Back Up Existing Cognos Information

You must back up existing Cognos information if Cognos 8 components are running

• on an application server (including Tomcat) and you are changing to an application server that ships with its own JVM.

• with a JVM from one vendor and you are changing to another JVM vendor.

Note: You must back up existing Cognos information within the working environment prior to upgrade.

Before configuring Cognos 8 components to run on the new application server or JVM, you must back up

• content store data by creating a deployment export.

• configuration information by exporting it. Any encrypted data is decrypted during the export.

• cryptographic keys by saving them to an alternate location. New cryptographic keys must be created using the same JVM that the application server uses. Because these keys can be created only if the previous keys are deleted, it is important to back up the previous keys.

To ensure the security and integrity of your Cognos data, back up the content store, configuration information, and cryptographic keys to a directory that is protected from unauthorized or inappropriate access.

Tip: To check if any cryptographic keys exist, look in the c8_location/configuration directory. Cryptographic keys exist if this directory includes the following subdirectories: csk, encryptkeypair or signkeypair.

Steps

1. If data exists in the content store, start the Cognos 8 service and export the entire content store using the Deployment tool.

   For more information, see the topic about creating an export deployment specification in the Administration and Security Guide.

2. In Cognos Configuration, from the File menu, click Export As and save the configuration information in a decrypted format. When naming the file, use a name such as "decrypted.xml".

   Export the data to a directory that is protected from unauthorized or inappropriate access because passwords are stored in plain text. You are prompted to acknowledge that the export is an unsecure operation.

3. Stop the Cognos 8 service:

   • If you use Tomcat, stop the Cognos 8 service and close Cognos Configuration.

   • If you use an application server other than Tomcat, shut down Cognos 8 in your environment.

4. Back up any existing cryptographic keys by saving the appropriate files and directories to an alternate location that is secure.

   The files are

   • c8_location/configuration/cogstartup.xml

   • c8_location/configuration/caSerial

   • c8_location/configuration/cogconfig.prefs

   • c8_location/configuration/coglocale.xml

   The directories are

   • c8_location/configuration/csk

   • c8_location/configuration/encryptkeypair

   • c8_location/configuration/signkeypair

5. Delete the caSerial and cogconfig.prefs files and the three directories: csk, encryptkeypair, and signkeypair.

6. Replace the c8_location/configuration/cogstartup.xml file with the file that contains the data exported from Cognos Configuration (for example, "decrypted.xml").

   Important: In the c8_location/configuration directory, the file must use the name "cogstartup.xml".

   The information in this file will be automatically re-encrypted using new cryptographic keys when you save the configuration in Cognos Configuration.