoid running the Report Server Web service under the default application pool on IIS 7.0. You will encounter HTTP 500 errors if you try to use it.

    Note that in the Beta 3 version of Windows Server 2008, if you are using custom application pool settings, you cannot configure the Report Manager application pool to run under a domain user account.

    If you installed the default configuration, no other configuration changes are required. If you are configuring a files-only installation, you must configure virtual directories and create the report server database. For instructions on how to configure these and other settings, see Reporting Services Configuration How-to Topics.

To configure the report server and Report Manager for local administration

  1. Open a browser window with Run as administrator permissions. Point to Start, click All Programs, right-click Internet Explorer, and select Run as administrator.

  2. Start Report Manager. By default, the Report Manager URL is http://<servername>/reports (or if you are using SQL Server Express with Advanced Services, http://<servername>/reports$sqlexpress).

  3. Add http://<servername> to the Local Intranet security zone:

    1. Click Tools.
    2. Click Internet Options.
    3. Click Security.
    4. Click Local Intranet.
    5. Click Sites.
    6. Add http://<servername>. If you are not using HTTPS for the default site, clear the check box Require server certification (https:) for all sites in this zone.
    7. Click OK.

  4. Create role assignments that grant permissions for local administration:

    1. In Report Manager, on the Home page, click Properties.
    2. Click New Role Assignment.
    3. Type a Windows user account in this format: <domain>\<user>.
    4. Select Content Manager.
    5. Click OK.
    6. Click Site Settings in the upper corner of the Home page.
    7. Click Configure Site-wide security.
    8. Click New Role Assignment.
    9. Type a Windows user account in this format: <domain>\<user>.
    10. Select System Administrator.
    11. Click OK.

  5. Close Report Manager.

  6. Re-open Report Manager in Internet Explorer, without using Run as administrator. You should have full access to all Report Manager features, including the Site Settings menu at the top of the page.

Troubleshooting Installation Problems

Problem: Reporting Services Configuration tool

You installed SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services on Windows Server 2008 Beta 3, and you chose the Install but do not configure the server option in Setup, and you now encounter numerous error indicators (red x icons) when configuring the instance in the Reporting Services Configuration tool.

Resolution

There is a known workaround that will allow you to successfully configure your installation. First, open the Report Server Virtual Directory page. Although the green icon indicates it is configured, the virtual directory is not yet created. To create it, select an existing Web site and then type a virtual directory name. You will need to click Apply several times before the virtual directory is created, but the tool will create the directory.

After the directory is created, you can continue with other tasks:

  • Create the Report Manager virtual directory
  • Specify the Classic .NET AppPool or the ReportServer application pool for the Report Server Web service. The default application pool will not work so be sure that you select a different application pool.
  • Create the report server database.
  • Other configuration settings are optional. For instructions on how to perform these tasks, see Reporting Services Configuration How-to Topics.
Problem: Programmatically configuring a report server virtual directory

In Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0, there are new permission requirements for ISAPI extensions that use a wildcard (*) script mapping. If you run code or script to configure the report server virtual directory, you might encounter the following error when attempting to access the virtual directory:

"HTTP Error 403.1 Forbidden"

You have attempted to run a CGI, ISAPI, or other executable program from a directory that does not allow executables to run.

Resolution

Edit permissions on the virtual directory to allow scripts to run:

  1. In IIS Manager, open the Sites folder, and then open the folder of the Web site that contains the report server virtual directory.
  2. Select the report server virtual directory.
  3. In the IIS area, double-click HTTP Handlers.
  4. In the Actions pane, click Edit Handler Permissions.
  5. Click Script.
  6. Click OK.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Install 32-bit Reporting Services on a 64-bit Computer
How to: Upgrade Reporting Services on Windows Vista
How to: Install 32-bit Reporting Services on a 64-bit Computer

Reference

Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2005

Concepts

Considerations for Running SQL Server 2005 on Windows Vista

Other Resources

How to: Connect to SQL Server from Windows Vista
Reporting Services Installation How-to Topics
Reporting Services Configuration How-to Topics

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance