Log messages are an important diagnostic tool for investigating the behavior of IBM Cognos 8. In addition to error messages, log messages provide information about the status of components and a high-level view of important events. For example, log messages can provide information about attempts to start and stop services, completion of processing requests, and indicators for fatal errors. Audit logs, which are available from a logging database, provide information about user and report activity.
The IBM Cognos 8 services on each computer send information about errors and events to a local log server. A local log server is installed in the c8_location/logs folder on every IBM Cognos 8 computer that contains Content Manager or Application Tier Components. Because the log server uses a different port from the other IBM Cognos 8 components, it continues to process events even if other services on the local computer, such as the dispatcher, are disabled.
The following workflow shows the tasks that are required to prepare for logging.
During planning, determine the logging configuration that is suitable for your environment. For example, evaluate various log message destinations, such as remote log servers and log files, such as the UNIX or Linux syslog or the Windows NT Event log, in addition to the local log file. You can also send only audit logging information to a database. Consider security, such as methods available for protecting log files from system failures and user tampering. For information about planning, see the Architecture and Deployment Guide. During configuration, define the startup properties for logging, such as connection settings for databases. You must also create a logging database if you plan to collect audit logs. If communication between a local log server and a remote log server must be secured, make the appropriate configuration changes on both IBM Cognos 8 computers. For information about configuring logging, see the Installation and Configuration Guide. When setting up logging, specify the level of detail to log to focus messages on the information that is relevant in your organization. Audit reports may also be set up to track user and report activity. For information about setting up logging, see the Administration and Security Guide.
For information about using log messages to solve problems and resolving logging-related issues, see the Troubleshooting section of the Administration and Security Guide.
Create a logging database.
For DB2, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, or Sybase, use the same procedure that was used to create the content store database
.
For DB2 on z/OS, use the instructions in Suggested Settings for Creating the DB2 Logging Database on z/OS.
The database you create must contain some recommended configuration settings.
Use the following checklist to help you set up the logging database on DB2.
Log on to the z/OS system as a user with administrator privileges in DB2 on z/OS.
Create a database instance, storage group, and a user account for the content store. IBM Cognos 8 uses the credentials of the user account to communicate with the database server.
Ensure that you allocate a buffer pool with a page size of 8 KB for the database instance.
For a logging database in DB2 on z/OS, administrators must run a tablespace script to create tablespaces to hold large objects and other data for the logging database, and then grant user rights to the table. For information about running the tablespace script, see Create Tablespaces for DB2 Logging Database on z/OS.
Not all of the parameters listed are in the script, but may be added in the future.
Parameter Name | Description |
IPFSCRIPT_DATABASE | Specifies the name of the logging database. |
IPFSCRIPT_STOGROUP | Specifies the name of the storage group. |
IPFSCRIPT_TABLESPACE | Specifies the name of the tablespace that contains the base tables in the logging database. This tablespace is not for Auxiliary tables. |
IPFSCRIPT_LOB_TABLESPACE | Specifies the name of the tablespace that is allocated for auxiliary tables. |
IPFSCRIPT_BP | Specifies the name of the 8 k buffer pool that is allocated for regular objects. |
Specifies the user account that accesses the logging database. |
The logging database is created.
After you create a database for audit logs, additional steps are required to set up the database client if you use Oracle, DB2, or Sybase as the database server.
You cannot use Cognos Content Database as a logging database.
Note: In a distributed environment, the local log server on an Application Tier Component computer may send log messages to a remote log server, which then sends messages to the logging database. For Oracle, Sybase, and DB2, the appropriate JDBC driver and database client software (DB2 only) is required only on the Application Tier Components computer with the remote log server that connects to the logging database.
IBM Cognos 8 uses JDBC connectivity to access the database used for the logging database.
For more information about JDBC driver options for a DB2 database, see JDBC Driver Options for Using DB2 Database as a Content Store.
For more information about the differences between type 2 and type 4 drivers, see JDBC Driver Options for Using DB2 Database as a Content Store.
If you are using type 2 JDBC connectivity, and the logging database is on a different computer than log server, configure a database alias to the logging database.
On Windows, run the DB2 Client Configuration Assistant.
On UNIX or Linux, use the DB2 command line interface.
Note: If the logging database and log server are on the same computer, the logging database name automatically becomes the alias.
On Windows, stop the DB2 services and the HTML Search Server.
Copy the following files from the DB2_installation/sqllib/java directory to the c8_location/webapps/p2pd/WEB-INF/lib directory.
the universal driver file, db2jcc.jar
the license file
for DB2 on Linux, UNIX, or Windows, db2jcc_license_cu.jar
for DB2 on z/OS, db2jcc_license_cisuz.jar
Tip: To check the driver version, run the command java -cp path\db2jcc.jar com.ibm.db2.jcc.DB2Jjcc -version.
On Windows, restart the DB2 services and the HTML Search Server.
Repeat this entire procedure on the IBM Cognos 8 computers where the software must be installed.
UNIX or Linux syslog or the Windows NT Event log
For information about log messages, see the Architecture and Deployment Guide.
Before you specify a database as a destination, ensure that you
created the logging database set up the database client
In the Properties window, use the following table to help set the log server properties.
| Task | Action |
Use TCP between IBM Cognos 8 components on a computer and its local log server | Set the Enable TCP property to True. UDP provides faster communication with a lower risk of lost connections than TCP. However, the risk of losing a local TCP connection is low. TCP is always used for communication between a local log server and a remote log server. |
Change the number of threads available to the local log server | Type the value in the Local log server worker threads property. Set a value between 1 and 20. The default value of 10 is recommended. However, if you have a high number of log messages, you can allocate more threads to improve performance. |
Apply UTF-8 encoding for log messages written to a file | Set the Use UTF8 encoding property to True. If the IBM Cognos 8 component is using multibyte encoding, you must set this property to True and use a UTF-8 editor to view the log file. Otherwise, the log file may contain unreadable characters. |
In the Explorer window, under Environment, right-click Logging, and click New resource, Destination.
In the Type list, click the type of destination and then click OK.
If the destination is a file, in the Properties window, type the appropriate values for the mandatory and optional properties.
If the destination is a remote log server, in the Properties window, type the appropriate values for the mandatory and optional properties.
If the Internal dispatcher URI of the destination IBM Cognos 8 computer is configured to use SSL, in the Properties window, set the Enable SSL property to True.
You must later specify the log messages destination when you configure the remote log server.
If the destination is a database, in the Explorer window, under Logging, specify the type of database and its properties, as follows:
Right-click the database name, and click New resource, Database.
In the Name box, type the name of the destination.
In the Type list, click the type of database and then click OK.
In the Properties window, type the appropriate values for the mandatory and optional properties.
jdbc:JSQLConnect://localhost\\instance1/user=sa/more properties as required
Repeat steps 5 to 10 for each destination to which you want the log server to send messages.
In the Explorer window, click IBM Cognos 8 service, IBM Cognos 8.
In the Properties window, use the following table to help set the log server properties.
| Task | Action |
Use TCP between IBM Cognos 8 components on a computer and its local log server | Set the Enable TCP property to True. UDP provides faster communication with a lower risk of lost connections than TCP. TCP is used for communication between a local log server and a remote log server. |
Change the number of threads available to the local log server | Type the value in the Local log server worker threads property. Set a value between 1 and 20. The default value of 10 is recommended. However, if you have a high number of log messages, you can allocate more threads to improve performance. |
Apply UTF-8 encoding for log messages written to a file | Set the Use UTF8 encoding property to True. If the IBM Cognos 8 component is using multibyte encoding, you must set this property to True and use a UTF-8 editor to view the log file. Otherwise, the log file may contain unreadable characters. |
In the Explorer window, under Environment, right-click Logging, and click New resource, Destination.
Ensure that the User ID is the same as the value you specified
for the IPFSCRIPT_USERNAME parameter
in the LS_tablespace_db2zOS.sql script file, .
In the Explorer window, click Local Configuration.
In the Properties window, next to Advanced properties, click inside the Value box, and then click the edit button.
Click Add, and then add the following configuration parameter names and values:
| Parameter Name | Value |
IPFSCRIPT_CREATE_IN | The base tables location. For example, databaseName.baseTablespaceName |
IPFSCRIPT_STOGROUP | The name of the storage group. |
IPFSCRIPT_DATABASE | The name of logging database. |
IPFSCRIPT_LOB_TABLESPACE | The name of the tablespace that is reserved for auxiliary tables in the logging database. |
From the File menu, click Save.
Test the connection to the new database. In the Explorer window, under Environment, right-click Logging and click Test.
IBM Cognos 8 components connect to the database. If you configured more than one database for logging messages, IBM Cognos 8 components test all the databases.
