IBM Cognos BI Installation & Configuration on Redhat Linux

Those who normally work with Cognos BI on Windows Server, find it difficult to install and configure on Linux. In this blog we’ll see steps involved in this installation and configuration on RHEL. There are three parts to it.

1)      Meet the pre-requisites (Hardware & Software)

2)      Install and configure Cognos BI Server components

3)      Install and configure HTTP server

Cognos Framework Manager and Transformer are client tools and must be installed on Windows.

Meet the pre-requisites (Hardware & Software)

Let’s start with step -1. You can go thru standard supported environment specification on IBM site (http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27037784). Here I am going to install Cognos BI V 10.2.1 on RHEL 6.4 system with the specification shown in below screenshot.

 We need to ensure installation of required patches before we start Cognos installation:

• glibc-2.12-1.80.el6 (both ppc and ppc64 packages) - 32 and 64 bit glibc libraries
• libstdc++-4.4.6-4.el6 (both ppc and ppc64 packages) - 32 and 64 bit libstdc++ libraries
• nspr-4.9-1.el6 (both ppc and ppc64 packages) - 32 and 64 bit nspr library for CAM ldap provider
• nss-3.13.3-6.el6 (both ppc and ppc64 packages) - 32 and 64 bit nss library for CAM ldap provider
• openmotif-2.3.3-4.el6 (both ppc and ppc64 packages) - 32 and 64 bit openmotif libraries

One way to get these libraries is to download them independently from various Linux websites and install them. The other and probably the better way is to use your OS (RHEL 6.4 in this case) disk or .ISO image for the process. I am going to use the second option here. First I copied “RHEL6.4-20130130.0-Server-x86_64-DVD1.iso” file in /data folder (newly created) then mounted it as /media and update repository.

mount -oloop RHEL6.4-20130130.0-Server-x86_64-DVD1.iso /media

vi /etc/yum.repos.d/server.repo
rpm --import /media/*GPG*

yum clean all

  

Now to check if glibc package is already installed or not, use below command:

rpm –qa | grep glibc

If package is installed you’ll get file list (name ending with .x64_64 or .i686) in return otherwise we need to install it including dependencies using below command:

 yum install glibc.i686    // For 32-bit

 yum install glibc.x86_64  // For 64-bit

Repeat the same process for libstdc++, nspr, nss, openmotif.

We also need to have JDK 7 installed as prerequisite. I am downloading IBM JDK 7 from IBM site (http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/linux/download.html ) for Linux 64-bit environment and install it as shown below.

./ibm-java-x86_64-sdk-7.1-1.1.bin

It is installed in /opt/ibm/java-x86_64-71. Now we are ready for step-2.

Install and configure Cognos BI Server components

As shown below in snapshot, I have copied these 5 server components –

·         Cognos BI Server 10.2.1

·         Cognos BI Samples (optional)

·         Cognos SDK (optional)

·         Cognos Mobile (optional)

·         Cognos Dynamic Query Analyzer (optional)

 First unzip the package using below command –

  tar –xvf bi_svr_10.2.1_l86_ml.tar.gz

     cd linuxi38664h

     ./issetup

  It would open GUI based installation wizard, as shown below -

From here steps are self explanatory. I am selecting all four components from ‘Component Selection’ screen as I want all on my single server. By default ‘Cognos Content Database’ is not selected. In case, you plan to create content store somewhere else you can go ahead without it.

 Once the installation is over you can go ahead with Cognos Samples, SDK, Mobile and other server components. Add the bcprov-jdk14-134.jar  from  /cognos/c8_64/bin64/jre/1.5.0/lib/ext/bcprov-jdk14-134.jar to the $JAVA_HOME/lib/ext path

 cp /opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/bin64/jre/7.0/lib/ext/bcprov-jdk14-145.jar /opt/ibm/java-x86_64/jre/lib/ext

We also need to add JAVA_HOME in cogconfig.sh file before opening Cognos Configuration tool.

vi /opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/bin64/cogconfig.sh

And add below line as first executable command of cogconfig.sh file.

 Export JAVA_HOME=/opt/ibm/java-x86_64/jre

Save it and run it to start Cognos service.

./opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/bin64/cogconfig.sh

Just test if Cognos BI service is running successfully by opening “http://localhost:9300/p2pd/servlet” on browser.

Install and configure HTTP server

You can choose your choice of HTTP server here. I am using IBM HTTP Server (32-bit). It is no-charge and can be downloaded from –

www.ibm.com/software/webservers/httpservers/download

Unzip downloaded package, update JAVA_HOME in “IHS/install” file and run it.

tar –xvf ihs.7000.linux.ia32.tar

cd IHS

vi install

./install

It’ll open GUI wizard for installation.

 After successful installation we’ll add necessary virtual directories in configuration file.

 vi /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/conf/httpd.conf

Add below lines in httpd.conf

# Cognos #

# Load Cognos Apache 2.2 Module

LoadModule cognos_module "/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin/lib/mod2_2_cognos.so"

# Add WebDAV lock directory, make sure the LoadModule dav_module modules/mod_dav.so and LoadModule dav_fs_module modules/mod_dav_fs.so are uncommented

DAVLockDB /tmp/DBLOCK

# Alias for the cgi scripts

ScriptAlias /ibmcognos/cgi-bin "/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin/"

<Directory "/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin">

AllowOverride None

Options None

Order allow,deny

Allow from all

</Directory>

# Alias for the Cognos webcontent folder

Alias /ibmcognos "/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/webcontent"

<Directory "/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/webcontent">

Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews IncludesNoExec

AddOutputFilter Includes html

AllowOverride None

Order allow,deny

Allow from all

DAV on

</Directory>

Find out below lines and add ‘#’ in the beginning to comment them.

# LoadModule was_ap22_module /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/Plugins/bin/32bits/mod_was_ap22_http.so

# WebSpherePluginConfig /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/Plugins/config/webserver1/plugin-cfg.xml

We can save it now. We’ll create two file – one two start the server and another to stop it.

Create startIHS.sh with below code –

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin:/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin/lib

./apachectl start

And stopIHS.sh with –

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin:/opt/ibm/cognos/c10_64/cgi-bin/lib

./apachectl stop

Copy both files in /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/bin and run startIHS.sh to start the server.

  cd /opt/IBM/HTTPServer/bin

./startIHS.sh

Here’s your Cognos BI server ready for use. Open “http://localhost:80/ibmcognos” on local machine or use IP address/hostname instead of ‘localhost’. In my case, HTTP server is running on 80 port number (default).

 If you want to upgrade it with fix pack 3 which is latest please get it from below link and install it.

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24037728

References:

IBM Cognos 10.2.1 official documentation (Knowledge Center)

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27037021#cbiv10r2m1en

Business Intelligence Installation and Configuration Guide

http://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/documentation/docs/en/10.2.1/inst_cr_winux.pdf

Business Intelligence Architecture and Deployment Guide

http://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/documentation/docs/en/10.2.1/crn_arch.pdf

Cognos 10.1 installation and configuration steps on Windows XP 32-bit

Here IBM Cognos 10.1 BI Server installation & configuration steps are shown thru snapshots for Windows XP SP3 - 32 bit environment. However steps should not be very different for Windows 2000/2K3/2K8 on 32-bit or 64-bit environment. 

Step-1) Please unzip the package and run 'issetup.exe' from 'win32' folder.

Step-2) From below shown screen you can download Installation guide which is very helpful if you are doing so first time.

Step-3) Read the license agreement carefully and accept terms.

Step-4) Select the location where you want to install it.

Step-5) Select components to be installed. If you want to create content store in DB2/Oracle/MSSQL Server then you need to select last option as shown below. Otherwise select all options (Recommended). I am going to create content store in IBM DB2 9.7 here.

Step-6) With last screen installation is complete successfully. Select the check box to open IBM Cognos Configuration. However you can also open it from Start -> All Programs -> IBM Cognos 10 -> IBM Cognos Configuration.

Step-7) This is the place where you can see & change the configuration for C10 BI server. I am going to set content store in DB2 9.7. If during installation you had selected all 4 components then you need not to follow below steps, directly go to Step-10. If you don't have IBM DB2 installed on machine, you can download express edition of DB2 from http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/downloads/im/udbexp/ and install it. Its free and easy to install.

Set environment variables ( first 4) as shown below. 

Step-8) Create DB as instructed below and set Db name, user id and password in Cognos Configuration as shown in snapshot.

Start-> Run Program-> type 'db2cmd' and press enter.

C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2 create db cm pagesize 32 k

DB20000I  The CREATE DATABASE command completed successfully.

C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2 connect to cm

   Database Connection Information

 Database server        = DB2/NT 9.7.2

 SQL authorization ID   = VMANORIA

 Local database alias   = CM

C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2 update db configuration using applheapsz 102

4

DB20000I  The UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION command completed successfully.

C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2 update db configuration using locktimeout 24

0

DB20000I  The UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION command completed successfully.

SQL1363W  One or more of the parameters submitted for immediate modification

were not changed dynamically. For these configuration parameters, all

applications must disconnect from this database before the changes become

effective.

C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2stop force

11/15/2010 20:22:30     0   0   SQL1064N  DB2STOP processing was successful.

SQL1064N  DB2STOP processing was successful.

C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN>db2start

11/15/2010 20:22:37     0   0   SQL1063N  DB2START processing was successful.

SQL1063N  DB2START processing was successful.

CREATE BUFFERPOOL BP32K IMMEDIATE  SIZE 250 PAGESIZE 32 K ;

CREATE BUFFERPOOL BP4K IMMEDIATE  SIZE 250 PAGESIZE 4 K ;

CREATE  SYSTEM TEMPORARY  TABLESPACE TBS32K PAGESIZE 32 K  MANAGED BY AUTOMATIC STORAGE EXTENTSIZE 16 OVERHEAD 10.5 PREFETCHSIZE 16 TRANSFERRATE 0.14 BUFFERPOOL  BP32K ;

CREATE  USER TEMPORARY  TABLESPACE TBS4K1 PAGESIZE 4 K  MANAGED BY AUTOMATIC STORAGE EXTENTSIZE 16 OVERHEAD 10.5 PREFETCHSIZE 16 TRANSFERRATE 0.14 BUFFERPOOL  BP4K ;

CREATE  USER TEMPORARY  TABLESPACE TBS4K2 PAGESIZE 4 K  MANAGED BY AUTOMATIC STORAGE EXTENTSIZE 16 OVERHEAD 10.5 PREFETCHSIZE 16 TRANSFERRATE 0.14 BUFFERPOOL  BP4K ;

CREATE SCHEMA VMANORIA AUTHORIZATION VMANORIA;

CREATE SCHEMA ADMINISTRATOR AUTHORIZATION ADMINISTRATOR;

GRANT  DBADM,CREATETAB,CONNECT,IMPLICIT_SCHEMA,SECADM ON DATABASE  TO USER ADMINISTRATOR;

GRANT  CREATEIN,DROPIN,ALTERIN ON SCHEMA VMANORIA TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

GRANT USE OF TABLESPACE TBS32K TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

GRANT USE OF TABLESPACE TBS4K1 TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

GRANT USE OF TABLESPACE TBS4K2 TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

GRANT USE OF TABLESPACE TEMPSPACE1 TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

GRANT USE OF TABLESPACE USERSPACE1 TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

GRANT USE OF TABLESPACE SYSCATSPACE TO USER ADMINISTRATOR WITH GRANT OPTION;

Step - 9) Copy DB2 drivers from 'C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\java' folder to 'C:\Program Files\IBM\Cognos\c10\webapps\p2pd\WEB-INF\lib' as shown below.

Step-10) Test the connection in IBM Cognos Configuration before we start the service. Once its OK we can start the service.

 

Start the Cognos service by clicking on the Play button.

 You will get a “test phase warning” that the testing of the mail server failed.  No mail server has been configured, click OK and then Continue.

 

When the Cognos service has started, click Close.

 Step-11) Now, we are ready to configure IIS server to run Cognos application. If IIS server is not installed on your machine, please follow these steps - 

1.                   Open Control Panel.  Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
2.                   Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3.                   Ensure the Internet Information Services (IIS) check box is selected.
4.                   Highlight Internet Information Services (IIS), and then click Details.
5.                   Ensure all of the check boxes for the subcomponents are selected.
6.                   If any of the check boxes are grayed out, highlight the subcomponent, click Details, and then select all of the check boxes.
7.                   When you are finished, click Next>, then wait for the configuration.  Click Finish, then close the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, and then close Control Panel.

Once its up and running, Open Control Panel.  Double-click Administrative Tools.  When the Administrative Tools window comes up, double-click Internet Information Services:

 In Internet Information Services, in the left pane, expand Default Web Site, right-click Default Web Site, point to New, and then click Virtual Directory.

Click Next. Under Alias, type ibmcognos, and then click Next.

Browse to C:\Program Files\IBM cognos\c10\webcontent, click OK, and then click Next.

Deselect the Run scripts check box, so only Read is selected; click Next.

 Click Finish. 

Right-click the ibmcognos virtual directory folder, point to New, and then click Virtual Directory. Click Next.

 

Under Alias, type cgi-bin, and then click Next. 

Browse to C:\Program Files\IBM\cognos\c10\cgi-bin, click OK, and then click Next.:

Step-12) Once done with above steps, Open IE (I am using IE8) and open link http://localhost/ibmcognos 

It would show you below screen. With this IBM Cognos 10.1 is installed & configured successfully and its ready for use.