Esri Maps for IBM Cognos (v6.0 Archive)

In this topic
  1. Install Esri Maps for IBM Cognos
  2. Configure Esri Maps for IBM Cognos
  3. Start EM4C Server
  4. Configure the web server
  5. Restart the IBM Cognos Service
  6. Create the Esri Maps for IBM Cognos capability
  7. Test the configuration

This is an archive related to a previous version of Esri Maps for IBM Cognos. If you need the current version go to http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-cognos/.

Install and configure on a single computer

Install Esri Maps for IBM Cognos

A complete installation of Esri Maps for IBM Cognos involves installing components on your server and then configuring them to work in your environment. Before you begin, make sure you are familiar with the installation options and that you have the correct installer for the operating system on which you will be installing.

The following steps should be performed as an administrator.

  1. In the em4c directory on the installation media, run the installer batch file (.bat), for example:

    G:\em4c\launchInstaller.bat

  2. On the Welcome page, click Next.
  3. If you accept the terms of the license agreement, click Next; otherwise, click Quit to exit.
  4. Select the installation path and click Next.
  5. Select the version of IBM Cognos that Esri Maps for IBM Cognos will be installed on and click Next.
  6. Ensure EM4C Gateway, EM4C Dispatcher, and EM4C Server are selected and click Next.
  7. Specify the IBM Cognos Gateway webcontent directory and click Next.
  8. Specify the IBM Cognos Dispatcher directory and click Next.
  9. Click Next to proceed with the installation.
  10. Wait for files to be copied to the specified location and click Next.
  11. Optionally, click Generate an automatic installation script to save an XML file containing all the parameters you set on the previous pages.
  12. Click Done.

Configure Esri Maps for IBM Cognos

Before you complete the following steps, make sure you are familiar with the available configuration settings.

Run Esri Maps for IBM Cognos Configuration as a user with administrator privileges.

  1. Browse to the em4c_location\bin directory and run configure.bat.
  2. In the Configuration tool's Explorer window, click Local Configuration.
  3. Change the local configuration settings to reflect your environment (for example, the host name portion of any URI should be changed from localhost to an IP address or a network host name). The Esri Maps for IBM Cognos Configuration application recognizes which EM4C components are installed and only lists the configuration settings that are required to be set.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. From the File menu, click Exit.

Start EM4C Server

The Esri Maps for IBM Cognos EM4C Server must be started for all locations where the EM4C Server component was installed.

EM4C Server runs as a service and is configured to start automatically by default (it can be restarted manually using Microsoft Management Console).

Configure the web server

In order for Esri Maps for IBM Cognos and IBM Cognos to communicate, you must create the virtual directories (aliases) listed in the following table. Note that it is assumed IBM Cognos is exposed on your web server as ibmcognos (modify to reflect your environment).

AliasLocation

ibmcognos\em4c

em4c_location\webcontent

ibmcognos\em4c\cgi-bin

em4c_location\cgi-bin or em4c_location\cgi-bin-64bit, depending on your environment (x86 or x64)

To learn more about web server configuration, see About web server configuration.

Restart the IBM Cognos Service

Changes applied in Esri Maps for IBM Cognos Configuration require that the IBM Cognos Service be restarted on any IBM Cognos Dispatcher computer running the report service and/or presentation service.

Refer to the IBM Cognos Installation and Configuration Guide for your version of IBM Cognos for details on how to restart the IBM Cognos Service.

At this point, all Esri Maps for IBM Cognos report authors and end users should clear their web browser cache. The instructions for this vary among browsers, but Ctrl+Shift+Delete will work in most browsers.

Create the Esri Maps for IBM Cognos capability

To enable the use of Esri Maps for IBM Cognos, the Esri Maps capability must first be created. Users who do not have the required permissions for this capability will not be able to use Esri Maps Designer or view Esri Maps in map-enabled reports.

The IBM Cognos system administrator creates this capability by opening Esri Maps Designer from the Launch menu in Cognos Connection. When you create the Esri Maps capability, users and groups are added based on the default settings for Cognos capabilities, and those default users and groups are given traverse and execute permissions for Esri Maps for IBM Cognos. To disable the use of Esri Maps for IBM Cognos, remove the execute permissions for the user or group in question. Permissions can be changed in Cognos Administration.

  1. To create the Esri Maps capability:
    1. Log in to IBM Cognos as a system administrator.
    2. Open Cognos Connection.
    3. Select Launch > Esri Maps Designer.

    The capability is created.

  2. To manage the permissions for users and groups:
    1. Open Cognos Administration.
    2. Add or remove users and groups or change permissions as required.

Test the configuration

After Esri Maps for IBM Cognos has been installed and configured, clear your web browser's cache (Ctrl+Shift+Delete on most browsers) if you haven't done so already. You can then test various aspects of the installation and configuration process.

In the following examples, it is assumed IBM Cognos is exposed by an ibmcognos alias.

  1. Test whether EM4C Server is listening on the indicated port as follows. Note that the default port 9896 is assumed (change as required): 
    http://<em4c_server>:9896/em4c/version.txt

    If this test fails, make sure EM4C Server is started in all places where it is installed.

  2. Perform the following tests to verify whether EM4C Gateway is working as expected:
    1. Test that the em4c web server virtual directory (alias) is set up correctly (this also verifies Apply was selected in Esri Maps for IBM Cognos Configuration):
      http://<cognos_gateway>/ibmcognos/em4c/version.txt
    2. Test whether the EM4C Gateway CGI script is working correctly (connecting to EM4C Server). If it is working, the following URL will result in a message with a timestamp appearing in the browser: 
      http://<cognos_gateway>/ibmcognos/em4c/cgi-bin/em4c.cgi
    3. Test whether the EM4C Gateway CGI script can access the location providers from your ArcGIS organization. This will verify that the CGI can access external resources. 
      http://<cognos_gateway>/ibmcognos/em4c/cgi-bin/em4c.cgi?
<arcgisUrl property specified in settings.js>/common/locationproviders/LocationProviders

    If these tests fail to produce the expected results, there are two possible reasons: Esri Maps for IBM Cognos Configuration was not used (changes to the configuration were not saved/applied), or the web server is not configured properly.

  3. EM4C Dispatcher runs within the IBM Cognos process space and only limited testing can be performed manually. One way to test whether EM4C Dispatcher is installed and configured properly is to start Cognos Connection and verify that Esri Maps Designer appears in the Launch menu.