Cognos URL exposing and Integration to IBM Mashup

[ben_irvine_uk]

Hi all,

I'm not sure if this if the correct place to post this question but here goes -

I am currently trying to integrate a cognos report with the IBM mashup center. To do this I need to get at the URL to the cognos report. Whilst following the 'Using URLS in Cognos 8' guide it mentions that the basic URL format for accessing cognos reports is:

http://<server-name>/cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/launch.xts& (Format A)

This is the base URL that parameters (such as ui.tool= etc) are appended to. The documentation then mentions that this URL structure is the same as used in the Cognos Connection however when I browse to my Cognos reports homepage (and subsequent pages) my URL begins like this:

http://localhost:9600/p2pd/servlet/dispatch?b_action=cognosViewer&ui.action=run (Format B)

I have tried stripping the parameters from the Cognos viewer url and inserting them into the Format A URL using the guidelines from the pdf but I cannot get the link to work. I get an Apache Tomcat HTTP Status 500 - No Context configured to process this request error.

My main question is am I using the correct versions of the software as the URL's I am seeing in Cognos Connection, Cognos Viewer etc are of a different format (specifically the /cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi? section). Further to this if I have the correct software how do I expose the URL of my reports correctly.

Many thanks
Ben Irvine

Software Developer
Alver Services UK

[Lynn]

I think this document is a good one on parameterized URLs in case you don't have it.

http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/dm/cognos/reporting/scripting_techniques/using_urls_in_cognos_8.pdf

Maybe some of the admin people here can help further, but the localhost and port in the URL looks to me like you're calling Cognos Connection on the machine where it is installed and that same URL wouldn't work when called from anywhere else.

Generally in Cognos Configuration the gateway and dispatcher would show an actual server and port, not localhost unless it is a laptop installed for demo purposes. Not my strong area, so see what others have to offer....

[ben_irvine_uk]

Hi Lynn,

Thanks for the quick reply. That document you mentioned is actually the one I was working from! (Glad I was in the right place)

To explain a little more: I am currently using my own laptop as a demo server for cognos, hence the localhost in the web URL. This is not a problem and when I use the link directly on another machine substituting the IP I can access my reports, however this URL does not work when accessing the reports via another program (in this case IBM Lotus Mashups)

It seems to me that the literature is querying the /cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi? object while my own links from within Connection etc are querying the /p2pd/servlet/dispatch? object. Im wondering why this is.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Many thanks
Ben

[MFGF]

Hi,

There are two methods of connecting your browser to Cognos 8 - either via an external web server such as IIS which has been configured with specific virtual directories for use with Cognos (in which case your url will be http://<web server name>:port number/cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi ), or alternatively by connecting directly to the Cognos 8 dispatcher running under tomcat (in which case your url will be http://<Cognos 8 server name>:9300/p2pd/servlet/dispatch ).

If you launch Cognos Configuration (from the Start menu) and look at the Environment tab, you should be able to see these URIs and how they are currently configured for your Cognos 8 instance.

Regards,

MF.

[ben_irvine_uk]

Hi,

Thanks for clearing that up for me! I'm still fairly new to setting up a webserver however I grabbed a copy of Apache HTTP server and have configured the alias and scriptalias (as per cognos installation instructions).

My next problem is that I dont seem to be able to define the correct permissions for accessing the cognos pages. When I try to access http://<web server>:8080/cognos I get redirected (hence I am assuming I have setup my apache alias correctly) to this page:

http://<web server>:8080/cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi?b_action=xts.run&m=portal/main.xts&startwel=yes


this is looking much better, however I get a 403 Forbidden error stating: You don't have permission to access /cognos8/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi on this server.

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong here. Apologies if this is not the correct place for this question, and if anyone could point me in the direction of helpful literature in this area that would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks
Ben

//NOTE: I have had a quick look in the directory that my /cognos8/cgi-bin ScriptAlias points to and the only file I can see inside this is CCLCore.dll - is this correct or am I missing files?

[MFGF]

Hi,

It's worth checking the docs to make sure you have configured Apache appropriately.  Here are a couple of links:

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/c8fpm/v8r4m0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.swg.im.cognos.inst_cr_winux.8.4.1.doc/inst_cr_winux_id2601inst_ConfigureaWebServer_dist.html

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/c8fpm/v8r4m0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.swg.im.cognos.inst_cr_winux.8.4.1.doc/inst_cr_winux_id8864ConfigureApachegateway.html

Sadly Apache is not my forte, but if you can't spot a problem after looking through those, post back and I will see what else I can dig up!

Cheers!

MF.