Import Image into report studio(Resolved)

[guy222kool]

Hello,
I've been trying to import images into report studio. I'm using Cognos Express 10.1
I have followed the steps mentioned in the below URL to store the images on the Server.
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/data/library/cognos/infrastructure/cognos_specific/page601.html

When trying to browse the Images folder from Report Studio, I get an error: Error 400- Bad Request.
Can anyone please guide me on what might be wrong?

[MFGF]

Hi,

By default Express uses the embedded tomcat instance to connect browser sessions for reporting rather than using a web server. Enabling Webdav only works if you are using a web server. Did you follow the link to the document that detailed setting up the Express gateway (ie configuring Express to work with IIS)?

Cheers!

MF.

[guy222kool]

Hi MF,

The Cognos Express gateway is configured with IIS 7.5
Below are the steps I followed for importing images.
- Created folder 'Samples' and subfolder 'Images' in <Express Gateway Location>/webcontent
- Created a Virtual Directory for samples folder in IIS
- Followed all the steps mentioned in the IBM Link to enable WebDAV for IIS
- Stored image in 'Images' subfolder
- Opened Report Studio and created Image object. Entered the following URL in the Image Browser.
http://cdev:19300/Cognos Express Gateway/webcontent/samples/images/
Got the error: The Web request Failed: 400-Bad Request

I'm a bit ignorant on the Admin side. So suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

[MFGF]

Hi,

Is your wen server running on port 19300? Often they run on port 80.

For the image url, try http://<your server name>/<the alias directory you configured for Express in IIS>/samples/images/<imagename>

either that or just try ../samples/images/<imagename>

Just to clarify, what URL are you using in your browser to connect to Express?

MF.

[guy222kool]

Hi MF,
I'm not sure if the Web server is configured on port: 19300. The installation was not done by me.
The URL I use to connect to Cognos Express is: http://cdev:19300/p2pd/servlet/dispatch

I tried to give the whole path of the image as you instructed, but got the same 400-Bad Request error.
I also tried: ../samples/images/  and I got a 501-Not Implemented error.

It seems to be an IIS / WebDav issue, because I'm not able to access the samples Virtual Directory directly from the web browser also.
I tried the instructions mentioned in: http://www.slickit.ca/2009/07/webdav-on-windows-7.html on my local machine(Win 7/IIS 7.5) and was able to browse a Virtual Folder from a web browser.
The same doesn't seem to work on the Cognos Server (Win 2008 Server/IIS 7.5)

[MFGF]

Hi MF,
I'm not sure if the Web server is configured on port: 19300. The installation was not done by me.
The URL I use to connect to Cognos Express is: http://cdev:19300/p2pd/servlet/dispatch

I tried to give the whole path of the image as you instructed, but got the same 400-Bad Request error.
I also tried: ../samples/images/  and I got a 501-Not Implemented error.

It seems to be an IIS / WebDav issue, because I'm not able to access the samples Virtual Directory directly from the web browser also.
I tried the instructions mentioned in: http://www.slickit.ca/2009/07/webdav-on-windows-7.html on my local machine(Win 7/IIS 7.5) and was able to browse a Virtual Folder from a web browser.
The same doesn't seem to work on the Cognos Server (Win 2008 Server/IIS 7.5)

Hi,

The URL you are using to connect is connecting directly to the Express Tomcat instance - ie you are not using the web server to connect. Webdav will not work unless you connect via a web server. The URL to access Express via a web server would be something like http://cdev/cognosexpress/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi

Note that the hostname (cdev) and the virtual directory(cognosexpress) may be different in your case. You will need to refer to the names you used when you configured the cognos express gateway to work with IIS.

Cheers!

MF.

[guy222kool]

Hi MF,
In fact I can also access the Cognos Express by using the URL: http://cdev/IBMCognosExpress/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi
(IBMCognosExpress is the Gateway)
And by accessing Report Studio after logging into this URL I can finally browse the Images!!!

So does that mean my Cognos Express instance runs both on the default Tomcat Webserver and IIS also?

Anyways thanks a ton for your help MF. Really appreciate it. Respect.

[Grim]

Hi MF,
In fact I can also access the Cognos Express by using the URL: http://cdev/IBMCognosExpress/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi
(IBMCognosExpress is the Gateway)
And by accessing Report Studio after logging into this URL I can finally browse the Images!!!

So does that mean my Cognos Express instance runs both on the default Tomcat Webserver and IIS also?

Anyways thanks a ton for your help MF. Really appreciate it. Respect.

Yes, sort of.
Tomcat is the application server that Cognos uses in the backend by default*. Although you can use it directly it is recommended to go through a proper gateway. The gateway in this case being IIS (for Cognos BI it can be any supported HTTP server [IIS, Apache, IBM HTTP Server] would have to check if others are supported with Cognos Express (CX)).

*For Cognos BI (not express) you can use other application servers such as Websphere and Weblogic.

[MFGF]

...it is recommended to go through a proper gateway. The gateway in this case being IIS...

That's not the case with Express, Grim. Out of the box, Express self-configures to use the embedded Tomcat instance for browser access for the Reporter connector, and this is by design to simplify the install. You can optionally configure the gateway component with a web server (which is the preferred method of access in Enterprise BI) but it's an optional step. It's obviously desired if you have a multi-server install, but Express is single-server only.

Cheers!

MF.

[Grim]

Thanks for correcting me. Been a while since I've played with CX.  ::)