Microsoft KB Archive/834304

= How to manually activate a report server instance by using Rsactivate =

PSS ID Number: 834304

Article Last Modified on 3/23/2004

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services

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SUMMARY
This article introduces the Rsactivate.exe command-line tool and describes how to use Rsactivate to manually activate an instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services.



IN THIS TASK

 * INTRODUCTION
 * When to use Rsactivate to activate a report server instance
 * How to manually activate a report server instance
 * How to make sure that a report server instance is activated
 * Additional information
 * REFERENCES



INTRODUCTION
A report server instance is active when the data in the Reporting Services database can be encrypted or decrypted. To encrypt or to decrypt the data, Reporting Services uses symmetric keys that are created for both the Report Server Web service and the Report Server Windows service. If the symmetric keys are not available or if they are not correct, the report server returns an &quot;RSReportServerNotActivated&quot; error message when it receives user requests and service requests. To resolve this problem, use the Rsactivate command-line tool to activate the report server instance.

When you use Rsactivate to activate a report server instance, Rsactivate creates a symmetric key that is used by the report server instance to encrypt and to decrypt data in the Reporting Services database. These symmetric keys are stored in the Reporting Services database. Because the Report Server Web service and the Report Server Windows service run under two different user accounts, each service stores a copy of the symmetric key in the Reporting Services database.

You can use Rsactivate, either alone or with other tools (such as the key management tool [Rskeymgmt.exe]), to activate the Report Server Web service and the Report Server Windows service on a local report server instance or on a remote report server instance.

Note You can also use the Reporting Services Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider to activate a report server instance.

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When to use Rsactivate to activate a report server instance
When the data that is related to the symmetric key is not available or is not correct, you must activate the report server instance. You must use Rsactivate to activate a report server instance in the following scenarios:
 * When you change the run as account for the Report Server Web service or for the Report Server Windows service
 * When you change the name of the report server instance
 * When you add a new computer to a Web farm
 * When the Reporting Services database is recovered from failed hardware and from supporting replication
 * When you back up and restore the Reporting Services database

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How to manually activate a report server instance
To manually activate the report server instance, you must use Rsactivate, either alone or with other tools. By default, the Rsactivate.exe file is installed in the :\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\80\Tools\Binn folder.

Note Make sure that the user under whose security context the tool runs is a local administrator on the computer that is running Reporting Services.

To activate a report server instance by using Rsactivate, follow these steps:  Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services. In the right pane, right-click ReportServer, and then click Start (if the Status field is not already set to Started).  At a command prompt, type rsactivate with the parameter values that you want to set. For example, type the following command at a command prompt to activate a remote report server instance and add the report server instance to a Web farm: Full path of Rsactivate\rsactivate -m Remote computer name -u username -p   password  Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type iisreset, and then click OK to restart IIS.

A report server instance is only activated if there is a match between the installation identifier and the public key. If a match is made, a symmetric key that permits reversible encryption is created. If a match is not made, the report server instance is disabled, and you may have to delete the encrypted data.

If Rsactivate cannot activate the report server instance, you may notice one of the following errors on stderr, and the DOSERRORLEVEL variable is set to 1:

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How to make sure that a report server instance is activated
To make sure that the report server instance is activated, open Report Manager. If you see an &quot;RSReportServerNotActivated&quot; error message, the report server instance is not activated.back to the top

Additional information
You can use the following command-line arguments with Rsactivate:

Note: To access Rsactivate Help, type the following command at a command prompt: rsactivate -? back to the top

