Report Server Publisher License

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 01:54:47 GMT

My organisation is in the process of setting up an on-premises Power BI report server licensed through SQL Server Enterprise + SA.

Im trying to determine if users require a separate license to upload/publish reports on the Report Server?

This question appears to have been asked many times before and I've seen unclear and conflicting responses each time.

The consensus seems to be that you require Power BI Pro licenses for each of these users, however to me it seems counterintuitive to require a license for a cloud service to use an on-prem solution.

I've also seen evidence of a Microsoft representative stating that is not required.

Could someone please provide clarification on this?

It also appears that currently anyone with Publisher permissions can publish reports without a license - if licensing is required, how is it enforced by MSFT?

Any help would be much appreciated

Jason

Re: Report Server Publisher License

d_gosbell — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 07:14:03 GMT

It's documented here https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/report-server/get-started#licensing-power-bi-report-server

The second paragraph clearly says:

If you publish Power BI reports to Power BI Report Server, you also need a Power BI Pro license. You don't need a Power BI Pro license to view and interact with Power BI reports on Power BI Report Server.

I don't believe there is any attempt by PBIRS itself to ensure that publishers are signed in with a pro license. But for organisations with an Enterprise Agreement and SA Microsoft will periodically do software audits.

topic Re: Report Server Publisher License in Report Server

Report Server Publisher License

Re: Report Server Publisher License