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Add or Modify a Data Source Connection

You can add new data source connections or edit string parameters for existing connections.

You can also add multiple connections to an existing data source. For example, you want a data source to have two or more connections to the same database that have different properties, such as different timeout values or access permissions.

You can also add connections to a data source that point to different databases, but the databases must contain the same schema.

When you create a data source connection, you can create a signon that the Everyone group can use to access the database. Later, you can modify who can use this signon or create more signons. For example, you can control access to data by setting the permissions for each data source connection. For more information, see Set Access Permissions for an Entry.

To add or modify a data source connection, you must have access to the required capabilities to administer data sources .

If you are creating a connection to one of these data sources, review the pertinent information before continuing:

If you are creating an Oracle, DB2, or Microsoft SQL Server data source, you can include database commands in the connection information. For more information, see Use Database Commands.

If you select Microsoft Analysis Services 2005 as the connection type, you can have more than one instance on the same server.

Steps to Create a Connection

  1. In Cognos Connection, in the upper-right corner, click Launch, Cognos Administration.

  2. On the Configuration tab, click Data Source Connections.

  3. Click the data source for which you want to add a new connection.

    Tip: To remove a data source connection, select its check box and click the delete button.

  4. Click the new connection button .

  5. In the name and description page, type a unique name for the connection and, if you want, a description and screen tip, and then click Next.

  6. In the connection page, click the type of database to which you want to connect, select an isolation level, and then click Next.

    The connection string page for the selected database appears.

  7. Enter any parameters that make up the connection string, and specify any other settings, such as a signon or a timeout.

    One of the following options may apply depending on the data source to which you are connecting:

    Tip: To test whether parameters are correct, click Test. If prompted, type a user ID and password or select a signon, and then click OK. If you are testing an ODBC connection to a User DSN, you must be logged on as the creator of the DSN for the test to succeed.

  8. Click Finish.

If you created a signon, you can now modify the signon or add more signons.

Steps to Modify a Connection

  1. In Cognos Connection, in the upper-right corner, click Launch, Cognos Administration.

  2. On the Configuration tab, click Data Source Connections.

  3. Click the data source for which you want to modify the connection.

  4. Click the set properties button  for the connection you want to modify.

  5. Click the Connection tab.

  6. Change the data source type by clicking an option in the Type box.

  7. Click the edit icon  to modify the connection string. Select any parameters that make up the database connection string, select whether to create a signon, and click OK.

  8. Click OK.

Update a PowerCube Connection

If a PowerCube has been rebuilt, you can update the connection information without affecting current users. To do this, you must first update the connection information to the rebuilt PowerCube, and then refresh the report servers to use the rebuilt PowerCube for new connections.

The updated PowerCube will be used for all new sessions referencing that data source. Any user that has an active session against the data source may have to re-open their session. Old PowerCubes can be removed only after all sessions using that PowerCube have ended.

When you rebuild the cube, we recommend that you use a new name for the PowerCube, such as including the current date in the new name. You can then store the rebuilt PowerCube in the same location as the old PowerCube. For convenience, Cognos provides the sample script cubeswap.bat or cubeswap.sh that is located in the c8_location/webapps/utilities/cubeSwap directory. You can get more information about the script syntax by running the script without any parameters.

Tip: You can automate this task using the Cognos 8 SDK to hot swap PowerCubes. For more information, see the SDK Developer Guide.

For information about refreshing report service connections, see .

Steps

  1. In Cognos Connection, in the upper-right corner, click Launch, Cognos Administration.

  2. On the Configuration tab, click Data Source Connections.

  3. Click the data source representing the cube you want to update.

  4. Click the set properties button  for the connection you want to update.

  5. Click the Connection tab.

  6. Click the edit button  for the connection string.

  7. Change the file path and name to point to the rebuilt cube.

    Tip: To test whether parameters are correct, click Test. If prompted, type a user ID and password or select a signon, and then click OK.

  8. Click Close, and Close again, then click OK, and OK again to return to the data sources page.

  9. In the left pane, click Dispatchers and Services.

  10. Click the refresh report service connections button .

    Any new connections to the PowerCube will use the updated cube.

Manage Data Source Connections

The report server computer uses the data source connections to access the query databases. You can manage data source connections by modifying the following variables.

PoolSize

Set the maximum number of data source connections available to the report server by modifying the PoolSize variable.

Timeout

Set the duration for retaining connections by modifying the Timeout variable. Connections are examined once per minute and any connection that has been inactive longer than the timeout value is removed. The default timeout value is 900 seconds.

Reusable Data Connections

Data source connections are reusable only when the database credentials of the connection match those of the new request. Inactive data source connections can be claimed by a new request. This occurs when the maximum number of connections has been reached and none of the inactive connections can be used by the new request. In this case, the oldest inactive connection is terminated and a new connection is created.

When the maximum number of connections is reached, and all are active, then additional requests fail. The server must be configured to ensure that the concurrent report requests do not exceed the request pool size.

For more information about report service requests, see Set the Maximum Number of Processes and Connections.

Steps

  1. On each computer where Cognos 8 is installed, open the c8_location/configuration/CQEConfig.xml.sample file in a text editor.

    Ensure that your editor supports saving files in UTF-8 format.

  2. Find the Timeout and PoolSize parameter and edit them as follows:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<configuration company="Cognos" version="#.#"
rendition="###">
  <component name="CQE">
    <section name="DBConnectionPool">
      <!-- Description: Database connection timeout.
       Default is 900 seconds (15minutes) --> 
      <entry name="Timeout" value="number_of_seconds"/>
      <!-- -->
      <!-- Description: Database connection pool size. -->
      <!-- Maximum number of connections managed by the report
           server. Default=50 -->
      <entry name="PoolSize" value="number_of_connections"/>
    </section>
  </component>
</configuration>

  3. Save the file as CQEConfig.xml to the c8_location/configuration directory.

  4. Using Cognos Configuration, stop and then restart the services.

    For information about stopping services, see the Cognos 8 Installation and Configuration Guide.