Sql-server – SSRS in database server

Reporting Services can be demanding in terms of memory and CPU, so it often makes sense to separate it from the database server element of SQL Server - obviously this isn't cheap in terms of licencing. One thing to bear in mind is that the metadata for SSRS is stored in a SQL database, but this can be on a different box. Where SSRS gets the business data from depends on where that data resides - it could be anywhere, but it might be a SQL database somewhere.

If your SSRS deployment uses subscriptions to generate reports out-of-hours, and your SQL database is used for other requirements during business hours, then it might make sense to keep them on one box.

Depending on your SQL edition, and your requirements, you can also treat the separate SSRS boxes like webservers, and have them in a high availability Network Load Balanced cluster - you can't cluster SSRS in the same way that you can with the database engine for high availability.

Like anything, try to test it all in a pre-production or Proof Of Concept environment.

Yes, you can have several Report Servers installed on a single SQL Server. As you noted, the multi-instance support on a single machine is available, but not what you are after.

For multiple distinct ReportServers on different servers, but using a single database, you simply have to configure this in the Reporting Services Configuration Manager.

As noted by GShenanigan this is described in the Scale Out Deployment. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms159114.aspx (same link)

In that phase of installing a Report Server, you must choose the database server that you want to use. Then you can separately use the RS Configuration Manager to either choose the existing ReportServer datbase or choose a new database named to whatever you want to call it.

When a new database is set up, the ReportServerTempDB will be named similarly. For example, creating ReportServerHQ would have a ReportServerHQTempDB also created.