Report Definition is NULL

  • I'm in the process of extract the SSRS report definitions from the Catalog table in the SSRS database and I've come across several where the Content column is null. The reports are actually present and run on the SSRS front end but when I go to edit them in Report Builder I get an error stating:

    Failed to open report 'X'

    The details are 'Buffer cannot be null' and 'Parameter name: buffer'.

    Has anybody seen this before?


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    —Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • Is the report server not working? Wouldn't it be easier to access the Report Manager URL and download the report definitions? You might be able to script it out using rs.exe as well.

    Joie Andrew
    "Since 1982"

  • The report server is working absolutely fine, it's only when i attempt to edit the report in Report Builder that I have a problem. The reasoning behind looking at the report definitions from the catalog is to allow us to compare them across the live and failover servers to make sure they match. We're in the process of setting up a poor-man's version control system.


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    —Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • That does sound weird. HTTP 500 errors are specifically server errors so one would think that something would show up in either the Application, IIS, RS trace or RS execution logs.

    Is it possible to post them for review?

    Joie Andrew
    "Since 1982"

  • If you can tell me where to find them, of course I can! I'll have a dig about during the day for you.

    I think it's it's something to do with the URL in the rdl files. I've a suspicion that it's actually pointing at the live server so even though the definitions are null on the failover server because the report isn't looking there to find them, it appears to be working fine.

    I'll look in to this and see what I find.


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    —Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • I've dug a bit more into this and I now think it's got something to do with where URL's point to but which ones I'm not sure. The URL in the rdl file doesn't seem to have any bearing on whether the report runs or not. I changed one to look at my house address and the report worked as it should.

    When I opened the Web Service URL on the actual report server and follow that, there is a ASP.NET page there that opens up to show the report. I don't know the first thing about ASP.NET so I wonder where that fits in.


    On two occasions I have been asked, "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" ... I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
    —Charles Babbage, Passages from the Life of a Philosopher

    How to post a question to get the most help http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537

  • The Reporting Services trace logs are at \Microsoft SQL Server\<SQL Server Instance>\Reporting Services\LogFiles. As for the Reporting Services execution log, that is a table in the ReportServer database. I would start with the trace logs and review them after trying to hit a report and getting a 500 error.

    Reporting Services Trace Logs

    Joie Andrew
    "Since 1982"

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