Using IPPA in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.2

Steps

IPPA_Deployment_and_Gantt_Chart_1.zip

1a.) Start by downloading the attached .zip file and extracting it. Copy the downloaded IPPA_PACKAGE_11_2_1.zip file to the <Cognos Install>\deployment folder of the Content Manager installation and the customvis.catalog.gantt.zip to your local computer.

1b.) Enable IPPA in the Advanced Settings in IBM Cognos Administration -> System –> Set Properties.

1c.) Select the Edit… link to launch the Advanced Settings.

1d.) Add in a Parameter called [DISP.zipi.IPAEnabled] and set it to [true]. Click OK twice to save the parameter.

Note: A restart is not required.

Note: The data for IPPA is written to a relational database of your choosing. Tables with the 'IPA' prefix will get created in the location determined by the options listed here.  Verify that these tables exist after completing the steps related to your chosen option.

Oracle, DB2, and SQL Server are supported database types.

1. An explicit location for the IPPA database can be specified by creating a data source called ZIPI.
2. If there is no ZIPI data source, the Notification database defined in IBM Cognos Configuration is used.
3. If there is no ZIPI data source or Notification database defined, the Content Store database is used.

To change the location of a current database, use the following steps.

1. Unset the advanced parameter by setting it to [false] and confirming the change. (Select OK twice)
2. Make the appropriate change (Example: Create a ZIPI data source.)
3. Reset the parameter back to True.

2a.) Create a data source that points to the IPPA database named IPADATA. The IPADATA data source is used for the reports supplied in the IPPA_PACKAGE_11_2_1 deployment.

2b.) Import the IPPA_PACKAGE_11_2_1 deployment to generate a folder called ZIPI under Team Content. It contains a package and reports that display IPPA data.

2c.) To import the Gantt chart, go to IBM Cognos Administration -> Library -> Import Visualizations

2d.) Click Browse… select the customvis.catalog.gantt.zip file and click Import.

3a.) To gather the performance data for reports. Go to Authoring by editing a report.  Select the chevron next to the run button and select ‘Show run options’.

3b.) Enable the ‘Include performance details’ option and click OK.

3c.) Select Run HTML

3d.) If you want to run a specific page of the report and go to Report > Pages, select the page and then Run HTML.

3e.) Running the report with IPPA enabled generates and populate the following tables. (One time only.)

3e.) The report renders with an execution time for individual items and a total at the bottom of the page. These links drill through using the ZIPIID to different detailed reports.

3f.) After drilling to the ProcessTime report, you can drill down further on more processes.

(Drilling down on the Crosstab Execution Time displays a Gantt chart, which shows the Start and End times of the processes.)

Many different actions take place in parallel running a report.

Blue: Java Process – Content Manager, present the output in the viewer.

Green: BIBusTKServerMain Process – Output (HTML) generation. (Also query planning and execution for CQM.)

Yellow: Dataset Service – Plans, executes the query and generates a result set. (Not applicable to CQM.)

*Firefox might not display this custom chart properly.

3g.) Drilling on the Total Execution Time allows drilling down further on individual processes or the ZIPIID to show a Gantt chart (similar to 3f) of the execution or a list of individual service timings.

3h.) A report running with a CQM (Compatible Query Mode) does not display the dataset-service as this processing is performed in the BIBusTKServerMain process.

3i.) To see Report Server Time Detail report, select the ReportServerTimeDetail link.

3j.) Report Server Time Detail report.

4a.) To show performance information for a Dashboard, select a widget and press [Ctrl] + [.] to launch the Serviceability flyout.

Enable the ‘Show duration for all visualizations’ to return performance information.

To get refreshed data, toggle the ‘Rerun all widgets to include performance details’. You are required to wait for the data to refresh to see new performance numbers. The numbers are updated in the flyout.

After refreshing, drill-through to more information is available. Clicking the query time drills to the ProcessTimeDashboard.

The Duration numbers represent the following in this case.

Total (ms): The total time, in milliseconds, to run queries and render the visualization.

Server query 1 (ms) & Server query 2 (ms) represent the queries for the line and bar components of the chart.

To determine which query relates to the columns (Quantity) and which relates to the line (Unit Price), look at the ‘View Specification’. Download and search the specification. The first reference is the first query and so on.

4b.) Clicking the Performance detail - Gantt chart displays the Gantt chart.

4c.) The Gantt chart displays a representation of when actions occurred and how long they took.

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Features available in Cognos Analytics 11.2.1, and above.

Users are able to return performance information in any report format running in the background.

5a.) Click the ellipses of the report and click Run as

5b.) Select the Run in background option and Include performance detail. You can select any format.

5c.) After the report executes, select the ellipses again and then View versions.

5d.) Select the chevron of the report to view the report details.

5e.) Click the Performance details to navigate to the performance reports.

5f.) Click a process to drill down to action details.

5g.) Click an action to drill down to see object path times.

5h.) Object path time.

Additional Notes:

Records are only captured during the specific report execution and not system wide. The IPPA records stored in the database are truncated 10 hours after their creation.

IPPA does not provide individual details for report visualizations.

The IPPA database can be used with SSL secured connections. To learn how to enable secured connections in IBM Cognos Configuration, follow this link.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/cognos-analytics/11.2.0?topic=options-using-ssl-protocol-database-communications