To Add Connection to LDAP sever:

5 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

• Right click on ‘Directory Server’ and say ‘Add connection’.
• A pop-up will appear as shown in the snapshot below.
• Add the following details in the pop-up
Add host: Cognos url
Port : 389
Base DN : o=organization.com

The connection is added.

Now we see the ‘Default’ namespace under the Directory Server.

Under the default namespace we see

• User
• Root User Class
• Application Server
• Data Source

To make LAE :

Right click on the namespace and say ‘Export to .LAE’

Scheduling Reports

5 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Scheduling Reports
You can schedule reports to run at a time that is convenient for you, such as during off hours when demands on the system are low.
You can schedule reports individually or in a group by using a job. You can schedule reports to run by minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.
Only one schedule can be associated with each report or job. If you require multiple schedules for the same report, you can create report views and then create a schedule for each report view. Jobs have their own schedules, and these schedules are independent from report schedules.
After you create a schedule, the report or job runs at the time and date specified. You can then manage the properties of your schedules.
Prompts in Scheduled Reports
If a report that contains prompts is scheduled, you must save the prompt values or specify default values to ensure that values exist when the report runs according to the schedule.
In a job, you can specify prompt values for job steps. When a report runs as part of a job, the prompt values saved in the job definition are used instead of the values saved with the report. If no values are specified in the job definition, ReportNet uses the values saved in the report.
SCHEDULE A REPORT
You schedule a report to run it at a later time or at a recurring date and time.
If you no longer need a schedule, you can delete it. You can also disable it without losing any of the scheduling details. You can then enable the schedule at a later time.
ReportNet keeps history information and report outputs each time a report runs according to a schedule. You can specify how many occurrences to keep or for how long to keep them. For example, you can keep the history and report outputs for the ten latest occurrences or for schedules that ran in the last two months. Use the report history to see the times at which the reports ran and whether the reports ran successfully.
To schedule a report or report view, you must have read, write, execute, and traverse permissions for it. You also require the following access permissions to any data sources used by the report.
• dataSource - Execute and Traverse
• dataSourceConnection - Execute and Traverse
(With only Execute access, you are prompted to log on to the database.)
• dataSourceSignon - Execute

Schedule Multiple Reports at Once

You can set the same schedule for multiple reports by creating a job. A job identifies a collection of reports, report views, and other jobs that are scheduled together and share the same schedule settings. When a scheduled job runs, all the reports in the job run.

Jobs contain job steps, which are references to individual reports, jobs, and report views. You can specify whether to run the steps all at once or in sequence.

When the steps are run all at once, all the steps are submitted at the same time. The job is successful when all the steps run successfully. If a step fails, the other steps in the job are unaffected and still run, and the job has a Failed status.

When the steps are run in sequence, you can specify the order in which the steps run. A step is submitted only after the preceding step runs successfully.

The individual reports, jobs, and report views in steps can also have individual schedules.

To schedule a report or report view, you must have read, write, execute, and traverse permissions for it. You also require the following access permissions to all data sources used by the report.

• dataSource - Execute and Traverse
• dataSourceConnection - Execute and Traverse

(With only Execute access, you are prompted to log on to the database.)

• dataSourceSignon - Execute

Schedule a Report Based on an Event

You can schedule a report based on an event, such as a database refresh. You specify an event to act as a trigger. When that event occurs the report runs.

This functionality is also available through Event studio.

Start Query Studio in Preview Mode

6 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

You can configure Query Studio to start in preview mode. Users can then create or modify reports without retrieving actual data from the database. Instead, simulated data is shown.

If you later upgrade IBM Cognos 8, you must reapply this configuration.
Steps

1. Using IBM Cognos Configuration, stop IBM Cognos 8.
2. Rename the c8_location\templates\ps\async\system.xml.sample file to
system.xml.
Tip: To restore the regular mode, rename the
c8_location\templates\ps\async\system.xml file to system.xml.sample.

3. Using IBM Cognos Configuration, start IBM Cognos 8.

Unsupported IBM Cognos 8 Formatting

6 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

About 30% of the formatting functions available in IBM Cognos 8 are not supported in Microsoft Excel. In particular, Excel does not allow changing locale-dependent formatting attributes, such as the following:

Decimal Separator

Exponential Symbol

Group Separator

Monetary Decimal Separator

AM String

Day Name

Day Short Name

Decimal Delimiter Symbol

Month Name

Month Short Name

PM String

In addition, Excel does not support the following:

Format Width

International Currency Symbol

List Separator

Percent Symbol (Excel does not support percent symbols for charts)

Multiplier

Overline Text Format

PerMill Symbol

Plus Sign

Scale (Excel has a different scaling formula than IBM Cognos 8)

Calendar (Excel does not allow changing the calendar)

Era Name

First Day Of Week

Show Era

(TR0112) There isn't enough memory available

9 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Error:
(TR0112) There isn't enough memory available.

Reason:
"Enable Mutli-Processing" enabled on datasources and the addition of the new datasource appears to push the limitations of this feature based on the size of the data being pulled.
Remove multi-processing from datasources


1. Open the model in Transformer
2. Right click the datasource and select "properties"
3. Click on the General tab
4. Uncheck "enable multi-processing" and click OK
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for all data source entries
6. Test / Build


Also ensure that there are enough system resources available when building the cube. This includes plenty of free memory, diskspace, and processor time. For example, if your database is using up 90% of the memory while you attempt to launch rsserver to build cubes, the cube build will fail at some point due to lack of memory available. Lack of memory in this case can also seen via monitoring the syslog (on unix system only) file.

TR1907 Transformer cannot gain access to database

9 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

When a cube is automated to rebuild on a regular basis, transformer fails to create the cube due to the failed authentication. Transformer prompts for user password even if the prompt for password box is unchecked in the Signon Property Sheet and Include Access Manager auto-access in the model is checked in the authentication tab of Model Property Sheet.
Error Details:
(TR1907) Transformer can't gain access to database 'Database Name' with signon information 'username'. [->Cancel] PowerPlay Transformer
Reason:
The Database signon is not recognized by Transformer via Access Manager due to an incorrect database name. Database name specified within transformer needs to be exactly the same as the one set up within Access Manager. This is also case sensitive.

Use Access Manager to record the database authentication and set the auto-access to access manager's signon. Cognos common signons are set to flown from Access Manager user class as well as the database signon

Steps:

1. Create the data source in Access Manager Admin Console
2. Add user signos into the user class Administrator
3. Uncheck the box against Prompt for Password in the user signon property sheet
4. Within datasource property sheet, specify the datasource name, which should be exactly the same as the one in Access Manager. The datasource name is case sensitive.
5. Activate "Include Access Manager auto-access in the model" from Authentication tab of the Model Property Sheet

Interesting article……

9 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Interesting article……

What killed Ranjan Das and Lessons for Corporate India

A month ago, many of us heard about the sad demise of Ranjan Das from Bandra, Mumbai. Ranjan, just 42 years of age, was the CEO of SAP-Indian Subcontinent, the youngest CEO of an MNC in India. He was very active in sports, was a fitness freak and a marathon runner. It was common to see him run on Bandra's Carter Road. Just after Diwali, on 21st Oct, he returned home from his gym after a workout, collapsed with a massive heart attack and died. He is survived by his wife and two very young kids.

It was certainly a wake-up call for corporate India. However, it was even more disastrous for runners amongst us. Since Ranjan was an avid marathoner (in Feb 09, he ran Chennai Marathon at the same time some of us were running Pondicherry Marathon 180 km away), the question came as to why an exceptionally active, athletic person succumb to heart attack at 42 years of age.

Was it the stress?
A couple of you called me asking about the reasons. While Ranjan had mentioned that he faced a lot of stress, that is a common element in most of our lives. We used to think that by being fit, one can conquer the bad effects of stress. So I doubted if the cause was stress.

The Real Reason
However, everyone missed out a small line in the reports that Ranjan used to make do with 4-5 hours of sleep. This is an earlier interview of Ranjan on NDTV in the program 'Boss' Day Out':
http://connect.in.com/ranjan-das/play-video-boss-day-out-ranjan-das-of-sap-india-229111-807ecfcf1ad966036c289b3ba6c376f2530d7484.html < http://connect.in.com/ranjan-das/play-video-boss-day-out-ranjan-das-of-sap-india-229111-807ecfcf1ad966036c289b3ba6c376f2530d7484.html >
Here he himself admits that he would love to get more sleep (and that he was not proud of his ability to manage without sleep, contrary to what others extolled).

The Evidence
Last week, I was working with a well-known cardiologist on the subject of ‘Heart Disease caused by Lack of Sleep’. While I cannot share the video nor the slides because of confidentiality reasons, I have distilled the key points below in the hope it will save some of our lives.

Some Excerpts:

· Short sleep duration (<5> compared to those who slept longer than 6 hours per night. Paper published in 2009.
As you know, high BP kills.

· Young people (25-49 years of age) are twice as likely to get high BP if they sleep less. Paper published in 2006.

· Individuals who slept less than 5 hours a night had a 3-fold increased risk of heart attacks .. Paper published in 1999.

· Complete and partial lack of sleep increased the blood concentrations of High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-cRP), the strongest predictor of heart attacks. Even after getting adequate sleep later, the levels stayed high!!

· Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Tumour Necrosis Factor-Alpha (TNF-alpha) and C-reactive protein (cRP). They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease . Paper published in 2004.

· Sleeping for <=5 hours per night leads to 39% increase in heart disease. Sleeping for <=6 hours per night leads to 18% increase in heart disease. Paper published in 2006.

Ideal Sleep
For lack of space, I cannot explain here the ideal sleep architecture. But in brief, sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and non-REM. The former helps in mental consolidation while the latter helps in physical repair and rebuilding . During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The earlier part of sleep is mostly non-REM. During that period, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the latter part of sleep is more important. No wonder when you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep , you are mentally irritable throughout the day ( lack of REM sleep ). And if you have slept for less than 5 hours , your body is in a complete physical mess ( lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down (I’ve been there, done that L )

Finally, as long-distance runners, you need an hour of extra sleep to repair the running related damage.

If you want to know if you are getting adequate sleep , take Epworth Sleepiness Test below.



Interpretation : Score of 0-9 is considered normal while 10 and above abnormal. Many a times, I have clocked 21 out the maximum possible 24, the only saving grace being the last situation, since I don’t like to drive (maybe, I should ask my driver to answer that line J )

In conclusion:

Barring stress control, Ranjan Das did everything right: eating proper food, exercising (marathoning!), maintaining proper weight. But he missed getting proper and adequate sleep, minimum 7 hours. In my opinion, that killed him.
If you are not getting enough sleep (7 hours), you are playing with fire, even if you have low stress.

I always took pride in my ability to work 50 hours at a stretch whenever the situation warranted. But I was so spooked after seeing the scientific evidence last week that since Saturday night, I ensure I do not even set the alarm clock under 7 hours. Now, that is a nice excuse to get some more sleep. J

Unfortunately, Ranjan Das is not alone when it comes to missing sleep. Many of us are doing exactly the same, perhaps out of ignorance.

Flow of Data in Cognos Powerpaly Transformer 7.4

10 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Use Transformer to create structured models from various data sources that you then distribute as multidimensional PowerCubes.
You begin by assessing your source data and planning how to organize it to support the types of
business analysis that are important to you. You then build a model that specifies the location of
this data, and the way you want Transformer to restructure it. Finally, you create a PowerCube to distribute to your PowerPlay Enterprise Server administrator or to your PowerPlay users, who can then create reports to distribute to other PowerPlay or Upfront users.

Everybody loves Hanuman by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik

10 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik written this article . Its an amazing must read.........

Published in Corporate Dossier, Economic Times supplement, 4 April 2008

Hanuman plays an important role in the Ramayan, yet in the epic itself, he does not hold any great position. He is just one of the many monkeys Ram encounters in the forest. He is not Sugriva, leader of the monkey troop. He is not Angad, who is told to lead the band of monkeys searching for Sita. He is not Jambavan, the bear or Nila, the monkey, who are given the responsibility of building the bridge. He is projected as an obedient follower who, through his intelligence, strength and courage, wins the admiration of Ram and emerges as one of the most revered characters of the tale and a god in his own right. But at no point does Hanuman make any attempt to steal anyone’s glory; while in his own temple he stands powerful with mountain in hand and feet on a demon, in Ram’s temple he is most content sitting at the feet of his master, hands in supplication.

Who would not want a Hanuman in his team? One who is very good at his work, one who will do whatever he is told to do, one who will never seek either reward or recognition and one who finds validation in obeying his master.

If we go to Raju’s auto repair shop, we will find that all the work is done by his Hanuman: Amol, a young boy, who has been working with Raju for three years. Amol is a natural, able to fix the most complex of problems. Raju knows he can totally rely on Amol. No job is too big or too small for Amol. He is as happy changing a tyre, as he is fixing the brakes. He does not boss over the juniors and does not feel slighted if the seniors ask him to fetch tea. If there is a problem that eludes a standard solution, everyone knows that leave it to Amol – he will, like Hanuman crossing the sea, find a way.

Yes, it matters greatly to have a Hanuman in our team. One who will not question you. One who will do exactly what you tell him to do. One who delivers no matter what the odds. One who is loyal and devoted. But is that really good?

The following is a folk story of Hanuman: Hanuman once narrated the entire Ramayan to his mother, Anjani. After the narration, an impressed Anjani sought a clarification. “You are so strong that with a flick of a tail you could have destroyed the whole of Lanka, killed Ravan and rescued Sita. Why did you not do so? So much effort and time would have been saved – you would not have had to build a bridge to Lanka, you could have avoided the war. Why did you not do that?”

Hanuman replied, “Because Ram never asked me to.”

And suddenly we wonder if this was opportunity lost. Hanuman was asked to discover Sita’s location; he did that. Hanuman was asked to fetch the mountain of herbs that would save Lakshmana’s life; he did that. No one asked him to destroy the Rakshasas and rescue Sita. Do he did not do that. One common explanation given for why Ram never asked Hanuman to kill Ravan and rescue Sita is that it was Ram’s duty to rescue Sita, not Hanuman’s. Ramayan is about Ram, not Hanuman. But it is not so in the corporate world; the story is about the entire organization, not just about the leaders.

In the entire epic, Hanuman proves his capability time and time again. On his way to find Sita, he displays his extraordinary power (crosses the ocean), brain (outwits the snake-demon Surasa), brawn (kills Simhika) and integrity (not resting on Mandara mountain). And yet, while everyone admires this, no one seems eager to take full advantage of it. Was this refusal to take advantage of Hanuman’s abilities a divine decision or merely a oversight? Is the same being done in the corporate world?

Yes, Raju loves Amol’s work. Yes, Raju admires Amol’s work. But is Raju harnessing the full potential of Amol? Is his contentment with Amol’s obedience preventing him from seeing all that Amol can do, proactively, creatively, independently, if he is given the freedom to do so? Ask Raju and he will say, “But I don’t stop Amol from doing anything.” He does not stop Amol from doing anything, but he does not encourage Amol from doing something either.

The greatest danger of having Hanumans in our team is that his actions are limited by our directions. Maybe we fear that if Hanuman thinks for himself, there will be chaos – he is a monkey after all. Maybe we fear that he will overshadow us. Hence, ultimately, only we decide the goals, we define the vision, we declare the mission and state the objective. Our Hanuman will help you realize all this. But, maybe, the goals could have been greater and grander, if we had let Hanuman do more than merely obey.

Amol once had given Raju a suggestion. “Sir, if we park our cars perpendicular to the wall rather than parallel we can keep more cars in the garage?” Raju ignored this suggestion. “Do you work,” he snapped at Amol without giving his words much thought. But the message he implicitly gave Amol was that – ‘I only want your obedience, not your intelligence.’ Amol immediately complied. And that marked the end of Amol’s creativity that would have perhaps made Raju’s auto repair shop a much greater success.

This is the danger of over compliance and extreme obedience. We prevent followers from thinking and contributing. It makes business sense therefore to take a closer look at the Hanumans in our team; we just might find in their hearts a Ram waiting to be coaxed out.

http://devdutt.com/everybody-loves-hanuman

IBM Cognos Express Webminar

11 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Join unveil IBM Cognos Express – the first and only integrated, one-stop BI and planning solution purpose-built and priced for midsize companies.
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/cognos-express/index.html?mc=-eb_ibm_hp
Thanks and regards
Abhishek

IBM Cognos Express Webminar

11 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Join unveil IBM Cognos Express – the first and only integrated, one-stop BI and planning solution purpose-built and priced for midsize companies.
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/cognos-express/index.html?mc=-eb_ibm_hp
Thanks and regards
Abhishek

Load Balancing In Cognos 8

12 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Automatic Load Balancing

How to use Pass Through SQL in Report Studio

12 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

If you place curly braces ({}) around your SQL statement in a Tabular SQL object, that SQL statment will be sent directly to the database. Note that no validity checking is done on the SQL, so the report author is fully responsible for the correct operation of the SQL statement.
Steps:
Create a Tabular SQL object.
Write you SQL statement. Ensure that it is surround by curly braces. For example, if your SQL statement isSELECT * FROM ORDER_HEADERyou need to write it as:
{SELECT * FROM ORDER_HEADER}

Cognos 8 Cubes Information

12 months ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Types of SQL generated by Cognos 8

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

CAFE (Cognos Analysis for Excel) Basic

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Just wanted to share a video about the integration of Cognos8 with Excel.

Cognos 7.4 Transformer on UNIX Version

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Why Use Transformer on UNIX?
Transformer on UNIX offers additional capabilities to those available with Transformer on
Windows, including
• increased performance. Depending on the size of the server, Transformer on UNIX may be
able to generate models and cubes faster than local processing on a computer.
• easier integration of cube builds and data warehouse updates. It is easier to integrate these
processes if they both run under the same operating system.
• faster processing. If your database resides on the same UNIX server, processing performance
and build times may improve as a result of a reduction in network traffic.

The Client-Server Communications Process
When you use the Server menu to issue commands from Transformer on Windows to Transformer on UNIX, Transformer on Windows and Transformer on UNIX communicate according to the following process:
1. Using a Windows Sockets compliant TCP/IP connection, Transformer on Windows passes the
request to the network daemon (udanetd), the PowerGrid network daemon.
2. The network daemon receives the request, starts Transformer on UNIX (rsserver), and
connects it to Transformer on Windows. After that, Transformer on Windows and rsserver
communicate directly with each other via TCP/IP and library routines. The rsserver program
gets information in the form of Model Definition Language (MDL) verb statements from
Transformer on Windows. The rsserver program uses settings defined in the environment
where PowerGrid was started and searches for the Transformer preferences files (trnsfrmr.rc
and .trnsfrmr.rc) that provide additional operational settings.
3. Once started, Transformer on UNIX carries out the requests, such as generating categories for a model or creating cubes, on the server.
An important part of this communication process is synchronization.

Before you can create server models and cubes, you must ensure that
• both PowerGrid udanetd and Transformer on UNIX are installed and configured on the
computer where you will be creating server cubes.
• a local connection is defined on the Windows computer for the server where udanetd and
Transformer on UNIX are installed.
the server environment is set up so that Transformer on UNIX creates models and cubes
where and how you want them created.

Define a Client-Server Connection
Add a Connection Using NetInfo
NetInfo is a utility that enables you to add and test connections to PowerGrid on the server.

Steps to Create a Connection
1. Start NetInfo.
2. From the File menu, click Edit Connections.
3. Click New to add a new connection.
4. In the Network Type box, click Windows Sockets TCP/IP.
The entries shown depend on what is defined in your cogconnect.ini file. By default,
cogconnect.ini contains an entry for Windows Sockets. However, it may contain additional
entries if you are using other IBM Cognos products.
5. In the Host Name box, click or type the name of the server on which PowerGrid and
Transformer on UNIX are installed.
If NetInfo is able to find a Hosts file, it will provide you with a list of host names from that
file. If no Hosts file is found, you must type the name or the IP address of the server on which
PowerGrid and Transformer on UNIX are installed. If you don’t know the name of the server,
contact your network administrator.
6. In the Host Type box, click UNIX.
7. In the User Name box, type your login ID for the computer specified in the Host Name box.
Transformer uses this ID when connecting to the server.
Note: Under certain circumstances, you must click the Setup button to change the local
configuration for the connection you are creating. If the network port ID was not set to 1526
when PowerGrid was configured, you must change your local port setting to match the
network port ID. If it was set to 1526, you can skip steps 8 to 10 and proceed to step 11.
8. Click Setup.
9. Click Use Specific Port for This Connection, and type a number for the network port.
Your local port ID must match the network port. In the following example, the
cern/bin/netpgrc script on the server where PowerGrid is running shows the value 3125.
Therefore, you would type 3125 in the Use Specific Port for This Connection box.
# port number
NPNETD=3125
10. Click OK, and click Save.
11. In the Connection to be Saved box, type a name for your connection, click OK, and then click
Done.


Test a Connection Using NetInfo
Once you have defined a connection, and before you issue a command to Transformer on UNIX
for the first time, use NetInfo to test the connection. Using NetInfo is similar to using a ping utility when testing network connections; it verifies that messages are being sent to udanetd, and that udanetd is responding to them.
Steps to Test a Connection
1. Start NetInfo.
2. From the Network menu, click Test Connection.
3. In the Connection Name box, double-click the name of the connection you want to test.
NetInfo sends a test packet to udanetd via PowerGrid.
If the connection is working correctly, NetInfo shows a message that looks like this:
Network: Microsoft Windows Sockets Version n
The current address is ‘[142.80.66.251#0]’
---- Test ‘1’ ----
Reply received from udanetd owned by ‘root’ [PID=’818’]
If the connection is not working, verify that
• udanetd is running on the server
• the port number defined for your connection matches the one defined on the server


Transformer on UNIX Shell Scripts
When PowerGrid starts Transformer on UNIX, it does so using an entry in the cogconnect.ini file.
The entry looks like this:
[Service - Transformer Server]
NETWORK=rsserver.sh
PowerGrid udanetd uses the shell script rsserver.sh to start Transformer on UNIX when a request is issued from Transformer on Windows. Before you attempt to use Transformer on UNIX, ensure that the Transformer server service is defined in your cogconnect.ini file and that the shell script is in the search path when starting udanetd on the server. You can also edit your rsserver.sh file to set up environment variables, which Transformer on UNIX uses to generate models and create cubes.
Note: If the Transformer server service is not defined in the cogconnect.ini file, run the
Configuration Manager to apply Transformer configuration parameters.

Update a PowerCube Connection in Cognos 8

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Update a PowerCube Connection
If a PowerCube has been rebuilt, you can update the connection information without affecting
current users. To do this, you must first update the connection information to the rebuilt PowerCube, and then refresh the report servers to use the rebuilt PowerCube for new connections.
The updated PowerCube will be used for all new sessions referencing that data source. Any user
that has an active session against the data source may have to re-open their session. Old PowerCubes can be removed only after all sessions using that PowerCube have ended.
When you rebuild the cube, we recommend that you use a new name for the PowerCube, such as
including the current date in the new name. You can then store the rebuilt PowerCube in the same location as the old PowerCube. For convenience, Cognos provides the sample script cubeswap.bat or cubeswap.sh that is located in the c8_location/webapps/utilities/cubeSwap directory. You can get more information about the script syntax by running the script without any parameters.
Tip: You can automate this task using the Cognos 8 SDK to hot swap PowerCubes. For more
information, see the SDK Developer Guide.
For information about refreshing report service connections, see

Steps
1. In Cognos Connection, in the upper-right corner, click Launch, Cognos Administration.
2. On the Configuration tab, click Data Source Connections.
3. Click the data source representing the cube you want to update.
4. Click the set properties button for the connection you want to update.
5. Click the Connection tab.
6. Click the edit button for the connection string.
7. Change the file path and name to point to the rebuilt cube.
Tip: To test whether parameters are correct, click Test. If prompted, type a user ID and password
or select a signon, and then click OK.
8. Click Close, and Close again, then click OK, and OK again to return to the data sources page.
9. In the left pane, click Dispatchers and Services.
10. Click the refresh report service connections button .
Any new connections to the PowerCube will use the updated cube.

Refresh Report Service Connections

If a PowerCube has been rebuilt, you can update the connection information without affecting
current users. To do this, you must first update the connection information to the rebuilt PowerCube, and then refresh the report servers to use the rebuilt PowerCube for new connections.
Steps
1. Start Cognos Connection.
2. In the upper-right corner, click Launch, Cognos Administration.
3. On the Status tab, click System.
4. With all servers displayed, click the check box for the servers you want, and from the Toolbar
actions menu, click Refresh report service connections.

Tip: You can also do this from the Actions menu next to System, servers, and dispatchers. You
can also click the Configuration tab, and then click Dispatchers and Services, and then click
the Refresh Report Service Connections - Configuration button.
5. When the View the results page appears, ensure that the operation has been successful and then click Close.

Drill Through in IBM Cognos 8 Powerplay Cubes

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

In IBM Cognos 8, drill-through targets are created in IBM Cognos Connection using package-based
(or model-based) drill-through definitions.
There are several benefits to authoring and storing the drill-through paths in IBM Cognos Connection
instead of in the Transformer model:
?The Transformer modeler does not need to specify any target reports or settings in the model
for the purposes of drill through.
? When changes to drill-through paths are required, the PowerCube does not have to be rebuilt
or updated.As a result, end users are less affected by cube rebuilds or updates.
? Drill-through paths can be defined by report or analysis users.
Because report or analysis users can define drill-through paths according to their needs, they
are less dependant on the Transformer modeler.

Note: In Transformer version 7.x, when the PowerCube was to be used in an IBM Cognos 8 drill throughdefinition, the Transformer modeler was required to enable the Allow drill through for this PowerCube check box on the Drill Through tab on the PowerCube property sheet. This ensured that the source value was passed as the business key during PowerCube to relational scenarios. In Transformer version 8.x, this is not required; the source value will always be passed as the business key to relational target reports.

What Is the Difference Between Analysis Studio and PowerPlay Studio?

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

You are a PowerPlay user and wonder how Analysis Studio differs from IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay Web functionality. Analysis Studio provides deep comparative analysis, which IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay Web does not offer. IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay Web offers a rich exploration experience, whereas Analysis Studio provides guided exploration.
IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay Studio brings the IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay Web interface to IBM Cognos 8.
One of the biggest differences between Analysis Studio and IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay Studio is that Analysis Studio enables analysis of information independent of where your data is stored. This means that you can analyze and report against both online analytical processing (OLAP) data sources and dimensionally-aware relational sources.
PowerPlay users who are familiar with PowerPlay Web functionality and exploration capabilities, and who expect the same functionality and exploration capabilities in IBM Cognos 8 should consider moving to IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay Studio.
PowerPlay users who perform analysis, or deep comparative analysis, use unbalanced hierarchies, or use large data sets will find that Analysis Studio is well suited for their business needs. Consider migrating IBM Cognos Series 7 applications that would benefit from this functionality in Analysis Studio when the time is right for your business.
You can also migrate PowerPlay applications to IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay Studio, afterward, users can choose to move from IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay Studio to other IBM Cognos 8 studios.

What is IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay?

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay provides the data analysis and exploration capabilities that are familiar to IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay report authors, analysts, and users in an IBM Cognos 8 environment.
By integrating with IBM Cognos 8, PowerPlay is able to take advantage of the IBM Cognos 8
architecture and features while preserving your existing PowerPlay applications and user experience.
IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay brings the proven exploration and analysis capabilities of IBM Cognos
Series 7 PowerPlay into the IBM Cognos 8 environment. IBM Cognos 8 PowerPlay maintains the
familiar appearance and functionality of IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerPlay for report authors and
users, and also provides the enhanced server architecture and scalability of the IBM Cognos 8
environment.
The IBM Cognos 8 service-oriented architecture makes possible the integration of PowerPlay into the IBM Cognos 8 environment.
Among the benefits, this architecture

• allows the PowerPlay service in the IBM Cognos 8 environment to continue to use the same
  query engine as in IBM Cognos Series 7.
  As a result, PowerPlay reports and other content, such as cubes, bookmarks, security policies,
  and Upfront hierarchies, migrate easily into the IBM Cognos 8 environment.
• adds PowerPlay as an IBM Cognos 8 studio and allows PowerPlay to interact with other IBM Cognos 8 studios.
  For example, users can open PowerPlay reports in other studios that are available to them.
  Users can also drill through from PowerPlay to other studios. In IBM Cognos 8, making drill through available to users requires less involvement from modelers and administrators than in IBM Cognos Series 7.
• maintains the data analysis and exploration capabilities of PowerPlay
  Report authors can continue to work with a familiar interface to produce reports, also leverage the features of other IBM Cognos 8 studios.
• provides a single access point for all IBM Cognos 8 administration settings.
  IBM Cognos Administration is a zero-footprint Web-based interface that provides flexible
  access to administration settings.

Important Info For Migration of Cubes

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Transformer
You can use IBM Cognos PowerCubes and Transformer models that were generated by Transformer 7.3 or later directly in IBM Cognos 8. The cubes and models are upwards compatible and require no migration or upgrade tools. You can run reports and analyses in IBM Cognos 8 against the IBM Cognos PowerCubes.
If you want to use the integration features of Transformer with IBM Cognos 8, you can upgrade
IBM Cognos Series 7.x Transformer models to IBM Cognos 8 BI Transformer 8.3 or higher. This
allows you to use IBM Cognos 8 data sources (such as published packages), list reports authored
in Query Studio or Report Studio, authenticate using IBM Cognos 8 security, and publish directly to IBM Cognos Connection.
If the model was secured in IBM Cognos Series 7 you must configure the IBM Cognos Series 7
namespace in IBM Cognos 8 before you load the model. The name ID that you use to configure
the namespace in IBM Cognos 8 must match the name used in IBM Cognos Series 7.
For more information about upgrading IBM Cognos Series 7 secured PowerCubes, see the IBM
Cognos 8 Transformer User Guide.
For IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerCubes to be used in IBM Cognos 8, we recommend that you
optimize the cubes for use in IBM Cognos 8 by using the pcoptimizer utility, which is supplied with IBM Cognos 8. Otherwise, PowerCubes that were created with previous versions of Transformer may take too long to open in the IBM Cognos 8 Web studios. This optimization utility is suitable for older PowerCubes when the model no longer exists or the data used to build the PowerCube is no longer available. It is not necessary to run this command line utility for cubes created in IBM Cognos 8 Transformer. For more information about optimizing PowerCubes, see the Transformer User Guide.

You can publish single PowerCube data sources and packages to IBM Cognos Connection interactively in Transformer or in the command line. You can also publish silently using batch scripts after building a PowerCube. A user who has privileges to create data sources and packages in IBM Cognos Connection can publish PowerCubes in IBM Cognos Connection as well. The MDC file must be in a secured location that the IBM Cognos 8 dispatcher can access. Packages that use multiple PowerCubes or PowerCubes mixed with other data sources should be published using Framework Manager.
If you use an IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerCube as a data source, IBM Cognos 8 converts the cube
data from the encoding that was used on the system where the PowerCube was created. For a successful conversion, IBM Cognos Series 7 PowerCubes must be created with a system locale set to match the data in the PowerCube.

INSTALLATION PROCESS FOR IBM G0! DASHBOARD MULTI-SERVER INSTALL

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Functionality of "Save Report"option in "Select a delivery method" In Cognos

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Problem(Abstract)
When a report run in Cognos Viewer and when report take time, a pop-up appear and we can select "Select a delivery method". At this step we can show 3 options, one of them is "Save Report". When you select "Save Report", nothing appear and you go back to the main portal.

Cause
When you click the "Save option", the report will be transferred to a background report process, executed and it's output saved. The immediate action the user is seeing is being taken back to the portal as the report will run in the background. If you go into the Administration tools, you could see that there is a background execution of the report running. Once it is finished, you should see the saved output icon next to the report in the portal. This may need a refresh on the portal.
One problem with this may happen with prompted reports, where the prompt page buildup takes long enough to get the options popup displayed. If you select save in this situation, I believe nothing is going to happen as the prompts are not yet fulfilled.
Resolving the problem
No action

Cognos8 Express authoring mode

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

One of the best features of Cognos is adhoc reporting, users can get any data without the help of professional report developer using query studio.
There was a limitation with query studio, users were not able to use advance reporting features.
Now in Cognos 8 users are able to use advance features as well because Cognos 8 introduced Express authoring mode.
The Express authoring mode provides a simplified and focused Report Studio interface.It is designed for non-technical users to create traditional financial and management statement reports.Note :Express authoring mode allows access only to dimensionally-modeled data and uses a member-oriented data tree.This authoring mode allows you to see live data and supports only crosstab reports.It contains a subset of the features available in the Professional authoring mode.When you are in the Express authoring mode, if you open a report that was authored in the Professional authoring mode, you can see but cannot modify objects that can be inserted only in the Professional authoring mode, such as charts, maps, and lists.Then what are you waiting for? Just grant the access of Express authoring mode to your users and let them get benefit of using Cognos8 as their information management tool.

"Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past…"

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

I haven't written this article myself, but came across it on net. Its an amazing must read.........

"Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past…"
This is a story of an elderly carpenter who had been working for a contractor for the past 53 years. He had built many beautiful houses but now as he was getting old, he wanted to retire and lead a leisurely life with his family. So, he goes to the contractor and tells him about his plan of retiring. The contractor feels sad at the prospect of losing a good worker but agrees to the plan because the carpenter had indeed become too fragile for the tough building work. But as a last request, he asks the old carpenter to construct just one last house.
The old man agrees and starts working but his heart was not in his work anymore. He had lost the motivation towards work. So, he resorted to shoddy workmanship and constructed the house half-heartedly. After the house was built, the contractor came to visit his employee's last piece of work. After inspecting the house, he handed over the front door keys to the carpenter and said, "This is your new house. My gift to you." The carpenter was shocked and upset. Had he known that he was building his own house, he would have done a better job!".
Think of ourselves as the carpenter. Though we work hard every day, we put our least to some work, which we don't like and get shocked at a situation we have created for ourselves and try to figure out why we didn't do it differently.
Learn to enjoy your responsibilities with pleasure and not with pain. "Life is a do-it-yourself project". Do your job enthusiastically and with devotion, a positive output and a pleasing life will certainly be on your way.

Feature list of information management tool

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

Few days back, our technology excellence group gave me a Cognos 8 features list to review.
I had to review the features supported by cognos 8 .
After reviewing it I got to know some new features of Cognos 8.

I also came across some features that were not directly supported by Cognos 8 but could be implemented indirectly.
There were certain features which we never knew existed in Cognos because I did not get a chance to implement those in the Project that I am working.
Having a knowledge of these features certainly helped me understand the tool better.
I can now use this feature list to compare Cognos 8 with various information management tools in the market so as to give informed consultancy to my clients.

Below is the link to Cognos 8 feature list

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=rCcMS5fI3RE-z560jsqEo7A&output=html

Business rule documentation embedding in report

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

When I first started working on Cognos the first task assigned to me was to prepare report specification document. This document gives an idea about the design of a report as well as business rules implemented in the Report. It took me around 3 Days to deliver that document.
We then had a brain storming session where we discussed how we make documentation process simpler.
As a team (Cognos pool) we came up with certain points and finally decided to create one documentation page in the report itself.
This documentation page should not visible to users and developers only would have access to it.
The separate report page mentions all the business rules as well as additional information about the objects in report.
Ram created template which contains one documentation page. Now whenever we start building a new report we use the same template.
Embedding the documentation in application made our documentation simpler. It has worked for us. Do you think it can work for you??

Cognos8 automated documentation

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

I have been hearing since the time I worked with cognos series 7 that there needs to be a way to automatically documents the Specifications of the Framework Model
Thanks to Cognos 8 now we have an automated framework model specification generation technique.

Create Model Documentation

After you model the metadata, you can create an HTML or XML representation of the model that can be customized and printed.

When you create model documentation, you can document the entire model or you can select a subset of the model.
















To document the entire model, you click the top-level namespace. The model documentation shows the selected object and all the properties and children of that object.

















You can view, save, or print the report in HTML or XML format.

Steps
1. Click the object that you want to document.
Tip: Click the top-level namespace to document the entire model.
2. From the Tools menu, click Model Report.
The model report appears.
You can save, print, or change the format of the report.


But what if some one still using cognos series 7,
Dont worry there is java code available on googlecode to generate model specification doc.
http://code.google.com/p/cognos-documentation/

I hope this will save some efforts for documentation.

Cognos 8 express authoring mode

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

One of the best features of Cognos is adhoc reporting, users can get any data without the help of professional report developer using query studio.

There was a limitation with query studio, users were not able to use advance reporting features.

Now in Cognos 8 users are able to use advance features as well because Cognos 8 introduced Express authoring mode.

The Express authoring mode provides a simplified and focused Report Studio interface.
It is designed for non-technical users to create traditional financial and management statement reports.
Note :Express authoring mode allows access only to dimensionally-modeled data and uses a member-oriented data tree.This authoring mode allows you to see live data and supports only crosstab reports.
It contains a subset of the features available in the Professional authoring mode.When you are in the Express authoring mode, if you open a report that was authored in the Professional authoring mode, you can see but cannot modify objects that can be inserted only in the Professional authoring mode, such as charts, maps, and lists.
Then what are you waiting for? Just grant the access of Express authoring mode to your users and let them get benefit of using Cognos8 as their information management tool.

Cognos8 automated documentation

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

I have been hearing since the time I worked with cognos series 7 that there needs to be a way to automatically documents the Specifications of the Framework Model
Thanks to Cognos 8 now we have an automated framework model specification generation technique.

Create Model Documentation

After you model the metadata, you can create an HTML or XML representation of the model that can be customized and printed.

When you create model documentation, you can document the entire model or you can select a subset of the model.
















To document the entire model, you click the top-level namespace. The model documentation shows the selected object and all the properties and children of that object.

















You can view, save, or print the report in HTML or XML format.

Steps
1. Click the object that you want to document.
Tip: Click the top-level namespace to document the entire model.
2. From the Tools menu, click Model Report.
The model report appears.
You can save, print, or change the format of the report.


But what if some one still using cognos series 7,
Dont worry there is java code available on googlecode to generate model specification doc.
http://code.google.com/p/cognos-documentation/

I hope this will save some efforts for documentation.

SVN Structure is it important?

about 1 year ago | Abhishek Dharga: Face The Truth

As we started a new phase in our project there was a discussion on whether to create a seprate SVN structure or continue using the old one for storing Project Artifacts. Finally we decided to create a seprate structure and kept both new svn and old one in a same directory folder with proper naming convention and contact information in comments feature of SVN.
Then we created a template of how we will keep our SVN folder structure.
For example whether to keep documents release specific or sprint specific.
Thanks to our scrum master we got certain valuable suggestions.
We uploaded that template as well in SVN folder. This template will help new team members know about the location of a specific document .
Are you following the same practice?