How to containerize SSRS reports (reporting services)?

Hello Thasaiyan, Jeganathan

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Platform, thanks for posting your query here.

Yes, you can containerize the SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and host it in Azure. There are different approaches available to containerize SSRS, but one of the most common approaches is to use Docker containers. Here are the high-level steps to containerize SSRS and host it in Azure:

1. Install Docker on your local machine or server where you want to containerize SSRS.
2. Download the SQL Server Reporting Services container image from the Docker Hub.
3. Create a Dockerfile to customize the container image with your SSRS configuration and reports.
4. Build the Docker image using the Dockerfile.
5. Push the Docker image to a container registry such as Azure Container Registry (ACR).
6. Deploy the Docker image to Azure Container Instances (ACI) or Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).
7. Expose the SSRS web portal to the internet using Azure Application Gateway or Azure Front Door.

Once you have deployed the SSRS container to Azure, you can access the SSRS web portal from anywhere using a web browser. You can also configure the SSRS container to use Azure SQL Database as the data source for your reports.

Please note that containerizing SSRS requires some level of expertise in Docker and SSRS configuration. If you are not familiar with Docker or SSRS, you may want to consider using Azure SQL Managed Instance or Azure SQL Database with Power BI for your reporting needs.

Hope this resolves your Query !!

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The answer of @vipullag-MSFT is wrong. There is no container image officially supported by Microsoft that contains SQL Server Reporting Services. There is a Linux image for SQL Server but not for SSRS. SSRS is currently not supported for Linux. We can read it here: https://video2.skills-academy.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-editions-and-components-2022?view=sql-server-ver16#unsupported-features-and-services

But there are community projects that successfully run SQL Server and SSRS on windows containers. I was able to successfully run the latter image.

https://github.com/phola/SSRS-Docker https://github.com/SaViGnAnO/SSRS-Docker

However, it's currently unclear if this is a supported scenario, I guess not. There is no clear statement from Microsoft.

My assumption is that SSRS relies on proprietary technology which is not supported to run in container instances.

Hello @Thasaiyan, Jeganathan

Your question is 2-fold. Whether you need to have reporting capabilities in Azure, or do you really need to keep existing SSRS. For both these options, there are different approaches.

1. Azure SQL Managed Instance:
   • Newly Introduced Support: You can now host SSRS databases in Azure SQL Managed Instance. This approach provides a modernized environment while maintaining compatibility with your existing SSRS solutions. It allows you to migrate your SSRS databases to the cloud, benefiting from Azure's managed services and scalability.
   • Advantages:
     • Flexibility: You can choose the level of change you want to introduce.
     • Skills Transfer: Azure SQL is built upon the same SQL Server database engine, so your skills and experience transfer easily to the cloud.
     • Control: You can decide whether to lift and shift or leverage equivalent cloud-native offerings.
   • Considerations:
     • Ensure that your SSRS solutions do not rely heavily on features beyond the core database engine (e.g., Integration Services, Analysis Services).
     • Migrate your SSRS paginated reports to the Power BI Premium service or deploy an SSRS virtual machine in Azure.
2. SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machine:
   • This option involves creating a virtual machine (VM) in Azure and installing SQL Server with SSRS on it. You can then configure SSRS to serve reports over the web. Although this maybe the easiest approach, it is also the least cost-effective, and if you consider the Shared service platform model, you are getting most responsibility as this is still IaaS
   • Steps:
     • Create an Azure VM with SQL Server installed.
     • Use Reporting Services Configuration Manager within the VM to configure SSRS in native mode.
     • Access the SSRS URL hosted on the Azure VM over the internet. You may WAF and Azure front-door in front for network security.
3. Power BI:
   • While not SSRS, consider exploring Power BI for creating and sharing reports. Power BI offers a cloud-native solution with rich visualization capabilities.
   • Advantages:
     • Modern Interface: Power BI provides an intuitive interface for report creation.
     • Integration with Azure: It seamlessly integrates with Azure services.
     • Scalability: Power BI Premium allows sharing reports across your organization.
   • Considerations:
     • Evaluate whether Power BI meets your reporting needs. Also consider the licensing.
4. Azure SQL Database (Not Recommended for SSRS):
   • Unfortunately, SSRS is not supported on Azure SQL Database. If you specifically need SSRS, option1 and option 2 above, will help you achieve your goals.

If this information provided here on SSRS helps solve your issue, please tag this as answered, so it helps further community readers, who may have similar questions.