Updated: 17 July 2006

Use this page to configure an account to use for unattended processing. This account is used under special circumstances when other sources of credentials are not available:

• When the report server connects to a data source that does not require credentials. Examples of data sources that might not require credentials include XML documents and some client-side database applications.
  
• When the report server connects to another server to retrieve external image files or other resources that are referenced in a report.
  

Setting this account is optional, but not setting it limits your use of external images and connections to some data sources. When retrieving external image files, the report server checks to see if an anonymous connection can be made. If the connection is password protected, the report server uses the unattended report processing account to connect to the remote server. When retrieving data for a report, the report server either impersonates the current user, prompts the user to provide credentials, uses stored credentials, or uses the unattended processing account if the data source connection specifies None as the credential type. The report server does not allow its service account credentials to be delegated or impersonated when connecting to other computers, so it must use the unattended processing account if no other credentials are available.

The account you specify should be different from the one used to run the service accounts. If you configure this account, it is stored in the RSReportServer.config file as an encrypted value. If you are running the report server in a scale-out deployment, you must configure this account on each report server.

You can use any Windows user account. For best results, choose an account that has read permissions and network logon permissions to support connections to other computers. It must have read permissions on any external image or data file that you want to use in a report. Do not specify a local account unless all report data sources and external images are stored on the report server computer. Use the account only for unattended report processing.

Note:
If you are using SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services, you only need to configure this account if you are referencing external images in a report and permission is required to access the image file. The Express Edition does not support a data source connection to a remote server. For more information, see Adding an Image to a Report.

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