Install and Configure Power BI Report Server Step by Step

In this article,we’ll will explain How to Install and Configure Power BI Report Server Step By Step.

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To Install and Configure Power BI Report Server (Power BI On-Premise), we’ll go through the following:

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What’s Power BI Report Server (Power BI On-Premise)?

The Power BI Report Server is a reporting solution that will help you to build and publish the Power BI reports to an On-Premises Report Server.

Power BI Report Server Software Requirements

• The Power BI Report Server installation is only supported on 64x.
• The supported SQL Server Versions (SQL Server 2012 to SQL Server 2019).
• The Power Power BI Report Server requires .Net framework 4.7 to be installed.
• The Power Power BI Report Server is supported on
  • Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.
  • Windows 8, Windows 10.

For more details check Hardware and software requirements for installing Power BI Report Server

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Power BI Report Server Licensing

Unlike the SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Service), the Power BI Report Server license is not bundled with the SQL Server License.

The Power BI Report Server license has an independent license that is included in

1. Power BI Premium.
2. SQL Server Enterprise Edition with Software assurance.

In the second option, The use of Power BI Report Server does not require a separate SQL Server license unless you intend to use other components such as the SQL Server database engine or SQL Server Integration Services.

A limited-use rights database engine comes with Power BI Report Server for hosting the Report Server catalog and temporary databases.

At least one Power BI Pro user license is required for publishing content to Power BI Report Server.

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Where’s the Power BI Report Server Key?

You can get the Power BI Report Server Key,  from the following:

Volume Licensing Service Center

• Login to the Volume Licensing Service Center.
• Looking for the latest SQL Server Enterprise Edition Core license with active Software Assurance.
• In the “download” section, check “Running Power BI Report Server“.

Power BI Admin Portal

• Log in to the Power BI Admin Portal using Global Admin.
• At “Power BI Premium” Tab > Click on “Power BI Report Server Key“

If  you aren’t subscribed to Power BI Premium, you can use

• Power BI Report Server trial edition for 180 days,
• Power BI Report Server Developer Edition.

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Install and configure Power BI Report Server Prerequisites

Before we getting started to Install and configure Power BI Report Server, you prepare the below prerequisites:

• Make sure that the SQL Server has been installed and configured on the database server before installing the Power BI Report Server.

It’s strongly recommended to install the Power BI report server in a separate server, not in the same database server.

• Make sure that the DB server is reachable from the Power BI Report Server.

Please, check How to Check SQL Server Instance Connectivity from the application server to the database server.

• Install and Configure the Web Server (IIS) role on the Power BI Report Server.
• Download the Power BI Report Server.
• Download SQL Server 2019 Management Studio.
• The license key for Power BI Report Server, check where you can find the Power BI Report Server key.
• Make sure that the installation account is a member of the Local Administrator Group.
• Make sure that the user used to configure the Power BI Report Server have access, run script, and create database permission on the Database Server.

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How to Install and Configure Power BI Report Server Step By Step?

Steps

1. Download the latest Power BI Report Server version. (About 241 MB).
2. Install the downloaded “PowerBIReportServer.exe” file.
3. Follow the Power BI Report Server installation wizard steps.
4. Configure Power BI Report Server.
   1. Configure the Power BI Report Server Service Account.
   2. Configure the Power BI Report Server Web Service.
   3. Configure the Power BI Report Server Database.
   4. Configure the Power BI Report Server Web Portal.
   5. Backup the Power BI Report Server Encryption keys.
5. Manage Power BI Report Server Web Portal Permission.
6. Download the Power BI Desktop.
7. Install the Power BI Desktop.
8. Publish the Power BI report to Power BI Report Server.
9. Browse the Power BI report.

Install Power BI Report Server Step by Step

• In Welcome Page, Click on “Install Power BI Report Server“.

• Choose one of the free Power BI Report Server Editions. or provide the Power BI Report Server key.

• Check “I accept the license terms“, then press Next.

• By default, the “Install Power BI Report Server Only” option is selected, but after the installation, you will need to have a database instance to configure the Power BI Report Server Database.

• Specify the installation location of the Power BI Report Server.

• The Power BI Report Server should be now ready to start the installation process.

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Configure Power BI Report Server Step by Step

Once the Power BI Report Server installation is complete, you will be ready to configure the Power BI Report Server by clicking on “Configure Report Server” button.

When you click on the “Configure Report Server” button, you will be asked to connect to the Report Server.

In this section, we’ll configure the Power BI Report Server by configuring the following:

• Configure the Power BI Report Server Service Account.
• Configure the Power BI Report Server Database.
• Configure the Power BI Report Server Web Portal URL.
• Configure the Power BI Report Server Encryption keys.

Configure the Power BI Report Server Service Account

In this step, you should provide the service account that will be used to run the Report Server service.

In service account, It’s recommended to use

• “Network Service” as a built-in account or
• A domain account.

• Then click “Apply” to configure Power BI Report Server Service Account.

Configure the Power BI Report Server Web Service URL

• Provide the virtual directory name and the port as you prefer. or leave the default values.

• Click “Apply” to configure the Power BI Report Server Web Service URL.

Configure the Power BI Report Server Database

Before configuring the Power BI Report Server Database, you must make sure that you have a ready SQL Server instance with Database Engine installed.

• If the SQL Server instance is ready, click on “Change Database” button.

• Follow the Database Creation wizard, Check “Create a new report server database” then click “Next”.

• Connect to the database server, by providing:
  • The SQL Server Instance that will host the Power BI database.
    • P.S: If you have SQL Server with High availability, you have to use the VIP for SQL Server (ServerVIP,Port). Ex: 192.168.0.0,1433
  • The Authentication type as you prefer.

Don’t forget to add the SQL Server VIP in Hosts file to point to the Availability Group Name in case you are using HA.

In case you are using a single DB server, you have to add the SQL Server IP to point to the Server Host name.

P.S: Use the nslookup command to get the host name.

• Provide an existing account that the Power BI service will use to connect to the Power BI Report Server database.

• Review the summary

• Wait for a moment until the database creation is finished.

Configure the Power BI Report Server Web Portal URL

• Provide the virtual directory name and the port as you prefer. or leave the default values.
• Click “Apply” to configure the Web Portal URL.

• Once the web portal is configured, browse the web portal URL to make sure that the web portal is working properly.

You may also like to read HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable in Power BI

Configure Custom Domain URL for Power BI Report Server Web Portal

In certain scenarios, you might encounter the need to access Power BI reports through a customized URL (e.g., https://bi.devoworx.com) within your network for users who need to browse the URL outside your server.

To achieve this, collaboration with other teams (such as Network and Infrastructure) becomes necessary in order to configure a new DNS entry for the Power BI Report Server. To accomplish this, you can follow the steps outlined below:

Network Team Requirements to configure custom Web Portal URL

If you have a Power BI Report server with High Availability (Not a Single server), so you have first to ask the network team to do the following:

1. Create a Virtual IP for your Power BI Web Servers IPs.
2. Open the TCP Ports 80 for http, 443 for https.
3. Generate a certificate if you need to configure SSL.

Infra Team Requirements to configure custom Web Portal URL

If you just need to browse the custom web portal URL within your organization network, not publicly over internet, so you have to ask the Infra team to do the following:

1. Create a new DNS A record with your prefer URL. Ex: BI.companydomain
2. Point the newly created DNS to the Virtual IP that has been created by Network Team.

Configure a custom URL for Power BI Report Server.

Once the above steps has been done, you have to configure the custom URL in ALL Power BI Report Server as the following:

1. Install the certificate in Trusted Root.
2. Open the Hosts File, and add a new entry as below:
   • CurrentServerIP CustomURLwithoutHTTP

3. Open the Power BI Report Server Configuration Manager
4. Click on “Web Portal URL” > “Advanced“.
5. In “Advanced Multiple Web Site Configuration“, add the new host header, and the SSL identifier.
6. Press Ok to apply the changes.

7. Try to browse the new custom URL inside the server that should be working properly.
8. Repeat the above steps on all Power BI Report Servers.
9. Once you finish, try to open the custom URL from an End user PC outside the server and within your organization network that should be now browsed properly.

Configure the Power BI Report Server Encryption keys

To encrypt the sensitive data in the report server database like connection strings, credentials, you should take a backup of the symmetric key.

Note: the symmetric key backup is very significant mainly when you are planning to migrate or move to another Power BI Report Server.

You might also like to read Scale Out Power BI Report Server

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Manage Power BI Report Server Web Portal Permission

Normally, the unauthenticated users will not be able to access the Power BI Report Server Web Portal URL and they will get the below error

Check the detailed steps to manage SSRS & Power BI Report Server permissions at SSRS 2016: You are not allowed to view this folder. Contact your administrator to obtain the necessary permissions.

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Download Power BI Desktop for Power BI Report Server

Steps

• Open Power BI Report Server Web Portal URL.
• Click on “Download“.

• Click on “Power BI Desktop“

• Or use this Direct Link to download “Power BI Desktop“.

• Check “PBIDesktopRS_x64.msi“, next to download it.

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Install Power BI Desktop for Power BI Report Server

• Double click on the downloaded file “PBIDesktopRS_x64.msi” to install the Power BI Desktop.

• Accept the terms, then click Next.

• Specify the installation folder, click “Next”.

• Check create a desktop shortcut, then Click on “Install”

• Wait for a moment till the Power BI Desktop is installed.

• Once the installation is finished, Click “Finish”.

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Create Report in Power BI Report Server using Power BI Desktop

• Launch Microsoft Power BI Desktop.

• “Get Data” from any available data source as you prefer,

• Build your report as you prefer,

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Publish Report to Power BI Report Server

• Go to “File” menu > “Save As” > “Power BI Report Server“.

Check also Missing Save To Power BI Report Server In Power BI Desktop

• Specify the Report Server (Web Portal) URL for the Power BI Report Server.

• Specify the Power BI Report Name.

• Click “Save” to save The Report to Power BI Report Server.

• The report has been published to Power BI Report Server Properly.

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Browse Power BI Report in Power BI Report Server

• Open the Power BI Report Server Web Portal.
• You will find the published report as shown below:

• Click on the report name to open it that should be opening properly now.

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Embed Power BI Report without a toolbar

To show the Power BI Report as a full screen without a toolbar, you can use “?rs:embed=true” after the report name as shown below

http://reportserver/Reports/powerbi/QassasReport?rs:embed=true

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Power BI Report Server – Known Issues

We couldn’t run the report because we couldn’t connect to its data source

If you are using “DirectQuery” in Power BI Report, you may get this error

We couldn’t run the report because we couldn’t connect to its data source. The report or data source might not be configured correctly.

To overcome this issue, check Power BI: We couldn’t connect to the Analysis Services server. Make sure you’ve entered the connection string correctly.

HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.

After configuring Power BI Report server , If you have tried to browse the Power BI Portal URL, you may get this error “HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.“

I answered this question at deBUG.to at HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable in Power BI.

You are not allowed to view this folder

You may also get the below permission issue:

To overcome this issue, please check You are not allowed to view this folder. Contact your administrator to obtain the necessary permissions.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, we have explained how to install and configure Power BI report Server step by step by doing the following:

Applied to

• Power BI Report Server.
• Power BI Desktop for Report Server.

Download

Follow me on GitHub to find the latest PBIX samples with data source.

You might also like to read

• Install and Configure SQL Server Reporting Service (SSRS 2016).
• Power BI: Switch from Import to DirectQuery Mode.

Have a Question?

If you have any related questions, please don’t hesitate to ask it at deBUG.to Community.