Migrate SSRS 2008 to 2022

Copper Contributor

This follows on from a previous thread I started, but the details have changed somewhat so I thought it warranted a new thread of its own.

 

In summary :

we have 2 hosts, one is a SQL 2022 database server, the other is a SSRS 2008 server which has its ReportServer Databases on the database server.

We wish to replace the SSRS server with a new machine running SSRS 2022.

 

Detail:

I have a SQL-2022 (Std) Database server (which also runs SSAS) which is home to all of our application databases. It also houses the ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB databases which belong to an aging SSRS-2008 instance which runs on a separate server.  We have approximately 550 reports and 350 subscriptions in the report server.

We now wish to replace the SSRS server and at the same time migrate to SSRS-2022.  The new SSRS server will have to have the same hostname as the old outgoing 2008 one that it replaces.  So I am looking at a side by side migration with a hostname rename at the point or swap over.

In an ideal world I would also like the new 2022 Report Server databases to retain the name of "ReportServer" and "ReportServerTempDB" instead of a different name (eg ReportServer2022), but if this greatly complicates things then I will settle for the 2022 databases having new names.

 

I am assuming that the schema and objects within the ReportServer database itself will have changed somewhat from versions 2008 to 2022 (can anyone confirm?) so simply installing SSRS 2022 on the new server and pointing it at the existing Report Server databases on the database server will not work.

 

The options as I see them are :

1) install SSRS-2022 on the new server and point it at a "ReportServer2022" database, 

Migrate the reports one by one into the new report server. 

However, I am struggling to envisage what would happen to the Agent jobs that run the subscriptions, would all these be duplicated?

 

2) clone the existing SSRS server and copy the ReportServer databases to a non-production SQL instance. 

Perform in place upgrades of SSRS from 2008 through to 2022 (in steps of say 2008 - 2008R2 - 2012 - 2016 - 2022). copy the upgraded 2022 versions of the report server DBs to the main database server, and point the new 2022 instance of SSRS at them.

 

3) Create a staging "migration" server running SQL 2022, point the new SSRS-2022 server at this database instance. export/import the reports into this migration server. At point of swap over, copy the Report Server Databases to the production Database server and repoint the new SSRS to it.

 

I believe there may be licensing implications with using staging servers to prepare "Live data" in this manner.

 

Are any of these methods viable? are there any other options?

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

2 Replies

Perform in place upgrades of SSRS from 2008 through to 2022 (in steps of say 2008 - 2008R2 - 2012 - 2016 - 2022).


@HuwDG , that's the way to go to upgrade database engine, but in this case not for SSRS.

With version 2017 SSRS got so many changes. Installing SSRS 2017 or higher will completely uninstall the old SSRS instance, so you can also setup a complete new server, that's less effort.

@olafhelper
Thankyou for the reply,
So the number of changes to the SSRS report server database will rule out the incremental "in-place" upgrade on a staging server and will probably also rule out what I already suspected would be impossible which is to point the 2022 SSRS instance directly at the SSRS2008 Report Server database on the database server.
Does this leave me with just the export/import option? I will have to do some tests and see if this causes issues with the subscription agent jobs.
Many thanks.