IBM Cognos Analytics Software integration with IBM Power. Useful tips and solutions
Colleagues, I want to share the experience of installing IBM Cognos Analytics Software on the Power platform. Until now, this solution has operated on the basis of Intel x86 platform. For several reasons, it was decided to test the performance of this software on the Power platform: embedded hardware virtualization, energy efficiency, ease of maintenance, the possibility of reducing TCO (The total cost of ownership). The advantages (or disadvantages) of Power can be talked about indefinitely, but this is not the topic of this article. The terms of reference consisted in installing all existing IBM Cognos Software components on Power to take advantage of all the benefits of this platform, and as a result, to promote Power within our company.
When executing this project, it took a very long time and a lot to search for information on the Internet, which, as it turned out, is not such a large number at the moment. That is why, when the task was completed, I decided to share this experience, having gathered all the possible installation and configuration features of IBM Cognos Software in this article. And also, describe the main stages of the project and the solution of some problems.
Before embarking on the integration, you had to make sure that IBM Cognos Software version 10.2.2 could be installed on the IBM Power platform, and also to conduct research to determine the approximate amount of resources required. After the planning phase was completed, a logical partition (LPAR) was created with the appropriate characteristics for installing and running IBM Cognos Software. In this case, all components were installed on the same logical partition:
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After analyzing the hardware of the IBM Cognos Software software, I came to the conclusion that the installation requires the following sizes of disk pools (the first is system, the second is for software installation and data storage):
After I conducted a study on the compatibility of software components, based on the technical documentation of IBM Cognos Software, it was decided to install this software on the operating system AIX version 7.1. The maximum number of Cognos Software components is compatible with this version of the operating system:
Due to the fact that more workstations on the x86 platform are running on Windows and Linux systems, it makes sense to install the client part of Cognos Software on them, rather than use the AIX operating system's X Window connection mechanism. As an example, I can give the component Architect / Perspectives, which should be installed on the client side. Work with server components is implemented through a web interface.
Understanding the architecture of the solution being developed is the key to planning. IBM Cognos Software consists of two main server components with which it is best to start the installation using the AIX operating system's X window connection mechanism:
To understand the functional structure of these components, I provide diagrams of their architectures:
IBM DB2 Version 10.5 for the AIX 7.1 operating system was chosen as the database management system. IBM HTTP Server (IHS) version 6.0 was selected as the web server.
For a more complete understanding of the implementation of the client-server connection in this software, the interaction of the TM1 Server and TM1 Admin Server is shown in the following diagram:
TM1 Admin Server registers TM1 Servers after they are created, clients connect to the Admin server to receive information about TM1 servers, namely: server name, IP address, protocol, port number.
After obtaining information about the servers, customers can establish connections. The name of the Admin Server must be entered in the server configuration file - tm1s.cfg, in the Admin Host field. If this field is left blank, the server will try to connect to the Admin Server on the local machine. Also, for correct configuration and connection establishment between the created TM1 Server and Admin Server, it is necessary to register the IP address and port number of the created server in the tm1s.cfg file.
Admin Server learns about the existence of servers by listening to notifications from them, which are sent by default every 60 seconds. Then I decided to provide a description of some of the problems that can be encountered during installation, as well as ways to solve them.
During the execution of the project, I was faced with a number of undocumented features. To ensure that the IBM Cognos Software installation process proceeds smoothly, I will describe most of them. For convenience, I shared the features with respect to the server components of the software.
When installing the Cognos Business Intelligence component:
The IBM Cognos Configuration utility is used to install and run Cognos Software services. During the installation of Cognos Software version 10.2.2, by iterating over different versions of Java, it was determined that Java version 8 was used to launch it. Working with IBM Cognos Configuration takes place using the AIX operating system to connect to the X Window.
After hours of trying to install DB2 10.5 using the db2setup graphical installation utility, the installation was performed manually using the db2_install command line utility. You do not need to install the DB2 pureScale Feature. Then an instance is created that has one owner and one service user. We create groups for the owner and service user. Add unlimited limits to the / etc / security / limits file. Freeing or simply assigning the port 50000, which will be used to connect to the database. Create an entry in / etc / services. Next, from under the user - owner of the instance, we launch the database using db2start. Create a database.
To avoid re-installing Cognos Business Intelligence, you must first define the environment variables in the / etc / profile file:
When configuring a component, I had to stop and start Cognos Software services many times. In some cases, when you started using the IBM Cognos Configuration utility, the error 'Corrupted Cryptography Keys' occurred. The solution to the problem can be found at the link (Steps to Regenerate Cryptography Keys).
After installing Cognos Business Intelligence, you need to copy the files from the installation directory to the directory containing the Java library:
When installing the Cognos TM1 components:
In my case, the task was not only to integrate the software and the Power platform, but also to transfer the data of an existing Cognos project from the Windows Server. Since doing this directly with Windows on UNIX will not work, it is best to use the tm1xfer utility (see the documentation).
The IBM Cognos Configuration utility is used to install and run Cognos Software services. When installing Cognos Software version 10.2.2, by enumerating different versions of Java, it was determined that Java version 7 was used to launch it.
After numerous failed attempts to connect to the server using TM1 Architect, it was revealed that to establish a connection, it is necessary to register in the tm1s.cfg file for each TM1 Server: IPaddress = <your IP>
If you try to log in to the server using TM1 Web, the default password may not work, namely admin / Apple. In this case, you must manually reset this password. To do this, stop the server, rename the file} ClientProperties.cub to} ClientProperties.cub.old and start the server again. This will remove all user passwords. Then you need to go to the server, leaving the 'Password' field empty and set a new password for each user.
In order to make changes to the Applications user interface when working with TM1 Web, you must use the files in the ... / externals folder
That's probably all, and I hope that my experience will be useful for those who will face installing IBM Cognos Analytics Software on the Power / AIX platform.
If you have to work with the Power platform, or have to face it in the future, then the source of information can be either the official IBM website or the portal of the independent community of “fans” of this platform aixportal.ru .
When executing this project, it took a very long time and a lot to search for information on the Internet, which, as it turned out, is not such a large number at the moment. That is why, when the task was completed, I decided to share this experience, having gathered all the possible installation and configuration features of IBM Cognos Software in this article. And also, describe the main stages of the project and the solution of some problems.
Planning
Before embarking on the integration, you had to make sure that IBM Cognos Software version 10.2.2 could be installed on the IBM Power platform, and also to conduct research to determine the approximate amount of resources required. After the planning phase was completed, a logical partition (LPAR) was created with the appropriate characteristics for installing and running IBM Cognos Software. In this case, all components were installed on the same logical partition:
')
After analyzing the hardware of the IBM Cognos Software software, I came to the conclusion that the installation requires the following sizes of disk pools (the first is system, the second is for software installation and data storage):
After I conducted a study on the compatibility of software components, based on the technical documentation of IBM Cognos Software, it was decided to install this software on the operating system AIX version 7.1. The maximum number of Cognos Software components is compatible with this version of the operating system:
Due to the fact that more workstations on the x86 platform are running on Windows and Linux systems, it makes sense to install the client part of Cognos Software on them, rather than use the AIX operating system's X Window connection mechanism. As an example, I can give the component Architect / Perspectives, which should be installed on the client side. Work with server components is implemented through a web interface.
Solution Architecture
Understanding the architecture of the solution being developed is the key to planning. IBM Cognos Software consists of two main server components with which it is best to start the installation using the AIX operating system's X window connection mechanism:
- Cognos Business Intelligence
- Cognos TM1
To understand the functional structure of these components, I provide diagrams of their architectures:
- IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Architecture
IBM DB2 Version 10.5 for the AIX 7.1 operating system was chosen as the database management system. IBM HTTP Server (IHS) version 6.0 was selected as the web server.
- IBM Cognos TM1 architecture
For a more complete understanding of the implementation of the client-server connection in this software, the interaction of the TM1 Server and TM1 Admin Server is shown in the following diagram:
TM1 Admin Server registers TM1 Servers after they are created, clients connect to the Admin server to receive information about TM1 servers, namely: server name, IP address, protocol, port number.
After obtaining information about the servers, customers can establish connections. The name of the Admin Server must be entered in the server configuration file - tm1s.cfg, in the Admin Host field. If this field is left blank, the server will try to connect to the Admin Server on the local machine. Also, for correct configuration and connection establishment between the created TM1 Server and Admin Server, it is necessary to register the IP address and port number of the created server in the tm1s.cfg file.
Admin Server learns about the existence of servers by listening to notifications from them, which are sent by default every 60 seconds. Then I decided to provide a description of some of the problems that can be encountered during installation, as well as ways to solve them.
Description of problems and solutions. Undocumented features.
During the execution of the project, I was faced with a number of undocumented features. To ensure that the IBM Cognos Software installation process proceeds smoothly, I will describe most of them. For convenience, I shared the features with respect to the server components of the software.
When installing the Cognos Business Intelligence component:
The IBM Cognos Configuration utility is used to install and run Cognos Software services. During the installation of Cognos Software version 10.2.2, by iterating over different versions of Java, it was determined that Java version 8 was used to launch it. Working with IBM Cognos Configuration takes place using the AIX operating system to connect to the X Window.
After hours of trying to install DB2 10.5 using the db2setup graphical installation utility, the installation was performed manually using the db2_install command line utility. You do not need to install the DB2 pureScale Feature. Then an instance is created that has one owner and one service user. We create groups for the owner and service user. Add unlimited limits to the / etc / security / limits file. Freeing or simply assigning the port 50000, which will be used to connect to the database. Create an entry in / etc / services. Next, from under the user - owner of the instance, we launch the database using db2start. Create a database.
To avoid re-installing Cognos Business Intelligence, you must first define the environment variables in the / etc / profile file:
#set java environment JAVA_HOME=/usr/java8/jre PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH:/usr/ibm/cognos/c10/bin LIBPATH=/usr/ibm/cognos/c10/bin export JAVA_HOME export PATH export LIBPATH When configuring a component, I had to stop and start Cognos Software services many times. In some cases, when you started using the IBM Cognos Configuration utility, the error 'Corrupted Cryptography Keys' occurred. The solution to the problem can be found at the link (Steps to Regenerate Cryptography Keys).
After installing Cognos Business Intelligence, you need to copy the files from the installation directory to the directory containing the Java library:
- bcprov-jdk14-134.jar file from /usr/ibm/cognos/c10/bin/jre/6.0/lib/ext in java6 / JRE_location / lib / ext
- from the c10_location / bin / jre / version / lib / security directory copy the local_policy.jar and US_export_policy.jar files to JRE_location / lib / security
When installing the Cognos TM1 components:
In my case, the task was not only to integrate the software and the Power platform, but also to transfer the data of an existing Cognos project from the Windows Server. Since doing this directly with Windows on UNIX will not work, it is best to use the tm1xfer utility (see the documentation).
The IBM Cognos Configuration utility is used to install and run Cognos Software services. When installing Cognos Software version 10.2.2, by enumerating different versions of Java, it was determined that Java version 7 was used to launch it.
After numerous failed attempts to connect to the server using TM1 Architect, it was revealed that to establish a connection, it is necessary to register in the tm1s.cfg file for each TM1 Server: IPaddress = <your IP>
If you try to log in to the server using TM1 Web, the default password may not work, namely admin / Apple. In this case, you must manually reset this password. To do this, stop the server, rename the file} ClientProperties.cub to} ClientProperties.cub.old and start the server again. This will remove all user passwords. Then you need to go to the server, leaving the 'Password' field empty and set a new password for each user.
In order to make changes to the Applications user interface when working with TM1 Web, you must use the files in the ... / externals folder
That's probably all, and I hope that my experience will be useful for those who will face installing IBM Cognos Analytics Software on the Power / AIX platform.
If you have to work with the Power platform, or have to face it in the future, then the source of information can be either the official IBM website or the portal of the independent community of “fans” of this platform aixportal.ru .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/329642/
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