This chapter details the installation and configuration of SQL Server reporting services, providing advice on testing and options for this useful function.

Reporting Services is dependent on ASP.NET version 1.1 hosted on IIS, and on SQL Server 2000 SP3a Standard Edition and later. Reporting Services won't work, and is not supported, on SQLExpress or MSDE Editions of SQL Server, and there's a different version specifically for Yukon (SQL Server 2005). Sure, you can use SQLExpress, MSDE or a non-SQL Server database as a data source—just not as the Reporting Services Catalog.

In this chapter, we discuss various installation setups you can use to install and configure Reporting Services. For the most part, this process is managed by the Setup.exe installation wizard, so expect to be prompted for a number of configuration options that determine how, where, and whether each segment of the Reporting Services package will be installed. We know that there are a variety of ways to install Reporting Services, so we've tried not only to address the common case, but also provide hints and techniques to be used for some of the more sophisticated installation scenarios. To make this process as painless as possible, we've broken this chapter down into several sections:

·         Installation Pathways and Preparation: This section discusses things you need to consider for each of the configuration scenarios—typical or not. Here we show additional details and considerations regarding SSL configuration and other security issues, separate IIS and SQL Server systems and instances, and using the command-line installation option.

·         Step by Step: Installing Reporting Services on a Server with IIS: This section assumes a typical development machine running IIS, SQL Server, and a Visual Studio .NET tool. It walks through the Setup wizard step by step and discusses how to respond to each dialog.

·         After Installation—Tuning and Reconfiguring: This section discusses the various configuration files and the command-line tools used to manipulate the files and perform other security and maintenance tasks. If you choose to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) (as we recommend) and you also decide to force SSL for all communications with the Report Manager and Report Server, you should revisit the Tuning and Reconfiguring section after the installation wizard completes, which allows you to tune the config files and change the SecureConnectionLevel.

·         Testing the Installation: This section shows step by step how to verify that your Reporting Services installation is ready to produce reports. Testing helps you install the sample reports using Visual Studio .NET and verify that you can successfully deploy and retrieve reports with a browser.

·         Installing Reporting Services on a Web Farm: This section walks through the process of setting up Reporting Services on a web farm. This configuration uses several linked IIS servers to share the same Report Server database.

·         Removing Reporting Services: In case you need to un install Reporting Services, this section discusses the mechanisms and side effects of the tear-down process.

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