Publishing Reports to the Report Server in SSRS

Publishing reports is the process of deploying your developed reports from your local development environment (like Report Builder or Visual Studio with SQL Server Data Tools) to the SSRS report server where they can be accessed by end users.

Methods to Publish Reports

1. Using Visual Studio/SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools)

• Steps:

  1. Open your report project in Visual Studio

  2. Right-click the project in Solution Explorer

  3. Select "Properties"

  4. Configure the "TargetServerURL" (e.g., http://[server]/reportserver)

  5. Set the "TargetReportFolder" (default is the project name)

  6. Right-click the report and select "Deploy" or use the "Build > Deploy Solution" option

2. Using Report Builder

• Steps:

  1. Open your report in Report Builder

  2. Click the "File" menu

  3. Select "Save As"

  4. Choose "Report Server" as the location

  5. Enter the report server URL and navigate to the target folder

  6. Click "Save"

3. Using Web Portal (Manual Upload)

• Steps:

  1. Navigate to the SSRS web portal (typically http://[server]/reports)

  2. Browse to the folder where you want to publish

  3. Click "Upload" button

  4. Select the .rdl file from your local system

  5. Click "OK" to upload

4. Using PowerShell Scripts

powershell

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# Example PowerShell script to publish a report
$reportServerUri = "http://[server]/reportserver"
$reportPath = "/YourFolder/YourReport"
$rdlFile = "C:\Reports\YourReport.rdl"

$rs = New-WebServiceProxy -Uri "$reportServerUri/ReportService2010.asmx" -UseDefaultCredential
$bytes = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes($rdlFile)
$rs.CreateCatalogItem("Report", "YourReport", "/YourFolder", $true, $bytes, $null, [ref]$null)

Important Considerations

1. Data Source Configuration:

   • Shared data sources must be published separately or reconfigured after publishing

   • Embedded data sources will need credential configuration on the server

2. Permissions:

   • You need "Content Manager" or "Publisher" role permissions on the target folder

   • Verify users have appropriate permissions to access the published reports

3. Overwriting Reports:

   • Publishing typically overwrites existing reports with the same name

   • Consider version control if maintaining multiple versions

4. Dependencies:

   • Ensure all referenced datasets, images, and subreports are also published

   • Verify any custom code assemblies are available on the server

5. Parameters:

   • Default parameter values may need adjustment after publishing

   • Parameter dependencies should be tested in the server environment

Best Practices

• Test reports in a development environment before publishing to production

• Use consistent folder structures for better organization

• Document report dependencies and configurations

• Consider implementing a deployment pipeline for enterprise environments

• Validate reports after publishing to ensure they render correctly