Installing Cognos BI 10.2.2.Questions and AnswersQ: Is there any way to get a Sybase database running in the DQM/64bit environment?A: I have not worked with Sybase, but they are listed as being supported:http://www-969.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity-reports/report/html/prereqsForProduct?deliverableId=1391013543612Q: Can we go straight from Cognos 7 to 10.2.2?A: There is not content store in Series 7, so it becomes more of a migration than an upgrade. We can work with you and review your current environment in order to put together a plan.Q: Is Framework Manager still 32-bit?A: Yes.Q: Does Cognos have plans to deprecate cqm?A: Not anytime soon.Q: Also is it possible to get a listing of all the IBM files that are needed to download to get ready?A: The only requirement is the Cognos 10.2.2 BI Server (32 or 64 bit). Framework Manager and Transformer/Cube Designer will be needed to publish new packages.Q: 10.2.1 could not import csv file?A: External data was an option but features were limited. You can now bring in more data and its stored in a standalone package on the BI Server.Q: If I have 2 gateways, and 2 dispatchers, should GW A point to DispB, and GW B point to DispA?A:We would need to review your existing environment. Usually both gateways would point to Disp A and Disp A would be preferred to load balance.Q: What about WebSphere Liberty in place of Tomcat in this version?A: This is a new application server that is now the default. Tomcat is still available as well.Q: Can I simply use my current 10.2.1 content store?A: You can use your existing content store and have your new Cognos 10.2.2 instance upgrade it automatically. Ensure you have a backup in case of any issues. However, best practices recommend using a content store export/import.Q: Can I go/upgrade from 10.1.1 to 10.2.2?A: Yes you can. One of the things they fixed in 10.2.2 was the problem with dependencies that people had to deal with within the fix packs.Q: We have multi-server environment, with a total of 10 servers (2 gateway, 2 Content manager, 6 dispatcher servers). Our Cognos admin installed multiple dispatchers in each machine. In total, he has installed 18 dispatchers separate installation in 6 machines. Have you ever seen this kind of install? The servers are virtual and not that great hours power on (like 2 cpu and 8 to 16 gb RAM). What is your advice?A: That is an unusual setup but without any background and info about report usage and concurrent users, its difficult to know for sure. Contact us if you would like us to perform a health check, give recommendations and offer assistance.Q: Can you provide additional details on Access Manager support ending soon?A: Access Manager is part of Cognos Series 7.5. According to IBM Cognos, it is no longer being marketed and support will end April 30, 2018:http://www-01.ibm.com/software/support/lifecycleapp/PLCDetail.wss?synkey=T356772Q53488G06-R600646Q18801Z77-M723101K94372F84Q: Is adaptive analytics compatible with this version?A: Are you looking for integration with Adaptive Planning and Cognos BI?Q: From a SQL Server database standpoint, does 10.2.2 support SQL Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014?A: Yes, they are both supported for 10.2.2.Q: Are you saying that adaptive analytics is being deprecated for BI? What is the IBM Cognos warehouse solution?A: There are several options available. Give us a call to discuss.Q: Can you talk a little about ssl setup?A: SSL adds an extra few tasks to a Cognos installation and configuration project. Chapter 9 in the guide is a good starting point:http://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/documentation/docs/en/10.2.2/inst_cr_winux.pdfQ: Have you heard when next version of Cognos BI is being released or when 10.2.X is planned for end of life?A: There is no date for the next release as of today. 10.2.2 was released in November 2014 and 10.2.1 was released in June 2013. Based on those dates, it might happen by the end of the year.Q: I know that we need a 32-bit Oracle client, but do we really need 64-bit installation too?A: If you plan to use DQM with Oracle, then you will need 64-bit client.Q: Is Windows 2008 still supported for 10.2.2?A: Yes, it is still supported. Please refer to the list below for full details:http://www-969.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity-reports/report/html/osForProduct?deliverableId=1391013543612#osFamily-4Q: Should installing the Fix Pack 1 will affect and stop the existing 10.2.2?A: Yes, you will need to stop the Cognos services to apply the fix pack.Q: I inherited a 10.1.1 install. Is it beneficial to have multiple Dispatchers, each with its own port, in a single server install? Does this really provide load balancing?A: It can help if you have a server with a lot of resources as there are limitations on how much memory a dispatcher can access; however if the server crashes there will be no failover. Best practices recommend multiple servers for each component.Q: What do you recommend as far as an upgrade strategy going from dev, test, and production of 10.2.2?A: Recommended strategy is to upgrade dev in parallel to previous version, validate and test. Once complete, repeat for test and production.Q: In the three-tier environment (data-app-web), on what server are we supposed to modify the two config files to point it to isapi?A: It will be on your gateway/web server.Q: With quick start install, does that gateway use IIS? We use Apache and are having problem with 64-bit install of Apache.A: No the Cognos Quick Start option uses a limited servlet gateway.Q: What's the best practice on installing Fix Pack 1 to existing 10.2.2?A: If you are doing the initial install, recommend to apply Fix Pack 1 directly after. If you are already up and running and have users active, you will need to find an off-hour to shut down services and apply the Fix Pack.Q: Is there an issue with Adobe and the version that is supported in BI reporting?A: No, Adobe/PDF reports should still function as they did in the past.Q: Will Cognos still support Metrics Manager?A: Yes, Metrics Manager 10.2.2 exists as an add-on.Q: I believe Access Manager only works with Windows Server 2003 and less. Since Windows Server 2003 is out of support in July 2015. Access Manager will only work on non-supported O/S.A: Windows Server 2008 is the last version that will support Access Manager 7.5:http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27038188Q: Is Data Manager going to be still supported in 10.2.2?A: Data Manager is still supported, but not available past 10.2.1.Q: When will support for Cognos 8 expire?A: Cognos 8 support has already expired.Q: Do you anticipate that there will be as many Fix packs for 10.2.2 as there were for 10.2.1?A: We are at the six-month mark and FP1 was just released. Hard to say how many there will be, but so far looks to be less.Q: Why does cgi-bin need to be an application and not a virtual directory?A: This allows you to use it with the dedicated Cognos application pool, providing better stability and performance.Q: Does this need to be a new install or do you upgrade the existing 10.2.1?A: This will need to be a new install.Q: Any chance of getting a demo of how to do an active dir security setup?A: There are no plans to do a webinar on this currently, but we will keep this in mind for the future.Q: Currently we have SQL Server Cognos repository. Is it possible to switch to Oracle as part of upgrade?A: You can export your SQL Server content store to a deployment zip, setup a new Oracle database connection in Cognos 10.2.2 and import the content.Q: Cognos at Bucknell is currently a fully distributed environment on Linux. I am considering moving the Gateway to Micorsoft IIS because I do not want to have to create or pay for a JSP to accomplish SSO. Can you speak to simplicity or complexity of SSO and/or CAS when the Gateway is on IIS?A: We would need to know more about your current security requirements, but typically SSO on IIS is very simple and straightforward.Q: What's the utility name to migrate access manager to other namespace like Active Directory? Thank you.A: There is not a utility that I know of. It is usually a planned manual exercise or a third party tool like Motio is used.Q: If you use quick start , can you go back in and point to sql server and other production features?A: The Cognos configuration utility is the same as in standard installations and can be configured or reconfigured to meet your needs.Q: How do we determine if a multi server install is needed verses a single server install?A: This is usually determined by several factors. Concurrent users, work load, and required resources (CPU and RAM) can all play into determining the best fit.Q: Can we migrate SUNONE to Active directory?A: There is not a specific tool for this, but it can be done.Q: On the 'modify HTML and Web.Config Files' slide, it says to find the web.config in [Cognos Install]\cgi-bin is it not in the webcontent dir?A: No, it should be in the cgu-bin directory if you installed the way I reviewed in the webinar.Q: Isnt tabbed page option already available in 10.2.1? Is it different?A: Not that I am aware of. IBM touted this as a major feature in 10.2.2.Q: Do you have any test plans examples you can send on post migration?A: Give us a call and we can review.Q: We've been told we have to do a full install, not an upgrade. What is your take on this?A: That is correct. Cognos 10.2.2 is a new install, the upgrade is done on your content.Q: How complicated is the upgrade from 10.2.1 FP5 to 10.2.2 FP1? Can we upgrade in place? Or it has to be a lift and shift?A: It is still a lift and shift, but the process is standard to upgrades you may have done in the past.Q: 10.2.2 FP1 is now out. Have you looked at this yet? Is this an important fix pack? Is 10.2.2 stable enough for people to move forward with in their production environments?A: Senturus always recommends you apply the fix packs when they are release. We have not seen any issues with 10.2.2 but there are hundreds of bugs that were resolved in FP1 and you may want to apply to prevent them from occurring.Q: In dev, Cognos should use the extension cgi, and in production, should use asapi?A: There is no harm in doing so, but Senturus recommends you use the same setup you will be using in production to test and validate any issues before moving to production.Q: Is there any tips on cleaning a 10.1 content store of old unused data prior to upgrading? We have maintained a content store thru upgrades thru several old versions. Any content store clean?A: There are some options in 10.2.2 to help with this such as consistency checks, content removal and archival, and retention rule updates. Using a combination of these maintenance tasks should help.Q: After installing 10.2.2 (Windows Server 2008), when I export to Excel (data or format) or CSV, this yields an error. Anyone else experienced this? IBM Support says try IE10, but IE8 is included in approved list on 10.2.2 compatibility site, and our enterprise is not on IE10 yet.A: Cognos 10.2.2 should support IE 8-11, although 10 and 11 require compatibility mode enabled for some features. It might not be browser-related, or it might be a security setting in your IE. Try adding your Cognos site to your safe site list and ensure file downloading in enabled. The full list of supported browsers is here:http://www-969.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity-reports/report/html/softwareReqsForProduct?deliverableId=1391013543612&osPlatform=Windows#sw-16Q: Is 10.2.2 the last version that supports Analysis and Query Studio?A: That is correct. Existing content will continue to run. All new content will be created through Workspace Advanced. You can see our recent webinar on this topic here:http://www.senturus.com/resources/transitioning-to-cognos-workspace-advanced/Q: Is the Content Store database upgrade is better, or the deployment upgrade?A: You can certainly copy the DB and use that for Cognos 10.2.2 and should not have any issues. The Content Store export and import is the preferred method, as it will use this chance to perform some housekeeping and optimization on your existing content.Q: Is Transformer going to be 64-bit anytime or getting phase out like some studios?A: Transformer is not going away anytime soon but dont hold your breath for a 64-bit version. Each Cognos release has added functionality for Dynamic Cubes and it seems to be where IBM Cognos is currently focused.Q: What's latest for 10.2.2? Any Fix Packs?A: Fix Pack 1 was released last month.Q: Should we run a report upgrade or will the import of the 10.2.1 Content Store do an adequate upgrade?A: The content store import should be fine.Q: Any performance gains in using dot net framework 4.0 on the gateways?A: We have not had a chance to benchmark this yet.Q: Can 10.1.1 content store DB be copied to the 10.2.2 DB or must an export and import be done?A: You can certainly copy the DB and use that for Cognos 10.2.2 and should not have any issues. The Content Store export and import is the preferred method, as it will use this chance to perform some housekeeping and optimization on your existing content.Q: I have Cognos FM 10.2.1 installed on my local machine and i have tried opening a model file but I receive a message this model file has been created using a newer version of FM?A: Without knowing more about the model, it would appear that this is the case. You can try downloading the new version of FM and seeing if you can open it using that.Q: Is there an upgrade to the audit database? If you upgrade and then rollback will we be able to use the audit database, or is it the same as the content store issue (where a back is required), or create new database and then export/import?A: The audit database does not get updated. Depending on what version you currently run, there may have been new tables and columns added to the audit database to support logging for new Cognos capabilities. Best practices recommends creating a new audit database and adding in your old one as a separate data connection for historical purposes.Q: Is 10.2.2 supported on Windows 2008?A: Yes, it is. The full list of supported environments can be found here:http://www-969.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity-reports/report/html/osForProduct?deliverableId=1391013543612#osFamily-4Q: Can you install two versions on the same server (10.1 and 10.2)?A: Absolutely. Senturus recommends this approach if you arent provisioning new servers for your upgrade.Q: Can you migrate from Data Manager to DataStage easily?A: To see the recording of our recent Data Manager webinar, visit:http://www.senturus.com/resources/cognos-data-manager-support-changes/Q: What is the recommended RAM Memory in a server development installation?A: It depends on several factors in your environment such as # of users, complexity of reports being run, etc. 16GB is a good starting point if you plan to install all components in a single server environment. Please refer to the following link for recommending hardware sizing:http://www-969.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity-reports/report/html/softwareReqsForProduct?deliverableId=1391013543612&osPlatform=Windows