Install Reporting Services 2016 native mode report server

Applies to: ✅ SQL Server Reporting Services (2016) ❌ SQL Server Reporting Services (2017) ❌ Power BI Report Server

Learn how to install Reporting Services in native mode. This will provide access to a web portal where you can manage reports and other items.

Note

Looking for Power BI Report Server? See Install Power BI Report Server.

A Reporting Services native mode report server is the default Reporting Services server mode and can be installed from the SQL Server installation wizard or from the command line. In the setup wizard, you can select to either install files and configure the server with default settings or to only install the files. This topic reviews the Default configuration for native mode where Setup both installs and configures a report server instance. After Setup is finished, the report server is running and ready to use for basic report viewing and report management.

Additional features such as Power BI integration and e-mail delivery with subscription processing require additional configuration.

What is the default configuration?

Setup installs the following Reporting Services features when you select the default configuration for native mode option:

  • Report Server service (which includes the Report Server Web service, background processing application, and the web portal for viewing and managing reports as well as permissions.

  • The Reporting Services Configuration Manager

  • The Reporting Services command line utilities rsconfig.exe, rskeymgmt.exe and rs.exe.

SQL Server Management Studio and SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) are now separate downloads.

Setup configures the following for a native mode report server installation:

  • Service account for the Report Server service.

  • Report Server Web service URL.

  • The web portal URL.

  • Report Server database.

  • Service account access to the report server databases.

  • Connection information, also known as the data source name (DSN), for the report server databases.

Setup does not configure the unattended execution account, report server e-mail, back up the encryption keys, or a scale-out deployment. You can use the Reporting Services Configuration Manager to configure these properties. For more information, see Report Server Configuration Manager (Native Mode).

When to install the default configuration for native mode

A default configuration installs Reporting Services in an operational state so that you can use the report server immediately after Setup is finished. Specify this mode when you want to save steps by eliminating any required configuration tasks you would otherwise have to perform in the Reporting Services Configuration tool.

Installing the default configuration does not guarantee that the report server will work after Setup is finished. The default URLs might not register when the service starts. Always test your installation to verify that the service starts and runs as expected. See Verify a Reporting Services Installation.

Requirements

The default configuration option uses default values to configure the core settings required to make a report server operational. It has the following requirements:

  • Review Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server .

  • Reporting Services and SQL Server Database Engine must be installed together in the same instance. The Database Engine instance hosts the report server database that Setup creates and configures.

  • The user account used to run Setup must be a member of the local Administrators group and have permission to access and create databases on the Database Engine instance that hosts the report server databases.

  • Setup must be able to use the default values to reserve the URLs that provide access to the report server and the web portal. These values are port 80, a strong wildcard, and the virtual directory names in the format ReportServer_<instance_name> and Reports_<instance_name>.

  • Setup must be able to use the default values to create the report server databases. These values are ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB. If you have existing databases from a previous installation, Setup will be blocked because it cannot configure the report server in the default configuration for native mode. You must rename, move, or delete the databases to unblock Setup.

If your computer does not meet all requirements for a default installation, you must install Reporting Services in files-only mode and then use the Reporting Services Configuration Manager to configure it after Setup is finished.

Important

While Reporting Services can be installed in an environment that has a Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC), Reporting Services needs access to a Read-Write Domain Controller to function properly. If Reporting Services only has access to a RODC, you may encounter errors when trying to administer the service.

Default URL reservations

URL reservations are composed of a prefix, host name, port, and virtual directory:

Part Description
Prefix The default prefix is HTTP. If you previously installed a Transport Layer Security (TLS), previously known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), certificate, Setup will try to create URL reservations that use the HTTPS prefix.
Host name The default host name is a strong wildcard (+). It specifies that the report server will accept any HTTP request on the designated port for any host name that resolves to the computer, including https://<computername>/reportserver, https://localhost/reportserver, or https://<IPAddress>/reportserver.
Port The default port is 80. Note that if you use any port other than port 80, you will have to explicitly add it to the URL when you open a Reporting Services Web application in a browser window.
Virtual directory By default, virtual directories are created in the format of ReportServer_<instance_name> for the Report Server Web service and Reports_<instance_name> for the web portal. For the Report Server Web service, the default virtual directory is reportserver. For the web portal, the default virtual directory is reports.

An example of the complete URL string might be as follows:

  • https://+:80/reportserver, provides access to the report server.

  • https://+:80/reports, provides access to the web portal.

Install native mode with the SQL Server installation wizard

The following list describes the Reporting Services specific steps and options you select in the SQL Server Installation Wizard. The list does not described each page you will see in the installation wizard, only the Reporting Services related pages that are part of a Native mode installation.

  1. Run the SQL Server setup wizard (setup.exe) and step through the following preliminary pages:

    • Product Key

    • License Terms

    • Global Rules

    • Microsoft Update

    • Product Updates

    • Install Setup Files

    • Install Rules

  2. On the Setup Role page, select SQL Server Feature Installation.

    SQL Server Feature Installation for setup role

  3. On the Feature Selection page, select the following:

    • (1) Database Engine Services, unless an instance of the database engine is already installed.

    • (2) Reporting Services-Native.

    SSRS Native Mode Select in Feature Selection

  4. Review the Feature Rules passed.

  5. On the Instance configuration page, remember that if you choose to configure a Named Instance, you will need to use the instance name in URLS when you browse to Report Manger and the report server itself. If the instance was name was "THESQLINSTANCE" , the URLS would look like the following:

    • https://[ServerName]/ReportServer_THESQLINSTANCE

    • https://[ServerName]/Reports_THESQLINSTANCE

  6. Server Configuration: If you plan to use the Reporting Services subscription feature, then on the Server Configuration page, configure SQL Server Agent Automatic Startup type. The default is manual.

  7. Add SQL Server administrators on the Database Engine Configuration page.

  8. On the Reporting Services Configuration page select Install and Configure.

    SSRS Native Mode Configuration

    Note

    Install and Configure will not be available unless the database feature is also selected to be installed.

  9. Feature Configuration Rules: verify the rules passed. The setup wizard automatically advances to the Ready to install if the rules all pass. Specific to Reporting Services, the rules verify a report server catalog and temp catalog database do not already exist.

  10. On the ready to install page, note the path to the configuration file as you can refer to it at a later time for a good summary of the servers initial SQL Server configuration including the components installed, service accounts and administrators.

  11. After the SQL Server installation wizard is complete, verify the default Native mode installation using the following basic steps.

    • Open Reporting Services Configuration Manager and confirm you can connect to the report server.

    • Open your browser with administrative privileges and connect to the web portal, for example https://localhost/Reports.

    • Open your browser with administrative privileges and connect to the Reporting Services report server page. For example, https://localhost/ReportServer

For more information, see the Native section of the following two topics:

Verify a Reporting Services Installation

Troubleshoot a Reporting Services Installation

Additional configuration

See Also

Troubleshoot a Reporting Services Installation
Verify a Reporting Services Installation
Configure the Report Server Service Account
Configure Report Server URLs
Configure a Report Server Database Connection
Files-Only Installation (Reporting Services)
Initialize a Report Server
Configure TLS Connections on a Native Mode Report Server
Configure Windows Service Accounts and Permissions

More questions? Try asking the Reporting Services forum