Scripting Deployment and Administrative Tasks

Reporting Services supports the use of scripts to automate routine installation, deployment, and administrative tasks. Deploying a report server is a multi-step process. You must use several tools and processes to configure a deployment; there is no single program or approach that can be used to automate all of the tasks.

Not every step should be automated. In some cases, performing a step manually or through a graphical tool is the simplest and most effective approach. For example, if you want to deploy a large number of reports and models, it is better to copy the report server databases rather than write code that recreates report server content.

Some steps require custom code. For example, configuring the virtual directories and Web service can be automated, but only if you write custom code that makes calls into the Report Server Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider. If you do not want to write code, you must use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to perform the step.

To run script that configures a report server, you must be a local administrator on the computer that you are configuring. For more information, see Configuring a Report Server for Remote Administration.

This topic describes recommended approaches for automating specific steps. Several programs and programmatic interfaces are mentioned; descriptions of each one are provided further on in this topic.

Deployment Tasks and How to Automate Them

The following table summarizes all of the installation and configuration tasks that are necessary for deploying a report server. You can use the table to match a specific task to an approach that allows you to automate or perform the task unattended.

Tools and Technologies for Automating Server deployment

The following list summarizes the programs and interfaces that can be used to automate deployment and maintenance tasks:

• The Setup program can be run in unattended mode to install and sometimes configure report server components. You must choose Files-Only installation option to have Setup configure a report server instance.
• The Report Server WMI provider and Reporting Services command line utilities can be used for local and remote server configuration.
  The Report Server WMI provider exposes classes, properties, and methods that allow you to configure all aspects of a Reporting Services installation including specifying service accounts, configuring virtual directories, creating and configuring the report server database, or configuring a report server for e-mail delivery. You must write custom code or script to use the WMI provider. For more information, see Reporting Services WMI Provider.
  An alternative to writing code is to use the command line utilities (rsconfig.exe and rskeymgmt.exe). You can write batch files that run the utilities. You can use the utilities to automate some but not all configuration tasks.
• Script templates allow you to generate ready-to-use scripts for creating, upgrading, and configuring the report server database. You can generate scripts from the Reporting Services Configuration tool.
• The report server script host tool (rs.exe) can run custom Visual Basic code that you might write to re-create or move existing content from one report server to another. With this approach, you write script in Visual Basic, save it as an .rss file, and use rs.exe to run the script on the target report server. The script you write can call the SOAP interface to the Report Server Web service. Deployment scripts are written using this approach because it allows you to re-create a report server folder namespace and content, and re-create role-based security.
  You can also use rs.exe to run custom or generated script that you create in SQL Server Management Studio. For Reporting Services, the script generation feature in Management Studio creates Visual Basic code for a very specific task (for example, creating a role, setting report properties, defining a schedule, and so on). The generated code is incomplete; it captures keyboard strokes and mouse events. To use this code, you must copy it into a larger program that you create.

Duplicating a Report Server Environment

You can write scripts that duplicate a report server environment on another report server instance. Deployment scripts are generally written in Visual Basic and then processed using the report server script host utility.

Use scripts to copy folders, shared data sources, resources, reports, role assignments, and settings from one server to another. You write a script for one report server instance, and then run it on another server to re-create the report server namespace. If you have multiple report servers in your reporting services deployment, you can run the script on each server individually to configure all servers in the same way.

The following list describes the steps for migrating reports from one server to another.

1. Set your script variable to the URL of the source report server.
2. Use the GetReportDefinition method and GetProperties method to retrieve the report definition and the properties of the report.
3. Set the URL to point to the destination server.
4. Use CreateReport method, passing the properties returned from GetProperties and the report definition returned by GetReportDefinition.

By using a combination of get and create methods, you can perform similar steps to migrate settings, folders, shared data sources, and resources. For more information about the methods available to you, see Reporting Services Managed Programming Reference.

For more information about script samples, see Script Samples (Reporting Services). For more information about how to format and run a script file, see Scripting with the rs Utility and the Web Service.

Example Script for Setting Server Properties

You can write script or code that sets system properties on the report server. The following Microsoft Visual Basic .NET script shows one way to set properties. This example disables the RSClientPrint ActiveX control, but you can replace EnableClientPrinting and False with any valid property name and value. To view a complete list of server properties, see Report Server System Properties.

To use the script, save it to a file that has an .rss extension, and then use the rs.exe command prompt utility to run the file on the report server. The script is not compiled, so it is not necessary to have an installation of Visual Basic. This example assumes you have permissions on the local computer that hosts the report server. If you are not logged on under an account that has permissions, you must specify account information through additional command line arguments. For more information, see rs Utility.

Public Sub Main()
        Dim props(0) As [Property]
        Dim setProp As New [Property]
        setProp.Name = "EnableClientPrinting"
        setProp.Value = “False” 
        props(0) = setProp
        Try
            rs.SetSystemProperties(props)
        Catch ex As System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException
            Console.Write(ex.Detail.InnerXml)
        Catch e as Exception
            Console.Write(e.Message)
        End Try
End Sub

See Also

Concepts

Administering Reporting Services
Report Server Command Prompt Utilities
Browser Support in Reporting Services
Reporting Services Component Overview

Other Resources

GenerateDatabaseCreationScript Method (WMI MSReportServer_ConfigurationSetting Class)
GenerateDatabaseRightsScript Method (WMI MSReportServer_ConfigurationSetting Class)
GenerateDatabaseUpgradeScript Method (WMI MSReportServer_ConfigurationSetting Class)
How to: Install SQL Server 2005 from the Command Prompt
Default Configuration for a Report Server Installation
Deploying Reporting Services

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance

Change History