Troubleshooting Report Server

This guide covers diagnostic techniques for troubleshooting Power BI Report Server (PBIRS) and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). It explains how to retrieve log file locations, analyze log content, and query Windows event logs for error information.

Note

The examples in this guide use the instance name 'PBIRS' for Power BI Report Server. If you are using SQL Server Reporting Services or have a custom instance name, substitute 'PBIRS' with your instance name (e.g., 'SSRS' or your custom name).

Log Files

Report servers store log files in the ErrorDumpDirectory configured during setup. This folder contains service logs, portal logs, and memory dumps that are useful for diagnosing issues.

Note

For comprehensive information about all available Reporting Services log files and sources (including execution logs, trace logs, HTTP logs, and performance logs), see Reporting Services log files and sources. For detailed information about trace log configuration and content, see Report Server Service Trace Log.

Getting the Log Path

Use the Get-SqlDscRSLogPath command to retrieve the log folder path:

Get-SqlDscRSLogPath -InstanceName 'PBIRS'

Alternatively, pipe a configuration object from Get-SqlDscRSConfiguration:

Get-SqlDscRSConfiguration -InstanceName 'PBIRS' | Get-SqlDscRSLogPath

Common Log File Types

The log folder typically contains these file types:

• ReportingServicesService*.log - Web service activity and error logs
• RSPortal*.log - Portal access and activity logs
• SQLDumpr*.mdmp - Memory dumps for crash analysis

Listing Log Files

To list all files in the log folder with their sizes and timestamps:

$logPath = Get-SqlDscRSLogPath -InstanceName 'PBIRS'

Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Recurse -File |
    Select-Object -Property FullName, Length, LastWriteTime

To filter for only .log files:

$logPath = Get-SqlDscRSLogPath -InstanceName 'PBIRS'

Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Recurse -File -Filter '*.log' |
    Select-Object -Property FullName, Length, LastWriteTime

Reading Log Content

To read the last 50 lines from the most recent service log:

$logPath = Get-SqlDscRSLogPath -InstanceName 'PBIRS'

Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Filter 'ReportingServicesService*.log' |
    Sort-Object -Property LastWriteTime -Descending |
    Select-Object -First 1 |
    ForEach-Object -Process { Get-Content -Path $_.FullName -Tail 50 }

To read from all log files:

$logPath = Get-SqlDscRSLogPath -InstanceName 'PBIRS'

Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Filter '*.log' -Recurse | ForEach-Object -Process {
    Write-Host "--- $($_.Name) ---" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Get-Content -Path $_.FullName -Tail 50
    Write-Host "--- End of $($_.Name) ---" -ForegroundColor Cyan
}

Windows Event Log

Report server components write events to the Windows Application log. Querying these events can reveal errors not captured in the file-based logs.

Relevant Event Providers

When filtering events, look for these provider names:

• Report Server Windows Service (SSRS) - Core report server service events
• RSInstallerEventLog - Installation and configuration events
• MSSQL$<InstanceName> - Database engine events (e.g., MSSQL$PBIRS)
• SQLAgent$<InstanceName> - SQL Agent events if subscriptions are used

Querying Error Events

To retrieve the last 50 error events from the Application log:

Get-WinEvent -LogName 'Application' -MaxEvents 50 -FilterXPath '*[System[Level=2]]' |
    ForEach-Object -Process {
        "[$($_.TimeCreated)] [$($_.ProviderName)] $($_.Message)"
    }

To filter for report server-specific providers:

$providers = @(
    'Report Server Windows Service (SSRS)'
    'RSInstallerEventLog'
)

Get-WinEvent -LogName 'Application' -MaxEvents 100 |
    Where-Object -FilterScript { $_.ProviderName -in $providers } |
    ForEach-Object -Process {
        "[$($_.TimeCreated)] [$($_.LevelDisplayName)] $($_.Message)"
    }

Listing Active Providers

To see which providers have written recent events (useful for identifying the correct provider name for your environment):

Get-WinEvent -LogName 'Application' -MaxEvents 200 |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty ProviderName -Unique |
    Sort-Object

Complete Diagnostic Script

The following script combines all diagnostic techniques into a single output for troubleshooting:

$instanceName = 'PBIRS'

$logPath = Get-SqlDscRSLogPath -InstanceName $instanceName -ErrorAction 'Stop'

Write-Host "Log path: $logPath" -ForegroundColor Green

if (Test-Path -Path $logPath)
{
    $allFiles = Get-ChildItem -Path $logPath -Recurse -File -ErrorAction 'SilentlyContinue'

    Write-Host "`nFiles in log folder ($($allFiles.Count) files):" -ForegroundColor Cyan

    foreach ($file in $allFiles)
    {
        Write-Host "  $($file.FullName) (Size: $($file.Length) bytes, Modified: $($file.LastWriteTime))"
    }

    # Output last 50 lines of each .log file
    $logFiles = $allFiles | Where-Object -FilterScript { $_.Extension -eq '.log' }

    foreach ($logFile in $logFiles)
    {
        Write-Host "`n--- Last 50 lines of $($logFile.Name) ---" -ForegroundColor Yellow

        Get-Content -Path $logFile.FullName -Tail 50 -ErrorAction 'SilentlyContinue'

        Write-Host "--- End of $($logFile.Name) ---" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    }
}
else
{
    Write-Warning -Message "Log path does not exist: $logPath"
}

Write-Host "`n--- Last 50 Application log error events ---" -ForegroundColor Magenta

$events = Get-WinEvent -LogName 'Application' -MaxEvents 50 -FilterXPath '*[System[Level=2]]' -ErrorAction 'SilentlyContinue'

foreach ($event in $events)
{
    Write-Host "[$($event.TimeCreated)] [$($event.ProviderName)] $($event.Message)"
}

Write-Host "--- End of Application log error events ---" -ForegroundColor Magenta

Tip

Save this script to a file and run it when troubleshooting report server issues. Redirect output to a file using > diagnostic-output.txt to share with support teams.