Cognos HTML output when Report Service is running in 64 bit mode

[akshara_a]

I have changed my report service to run on 64 bit mode. From then I see problem with HTML outputs of reports. The report output is rendered fine when opened in cognos connection. The background colors and font stays intact. But when the same report is delivered to email and opened in outlook or webmail, the background colors are missing and font is not the actual font setup for the report.

When I rollback the report service to run on 32 bit mode, the HTML outputs are displayed fine in Outlook and Webmail.

This problem is only with HTML format, rest of the format doesn't have any issue. Can anyone help me with this please.

Thanks in advance.

[AnalyticsWithJay]

Could we try to narrow down the issue a little bit more?

- Does this happen when you run the report interactively as well?
- Does this happen to other reports, both interactively and batch?

You don't necessarily need to set the Report Service to 64 bit. The Report Service is responsible for rendering outputs, and setting it to 64 bit will give you more memory for rendering huge reports. Unless you have 500+ page PDF reports, you don't need to set it to 64.

The Query Service is what the Report Service interacts with, and it is 64 bit (in a 64 bit environment) regardless of what you set the Report Service to. It's responsible for querying in DQM and Dynamic Cubes, and that's where you'll see the added benefits of 64-bit.

[akshara_a]

Thanks for the response.

When I run the report interactively from Cognos Connection, the HTML output format is fine. When I email it, the format of the report received in the email is disturbed.

I understand that 32 bit mode report service is good enough. As all the packages we have right now are using DQM and as we also have a Dynamic Cube package, I thought I can set it to 64 bit.

When I have set the Report Service to 64 bit in out Dev and Test environment, I didn't see any issues with Report format both when run interactively and when sent to mailbox.  But when I changed the report service to 64 bit in prod, I see this issue.

[AnalyticsWithJay]

Ok, so it appears the issue is only happening Prod, and specifically it's only happening on the batch Report Service. The interactive report service is working fine. Could you create a new simple report with fonts and background color and e-mail it? I'd like to know if all reports are affected or just one.

Since Prod is typically a distributed install, I would open Cognos Configuration on all application servers and ensure the same list of fonts is configured. But then again this doesn't explain the missing background colors.

It's quite possible you're running into a defect. I'm hoping by narrowing down the issue it could help us identify root cause, but you may want to also open a case with Cognos Support.

Is it possible for us to get a visual of a good output and a bad output? Sometimes things are missed that could be picked up by someone else visually.

[akshara_a]

It is happening with HTML outputs of all the reports. I created a sample report and emailed it to me, fonts and background colors are messed up in it as well.

I have attached a document with images of outputs in 32 bit and 64 bit modes.

I will create a case with cognos support as well.

[AnalyticsWithJay]

Ah, you're losing GlobalStyles.css. It looks like you're running into this issue:

Apar: PI12574
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg1PI12574

[akshara_a]

Thanks for letting me know. But I am not sure how to fix this. Will you be able to guide me.

[MFGF]

Thanks for letting me know. But I am not sure how to fix this. Will you be able to guide me.

Hi,

What version and fix pack of Cognos BI are you using? The link Jay posted indicated you're hitting a product defect in the version you are running. The solution is to upgrade to a later build that fixes the problem...

Cheers!

MF.

[akshara_a]

I am using Cognos 10.2.2 64 bit server with fix pack 5 installed.
I have only fix pack 6 left to be installed for 10.2.2.