Configure a firewall for report server access
In this article, you learn how to manually open necessary ports in Windows Firewall to allow access to SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) report server applications and published reports. You access SSRS report server applications and published reports through URLs that specify an IP address, port, and virtual directory. If you enable Windows Firewall, it might block the port used by the report server, leading to issues like receiving a blank page when trying to access the web portal or when requesting a report. To resolve these issues, you must perform this step manually. Follow the instructions in this article to use the Windows Firewall utility to open a port on the report server.
Prerequisites
- Configure the Report Server service account (Report Server Configuration Manager)
- Create a report server database, Report Server Configuration Manager
- Manage a Reporting Services native mode report server.
- Access to the report server over a local web browser connection
- Verify that the installation is configured correctly
- Configure a native mode report server for local administration (SSRS).
Open ports in Windows Firewall
Note
By default, the report server listens for HTTP requests on port 80. The following instructions include steps to open this port. If you configure the report server URLs to use a different port, replace port 80 with the correct port number in the instructions. For more information, see Configure report server URLs (Report Server Configuration Manager).
Open port 1433 and 1434 on the external computer if one of the following statements is true:
- You access SQL Server relational databases on external computers.
- The report server database is on an external SQL Server instance.
To open port 80, complete the following steps:
- Open the Windows Firewall configuration settings on your report server. Find the configuration settings by searching in Control Panel for Windows Firewall.
- Select Advanced Settings.
- Select Inbound Rules.
- In the Actions pane, select New Rule.
- Choose the Port rule type and select Next.
- On the Protocol and Ports page, choose TCP.
- Select Specific Local Ports, enter a value of 80, and select Next.
- On the Action page, select Allow the connection and select Next.
- On the Profile page, select the appropriate options for your environment and select Next.
- On the Name page, enter the name ReportServer (TCP on port 80) and select Finish.
- Restart the computer.
Validate port configuration
After you open the port, grant user access to the report server through role assignments at the Home and Site levels. This action is done before confirming whether remote users can access the report server on the opened port. Even if the port is opened correctly, Report Server connections might still fail if users lack sufficient permissions. For more information, see Grant user access to a report server.
You can also verify that the port is opened correctly by starting the web portal on a different computer. For more information, see What is the report server web portal (Native mode)?