Series 7 to Cognos 8 Upgrade -...

Tip or Technique

IBM Cognos Series 7 to IBM Cognos 8 Upgrade

Product(s): IBM Cognos Series 7, IBM Cognos 8

Area of Interest: Infrastructure


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Cognos Proprietary Information

Copyright

Copyright © 2008 Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated). Cognos ULC is an IBM Company. While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and complete, some typographical errors or technical inaccuracies may exist. Cognos does not accept responsibility for any kind of loss resulting from the use of information contained in this document. This document shows the publication date. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Any improvements or changes to the information contained in this document will be documented in subsequent editions. This document contains proprietary information of Cognos. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, or translated into another language without the prior written consent of Cognos. Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks of Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated) in the United States and/or other countries. IBM and the IBM logo are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, or other countries, or both. All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Information about Cognos products can be found at www.cognos.com

This document is maintained by the Best Practices, Product and Technology team. You can send comments, suggestions, and additions to [email protected] .


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Contents

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 4

1.1 PURPOSE ................................................................................................................ 4 1.2 APPLICABILITY ......................................................................................................... 4 1.3 EXCLUSIONS AND EXCEPTIONS ..................................................................................... 4

2 INTEGRATE YOUR ENVIRONMENTS ............................................................. 5

2.1 SECURITY ............................................................................................................... 5 2.2 PORTALS ................................................................................................................ 7 2.3 SINGLE SIGNON ....................................................................................................... 8 2.4 DIAGRAM................................................................................................................ 9

3 CLEANUP SERIES 7 ..................................................................................... 11

3.1 POWERPLAY ENTERPRISE SERVER ............................................................................... 11 3.2 UPFRONT PERSONAL NEWSBOXES ............................................................................... 14 3.3 UPFRONT NEWSITEMS ............................................................................................. 15 3.4 DEPLOYMENT MANAGER ........................................................................................... 21 3.5 DIAGRAM.............................................................................................................. 24

4 FAMILIARISE WITH COGNOS 8 .................................................................. 25

4.1 CREATE DATASOURCES............................................................................................. 25 4.2 PUBLISH PACKAGES ................................................................................................. 26 4.3 TEST THE STUDIOS ................................................................................................. 28 4.4 TRANSFORMER & CUBESWAP ..................................................................................... 29 4.5 DIAGRAM.............................................................................................................. 34

5 THE UPGRADE PROCESS ............................................................................. 35

5.1 DEPLOYMENT MANAGER ........................................................................................... 35 5.2 MIGRATETOC8 ...................................................................................................... 36 5.3 MAPPING.............................................................................................................. 40 5.4 DEPLOYTOC8........................................................................................................ 41 5.5 EVALUATE............................................................................................................. 42 5.6 DIAGRAM.............................................................................................................. 43


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1 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

This document is intended to supplement the documentation supplied with the IBM Cognos Series 7 Migration tools.

It outlines considerations for preparing to upgrade IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay and Upfront content into IBM Cognos 8 BI.

1.2 Applicability

All IBM Cognos Series 7 and IBM Cognos 8 BI platforms are applicable. Examples shown apply only to Series 7 v7.3mr2 (cer4) and Cognos 8.1 mr1.

Command-line parameters shown in example invocations of batch tools shown are subject to change in future releases.

Focus is only on supported PowerPlay and Upfront content.

1.3 Exclusions and Exceptions

The IBM Cognos Series 7 to IBM Cognos 8.1 BI migration tools are supported for upgrade of PowerPlay Web Explorer reports but not for reports created in PowerPlay Windows, be they Explorer mode or "Reporter Mode" reports. The tools available for migration to IBM Cognos 8.2 do support PowerPlay Windows reports.

PowerPlay content that has been published to Cognos Connection instead of Upfront is also excluded from this document.

PowerPlay reports published to Cognos Connection are stored inside the Content Store and can be upgraded directly from within IBM Cognos 8 BI. See "Cognos 8 Administration and Security Guide" for details.

Migration of Impromptu, IWR, Architect and Transformer content are excluded from this document.


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2 Integrate your Environments

2.1 Security

If you are migrating reports that are built from secured PowerCubes, then you must add the Series 7 Namespace to IBM Cognos 8 as a Namespace.

If you are migrating Newsboxes and Newsitems from Upfront, then you must add the Series 7 Namespace to IBM Cognos 8 as a Namespace.

Transformer v7.x and "OLAP Builder" v8.1 still require a Series 7 Namespace if the PowerCubes are secured. The Migration tools do not amend Transformer Models or PowerCubes to use any alternate Security Provider (Namespace).

IBM Cognos 8 has no ability to update or modify the Series 7 Namespace, and you will continue to require Series 7 Access Manager to administer the Users and UserClasses in the Namespace.

There is no need to make any changes to the LDAP software version.

There is no need to upgrade the Namespace. Any temptation to upgrade the Namespace from v15.2 ("Compatible") to v16.0 ("Current") should be completed and tested before the migration begins, or it should be deferred until the Migration is complete. Upgrading the Namespace from v15.2 to v16.0 or to v17.0 will impact Impromptu and Transformer v6.x, and may also impact Enterprise Planning v7.1 and Cognos Finance.

Do not delete any Users or UserClasses outside of your normal procedures.

Do not rename or reorganise any UserClasses outside of your normal procedures.

From Access Manager Runtime


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From IBM Cognos 8 Configuration

Refer "Cognos 8 Installation and Configuration Guide" (inst_cr_winux.pdf), chapter 9, section "Configuring Cognos 8 to Use Cognos Series 7 Namespace"

NB: the Name of the Namespace is displayed on the Login Prompt web-page, and can be altered. The Namespace ID is not seen by Users, but must not change after it has been used in IBM Cognos 8.


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2.2 Portals

You can expose Series 7 content directly in IBM Cognos 8 by integrating Upfront within Cognos Connection. The two portals can share the same authentication, and Upfront's "//NewsIndex" will be displayed below "Public Folders". The "Personal Newsbox" will appear below "My Folders".

This is useful to transition users from Series 7 to IBM Cognos 8 but retain their familiar content in its native form.

Existing users can continue to use Upfront without any awareness of IBM Cognos 8. New projects can start in IBM Cognos 8 but still have seamless access to Series 7 content.

As projects of Series 7 content are upgraded to IBM Cognos 8, the Upfront content can still be navigated to in the lower Series 7 pane, and its Cognos 8 equivalent presented for validation and use in the upper Cognos 8 pane. As Upgrade Testing is completed, the Series 7 content could be obscured by changing the Newsbox attribute to Hidden.

Refer

• "Cognos 8 Administration and Security Guide" (ug_cra.pdf), "Allow User Access to Series 7 Reports from Cognos Connection".

On the computer(s) where the IBM Cognos 8 Presentation Service is installed, open the c8_location/templates/ps/system.xml file in an editor. Find and edit the Series 7 parameter as follows, then restart IBM Cognos 8.



<param name="series7">

<enabled>true</enabled>



<encoding>iso-8859-1</encoding>



<host>Upfront_host_name</host>

<port>8030</port>



<gateway>/cognos/cgi-bin/upfcgi.exe</gateway>



<back-prefix></back-prefix>

</param>

It is recommended that you install all gateway components on the same WebServer(s). If Series 7 and IBM Cognos 8 URLs are delivered from the same WebServer, then relative URLs will resolve correctly.


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Some Upfront functionality is not implemented in IBM Cognos 8. For example, IBM Cognos 8 includes no tools for managing Users or UserClasses. Also, there is currently no "File Upload" feature.

Refer "Migration and Upgrade User Guide" (ug_mig.pdf) "Mapping Cognos Series 7 Objects to Cognos 8 Objects"

2.3 Single Signon

IBM Cognos 8 uses its own Gateway on the WebServer. If using any Access Control Lists on the Series 7 Authentication Gateway "/cognos/cgi-bin/login.exe" then these should also be applied to the IBM Cognos 8 gateway "/cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi". For example, with MS-IIS, revoke "Anonymous Access" to the IBM Cognos 8 gateway URL to enable population of REMOTE_USER.

The Series 7 Trusted Signon Plugin ("TSDK") may work with IBM Cognos 8.

Most Series 7 implementations of the a Trusted Signon Plugin rely on the "SaferAPIGetTrustedSignon()" function to determine the User's identity and return this to the calling application. This function is invoked only by the Authentication Gateway "login.exe" on the WebServer.

Since Series 7 v7.3mr1, IBM supports the "Access Manager Service" as a Ticket Server and as a proxy for interaction with the Namespace from the Gateway tier. In this environment, the Trusted Signon Plugin must implement the "SaferAPIGetTrustedSignonWithEnv()" function.

IBM Cognos ReportNet and IBM Cognos 8 support the use of the "SaferAPIGetTrustedSignonWithEnv()" function for Single Signon. It is invoked from the Content Manager when the Series 7 Namespace is used. The location of the Plugin is recorded inside the Namespace, and that directory path must be valid on the Content Manager host.

Refer

• "Installation and Configuration Guide" (inst_cr_winux.pdf), chapter 9, "Configuring Cognos 8 to Use Cognos Series 7 Namespace".

• "Installation and Configuration Guide" (inst_cr_winux.pdf), chapter 9, "Cognos Series 7 Namespaces and the Cognos Series 7 Trusted Signon Plug-in".

• "Access Manager Trusted Services Plug-In SDK Guide" (accessadmsdk.pdf).


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2.4 Diagram

LDAP

End

Users

Web

Tier

App.

Tier

HTTP

S7 Upfront

S7 PPES

S7 IWR

S7 AccMan Service

Browser

Storage

TierContent Store

Data Marts

Namespace

PowerCubes

ReportStore

WebServer

S7 Gateways

C8 Gateways

cogx2SOAP

SQL

SMB/UNC

or NFS

SMB/UNC

or NFS

LDAP

C8 Presentation Service

C8 Report Servers

C8 Content Manager

Diagram shows:

• WebServer with both IBM Cognos Series 7 and IBM Cognos 8 BI Gateways

• Both IBM Cognos 8 BI and IBM Cognos Series 7 connect to same Namespace


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• PowerCubes are stored on shared FileServer for concurrent access by multiple IBM Cognos 8 BI Report Servers and by IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay Enterprise Server.


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3 Cleanup Series 7

3.1 IBM Cognos PowerPlay Enterprise Server

Identify broken references to PowerPlay Reports that might cause Deployment Manager or the Series 7 to IBM Cognos 8 conversion tools to fail.

Every object visible in the PowerPlay Admin User Interface is represented by an XML document suffixed with "CFX" in the PPSRoot folder hierarchy. These CFX files contain all the properties that can be seen/edited in the Admin UI.

Folders, Collections, Cubes and Reports are all represented by CFX files which contain different properties.

The PowerPlay Enterprise Server (PPES) Dispatcher includes tools for upgrading between releases of Series 7. The following parameters are supported when "ppserver" is invoked from command-line.

Usage: ppserver [option]

-d to run PPES as application

-k to stop PPES

-v to display version information

-im to install PPES as service started manually

-i to install PPES as service started automatically

-r to check whether PPES service is installed

-u to uninstall PPES service

-m [-un username] [-pw password] [searchFor replaceWith] to

migrate PPSRoot hierarchy to the current version of

Upfront; replaces 'searchFor' string with 'replaceWith'

in every cfx file

-vm to verify the results from the migration to the current

version of Upfront

-ppx to update server name and port number in all ppx

files including MountAt folders and collections

-? to display usage information

-local [FullPathOfLocalCube RemoteCubePath] to update all

ppx files that reference the local cube to the specified

remote cube. If local and remote cube paths are omitted,

lists all ppx files that reference local cubes.

Refer

• "Installation Guide for Series 7 Solution" (ebi_inst.pdf), chapter 9, "Upgrade PowerPlay Metadata".

You can re-run the PPES Dispatcher tools at any time. If there is any inconsistency in how the PowerPlay Datasource Connection is specified, then the "-ppx" option will standardise all PPX documents to reference the current instance of PPES.


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From the sample "Print Settings" report (cern\ppserver\sample_report.ppx):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>

<Document xmlns="http://www.cognos.com">

<HEAD xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">

<TITLE>sample_report.ppx</TITLE>

</HEAD>

<PowerPlayReport xmlns="http://www.cognos.com/powerplay/report"

Author="PPWIN" Version="1.2">

<PPDSConnection Cube="Sample Cube" Server="ppes.you.com">

<DataPool>

<Dimension Code="MEASURES" DimIdx="5"/>

<Dimension Code="Years" DimIdx="0"/>

<Dimension Code="Products" DimIdx="1"/>

<PPDSID Code="Years" CatId="7281" DimIdx="0"/>

<PPDSID Code="ProductLineCode" CatId="7427" DimIdx="1"/>

<PPDSID Code="Actual Revenue" CatId="21517" DimIdx="5"/>

</DataPool>

<Filter RefIds="21517"/>

</PPDSConnection>

<ReportSpecification>

more

</PowerPlayReport>

</Document>

Invoke the PPES dispatcher at a command-line, passing it the "-ppx" parameter, and redirect the output to a log file, then inspect the Logfile using notepad.

ppserver -ppx > %TEMP%\PPXerrors.txt

notepad TEMP%\PPXerrors.txt

The tool will parse all CFX documents in the PPSRoot folder and anywhere that has been relocated using "MountAt". For each document that references a Report (rather than a Cube or Folder or Collection) it will attempt to open the identified PPX document and modify the "PPDSConnection" attribute.

Errors you are likely to observe:

• Problem: CFX found but no corresponding PPX. Resolution: Manually restore the PPX or delete the CFX file. Consequence: possibly orphaned NewsItem in Upfront

• Problem: PPX is zero bytes Resolution: Manually restore the PPX or delete the CFX file. Consequence: possibly orphaned NewsItem in Upfront

• Problem: CFX is corrupt Resolution: Manually restore or delete the CFX and PPX files. Consequence: possibly orphaned NewsItem in Upfront


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The output will resemble this sample:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * MIGRATION STARTED * * * * * * * * * * *

* * *

4/26/2006 11:59:06 AM

11:59:06 AM> Replacing server name and port in all ppx files with

ppes.you.com

11:59:06 AM> Processing

D:\Apps\Cognos\cer4\bin\../ppserver\PPSRoot\imported_reports/sample_cube/

1dd_29190.ppx ...

11:59:06 AM> ERROR: Cannot open file for reading.

11:59:06 AM> Processing

D:\Apps\Cognos\cer4\bin\../ppserver/sample_report.ppx …

Done.

Successfully updated : 1,233

Failed : 1

Total ppx files processed: 1,234

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * MIGRATION FINISHED * * * * * * * * * * * *

* * *

4/26/2006 11:59:06 AM

In the example above, a CFX file was found for a report that is based on the Sample Cube. The corresponding PPX document was not found. The resolution is to either delete the CFX file too, or to restore the PPX from a Backup. If the CFX is deleted, then any NewsItem in Upfront that relates to that Report will become "orphaned" as it no longer has any corresponding provider.


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3.2 Upfront Personal NewsBoxes

Only legitimate Users content should be converted to IBM Cognos 8. When a User's identity is deleted from the Series 7 Namespace using Access Manager, any Series 7 content owned by that User is orphaned. The Personal NewsBox in Upfront remains but is accessible only by a NewsIndex Administrator.

Start the Series 7 "Upfront Server Administration Tool". Navigate to the "Reset Personal NewsBoxes" tool on the NewsIndex menu.

This will repair the Access Control Lists on all Personal Newsboxes, but is otherwise non-destructive.

Refer

• "Upfront Server Administrator Guide" (upf_sg.pdf), chapter 5, "Reset Root Personal NewsBox Security".

Navigate to the "User Cleanup" tool on the NewsIndex menu.

If a Personal NewsBox exists for a user who is not found in the Namespace then it is a candidate for deletion.

"Preview" will list all Personal Newsboxes which are a candidate for deletion.

"Cleanup" will delete the candidate NewsBoxes, but only if they are empty.


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For example, if the CEO was replaced, then the reports that are in his Personal NewsBox would probably be useful to his replacement. A NewsIndex Administrator must cut&paste the content into his replacement's Personal NewsBox before the original Personal NewsBox can be deleted.

Refer

• "Upfront Server Administrator Guide" (upf_sg.pdf), chapter 4, "Delete Unused Resources from the Data Store".

3.3 Upfront NewsItems

After some time, all Upfront installations appear to contain some NewsItems that cannot be deleted. These broken NewsItems are the largest cause of failure when using Deployment Manager.

When attempting to delete a NewsItem, Upfront checks the Provider Type attribute of the NewsItem. URLs are "Other" and are not validated. For all other Provider Types, Upfront attempts to locate the Gateway URL in "cern.csx" so that it can instruct the back-end provider (eg IWR, PPES) to also delete the related content (eg Retained Output, PPX).

If the Gateway URL of the NewsItem in Upfront is inconsistent with those in "cern.csx" then deletion will fail. Repair these NewsItems using the "Gateway Manager" in Upfront's Administration NewsBox. Ensure that the New Gateway is a valid Server Group URL in "cern.csx".


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If a Series 7 product was installed and used but subsequently uninstalled (eg Cognos Query was evaluated), then there may be orphaned NewsItems which refer to that Provider Type. Alternatively, the content may have been corrupted or removed from the Provider (eg a damaged PPX).

Those NewsItems can be located using the Upfront Search tool, and may be relocated to a NewsBox containing such invalid or undeleteable NewsItems so that they are obscured from ordinary Users.


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It is necessary to change the Provider Type of these URLs to a type that won't be validated by Upfront.

1. Determine the unique ID of the NewsItem. It is visible as an Advanced Property of the NewsItem, or can be discerned from the "nid" parameter of the NewsItem URL.


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2. [Optional] View the properties of this NewsItem using the URL: http://localhost/cognos/cgi-bin/upfcgi.exe?xmlcmd=

<DescribeNewsItem>

<Id>bdbe0720d44311da9417ae2d208f5dc6</Id>

</DescribeNewsItem>


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3. Use an XMLCMD as a URL to modify the NewsItem to the "Other" Provider Type: http://localhost/cognos/cgi-bin/upfcgi.exe?xmlcmd=

<SetNewsItemProperties>

<Id>bdbe0720d44311da9417ae2d208f5dc6</Id>

<ProviderType>Other</ProviderType>

</SetNewsItemProperties>


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The icon and other properties of the NewsItem [above] remain unchanged. Inspection of the NewsItem Properties will show that it no longer has a relationship with PowerPlay. URL NewsItems must contain a non-blank URL as this is the only property that is validated before Deletion. Upfront does not attempt to connect to the URL, so it can be any non-blank text.


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The NewsItem can now be deleted as normal:

Refer

• "Upfront Developers Guide" (upf_dg.pdf) Appendix-C, "SetNewsItemProperties".

3.4 Deployment Manager

The process of moving from Series 7 Upfront & PPES to IBM Cognos 8 will use Deployment Manager to extract content for Upgrade.

It is important to familiarise with Deployment Manager and its documentation.

Refer

• "Deployment Manager User Guide" (ug_cdm.pdf), Chapter 3, "Packing".

Deployment Manager is a Desktop administrative tool that connects directly to the Upfront Dispatcher. Only content that has been published to Upfront can be extracted ("Packed") using Deployment Manager.


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The Package Definition File (DMD) contains definitions of what to Pack. It will be stored in the "cern\packages" directory on the Deployment Manager desktop. When creating a Package Definition we suggest naming it according to the name of the Project being extracted ("Omega" in the example above).

As the Package Definition can be reused to export the Package repeatedly, we suggest naming the generated Package according to the date it was produced.

In the example above, we are packing the "Omega" project on 25th April 2006.

A Package contains an XML file (DMP) which identifies all exported content.


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Deployment Manager will then use your selection criteria (Providers, NewsBoxes) to identify NewsItems to be packed. For each selected NewsItem, Upfront will connect to the corresponding Content Provider (PPES). The Content Provider (PPES) will copy that content (PPX) to the "cer4\packlets\Omega\20050425" directory on the Content Provider host.

In a distributed deployment architecture, there will be a "cern\packlets" directory on each host containing the Definition Subdirectory ("cer4\packlets\Omega"). In the Definition directory there will be a Package subdirectory ("cer4\packlets\Omega\20060425"). Within that, there will be a subdirectory for each Content Provider on that host ("cer4\packlets\Omega\20060425\ppes", "cer4\packlets\Omega\20060425\Upfront"). That is, IWR or PPES packlets may be stored on different hosts!

Deployment Manager preferences may be altered to ensure that an HTML Logfile is produced whenever Packing. This Logfile will be created in the Package location on the Deployment Manager workstation.

We recommend using Deployment Manager iteratively until the Logfiles show that the Packing process completes without errors. For each iteration that fails, the indicated NewsItems in Upfront should be investigated and usually deleted.

The process of upgrading to IBM Cognos 8 BI will require that the Packlets are all copied from each host to a single location that the "MigrateToC8" utility can read from.


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3.5 Diagram

Diagram shows:

• Deployment Manager connects to Upfront

• Upfront creates its own Packlets (an Upfront PKG file)

• Upfront connects to PPES.

• PPES creates Packlets (CFX, PPX)

• Deployment Manager creates a DMP file and a Log


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4 Familiarise with IBM Cognos 8 BI

4.1 Create Datasources

Ensure the Cognos 8 Report Servers have direct access to the PowerCube files. PPES is not part of the IBM Cognos 8 BI solution as the IBM Cognos 8 "BIBusTKServerMain" Query Processors interact with the Cube files (MDC) directly.

If the PowerCubes are on a FileServer, then the IBM Cognos 8 Report Server must run as a Domain Account so that it can access the files using UNC conventions ("\\fileserver\share\folder\filename.mdc").

IBM Cognos 8 does not currently support Folders of Datasources. All must be uniquely identified in a flat list. Where Cubes are organised into Folders in PPES, a suitable corresponding convention would be to prefix the datasource name with the Folder names delimited by hyphens (instead of slashes). For example: PPES' "/Finance/This Year" cube could be represented as "Finance – This Year" datasource in Cognos 8.

The PowerCube datasource has two file paths. The Unix path is used by any IBM Cognos 8 Report Server running on a Unix platform. This must be a valid Unix location (possibly using NFS), but may be blank if you are not using Unix.

Even if deploying Cognos 8 on Unix, a Windows path to the cube must be specified. Cognos Framework Manager and Cognos Metrics Designer both perform their own interaction with the Cube outside of the Report Server. As they are Windows applications, they require a Windows path to the Cube.

In an unusual heterogeneous deployment with some Report Servers on Unix and some on Windows, each will use the correspondingly appropriate datasource path.


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Refer

• "Administration and Security Guide" (ug_cra.pdf) chapter 4, "Cognos Cubes"

Cognos recommends either copying the Cube to a Windows File Server, or enabling UNC access to the Unix file location using a 3rd-party tool such as SAMBA.

Where UNC or SAMBA are unacceptable [due to integration difficulties or security policies], then an interesting alternative is to WebDAV enable the location of the PowerCubes, and assign a Drive Letter to the WebDAV location from Windows. This traffic is HTTP rather than SMB as it is delivered by the WebDAV-enabled WebServer.

Refer http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_dav.html

4.2 Publish Packages

In IBM Cognos 8, related datasources are grouped together into Packages using Framework Manager. The package is then published to Cognos Connection where it can be accessed from a Studio.

Framework Manager is generally used to select Tables and Views from a Database, establish relationships amongst them, and expose these to a Content Author in a structured manner. This is termed "Heavyweight Modelling".

Cube datasources are already fully modelled, and their dimensionality is determined when queries are performed from a Studio. The cube datasource must still be imported into Framework Manager but no further modelling is required. This is termed "Lightweight Modelling".

Even though no modelling is required, Framework Manager must still resolve the Windows path of the PowerCube datasource. For other Cube datasources, Framework Manager will connect to that datasource.


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A Star Schema of Relational query subjects is represented as a "Namespace" within the Package. Each Cube datasource is also represented as a "Namespace" as it too contains Dimensions and Facts or Measures.

When importing a Cube datasource, a Package is also created automatically. A Package may contain several related datasources, and this is one of the feature benefits of IBM Cognos 8 over Series 7. Report Studio can then be used to present related data from multiple datasources together. Such reports can Union data from multiple Cubes, or contain a Master-Detail relationship between a Cube and a Database query.

Refer

• "Report Studio User Guide" (ug_cr_rptstd.pdf) "Working with Dimensional Datasources"

The Upgrade and Migration tools [currently] require that the Package contains only one Namespace. The Namespace must be named the same as the Package.

For each Cube Datasource, you must create a corresponding Package using Framework Manager, and publish it to Cognos Connection. You may create many Packages using one Framework Model.


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During the Upgrade and Migration procedure, you will have to maintain a mapping file that indicates which IBM Cognos 8 "Package" corresponds to each Series 7 "PPES Cubename".

Refer

• "Framework Manager User Guide" (ug_fm.pdf) chapter 3, "Cognos Cubes"

• "Framework Manager User Guide" (ug_fm.pdf) chapter 6, "Create or Modify a Package"

• "Framework Manager User Guide" (ug_fm.pdf) chapter "6, Publish a Package Based on an OLAP Data Source"

4.3 Test the Studios

Now that you have used Framework Manager to publish some Cube datasources to Cognos Connection, you can familiarise with the IBM Cognos 8 Studios.

All the Studios are entirely Web-based, and require no desktop installation.


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The Upgrade and Migration tools provide an ability to move PowerPlay Web Reports to Analysis Studio or Report Studio. During the Upgrade and Migration process it will be necessary to evaluate which target Studio is more appropriate for different Users and Reports. In some cases, it may be worthwhile to redevelop Reports to better utilise the features of IBM Cognos 8.

• Query Studio is the lightweight in the Studio family, and is designed for very simple adhoc analysis or reporting. Only a single SQL or MDX statement can be developed per Query, and only simple formatting is possible. Query Studio provides similar capabilities as Series 7 Cognos Query, some PowerPlay Web, and most Impromptu Client usage. This Studio also works in both Internet Explorer and the Mozilla-family (Firefox, Netscape) browsers.

• Analysis Studio is a sophisticated MDX client application. Multiple Asymmetric Crosstabs may be created that share Dimensions. This Studio can query only dimensionalised data (both Cube and Dimensionally Modelled Relational ("DMR")). Analysis Studio is suited to Analysis of Business Performance by an advanced User.

• Report Studio is a feature-rich production-reporting tool. This is intended for use by a smaller audience of specialist Report Authors. Report Studio is the authoring tool for Managed Reporting that provides web-based authoring of advanced Series 7 Impromptu-like reports, and sophisticated PowerPlay Client reports. Additionally, many features of Visualizer are provided with charts and Maps. Report Studio reports may contain data presented very richly from a variety of related datasources. Multiple MDX and SQL queries may be performed to retrieve the data.

Refer

• "Cognos 8 Getting Started" (wig_cr.pdf), Chapter 1

• "Migration and Upgrade User Guide" (ug_mig.pdf)

4.4 Transformer & CubeSwap

Currently, all Cube design and building continues to be performed using either Series 7 Transformer or [rebadged] Cognos 8 OLAP Builder. As at IBM Cognos 8.1, secured PowerCubes use only UserClasses from the Series 7 Security Model.

Cognos 8 Query Performance benefits from optimisation of the PowerCubes though. This is default behaviour of the later releases of Transformer, or can be explicitly invoked as a post-processing step.


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Usage: pcoptimizer [-t] [-v] [-h] [file]

-t Test mode: Test if MetaData has been extracted

-v Verbose mode: Output readable text.

-h, Command-line help.

The return code values are:

0 - MetaData is extracted

10 - MetaData is not extracted

20 - Error accessing the Cube, extract failed or invalid parameter

If -t is missing, the MetaData is extracted

If [file] is missing, the file name is prompted for interactively.

If -v is missing, only the return code is set.

You need -v to get readable output.

Refer

• "Troubleshooting Guide" (ug_cr_trbls.pdf) chapter 5, "Not Yet Optimized Cognos PowerCubes May Open Slowly in Cognos 8"

Cube Deployment mechanisms require revisiting though. Whereas PPES has a GUI and a Command-Line tool (often invoked from Batch scripts) for disabling a Cube while it is replaced, due to architectural differences IBM Cognos 8 has no equivalent function.

Commonly in a Series 7 environment:

1. Transformer is invoked to build the Cube(s) to a temporary location

2. "PPADMTOOL" is invoked to Disable/Kill any currently active PPES Query Processors ("ppdsweb")

3. The existing Cube is renamed or archived in case a rollback is necessary

4. The new Cube is copied in place.

5. "PPADMTOOL" is invoked to Enable new PPES query activity against the cube.

In IBM Cognos 8, the cube file may be opened from any number of multi-threaded "BIBusTKServerMain" Query Processors. There is no facility to disable a Datasource. It is necessary to:

1. Transformer is invoked to build the Cube to a temporary location

2. Copy the Cube file to a new filename or location beside the existing cube that may be in use.

3. Invoke the supplied "CubeSwap" script to amend the Datasource Connection so that it resolves to the new Filename.


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Consequently there are now generations of Cube files to manage. Also, if a subsequent query is routed to a "BIBusTKServerMain" process that had resolved the Cube filepath before "CubeSwap" was invoked, then the query may not necessarily present the new data. Only new Query Processors will read the new filename from the Content Store when they start.

Usage: cubeswap

<URL> <dispatcherName> <dataSource> <newCube>

[ <userName> <password> <namespace> ]

Required arguments:

URL - Cognos8 Server URL

eg. "http://<hostname>:9300/p2pd/servlet/dispatch"

dispatcherName - name of dispatcher with services using

the cube that will be updated eg. "http://<hostname>:9300"

dataSource - name of the Data Source that will be

updated with a new cube eg. "Go Data Warehouse"

newCube - the fully qualified name and path for the new cube

eg. "<path>/<cubename.mdc>"

Optional arguments: for use with secured namespace (Anonymous disabled)

userName - username, valid within the namespace, to run the utility

password - password for the given user

nameSpace - namespace for the desired user

Exit Code: 0 – Success

-1 - Invalid command line arguments

-2 - Login Failure

-3 - Operation Failed

• The "URL" parameter identifies a target Dispatcher which the "CubeSwap" script can interact with to submit a change to the properties of the dataSource.

• The "dispatcherName" parameter identifies a ReportServer upon which to test the modified Datasource.

• "dataSource" is the IBM Cognos 8 unique name of the PowerCube datasource.

• "newCube" is the fully-qualified location of the new PowerCube file.

• "username", "password" and "nameSpace" are all required if IBM Cognos 8 disallows Anonymous access. "nameSpace" is the namespace ID.

As most Cognos clients will transition from PPES to IBM Cognos 8 over an extended period of time, we suggest placing all Cubes at a singular location shared by both PPES and IBM Cognos 8.

If PPES and the IBM Cognos 8 ReportServers are running on Windows as a Domain Account, then they can access the Cube files using UNC conventions.


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A suggested convention:

If all PowerPlay Models and Cubes are organised by {PROJECT}, then implement the following filesystem hierarchy:

• PPTS – All PowerPlay Transformer content

• {PROJECT} – CFX files used by Load Balancing PPES Dispatchers which have zero maximum Query Processors

� Models – All Transformer Models for this Project

• {MODEL}.mdl

� Logs – Transformer Logs

• PPES – All PowerPlay Enterprise Server content

• CFXd – CFX files used by Load Balancing PPES Dispatchers which have zero maximum Query Processors (*.CFX)

• CFXqp – CFX files used by PPES Query Processors to locate Cube files and to determine maximum concurrent Query Processors (*.CFX)

• Temp – used by PPES for temporary output created by "ppdsweb" and "pprp" Query Processors (*.HTM, *.PDF)

• Imported_Reports – All published PPX reports located here using "MountAt" (*.CFX, *.PPX)

• Cubes – all Cubes organised according to the hierarchy in PPTS

� {PROJECT} – corresponds with PPTS\{PROJECT}

• {MODEL} – corresponds with PPTS\{PROJECT}\Models\{MODEL}.mdl

o {GENERATION} – an integer incremented every time a Cube is deployed at the end of the Transformer process


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� All Cubes created from this Model in this Generation by Transformer. cube.mdc

When Transformer has completed building the cubes for {MODEL} in {PROJECT}

1. Determine the maximum of {GENERATION} in PPES\Cubes\{PROJECT}\{MODEL}

2. Create a new Folder PPES\Cubes\{PROJECT}\{MODEL}\{GENERATION+1}

3. Copy the new Cube(s) into PPES\Cubes\{PROJECT}\{MODEL}\{GENERATION+1}\cube.mdc

4. Invoke Series 7 "ppadmtool" to:

a. Disable/Kill any currently active PPES Query Processors ("ppdsweb") for the named Cube

b. Amend the "LocalSource" property of the Cube to resolve to the new filename PPES\Cubes\{PROJECT}\{MODEL}\{GENERATION+1}\cube.mdc

c. Enable new PPES query activity against the named cube.

5. Invoke Cognos 8 "CubeSwap" to amend the Datasource to resolve to the new filename PPES\Cubes\{PROJECT}\{MODEL}\{GENERATION+1}\cube.mdc

6. The {GENERATION} cube file may still be in use by a "BIBusTKServerMain" process. Delete the prior cubes that are no longer needed: Remove {GENERATION-1} folder and contents.

Refer

• "Administration and Security Guide" (ug_cra.pdf) section "Update a PowerCube Connection"

• "Enterprise Server Guide" (pes.pdf) Appendix-B, "The ppadmtool Program"


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4.5 Diagram

Diagram shows:

• Transformer retrieving data from DBMS to build cubes locally

• Transformer hosts deploys Cube to PPES\Cubes\{PROJECT}\{MODEL}\{GENERATION+1}\cube.mdc on FileServer

• Transformer hosts invoke "ppadmtool" to amend "LocalSource" connection on PPES host

• Transformer hosts invoke "cubeswap" to amend Datasource Connection on IBM Cognos 8 host

• PPES Dispatcher ("ppserver") accesses CFX files, Query Processors ("ppdsweb") access Cubes, Report Processors ("pprp") access PPX reports from FileServer

• IBM Cognos 8 accesses Databases on DBMS host, and also Cubes on FileServer from "BIBusTKServerMain" Query Processors


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5 The Upgrade Process

5.1 Deployment Manager

The batch migration tools only operate on File Based Series 7 artifacts. They can operate on a folder of content, or on the Package and Packlets exported from Series 7 using Deployment Manager. This latter approach is the only method which will preserve Upfront's structure, content and security.

Do not try to move large amounts of content in a single monolithic project.

Aim to move a Series 7 "Project" or a community of Users and their content. Perhaps just a portion of the Upfront NewsIndex.

Amend the configuration of Series 7 Deployment Manager to ensure that packages and packlets are written to a consistent location. It is possible to use a UNC location if the Services of corresponding Providers (PPES, Upfront Dispatcher) are running as a Domain Account.


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Also, Deployment Manager may timeout when interacting with a very large Upfront NewsIndex. Have patience, and accept the "keep waiting" dialog prompt.

5.2 MigrateToC8

To migrate or upgrade Series 7 content, two install kits must be installed:

• The "migs7" install kit, which must be installed into your Series 7 environment (and is only available on Windows); and

• The appropriate "migdeploy" install kit, which must be installed into your IBM Cognos 8 environment. This install kit is platform specific.

The IBM Cognos 8 BI Migration Tools are available to Customers and Partners through the Migration Awareness Process. For more information, go to http://support.cognos.com/supported/en/support/products/cognos8/migration/8.1.3/cognos8_migration.html

"MigrateToC8" includes features for migrating Impromptu Catalogs and Reports. This functionality utilises OLE control of Impromptu Client, and hence this portion of the Upgrade and Migration procedure is available only on Windows.


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Copy the Package and all Packlets from hosts in a Distributed Architecture to a single Series 7 host where the "migs7" component has been installed.

Series 7 (R) Migration Utility.

Version: 8.1.800.0

Usage: migratetoc8 [options] <source>... <target>

<source>... Migration source (one or more...).

<target> Target directory.

[options]:

-p The password for the Creator user class in the Impromptu Catalog.

-u The name of the Creator user class in the Impromptu Catalog.

-U The Access Manager User name for namespace.

-P The Access Manager User password for namespace.

-N The Cognos 8 security namespace ID to be used.

-r The Cognos rendition to be used for migration.

For more information about the command options, see

the Migration and upgrade User Guide.

Session terminated successfully.

The Migration Source can be a folder of PowerPlay Reports that have been saved as PPX, or a Deployment Manager DMP file.

@SETLOCAL

SET PACKAGE=Omega

SET GEN=20060425

SET SOURCE=E:\Data\Cognos\DepMan\packages\%PACKAGE%\%GEN%.dmp

SET TARGET=E:\Data\Cognos\MigrateToC8\%PACKAGE%

MKDIR %TARGET%

CD /D D:\Apps\cognos\cer4\migs7

migratetoc8 -U Administrator -P "" -N Series7 -r cer4 --acl 2

%SOURCE% %TARGET%

REM Indicate when completed ....

TIME /T

@ENDLOCAL

The tool will first extract [or reuse] all Users and UserClass names and their Series 7 unique identifier "authid" to XML files in the "cern\migs7\security" folder. These will be used later to construct the Cognos 8 "CAMid" equivalent.


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For each invocation of "MigrateToC8", a timestamped subdirectory is created at the TARGET location, eg "20060427T124227.%COMPUTERNAME%.migratetoc8". The packlet contents are massaged into intermediate XML documents.

A Log file "migratetoc8.xml" is created in the "_LOG" subdirectory. This should be inspected for errors using a Browser.

Importantly, a file "nameMap.xml" is created in the "_SUPPORT\maps" folder. This identifies all Series 7 content in the Series 7 Source.

Diagram shows:

• Names and AuthIds extracted from Namespace into XML documents in "migs7\security" subdirectory.

• Packlets transformed into intermediate XML documents

• A Log written to "_LOG\migratetoc8.xml"


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• List of all referenced Series 7 content written to "_SUPPORT\maps\nameMap.xml"


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5.3 Mapping

You likely need to locate and edit "nameMap.xml". This file is used during the next phase of Upgrade and Migration to reassociate the upgraded PowerPlay Reports to corresponding Packages in Cognos 8.

This file is recreated by every invocation of "MigrateToC8". Consider maintaining a Master Copy of this file that is used to replace the one generated by MigrateToC8 above. This may simplify the effort required to map many Cubes to their corresponding Packages in IBM Cognos 8.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<objects>

<package>

<cubeRef>ppes.you.com/Folder/Folder/Cube</cubeRef>

<version>0</version>

<packageName>Folder – Folder - Cube</packageName>

</package>

<package>

<cubeRef>ppes.you.com/HR/Services/Churn</cubeRef>


<packageName>HR – Services - Churn</packageName>

</package>

<package>

<cubeRef>ppes.you.com/Great Outdoors </cubeRef>


<packageName>SAMPLE Great Outdoors PowerCube</packageName>

</package>

</objects>

The "cubeRef" is derived from the "PPDSConnection" in the PPX Reports. "PackageName" must be modified to reflect the Packages published from Framework Manager for each of the Cube Datasources. Note that [currently] the Namespace (representing the Cube datasource) is not also identified in the Mapping file, so the Package must contain a Namespace of the same Name.

Refer

• "Migration and Upgrade User Guide" (ug_mig.pdf) Chapter 5, "Check Package Mapping"


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5.4 DeployToC8

"DeployToC8" is used to read the intermediate XML documents above, combined with the modified "nameMap.xml" and create Cognos 8 Analysis or Report Studio reports.

Access Control Lists from Upfront are converted to CAMid constraints using the Namespace ID and the Security mappings created by MigrateToC8 above.

For each intermediate PPX report, "DeployToC8" will determine the corresponding Cognos 8 Package using "nameMap.xml", then interact with the Cognos 8 Report Server [using the SOAP API] to determine a corresponding MDX statement for the selected Dimensional Analysis. This interaction involves extraction of Metadata (Dimensions, Levels, Categories) from the Cube by the "BIBusTKServerMain" Query Processor(s).

You will observe extensive CPU utilisation on the IBM Cognos 8 Report Server(s) during this phase.

The Cognos 8 content is written to a IBM Cognos 8 Deployment Archive which can be subsequently imported into Cognos Connection.

The Logfile is copied and extended. It will reveal which features have not been Upgraded and Migrated successfully, and any other assumptions made.

Usage:

deploytoc8 [options] <source folder> <target folder>

Options:

-h Print the usage summary (this text).

--user <UserID> The user name to sign on to Cognos 8.

--password <Password> The password to sign on to Cognos 8.

--namespace <NamespaceID> The namespace to sign on to Cognos 8.

-t <interval> Override default time-out for calls to

Cognos 8.

-y <strategy> The strategy for PowerPlay report

migration.

-a Automatically import output into Cognos 8.

The "-y" parameter above is used to determine whether the Reports will be converted to Analysis Studio (default) or Report Studio. The valid values are "analysis" or "report".

Refer

• "Migration and Upgrade User Guide" (ug_mig.pdf) Chapter 5, "Deploy the Migration Package"


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@SETLOCAL

SET PACKAGE=Omega

SET GEN=20060427T124227.myhostname.migratetoc8

SET STUDIO=analysis

SET SOURCE=E:\Data\Cognos\MigrateToC8\%PACKAGE%\%GEN%

SET TARGET=E:\Data\Cognos\DeployToC8\%PACKAGE%

cd /d D:\Apps\Cognos\c8\migdeploy

call deploytoc8 %SOURCE% %TARGET%

--user Administrator --password "" --namespace Series7

-y %STUDIO%

REM Indicate when completed ....

TIME /T

@ENDLOCAL

We recommend that you try deploying to both Report Studio and to Analysis Studio to inspect the quality of the results. Some analyses may be more appropriate in one studio or the other. This can only be decided by the Acceptance Testing users.

5.5 Evaluate

After you run the deploytoc8 command, the target directory contains several directories and files:

• "target\_LOG\viewMigrationLog.html" You can open "viewMigrationLog.html" in a Web browser. This log file contains information about both the "migratetoc8" and "deploytoc8" processes. The log file contains details about what happens during the deployment and links to troubleshooting topics in the documentation to help you solve any problems.

• "target\deployment\_DEPLOYMENT\" This directory contains the compressed deployment archive files (.zip) that you can import into Cognos 8.

Copy the Deployment Archive into the IBM Cognos 8 Content Manager's "Deployment" location.

Use Content Administration tool to import the Deployment Package.

You must enable the package so that users can access it. By default, the package is disabled and none of the entries it contains are accessible in the target environment after deployment. The package is disabled so that you can test it before you make it available to users.


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5.6 Diagram

migs7 \ Security

Intermediate XML

CFX, PPX, PKG

_LOG \

migratetoc8.xml

_SUPPORT \

maps \

nameMap.xml

_LOG \

viewMigrationLog.html

_DEPLOYMENT \

zip

SOAP

DeployToC8

SMB/UNC

or NFS

Content Store

Data Marts

PowerCubes

Namespace

LDAPSQL

Cognos8

Diagram shows:

• Intermediate XML and "nameMap.xml" read by "DeployToC8"

• SOAP interaction with IBM Cognos 8 to build Deployment Archive


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• Deployment Archive imported into IBM Cognos 8

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