Start and stop the Report Server service

Applies to: ✅ SQL Server 2016 (13.x) Reporting Services and later ✅ Power BI Report Server

A report server is implemented as a Windows service that contains the Report Server web service, the web portal, and a background processing application. The service must be running if you want to use any report server functionality. Stopping the service stops all report server operations.

While the service is stopped, requests for scheduled report and subscription processing that would occur if the service is running are added to the queue. This result happens because jobs that the SQL Server Agent runs create the events. If you want to avoid a backlog of operations while the service is off, consider stopping SQL Server Agent as well.

You can use various tools to start or stop the Report Server service. These tools include the Reporting Services Configuration tool, SQL Server Configuration Manager, and the Services tool provided in Microsoft Windows.

Note

SQL Server Configuration Manager is only an option for SQL Server Reporting Services 2016 and earlier. It does not include Reporting Services 2017 and later or Power BI Report Server.

If you're doing more than starting or stopping the service, you must use the Reporting Services Configuration tool. This tool is designed for comprehensive configuration tasks beyond basic service management. Using other tools to change the service account can break your Reporting Services installation and encryption key. For more information, see Configure the Report Server service account (Report Server Configuration Manager).

You can't pause and resume the service. There aren't start parameters. Although there are no explicit dependencies, SQL Server Agent must be running if you support any subscriptions or scheduled report operations on the report server.

Use the Reporting Services Configuration tool

  1. Start Reporting Services Configuration tool and connect to the report server.

  2. On the Report Server Status page, select Stop or Start.

Use administrative tools

  1. In Administrative Tools, open Services.
  2. Right-click SQL Server Reporting Services (MSSQLSERVER), SQL Server Reporting Services, or Power BI Report Server.
  3. Select Stop or Restart.

For Reporting Services 2016 and earlier versions, you must verify that the instance name in parentheses corresponds to the report server instance you want to stop or restart. Specifically, you must follow these steps if you're running multiple instances or if the report server is running as a named instance.

Report Server Configuration Manager (native mode)
Start, stop, or pause the SQL Server agent service