Need tips for troubleshooting report upgrades

[lewisk]

I am managing an installation of BI 10.2.1.  The version on the server is the RTM; on the workstation where I run Framework Manager, Fix Pack 1 is installed.  A problem I have had lately is that when I make changes to the business objects/views using Framework Manager and upload the changes to the server, some of the predefined reports on the server seem to get corrupted.  When I say "corrupted" I mean that, trying to open a report gives this message: "the server returned an unrecognizable load response for report".  Up until now I have had to restore each report from a copy on another server.

I haven't been working with Cognos for a long time, I am a C# developer who sort of got roped into this job.  So I am at a loss to make sense of this issue.  I would like to know if there is some information about this Cognos installation that I should capture from my server, before the next time I import a new package, that would be useful for troubleshooting afterward.  I would be most grateful to anyone who can offer suggestions.

[bdbits]

You need to get everything at the same version level, right down to the fix packs. DTDs and other representations can and do change between versions. If you call support, I can pretty much guarantee that will be the first thing they will tell you to do.

[lewisk]

You need to get everything at the same version level, right down to the fix packs. DTDs and other representations can and do change between versions. If you call support, I can pretty much guarantee that will be the first thing they will tell you to do.

Thank you, that makes sense.  Would you recommend installing the latest fix pack (I think it is now 4?) right away, or is it worth researching to see what issues have been resolved that might affect us?  I ask because I don't have much experience with Cognos (as I said earlier) but I know that with some software, experience administrators will not install every fix/upgrade unless they know they have a specific issue that needs to be resolved.

[edit] In other words should I just install FP1 on the server, or would it make sense to bring all the systems up to the latest fix pack right now.

Thanks.

[bdbits]

If you are going to update the server anyway, I would install the latest fix pack. Note they are cumulative, so the latest one includes the earlier fix packs. If you want to go all out, I believe 10.2.2 was released on Friday. Personally, I like to wait for at least the first service pack when they bump version numbers.  8)

There is a list of all the changes made for each fix pack on IBM's site. It can be rather lengthy, but it is there if someone wants it.

So remember, you install the fix pack on both clients and servers, and be sure it is applied to all installs of Cognos software on a box if you have multiple installs.

[lewisk]

Thank you!  I agree about waiting for the first service pack before installing a new version.  I will get working on installing FP 4.

[goitzy]

I would go with FP5 that has been released a few weeks ago. It has one fix that we have been waiting for in regards to saving reports to a file system.

[lewisk]

I would go with FP5 that has been released a few weeks ago. It has one fix that we have been waiting for in regards to saving reports to a file system.

Wow, I didn't even realize FP 5 had been released.  Thanks for the tip.