cognos analytics implementation tips, tricks & gotchas

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Implementation Tips, Tricks & GotchasPresented by Norm Goddard


• Introductions

• Cognos Analytics Installation Considerations

• Breaking Down Configuration Differences

• Demonstration: Report Upgrades

• Q & A

Agenda

Analytics empowering clients to see farther & go faster

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE: It’s Who We Are and What We Do.

Business Value – Improve business processes via analytic solutionsVendor Agnostic – Data & analytics focus with leading technology expertisePartner Approach – Trusted advisor and evangelist, change cultures Our People are the Best – Experienced, passionate, professionals


Senior BI Architect, CCG19 years Consulting Experience Previously worked for IBM and Cognos for over 10 yearsIBM Certified Cognos Analytics Developer

Meet Your Speaker

Norm [email protected]

P: 813.968.3238

mailto:[email protected]

CASE STUDY

Background• One of the first to IBM Cognos Analytics v11 Installations• IBM Cognos Analytics on IBM SoftLayer

Challenges • Large enterprise for a national company• Four environments (Dev, QA, UAT, Production)• Load balancers

Benefits of Cognos Analytics• Ease of use for business• Reduction of manual data processing• Reduced on-site infrastructure costs


Architecture• 2 Gateways• 4 Application Servers• 1 Content Manager• 1 Standby Content

Manager• 2 Load Balancers


Installation Differences • “Glass” interface hosted on application tier allows gateway to be optional• Gateway only required for:

• Single signon• Third party portal integration• Serve static content on the web server• Publicly available web server outside firewall

Poll Question


Installation Differences cont’d • Easy install (Ready to Run! In

previous versions)• Full version of IBM Cognos

Analytics• Informix installed/configured for

content store• Apache directory server

• Custom install• Choose components as in

previous releases• Recommended for existing

customers as it enables legacy components by default

• Legacy switch can be done after install but it’s difficult


Installation Differences cont’d

• Easy install then gives 2 choices• First install

• Easy install option installs all components needed for single server

• Create administrator credentials for environment

• Connect and install• Expand on a running

environment• Provide url and administrator id


Installation Differences cont’d • Custom Install also give 2 choices

• First install• Content manager required on first install and other components can be

selected


Installation Differences cont’d

• Connect and Install (Expand)• Add additional components to an

existing environment (standby cm, application server(s), optional gateways)

• Need to have at least the primary Content Manager configured and running to use this

• Different than typical installs where you could run multiple installs at the same time with just the components needed for that server. Now need to have the CM running at minimum


Configuration Differences • Load balancer required now if more than one application server

• Persistence “Sticky session” needs to be set on the application load balancer• Configuration server property

• Identifies server that manages configuration values• Found under Environment settings in IBM Cognos Configuration• Runs on the active Content Manager• Automatically set in Easy install using Connect and install• On active Content Manager can use the Reset to Default option

• If using the new Data Modules feature and the environment is distributed the setting ‘Location of directory for data file’ must be changed to a network path

• Set under Manage -> Configuration in the browser, not in IBM Cognos Configuration

• JDBC file path has changed -> install_location\drivers


Configuration Differences cont’d • Web server configuration

• IIS configuration• http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21976435

• Apache configuration• http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21978208

• URL Rewrite on the web server• Redirect web requests from the web tier to the application tier

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21976435

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21978208


Upgrade Considerations• Upgrading 11.0.x to future versions can be installed in same path• Images

• Different default path (..\webcontent\bi\samples\images)• Reside on the application server(s)

• 11.x will require a load balancer if more than 1 application server, 10.x did not require this

• Have network path for Data Modules if required, 11.0.3 stores data sets in the content store now, previously were stored in file system

• User interface very different from 10.x• No IBM Cognos Connection, replaced with Welcome• One Reporting tool, user interface profiles not available, yet

• Customized files may not work


Report Upgrades• Images

• Different default path (..\webcontent\bi\samples\images)• Reside on the application server(s)• May need to update images depending on path used in previous version

• Upgraded many complex reports without issues• Reports containing HTML or javascript will need to be checked as in any

other upgrade of IBM Cognos• Reports created by users in Query, Analysis Studio and other legacy tools

will need to be converted to Reports


Demo – Using IBM Cognos Analytics


Review

• Installation differences and options

• Configuration changes

• Upgrade considerations


Coming Next…

[LIVE WEBINAR]

The Power of Predictive – Integrating Weather into Your Data

12pm EST | Tuesday, September 27th

• Ahmed Sherif will demonstrate business use cases for integrating third

party weather data into your BI for more powerful predictive analytics.

Register at: go.ccgbi.com/weather.html

Questions?

Thank you!

www.ccgBI.com

813.265.3239

[email protected]

Convergence Consulting Group

@ccgbi

A copy of the recorded webinar and presentation will be emailed to you shortly.

Please feel free to email any remaining questions to Caroline Wright at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ccgbi.com/






cognos analytics implementation tips, tricks & gotchas

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