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Installing ConfigMgr reporting requires two separate stages: first install and configure a supported native-mode report server, then add the Reporting services point site-system role in the Configuration Manager console. The role is not SSRS itself. It connects Configuration Manager to the report server, creates the ConfigMgr report folders and data source, deploys built-in reports, and applies Configuration Manager permissions.
Before starting, verify the supported SQL Server and report-server combination for your Configuration Manager current-branch version. Microsoft added SQL Server 2025 support in Configuration Manager version 2603, while SQL Server 2025-era deployments use the newer Power BI Report Server product direction rather than assuming the older SSRS installation process still applies unchanged.
How ConfigMgr reporting works
The Reporting services point is a Configuration Manager site-system role. It does not provide the report engine by itself; SSRS or the applicable Power BI Report Server installation must already exist and be configured.
Configuration Manager site database
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Reporting services point ----> SSRS / Power BI Report Server
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Configuration Manager console or browserThe report server stores report definitions and metadata. When a report runs, its data source queries the Configuration Manager site database. The role also creates the ConfigMgr root folder, shared data source, subfolders, built-in reports, and report-server security mappings. See Microsoft’s reporting overview and Reporting services point configuration guide.
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Prerequisites checklist
- A supported Windows Server installation.
- A Configuration Manager current-branch release and supported SQL Server combination.
- SSRS, or the supported Power BI Report Server product for the selected deployment, installed on the target server.
- A report-server database configured in Native mode.
- A working Report Server Web Service URL.
- A Web Portal URL if browser-based report access or administration is required.
- The report service running.
- Connectivity between the site infrastructure, report server, SQL Server, and administrative console.
- A static SQL Server port, especially when using a named instance.
- Accounts with the required Windows and SQL permissions.
- WMI/RPC connectivity and read access from the Configuration Manager console when the wizard must discover the report-server instance.
The report-server database can use a default or named 64-bit SQL Server instance and can be local or remote, subject to Microsoft’s supported configuration. Configuration Manager reporting follows the supported SQL Server versions for the site database. Check the current reporting prerequisites before production deployment.
Check SQL Server and report-server version support
Do not select SSRS 2017, 2019, or 2022 solely because an older guide recommends it. Support depends on the installed Configuration Manager release and required cumulative updates.
| Platform | Important qualification |
|---|---|
| SQL Server 2017 | Supported only with the applicable minimum cumulative update listed by Microsoft. |
| SQL Server 2019 | Supported from CU5 or later according to the current support table. |
| SQL Server 2022 | Supported from Configuration Manager 2303; compatibility-level 160 support is noted for Configuration Manager 2603. |
| SQL Server 2025 | Support was added in Configuration Manager 2603. Verify the report-server product path separately. |
| SQL Server 2014 | Deprecated in Configuration Manager 2409, and SQL Server 2014 support ended in July 2024. |
The SQL Server hosting the site database and the SQL Server hosting the report-server database do not have to be the same physical instance. However, both arrangements must meet the support matrix and connectivity requirements. See Microsoft’s current SQL Server support table.
Install and configure the report server
For a conventional SSRS deployment, use the installer for a supported SQL Server version. Microsoft distributes Reporting Services separately from the main SQL Server installation.
- Download the appropriate Reporting Services installer.
- Run
SQLServerReportingServices.exe. - Select Install Reporting Services.
- Choose the appropriate edition. Developer and Evaluation editions are intended for development, testing, or evaluation and should not automatically be treated as production licensing.
- Accept the license terms, choose the installation location, and complete setup.
- Open Report Server Configuration Manager.
- Connect to the installed report-server instance.
- Configure the report-server service account.
- Create or connect to the report-server database.
- Configure the Web Service URL.
- Configure the Web Portal URL if browser access is needed.
- Confirm that the report service is running.
Follow Microsoft’s SSRS installation documentation for the installer and configuration-manager screens.
Important SQL Server 2025 qualification
Microsoft’s current documentation says that, beginning with SQL Server 2025, on-premises Reporting Services is consolidated under Power BI Report Server. Do not blindly apply an older SSRS procedure to a SQL Server 2025 deployment. Confirm that the installed Configuration Manager release supports the selected report-server product and integration path.
Validate the report server before adding the role
Use Report Server Configuration Manager on the target server and complete this preflight check:
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- Report Server Status: Report Service Status is Started.
- Web Service URL: the configured URL opens successfully, commonly with a
reportservervirtual directory. - Database: a report-server database is configured and the server is operating in Native mode.
- Web Portal URL: the portal opens if browser reporting or administration is required.
The Web Portal is useful but is not mandatory for running reports from the Configuration Manager console. The expected result is a reachable, running, native-mode report server with a working database connection before the Configuration Manager wizard starts.
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Add the Reporting services point role
- Open the Configuration Manager console.
- Go to Administration.
- Expand Site Configuration.
- Select Servers and Site System Roles.
- Choose an existing server and select Add Site System Role, or select Create Site System Server for a new site system.
- Complete or verify the general site-system settings.
- On System Role Selection, select Reporting services point.
- Continue to the Reporting services point page.
Complete the Reporting services point page
Site database server name
Enter the server hosting the Configuration Manager site database. For a named instance, use:
SQLServerNameInstanceNameConfiguration Manager generally retrieves the fully qualified domain name automatically.
Database name
Enter the Configuration Manager site database name and select Verify. The account running the wizard must have read access to the site database. If verification fails, open the warning icon’s contextual error text, correct the issue, and test again.
Folder name
Specify the root folder that Configuration Manager will create on the report server. A hierarchy commonly uses a site-specific name such as:
ConfigMgr_ABCChoose a predictable name. Avoid changing it casually after deployment because custom reports, subscriptions, and bookmarks may depend on the report path.
Reporting Services server instance
Select the report-server instance installed on the selected site system. Configuration Manager queries WMI on that server to discover available Reporting Services instances.
Reporting services point account
Select Set, then choose or configure a Windows account. This account is used when reports retrieve data from the Configuration Manager site database. Give it the required read access rather than unnecessary SQL Server administrative rights.
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- The SSRS service account.
- The Reporting services point report-query account.
- The administrator’s account used to install the role.
- The account of the person viewing a report.
Finish the wizard and monitor the role installation under the site-system status.
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What Configuration Manager creates
During installation, Configuration Manager creates the SSRS data source, the ConfigMgr root folder and subfolders, built-in report objects, and the ConfigMgr Report Users and ConfigMgr Report Administrators SSRS roles. It also maps Configuration Manager administrative permissions to report-server permissions and deploys built-in report definitions from:
%ProgramFiles%SMS_SRSRPMicrosoft reports more than 400 predefined reports in more than 50 folders, although the exact objects and languages depend on the installed Configuration Manager release and site-server locale.
Verify the installation
- Open Monitoring in the Configuration Manager console.
- Expand Reporting.
- Confirm that report folders and reports appear.
- Run a simple built-in report.
- Confirm that it returns data.
- Test with a user who has only the intended role-based permissions.
- Open the Web Portal and test browser access if that is part of the design.
A user needs the appropriate Configuration Manager permissions, including Read rights and the Run Report permission for the relevant objects. Opening the report portal alone does not guarantee that the user can execute reports. See Microsoft’s reporting operations and maintenance guidance.
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Configuration Manager automatically installs a certificate on the site server and SMS Provider roles. This supports report creation or editing from a console running on one of those servers.
For a console installed on another computer, Microsoft documents exporting the site-server certificate and placing it in the remote computer’s local Trusted People certificate store. The certificate’s friendly name is the site-server FQDN.
Viewing reports and authoring reports are different operations. Viewing normally requires report permissions and network access. Microsoft identifies SQL Server Report Builder as the exclusive authoring and editing tool for Configuration Manager SSRS reports.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting
“No Reporting Services instances available”
Common causes include an uninstalled or stopped report service, incomplete configuration, unavailable WMI, missing WMI read access, blocked RPC/WMI traffic, selection of the wrong site system, or an unsupported SQL Server 2025/Power BI Report Server combination.
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- Open Report Server Configuration Manager locally on the target server.
- Confirm that the service is configured and started.
- Confirm that the native report-server database exists.
- Confirm that the Web Service URL works.
- Test WMI access from the Configuration Manager console computer.
- Check firewall and RPC/WMI connectivity.
- Reopen the role wizard and select the instance again.
Site database verification fails
Check the server and instance syntax, SQL Server availability, TCP/IP, firewall rules, Windows delegation, account read permissions, and whether the correct site database was entered. For named instances, configure a static SQL port. Configuration Manager does not support dynamic SQL ports for its SQL communications. The default port is commonly TCP 1433, but use the actual static port configured in your environment and open the corresponding firewall path.
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Reports install but return errors
- Verify the report-query account’s site-database permissions.
- Check the report-server data source and database name.
- Check SQL connectivity and firewall rules.
- Check cross-domain trust and token-group access.
- Look for report-server database or encryption-key problems after an upgrade.
- Confirm that the report-server URL has not changed.
Microsoft warns against changing the report-server URL after installing the Reporting services point. If the URL must change, remove the role, correct the URL, and reinstall the role.
Report Builder is missing after a SQL upgrade
Microsoft documents a post-upgrade condition in which Report Builder does not exist. The documented remedy is to reinstall the Reporting services point site-system role.
Reports are missing or use the wrong language
Configuration Manager installs report objects using the site-server operating-system locale and falls back to English when the matching language pack is unavailable. If a language pack is installed after the Reporting services point, uninstall and reinstall the role so the reports can be installed in the appropriate language.
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Browser reporting works but console reporting does not
Check the URL stored by Configuration Manager, console-version alignment, certificate trust on a remote console, role-based permissions, report-folder permissions, and the user’s Site Read and Run Report rights. If the report-server URL was changed after role installation, reinstall the role using the corrected URL.
Cross-domain users cannot run reports
DNS and SQL connectivity are not sufficient by themselves. Microsoft documents a two-way trust requirement in relevant cross-domain scenarios. The report-server service account must also belong to the domain-local Windows Authorization Access Group so it can read the tokenGroupsGlobalAndUniversal attribute. Test with an actual report consumer from the second domain.
Remote report-server designs
A report server may be remote from the Configuration Manager site server, and its report-server database may also be local or remote. Validate all of the following before deployment:
- SQL connectivity and static ports.
- DNS and FQDN resolution.
- Firewall rules.
- WMI/RPC connectivity from the console and required site infrastructure.
- Service-account delegation and domain trust.
- Latency between the report server and site database.
Remote placement adds failure points but can be appropriate when the organization separates site infrastructure, SQL Server, and reporting workloads.
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Power BI Report Server is the relevant alternative when an organization needs on-premises .PBIX reports, modern visualizations, or Power BI-oriented authoring and viewing. Configuration Manager provides a Power BI Report Server integration path through its Power BI reports functionality; see Microsoft’s Power BI Report Server integration documentation.
| Requirement | Practical direction |
|---|---|
| Classic built-in paginated ConfigMgr reports | Use a supported native report-server deployment after checking the exact Configuration Manager release. |
| SQL Server 2025 deployment | Verify the current report-server product model and Configuration Manager compatibility before installation. |
.PBIX reports and modern visuals |
Evaluate Power BI Report Server and its version, desktop, licensing, and lifecycle requirements. |
| Only basic operational visibility | Use the Configuration Manager Monitoring workspace when scheduled or custom reports are unnecessary. |
Power BI Report Server is not automatically interchangeable with the traditional SSRS procedure. Confirm product and branch compatibility rather than assuming that an older “install SSRS” guide applies to every SQL Server 2025 environment.
Maintenance rules that prevent avoidable failures
- Keep the report-server URL stable after installing the role.
- Back up the report-server encryption key and document the report-server database connection.
- Plan SQL Server, report-server, and Configuration Manager upgrades as one compatibility exercise.
- Reinstall the Reporting services point when Microsoft specifically documents it as the repair for an upgrade issue.
- Use least-privilege report-query permissions.
- Retest a built-in report, a restricted user, and browser access after upgrades.
For report-server database connection and troubleshooting details, consult Microsoft’s database connection guidance and Reporting Services troubleshooting documentation.
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