Cubes from Cognos products 
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Analysis Services
ODBC data sources
Composite data sources
When you create a data source, you must provide the information required to connect to the database. This information is provided in the form of a connection string.
You can include authentication information for the database in the data source connection by creating a signon. Users need not enter database authentication information each time the connection is used because the authentication information is encrypted and stored on the server. The signon produced when you create a data source is available to the Everyone group. Later, you can modify who can use the signon or create more signons.
You can create data sources in the portal or in Framework Manager. Because they are stored on the server, data sources appear in both places, regardless of where they were created. Existing data source connections can be edited only in the portal.
If you are an administrator, you can set up all required data sources before models are created in Framework Manager so that all connections are available in the Framework Manager Import wizard.
Data sources are stored in the Cognos namespace and must have unique names. For example, you cannot use the same name for a data source and a group.
A data source defines the physical connection to a database. A data source connection specifies the parameters needed to connect to a database, such as the location of the database and the timeout duration.
Note: The schema name in the connection string for an Oracle database is case-sensitive. If the schema name is typed incorrectly, you cannot run queries.
Before creating data sources, you must have write permissions to the folder where you want to save the data source and to the Cognos namespace. You must also have execute permissions for the Data Source Connections secured feature.
If you are creating a connection to one of these data sources, review the pertinent information before continuing:
Cubes from Cognos products
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Analysis Services
ODBC data sources
Composite data sources
Depending on the type of database you are connecting to, you
may also need to review information about isolation levels and
sorting functions .
For information about data source security, see the Cognos 8 Administration and Security Guide.
If you are not already using the Run Metadata Import wizard, click the namespace, folder, or segment you want to import into, and from the Actions menu, click Run Metadata Wizard.
In the Select Metadata Source window, click Data Sources.
Click Next.
In the Select Data Source window, click New.
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.
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.
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:
If you are connecting to a Cognos cube, you must enter the full path and file name for the cube. An example for a local cube is C:\cubes\Great Outdoors Company.mdc. An example for a cube on your network is \\servername\cubes\Great Outdoors Company.mdc. If you leave the Read cache size (MB) field blank or enter 0, Cognos Connection uses the default value in the ppds_cfg.xml file in the configuration folder.
You must also select an authentication method. Click All applicable namespaces, or click to authenticate using an unsecured PowerCube or to a PowerCube secured against many namespaces. Click Restrict PowerCube authentication to a single namespace, and select a namespace from the list. If you are connecting to a password protected PowerCube, click Cube Password, and then type the password in the Password and Confirm Password boxes.
Note: Select All applicable namespaces only if you are migrating Series 7 PowerCubes to Cognos 8 in your development or test environment. This setting can also be used for unsecured PowerCubes that are in a production environment. For more information, see the Transformer User Guide.
If you are connecting to an ODBC data source, the connection string is generated from the name you enter in the ODBC data source box and any signon information. The data source name is an ODBC DSN that has already been set up. You can include additional connection string parameters in the ODBC connect string box. These parameters are appended to the generated connection string.
If you are connecting to a Microsoft Analysis Services data source, select an option in the Language box. If you selected Microsoft Analysis Services 2005, you must specify an instance name in the Named instance since you can have more than one instance on each server.
If you use a Microsoft Active Directory namespace and you want to support single signon with Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Analysis Server, select An External Namespace, and select the Active Directory namespace. For more information about configuring an Active Directory namespace, see the Installation and Configuration Guide.
If you selected Other Type as the data source type, you will have to build the connection string manually.
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.
Click Finish.
If you created an OLAP data source, a confirmation appears and you are given the option to create a package using your new data source. Click OK to return to Data Source Connections, or click Create a Package and OK, and follow the instructions in the new package wizard.
Note: You can create a package with your new data source at a later date if you do not want to do it now.
If you selected any other type of data source, the new data source appears in Data Source Connections on the Configuration tab, and can be selected when using the Import Wizard in Framework Manager.
Tip: To test a data source connection, right-click the data source in the Data Sources folder and click Test.
If you created a signon, you can now modify the properties of the signon or add more signons.
If you have a distributed installation with several servers, we recommend that you use network paths for all file based data sources rather than local paths. This will ensure that the data sources can be accessed by the services that require them, regardless of which server requires the data.
When you create a connection to a file-based data source, such as a PowerCube, you enter a path and filename. You can use a local path, such as C:\cubes\Great Outdoors Company.mdc, or a network path, such as \\servername\cubes\Great Outdoors Company.mdc, to point to the file.
In a distributed installation, where report servers are running on different computers, using a local path would require that the file and path be valid on each computer where a report server is running. Alternatively, if you use a network path to point to a file, each report server would point to the same file on the network without having the file available locally. Also, to ensure that the file is always available, we recommend that you store it in a shared directory that can be accessed on your network.
If you have installed Cognos 8 components on UNIX servers, we recommend that you also locate the file-based data source on a UNIX server. You should then use a UNIX path, such as /servername/cubes/Great Outdoors Company.mdc to access the file.
If you have installed all components on a single computer, you can use local paths, but you must ensure that the services requesting the data have the appropriate access to the data files on the computer.
For Windows distributed installations, we recommend that you use UNC paths to shared directories for any file based data source, such as PowerCubes or XML files.
