The IBM Cognos 8 Java application server contains the Content Manager servlet and dispatcher servlet. By default, IBM Cognos 8 installs and uses Tomcat as the default application server. You can also configure IBM Cognos 8 to use another Java application server.
Regardless of the application server you use, to enhance and maintain IBM Cognos 8 performance, you should monitor memory settings and connection limits and tune them based on IBM Cognos 8 usage characteristics.
The memory settings of your application server dictate the memory that is available to IBM Cognos 8 dispatchers and services managed by the Java servlet.
In IBM Cognos Configuration, the default memory allocation is 768 Megabytes. If you expect many users and report requests, you may want to increase the memory allocation beyond the default.
The memory allocation strategy for your application server depends on the available capacity of your resources, and on the resource needs of other applications running on the server. In general, we recommend that you configure your application server with a minimum of 512 Megabytes of memory for multi-user applications. You may be able to reduce application server memory to 256 Kilobytes, but you should only consider this for single users, or for proof of concept or demonstration applications.
To configure Apache Tomcat memory settings, use IBM Cognos Configuration or alternative methods. For information about using IBM Cognos Configuration, see the Installation and Configuration Guide. If you use an application server other than Tomcat, consult the documentation for that product.
For the IBM Cognos 8 dispatcher to service the expected number of requests, it is important to configure the connection limits of your application server. Depending on your application server, connections may be referred to as threads. The setting applied will determine the number of available connections, or threads, that can be handled simultaneously by the application server process.
To configure Apache Tomcat connection settings, use the \conf\server.xml file located in the Tomcat directory in your IBM Cognos 8 installation location. IBM Cognos 8 uses the settings for the coyote connector.
If the value of this application server setting is too low, users may encounter difficulties when making IBM Cognos 8 requests. It is a good practice to monitor the application server process and its use of connections.