[ADVICE] Viable to just have a prod server?

[kc9400]

Is it viable to just have Cognos running on Prod?

All reports are made in Cognos then published on a site which then has accesses set up so only certain people can view certain reports or they can be totally hidden for testing purposes if needed to be.

In this situation would it be a viable option to just have the prod cog running or would it be totally unwise? The thing that does concern me would be with packages on Framework being changed and messing up any currently deployed reports.

The other question is do I need 2 licenses if I get cognos and run it on a prod server and a dev? or can I run both on the one license?

[Grim]

Licensing has moved to PVU based. So it depends on your Prod vs Dev hardware (CPUs).

I recommend a Dev and Prod model as changes to packages and reports can adversely affect existing reports.

[SomeClown]

It's viable to have only prod.  Largest risk is if you build out a large catalog against a third-party package (Oracle Financials, SAP) and they want to install a new release that has a long transition window.  Either you break things (like you mention) or you end up redoing it all with new names to isolate old and new.  It's a tradeoff against potential risk against the cost of another environment (under PVU licensing, you'd have to buy more licenses to create a dev environment).

Named user licensing is advantageous in these situations as it does not limit your architectural deployment options, but as Grim pointed out, this is being eliminated.  IBM does not find it to their advantage to allow it.  I've seen many smaller customers end up with just prod because of cost.

[kc9400]

Thanks for your responses. It looks like the decision to just secure one license has been made, I will put forward the points raised and see if I can get a second.

I would rather avoid the predicament of things going completely haywire on the live reports.

Cheers guys.

[Grim]

Thanks for your responses. It looks like the decision to just secure one license has been made, I will put forward the points raised and see if I can get a second.

I would rather avoid the predicament of things going completely haywire on the live reports.

Cheers guys.

One license? I'd ask how many PVUs that license covers as that may give you enough to have a DEV and Prod env depending on what architecture you are using. See here for more info:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/pvu_licensing_for_customers.html

For example if you have a 1000 PVU license you could take 200 for DEV and use the remaining 800 for Prod.

[bdbits]

With PVU licensing, you could run multiple instances of Cognos on the one server to have some separation. You can also have multiple virtual machines on one box, but this should be explicitly addressed in your PVU license agreement. Visit with your IBM rep about your situation and they should be able to present your options.

Apart from licensing and minimizing impact on package changes, my biggest concern with multiple environments on one box would be impacting production performance due to development activities. Maybe you can get by with it depending on the size of your deployment, but it would certainly give me pause.