Listed below are changes to features since the last release. Links to directly-related topics are included.
In the current release, the version of the report specification namespace is changed. If you have SDK applications that create, modify, or save report specifications, do not upgrade your report specifications when you install the new version of IBM Cognos 8. You must first update your SDK applications to comply with the new IBM Cognos 8 report specifications schema. Otherwise, your SDK applications may not be able to access the upgraded report specifications. For information about upgrading report specifications, see the IBM Cognos 8 SDK Developer Guide.
In addition, we recommend that you limit user access to report specifications, so that users do not inadvertently upgrade report specifications before the SDK applications are updated. For more information about setting access permissions, see the IBM Cognos 8 Administration and Security Guide.
For more information about upgrade considerations for report specifications, see SDK Applications.
You must install the Supplementary Languages Documentation to access product documentation in languages other than English. For more information, see Install Translated Product Documentation.
By default, when you install the IBM Cognos 8 gateway component, the installation documentation, which includes the Installation and Configuration Guide, the Quick Start Installation and Configuration Guide and the Readme, is installed in all supported languages. The product documentation, such as the Administration and Security Guide, is installed in English.
When you start Cognos Configuration for the first time, the connection to IBM DB2 replaces Microsoft SQL Server for the default content store.
If you did not install IBM Cognos Content Database, and want to use another database server for the content store, you must delete the default content store. After you uninstall, if you install into the same location as a previous release, your configuration is preserved and the existing content store is used.
For more information, see Set Database Connection Properties for the Content Store.
Composite Information Server was available with earlier releases of IBM Cognos 8. In the current release, Composite Information Server is replaced by IBM Cognos 8 Virtual View Manager, which is an IBM proprietary product that is based on a new version of Composite Information Server. In this release, the default repository is changed, from Microsoft SQL Server to IBM Informix. If you have Composite data sources defined in IBM Cognos Connection, you must migrate the existing repository to the new default repository.
For more information about migrating the repository, see the IBM Cognos 8 Virtual View Manager User Guide. For more information about data source connections, see the Administration and Security Guide.
IBM Cognos 8 now contains the IBM version of the JRE as part of Windows installations. This replaces the Sun JRE for 32-bit Windows platforms.
The installation location remains the same. Any content encrypted with Sun JRE can be decrypted with the IBM JRE.
In previous releases, the installation program automatically copied the IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office setup files to the c8_location\webcontent\coc folder when server components were installed. After installation, the administrator copied the IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office setup to a location accessible to end users for installation of the IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office software on their Windows clients.
In this release, IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office client installation files are no longer automatically copied to the server. The client can be installed using the IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office CD provided with IBM Cognos 8.
For more information about installing IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office, see the IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office Installation Guide.
Plumtree Portal is replaced by BEA AquaLogic User Interaction (ALUI) Portal. For more information, see Configuring Portal Services.
Users in different languages can now connect to an MSAS 2005 data source from a single instance of IBM Cognos 8. For more information, see the following topics: