Power BI Report Server Licensing

[bernardjesmith]

Hi,

I've read several articles on Power BI Report Server Licensing, but for my use case I'm a little confused. My use case is this:

I plan to upgrade from SQL Server Standard 2008 to SQL Server Standard 2016 later this year. If I want to use Power BI Report Server do I have to buy a Power BI Premium license, or can I download and run Power BI Report Server alongside or as a replacement for SSRS based on the licenses I purchase for SQL Server Standard 2016 

Alternatively, can I use Power BI Pro Service and publish content for consumers with the understanding each consumer must also have a Power BI Pro License?

[philmo]

 Hi,

Another new scenario...I'm putting together a data warehouse solution which will be hosted in an Azure SQL DB. I'll be using Power BI Embedded to cover most of my reporting and dashboarding requirements, using the DWH as the source. I have additional requirements for transactional reporting which I was hoping would be fulfilled by Report Builder and Power BI Report Server. These reports need to be scheduled to run periodically and sent to a file share in CSV format.

The consumers of these reports are external clients. For security I wanted to have separate instances of report server for each client. 

I don't (otherwise) need Power BI Premium and I don't have SQL Server EE in the solution either. Is there a way I can licence Report Server without purchasing one of these?

[Molotch]

If your reports are csv files I really wouldn't pay license fees for a reporting tool to be honest. Write an azure function or similar.

[philmo]

Thanks @Molotch

My challenge is that I want to provide the client with a tool to tailor our reports and create their own from scratch, using the data warehouse as a source. 

[messerjc]

One more licensing question for you all. Interesting question came up today. As SQL Server Enterprise w/ SA users, we're used to deploying SSRS and being fully covered to deploy paginated reports however we like. If we move to PBI Report Server this year for future growth, but ONLY continue to deploy SSRS-style paginated reports and no (even on-premises) Power BI Reports...do we actually still need to have Power BI Pro licenses? I suppose the actual question is, are Power BI Pro licenses required to deploy paginated reports to PBIRS?

[riccardomuti]

No, you need Power BI Pro licenses only when you want to publish Power BI reports.

[messerjc]

Alright new case for you all. 🙂  Currently on SQL Server 2014 and SSRS 2014, running on different VMs on a fully Core + SA licensed VMware cluster. We intend to upgrade to SQL Sever 2017, and are thinking of going to Power BI Report Server's latest release. My understanding is that on the SQL and PBI Server part we are fully covered. If we *only* intend to publish Power BI reports from our small team and end users will strictly be consumers of those reports, AND we will not be using the Power BI Azure/Cloud Service, am I correct that we only need Power BI Pro licenses for our crew and we should be covered?

[riccardomuti]

As I've understood your scenario, yes, you're correct.

[Anonymous]

Sorry but I have an edge case kind of question here.

We are using PBI-SSRS through our SQL EE with SA license.

Under SSRS we used to role out SSRS Farms (two or three SSRS front ends with a single backend/DB server) this seems like an approach that might be even more relevant when serving up PBIX files with a ton of imported content.

How is this addressed in the license docs? I have had a very quick scan and can't seem to see find it (that may well be me being a bit thick)

many thanks

Steve

[dude15000]

This pricing is insane.  Without SA, we're looking at a minimum of $5k per month just to get licensing for an updated variation of SSRS?  Yeah, I'll pass.

[Anonymous]

You can of course get "new" versions of just SSRS with SQL2016 and 2017. If you don't need the on premise PBI capability you can use the cloud based service alongside these.

[Molotch]

Power BI Premium has relative new EM-sized SKU's which doesn't allow for the entire Power BI-service but allows for embedding (not embedded) reports in Sharepoint Online and Teams but not use the app deployment model. They cost significanlty less than the P-sku's. Does anyone know if Report Server is included with the EM sized Premium sku's?

[riccardomuti]

Only the P- SKUs include the Report Server use right; the EM- SKUs don't.

[riccardomuti]

Power BI Report Server, although built on SSRS's on-premises server platform, is a distinct product that targets enterprise customers. Power BI Premium includes much more than Report Server -- namely, dedicated capacity in the Power BI cloud service. Similarly, Software Assurance includes many more benefits beyond Report Server; most of our enterprise customers already have it, while those who don't should definitely check out the benefits.

[martinb1]

Our customer has  the active  SA  of  SQL server  Enterprise  edition with the server+CAL license model. Does he have the right to run Power BI report server on a licenced server and does he find the licence keys for Power BI report server in the Volume licencing Service Center or  is Power BI report server a benefit only for the per core license model  ?  

[JulienNC]

Hi,
As a lot of people , my need are only for the power bi server on premise.
So i have understood that the best choice is to buy the SQL EE + SA.
But , even with google , it is so hard to find out a price for a simple scenario :
Just want to have a power bi server on premise on my little company.
I don't need a datacenter or something like that. Just have an ERP System ( Dynamics Navision ), a few excel file with a few data , and a HR application, and maybe some little custom developped application with sql server or access.
how do I scale the virtual server ? 1 core ? 2 cores ? X cores ? Based on the quantity of data ? Is there some feed back to advise the man who try to get new awesome tool in a little company who can't afford to pay 5000 $ /month.
I read that the minimum of core licence is 4 per virtual machine even if the machine only have two core.
That 's ok , but anyone would have a estimated or detailed licencing price for a small company with just 1 person who will create and post power bi report and 5 who would only use the report.
The on premise option is the only one acceptable , or the Bi solution won't be Power BI.
Thx for your advise.
Julien

[JulienNC]

Hi,
As a lot of people , my need are only for the power bi server on premise.
So I have understood that the best choice is to buy the SQL EE + SA.
But , even with google , it is so hard to find out a price for a simple scenario :
Just want to have a power bi server on premise on my little company.
I don't need a datacenter or something like that. Just have an ERP System ( Dynamics Navision ), a few excel file with a few data , and a HR application, and maybe some little custom developped application with sql server or access.
how do I scale the virtual server ? 1 core ? 2 cores ? X cores ? Based on the quantity of data ? Is there some feed back to advise the man who try to get new awesome tool in a little company who can't afford to pay 5000 $ /month.
I read that the minimum of core licence is 4 per virtual machine even if the machine only have two core.
That 's ok , but anyone would have a estimated or detailed licencing price for a small company with just 1 person who will create and post power bi report and 5 who would only use the report.
The on premise option is the only one acceptable , or the Bi solution won't be Power BI.
Thx for your advise.
Julien

[Anonymous]

Thanks, folks.

I understand the actual rules, but I'm thinking that we need an option to departmental solutions, based on Excel and Access. That is another reality, no?

[Seth_C_Bauer · Accepted solution]

@bernardjesmith

I plan to upgrade from SQL Server Standard 2008 to SQL Server Standard 2016 later this year. If I want to use Power BI Report Server do I have to buy a Power BI Premium license, or can I download and run Power BI Report Server alongside or as a replacement for SSRS based on the licenses I purchase for SQL Server Standard 2016 

You have two options.

You can buy Power BI Premium, this allows you to license the same number of cores that you purchase in capacity in the premium license on premises for your Power BI Report Server.

You can purchase SQL Enterprise Edition + Software Assurance. This give you license to install the Power BI Report Server.

Only the Content Creators (those building reports) need to have a Power BI Pro license in both cases.

Alternatively, can I use Power BI Pro Service and publish content for consumers with the understanding each consumer must also have a Power BI Pro License? The Pro license gives you the ability to share content in the Power BI Service. You don't get the Power BI Report Server in this license. You are correct, report creators and end users need Pro licenses.

In this scenario, you would have a normal SSRS report server, and the Power BI Service. They would not communicate, and you couldn't put PBI Reports on the SSRS Server.

[dpombal]

Having this  --> SQL Enterprise Edition + Software Assurance. This give you license to install the Power BI Report Server.

Can I install PBI Report Server on 2 machines inside my company?

2 instances of PBI Report server for diffeferent purposes

[martinb1]

Our customer has  the active  SA  of  SQL server  Enterprise  edition with the server+CAL license model.  The server+CAL model  is not available for the Enterprise editon of  SQL server since 2012. We have found in the SQL server 2017 licence guide the information that with the availability of ongoing SA coverage customers licensed under the Server+CAL model can retain access to the latest product enhancements and ,advanced capabilities of Enterprise Edition and that there are no programmatic conversions to core licenses. 

Does our customer have the rights to run Power BI report server on a licenced server and does he find the licence keys for Power BI report server in the Volume licencing Service Center in spite of the server+CAL licencing model ?