For Cognos 8, you must specify environment variables before you can use a DB2 or Oracle database as the metric store.
The proper syntax for creating environment variables is shell dependent.
For Oracle databases, you must set and export the database environment variables for the user of the metric store before you start the Cognos processes. Cognos 8 uses these database variables to connect to your database. One way to set these environment variables is to include these commands in the .profile or .login script of the user who starts the Cognos services.
When you set the load library paths, ensure that the 32-bit Oracle libraries are in the library search path, which is usually the $ORACLE_HOME/lib directory or the $ORACLE_HOME/lib32 directory if you installed a 64-bit Oracle client.
The following table describes environment variables for Oracle databases. Contact your database or network administrator for the correct values for your system.
Environment variable | Description |
ORACLE_HOME | The top level directory that contains the database client software or the entire database installation. Example: /usr/oracle You may be able to use an Oracle script to create the environment variables. For more information, see the Oracle documentation. Example: /usr/local/bin/coraenv |
TNS_ADMIN | The directory that contains the Oracle tnsnames.ora file, which allows calls to the Oracle database to determine the required server connections. Example: $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin |
PATH | The variable to locate executable files. Example: $PATH:$ORACLE_HOME/bin |
libraryPATH | The load library path. |
On Solaris: LD_LIBRARY_ PATH | Solaris Examples: LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/ lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/ lib32:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH |
On AIX: LIBPATH | AIX Examples: LIBPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/ lib:$LIBPATH LIBPATH=$ORACLE_HOME/ lib32:$LIBPATH |
On HP-UX: SHLIB_PATH | HP-UX Examples: SHLIB_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/ lib:$SHLIB_PATH SHLIB_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/ lib32:$SHLIB_PATH |
NLS_LANG | The value of the variable determines the locale-dependent behavior of Cognos 8. Error messages, sort order, date, time, monetary, numeric, and calendar conventions automatically adapt to the native language and locale. |
For IBM DB2 databases, you must set the database variables by running the environment setup scripts included with the IBM DB2 installation. For Bourne or Korn shells, run the following command or add it to the .profile script:
DB2_installation_path/db2profile
Contact your database or network administrator for the correct values for your system.