Configuration Options

After you install and configure IBM Cognos 8, you can change the configuration for your environment. Initially, default property settings are used to configure the components. However, you may want to change these default settings if existing conditions make the default choices inappropriate, or to better suit your environment.

For example, you can configure features for IBM Cognos Application Firewall or specify the amount of resources IBM Cognos 8 uses. Also, you can deliver IBM Cognos content using another portal by configuring Portal Services.

You can configure IBM Cognos 8 to use other resources, such as using an authentication provider and then enabling single signon for the database connection and the users.

If you use a load-balancing scheme in your environment, you can change settings to improve performance. For example, you can balance requests among dispatchers by changing their processing capacity or by setting the minimum and maximum number of processes and connections. For more information about tuning server performance, see the Administration and Security Guide.

If you are upgrading from ReportNet, you have several configuration options depending on if you want to continue to use your existing installation. For information about upgrade options, see Upgrading from ReportNet, Metrics Manager, or Earlier Versions of IBM Cognos 8.

For all Windows and most UNIX and Linux installations, use IBM Cognos Configuration to configure your settings. However, if the console attached to the UNIX or Linux computer on which you are installing IBM Cognos 8 components does not support a Java-based graphical user interface you must manually edit the cogstartup.xml file in the c8_location\configuration directory, and then run IBM Cognos Configuration in silent mode.

Use these optional configuration tasks to customize your configuration so that IBM Cognos 8 easily integrates into your existing environment.

	Change default configuration settings.
	Create a new content store using Cognos Content Database.
	Configure the SSL protocol.
	Configure log messages.
	Change global settings.
	Change the gateway.
	Change IP address version.
	Set up ODBC data connections to Sybase IQ or Netezza.
	Configure the router to test dispatcher availability.
	Configure IBM Cognos 8 to work with other IBM Cognos products.
	Update file location properties on Windows Vista.
	Configure a source control system for Framework Manager Metadata.
	Configure IBM Cognos 8 Transformer.