Installing Cognos using the graphical user interface method

Use the IBM® Cognos® installation wizard from the Installation Manager console to install a Cognos cluster, with either one node or multiple nodes.

Before you begin

  • When Oracle is used as a backend database server, Cognos BI node needs to be installed on a dedicated server where no Deployment Manager or IBM Connections node is installed; otherwise, you encounter a duplicated JDBC driver path problem.
  • Transformer can be installed on a server different from the Cognos BI server.
  • When working with SQL Server, ensure only the sqljdbc4.jar file and (not sqljdbc.jar) is put into the JDBC folder, which are used in a later step. If you are working with DB2v10, make sure to use JDBC driver v10.5, FP5 or later. You can find the driver in the DB2® JDBC Driver Versions technote.
  • If the WebSphere Application Server administrator of Deployment Manager and the local Cognos node are different in either user name or password, the installation fails. Refer to this tech note to work around the problem.

Linux only: Verify the prerequisite Linux libraries and 32-bit compatibility libraries are correctly installed. For more information, see Cognos Business Intelligence 10.2 Software Compatibility Reports.

About this task

Refer to Deploying a Cognos cluster if you want to set up a Cognos cluster environment with multiple nodes installed.

Procedure

  1. Complete the following tasks before starting the IBM Cognos installation:
    1. Prepare the Cognos database server on one host, and install the database client for Cognos Transformer on the host where you install Cognos.
    2. (RedHat Linux™ 6 64-bit systems) Run the following command to preload libraries needed for the setup scripts:
      export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib64/libfreebl3.so
    3. Enable debug mode of the Cognos installation wizard as follows:
      • If you are using the root user to run the Cognos Wizard, go to /var/ibm/InstallationManager/logs and create a log.properties file. Add the following information to the file:
        InstallOperation=DEBUG
InstallOperation/pause.on_error=true
        This property setting prevents the automatic rollback of the wizard and provides adequate time to collect log in case of error.
      • If you are using nonroot user to run Cognos wizard, create the log.properties file under /home/<nonroot user>/ibm/InstallationManager/logs.
      • (Windows) Go to \ProgramData\IBM\Installation Manager\logs to create a log.properties file and then add the following information to the file:
        
InstallOperation=DEBUG
InstallOperation/pause.on_error=true
  2. Download the following Cognos packages.
    • On IBM AIX®:
      • IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Server, 64-bit, 10.2.2.0 AIX Multilingual
      • IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Transformer 10.2.2.0 AIX Multilingual
    • On Linux:
      • IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Server, 64-bit, 10.2.2.0 Linux x86 Multilingual
      • IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Transformer 10.2.2.0 Linux x86 Multilingual
    • On Microsoft™ Windows™:
      • IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Server, 64-bit 10.2.2.0 Windows Multilingual
      • IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Transformer 10.2.2.0 Windows Multilingual
  3. Use the following command to start server1 of the WAS profile that you created in an earlier step, such as:
    • On AIX and Linux:
      /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/profiles/AppSrv01/bin/startServer.sh server1
    • On Windows:
      C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles\AppSrv01\bin\startServer.bat server1
    Note: Make sure that the time difference between the Cognos node and Deployment Manager is within 5 minutes and that the Deployment Manager and Cognos nodes (both primary node and secondary nodes) can see each other.
  4. Extract the Cognos Wizard to the local server.
  5. From the <Installation_Manager_Root> directory, run the file to start the IBM Installation Manager as follows:
    • AIX/Linux: ./launcher
    • Windows: launcher.exe
  6. From the IBM Installation Manager menu, perform the following steps:
    1. Click File > Preferences.
    2. Choose Add Repositories and then point to <Cognos_Wizard_Extract_Root>/CognosWizard/repository.config.
    3. Click Apply and then OK to save the repository.
  7. Choose which feature to install.
    Important: AIX only: You must complete the installation of the BI server first, export the COG_ROOT value to the intended Transformer installation location, then install the Transformer. The WebSphere® Application Server information panel does not show if you choose to install Transformer.

    On Linux and Windows, you can install BI server and Transformer at the same time.

    You cannot install the primary BI server and the secondary BI server at the same time. If you want to install the primary BI server and secondary BI server on to the same machine, choose Install instead of Modify to install the secondary BI server.

  8. Enter information for the local node and Deployment Manager on the WebSphere Application Server information panel.
    You need to start server1 on the node profile to make sure that the installation process can retrieve node information. The node soap port is detected, but check that it is correct and modify it if incorrect.
    Note: Make sure that you are using the same location to install Primary BI server and Secondary BI server.
    If you plan to install Cognos, you also need the libraries listed in the IBM Cognos Business Intelligence 10.2.2 Supported Software Environments technote. Follow the Requirements by platform link for Linux and then read the Footnotes section.
    Note: Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions are required.
    The Topology panel does not show if you choose to install Transformer only.
  9. Enter the topology information for Cognos on the Topology panel.
    You must use a new cluster name for the primary BI server and for the secondary BI server. The server name must be different across the cell.
    Note: Web context root must be the same across all BI nodes.
  10. Complete the Database information panel.
    Cognos database information needs to be completed for the BI server. Metrics database information needs to be completed for Transformer.
    1. The default Connections JDBC drivers are stored in was_install_root/lib, for example:
      • AIX: /usr/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/lib
      • Linux: /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/lib
      • Windows: C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\lib
      Note: If your JDBC libraries were not installed to the default location, search the file system for the JAR file appropriate to your database type as listed in the next step. The JDBC driver directory for secondary BI server must be the same as the location used for primary BI server.
    1. Ensure that the following JDBC driver libraries are present in the JDBC directory:
      • DB2: db2jcc4.jar and db2jcc_license_cu.jar.
        Note: Ensure that your user account has the necessary permissions to access the DB2 JDBC files.
      • Oracle: ojdbc6.jar
        Note: For Oracle, the JDBC driver location must be unique to the Cognos cluster. It cannot be the same as the one used in Connections. Otherwise, a conflict between duplicate JDBC driver location lookups causes startup errors on the Cognos server.
      • SQL Server: Download the SQL Server JDBC 4 driver from the Microsoft website to a local directory and enter that directory name in the JDBC driver library field.
        Note: The directory must contain the sqljdbc4.jar file and must not contain the sqljdbc.jar file. Even though the data source is configured to use the sqljdbc4.jar file, an exception occurs if both files are present in the same directory.
    Note: Pay special attention to the description of the Metrics local database name because it differs according to database type.
  11. Complete the Cognos BI Location panel, which only shows if you choose to install the primary BI server or the secondary BI server.

    All platforms: Power Cube® location must be on shared file system and must be the same for the primary BI server, the secondary BI server, and the Transformer.

  12. Complete the Cognos Transformer location panel, which only shows if you choose to install Transformer.
    • Credential details for the Cognos administrator are needed if only Transformer has been chosen to install.
    • The BI server URI shows only when Transformer has been chosen to install or the secondary BI server and Transformer have been chosen to install. In the latter case enter the URI of the primary BI server.
      Note: In this configuration, increase the connection timeout time to ensure a successful installation.
      • If you are using IHS web server, increase the Keepalive Timeout to 30 in the confirmation file httpd.conf. In UNIX or Linux, the file is in /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/conf/httpd.conf. In Windows, it is in \Program Files\IBM\HTTPServer\conf\httpd.conf.
      • If you are using IIS 6.0, in the properties of Default Web Site, click the Web Site tab, select Enable HTTP Keep-alives, and increase Connection Timeout.
      • If you are using IIS 7.0 or 7.5:
        1. Select Default Web Site.
        2. In the features view, double-click the HTTP Response Headers feature.
        3. Right-click the page and select Set Common Headers.
        4. Select Enable HTTP Keep-alive.
        5. Right-click Default Web Site and select Manage Web Site > Advanced Settings.
        6. Expand Connection Limits and increase Connection time-out (seconds).
    • The PowerCube location is needed only if only Transformer is selected for installation.
  13. Complete the Cognos mapping user panel, which shows if the primary BI server is selected for installation.
    If you chose Do it later during installation, to complete the role mapping, follow the instructions that are detailed in Granting access to global metrics.
  14. Click Next and then click Install.
    Note: After starting the Cognos server, wait at least 5 minutes before opening the Content Manager's URL.
  15. Skip this step if you are installing on Linux or Windows.

    AIX only: If you just completed installation of the BI server, export the COG_ROOT value to the intended Transformer installation location from a command prompt window.

    export COG_ROOT=/usr/IBM/Cognos/Transformer
  16. Skip this step if you are installing on Linux or Windows.

    AIX only: Install the Transformer by repeating the preceding installation procedure, selecting Transformer as the feature to install.

  17. After installation, check the status of Content Manager at the path <Install location>/CognosBI/configuration/cogstartup.xml, and search for contentManagers.

    When accessing the URL you see the IBM Cognos Content Manager status response page. It should indicate the current Content Manager's state is "Running".

    Note: On the secondary BI server, the Cognos service cannot be started out of box. You must configure Content Manager first.
    1. Check the Content Manager URL from cogstartup.xml and add the secondary BI server Content Manager URL to the cogstartup.xml of the primary BI server.
    2. Add the primary BI server Content Manager URL to the secondary BI server. It needs to be in the following sequence:
      1. Primary BI server Content Manager URL as the first node
      2. The first secondary BI Server Content Manager URL
      3. Follow the same sequence for each secondary BI server.
      This needs to be done after the installation of each secondary BI server. For example: 
      <crn:parameter name="contentManagers" opaque="true">
     <crn:value xsi:type="cfg:array">
       <crn:item xsi:type="xsd:anyURI">http://cognos1.example.com:9082/cognos/servlet</crn:item>
       <crn:item xsi:type="xsd:anyURI">http://cognos2.example.com:9086/cognos/servlet</crn:item>
     </crn:value>
   </crn:parameter>
      You need to restart the Cognos server after changing cogstartup.xml
  18. If Connections and BI are installed on a different server, you need to configure SSO via the WebSphere Application Server administrative console as follows:
    1. Navigate to Global Security > Single Sign-on (SSO) > General Properties.
    2. Select the Enabled option.
    3. Enter the Domain name.
    4. Select the Web inbound security attribute propagation option.
    5. Select the Set security cookies to HTTPOnly to help prevent cross-site scripting attacks option.
    6. Click Apply to save your updates.
    7. Restart the Deployment Manager.

What to do next

After installation, two signons (Cognos administrator signon and Metrics database signon) will be set into the Powercube model files on the Cognos Transformer server. They are used for PowerCube generation. If you need to change these two signons after the installation, perform the following steps:
  1. Update the cognos-setup.properties file with the new signon information,
  2. Fill the passwords that are removed after installation.
  3. Run transformer-logon-set.bat|sh, which is in the Cognos Install directory. The script needs the Cognos BI server URL as a parameter. You need to pass it in at run time by including it on the command line as shown:
    transformer-logon-set.bat|sh -cognos.server.url=http(s)://cognos_bi_server_domain:cognos_bi_server_port/cognos_bi_server_contextroot
  4. Output from this operation is stored in the /[CognosInstall]/transformer-logon-set.log file. If you encounter an error when running the script, correct the error and run the script again.
  5. If you set the flag removePassword=false instead of accepting the default value of true, then passwords will not be removed and you can continue to run the next command.