The console attached to the UNIX or Linux computer on which you are installing IBM Cognos 8 may not support a Java-based graphical user interface. You must
manually change default configuration settings by editing the cogstartup.xml file, located in the c8_location/configuration directory
manually change language or currency support, or locale mapping by editing the coglocale.xml file, located in the c8_location/configuration directory
apply the configuration and the locale settings to your computer by running IBM Cognos Configuration in silent mode
For all installations, some configuration tasks are required so that IBM Cognos 8 works in your environment. If you distribute IBM Cognos 8 components across several computers, the order in which you configure and start the computers is important.
Other configuration tasks are optional and depend on your reporting environment. You can change the default behavior of IBM Cognos 8 by editing the cogstartup.xml file to change property values. You can also use sample files that enable IBM Cognos 8 to use resources that already exist in your environment.
If the console attached to your UNIX or Linux computer does not support a Java-based graphical user interface, you must edit the cogstartup.xml to configure IBM Cognos 8 to work in your environment.
Note: Some configuration settings are not saved in the cogstartup.xml file unless you use the graphical user interface. For example, the server time zone is not set for your IBM Cognos components when you modify the cogstartup.xml file directly and then run IBM Cognos Configuration in silent mode. In this case, other user settings that rely on the server time zone may not operate as expected.
If you want IBM Cognos 8 to use a resource, such as an authentication provider that already exists in your environment, you can add a component to your configuration. You do this by copying the required XML code from the sample files into the cogstartup.xml file and then edit the values to suit your environment.
Important: By default, the cogstartup.xml file is encoded using UTF-8. When you save the cogstartup.xml file, ensure that you change the encoding of your user locale to match the encoding used. The encoding of your user locale is set by your environment variables.
When you edit the cogstartup.xml file, remember that XML is case-sensitive. Case is important in all uses of text, including element and attribute labels, elements and values.
Before you edit the cogstartup.xml file, ensure that you
make a backup copy
create the content store on an available computer in your network
review the configuration requirements for your installation type
Go to the c8_location/configuration directory.
Open the cogstartup.xml file in an editor.
Find the configuration setting you want to change by looking at the help and description comments that appear before the start tag of the <crn:parameter> elements.
Change the value of the <crn:value> element to suit your environment.
Tip: Use the type attribute to help you determine the data type for the configuration property.
Repeat steps 3 to 4 until the configuration values are appropriate your environment.
Save and close the file.
You should now use a validating XML editor to validate your changes against the rules in the cogstartup.xsd file, located in the c8_location/configuration.
The cogstartup.xml file contains configuration settings used by IBM Cognos 8 and by default components.You can change the components that IBM Cognos 8 uses by copying XML elements from sample files into the cogstartup.xml file. You can then edit the configuration values to suit your environment.
For example, to use an Oracle database for the content store, you can use the ContentManager_language code.xml sample file to replace the default database connection information.
IBM Cognos 8 can use only one instance at a time of the following elements:
the database for the content store
a cryptographic provider
a configuration template for the IBM Cognos 8 service
You should be familiar with the structure of XML files before you start editing them.
Go to the c8_location/configuration/samples directory.
Choose a sample file to open in an editor:
To use Oracle, DB2, or Sybase for the content store, open the ContentManager_language_code.xml file.
To use an authentication provider, open the Authentication_language_code.xml file.
To use a cryptographic provider, open the Cryptography_language_code.xml file.
To send log messages somewhere other than a file, open the Logging_language_code.xml file.
To use a medium or large template for the amount of resources the IBM Cognos 8 process uses, open the CognosService_language_code.xml file.
Copy the elements that you need.
Tip: Ensure that you copy the code including the start and end tags for the <crn:instance> element.
For example, look for the (Begin of) and (End of) comments:
<!-- =============================================== (Begin of) DB2 template --> <crn:instance ...> ... </crn:instance> <!-- End of) DB2 template =============================================== -->
Go to the c8_location/configuration directory.
Open the cogstartup.xml file in an editor.
Paste the code from the sample file to the cogstartup.xml file and replace the appropriate <crn:instance> element.
Change the values of these new elements to suit your environment.
For the <crn:instance> element, don’t change the class attribute. You can change the name attribute to suit your environment.
For example, if you use an Oracle database for the content store, change only the name attribute to suit your environment.
<crn:instance class="Oracle" name="MyContentStore">
Save and close the file.
Run IBM Cognos Configuration in silent mode by typing the following command:
./cogconfig.sh -s
This ensures that the file is valid and that passwords are encrypted.
You can manually change encrypted settings, such as passwords and user credentials, in the cogstartup.xml file.
To prompt IBM Cognos Configuration to save an encrypted setting, you change the value and then set the encryption flag to false.
Go to the c8_location/configuration directory.
Open the cogstartup.xml file in an editor.
Find the encrypted setting you want to change by looking at the help and description comments that appear before the start tag of the <crn:parameter> elements.
Change the value of the <crn:value> element to suit your environment.
Tip: Use the type attribute to help you determine the data type for the configuration property.
Change the encryption value to false.
For example,
<crn:value encrypted="false">
Repeat steps 3 to 5 until the configuration values are appropriate for your environment.
Save and close the file.
Type the following configuration command:
./cogconfig.sh -s
The new settings are saved and encrypted.
If the console attached to your UNIX or Linux computer does not support a Java-based graphical user interface, you must manually edit the coglocale.xml file located in the c8_location/configuration directory.
You can change global settings
to specify the language used in the user interface when the language in the user’s locale is not available
to specify the locale used in reports when the user’s locale is not available
to add currency or locale support to report data and metadata
to add language support to the user interface
By default, IBM Cognos 8 components ensure that all locales, which may come from different sources and in various formats, use a normalized form. That means that all expanded locales conform to a language and regional code setting.
Before you can add language support to the user interface, you must install the language files on all computers in your distributed installation. For more information, contact your support representative.
A report is available in Content Manager in two locales, such as en-us (English-United States) and fr-fr (French-France), but the user locale is set to fr-ca (French-Canadian). IBM Cognos 8 uses the locale mapping to determine which report the user sees.
First, IBM Cognos 8 checks to see if the report is available in Content Manager in the user’s locale. If it is not available in the user’s locale, IBM Cognos 8 maps the user’s locale to a normalized locale configured on the Content Locale Mapping tab. Because the user’s locale is fr-ca, it is mapped to fr. IBM Cognos 8 uses the mapped value to see if the report is available in fr. In this case, the report is available in en-us and fr-fr, not fr.
Next, IBM Cognos 8 maps each of the available reports to a normalized locale. Therefore, en-us becomes en and fr-fr becomes fr.
Because both report and the user locale maps to fr, the user having the user locale fr-ca will see the report saved with the locale fr-fr.
The user’s locale and the report locales all map to the same language. IBM Cognos 8 chooses which locale to use. For example, if a user’s locale is en-ca (English-Canada) and the reports are available in en-us (English-United States) and en-gb (English-United Kingdom), IBM Cognos 8 maps each locale to en. The user will see the report in the locale setting that IBM Cognos 8 chooses.
The report and the user locales do not map to a common language. IBM Cognos 8 chooses the language. In this case, you may want to configure a mapping. For example, if a report is available in en-us (English-United States) and fr-fr (French-France), but the user locale is es-es (Spanish-Spain), IBM Cognos 8 chooses the language.
On every computer where you installed Content Manager, go to the c8_location/configuration directory.
Open the coglocale.xml file in an editor.
Add or modify the required element and attribute between the appropriate start and end tags.
Type of element | Start tag | End tag |
Language | <supportedProductLocales> | </supportedProductLocales> |
Content Locales | <supportedContentLocales> | </supportedContentLocales> |
Currency | <supportedCurrencies> | </supportedCurrencies> |
Product Locale Mapping | <productLocaleMap> | </productLocaleMap> |
Content Locale Mapping | <contentLocaleMap> | </contentLocaleMap> |
Fonts | <supportedFonts> | </supportedFonts> |
Cookie settings, archive location for reports | <parameter name="setting"> | </parameter> |
Tip: To remove support, delete the element.
Save and close the file.
Tip: We recommend that you use a validating XML editor to validate your changes against the rules in the cogstartup.xsd file, located in the c8_location/configuration.
If you add a currency code that is not supported, you must manually add it to the i18n_res.xml file in the c8_location/bin/ directory. Copy this file to each IBM Cognos computer in your installation.
You run IBM Cognos Configuration in silent mode to apply the configuration settings and start the services on UNIX or Linux computers that do not support a Java-based graphical user interface.
Before you run the configuration tool in silent mode, you should ensure the cogstartup.xml file is valid according to the rules defined in the cogstartup.xsd file. The cogstartup.xsd file is located in the c8_location/configuration directory.
Ensure that the cogstartup.xml file, located in the c8_location/configuration directory, has been modified for your environment.
For more information, see Manually Change Default Configuration Settings on UNIX and Linux Computers.
Go to the c8_location/bin directory.
Type the following command
./cogconfig.sh -s
Tip: To view log messages that were generated during an unattended configuration, see the cogconfig_response.csv file in the c8_location/logs directory.
IBM Cognos Configuration applies the configuration settings specified in the cogstartup.xml file, encrypts credentials, generates digital certificates, and if applicable, starts the IBM Cognos 8 service or process.
Go to the c8_location/bin directory.
Type the following command
./cogconfig.sh -stop
