Cognos Performance Tuning Tips & Tricks

2
Hundreds of resources
Visit our Knowledge
Center to download this
presentation and
explore other assets:
senturus.com/resources
2

3
Steve Reed Pittman
Director
Enterprise Architecture and Engineering
Senturus, Inc.
3
Introductions
Todd Schuman
Practice Lead
Installations, Upgrades and Optimization
Senturus, Inc.

4
Agenda
• Introductions
• Hardware and server specifics
• Architecture setups
• Single/distributed
• Failover
• High Availability
• Dispatcher tuning
• High/low affinity requests
• Cognos services
• Peak/non-peak
• Concurrent users
• Java heap settings
4
• Report specific tuning
• Interactive performance assistant
• Data sets
• Other tips
• Modeling
• Database tuning
• Virtual machines tips
• Answers to participant questions
• Senturus overview and additional
resources

Enjoy the full webinar presentation
This slide deck is from the webinar Cognos Performance
Tuning Tips & Tricks
To view the FREE video recording and download this deck,
go to https://senturus.com/resources/cognos-analytics-
performance-tuning/
5

Cognos tuning (overview)
• Cognos Analytics is a complex software and hardware environment. A single
bottleneck in either the software or hardware has a ripple effect for the entire
system.
• Some of the most common software and hardware bottlenecks include:
• Process threading:
• Too few threads and queuing can occur.
• Process memory sizing:
• Too little memory and OutOfMemory conditions can exist.
• Too little memory and Garbage Collection can become costly.
• Nothing can minimize the impact of a sub optimal Analytics model or poorly
authored report or dashboard.
6

Hardware and server specifics
7

8
Hardware and server specifics
IBM Cognos Analytics on
Premises 11.2.x: Supported
Software Environments
8

Operating system (11.2.2)
• AIX – 7.1, 7.2
• LINUX
• Red Hat – 8.1, 7.1
• SUSE – 12
• Ubuntu – 16.04, 18.04, 20.04
• Windows
• Server 2012, 2016, 2019
• Windows 8, 10, 11
9

10
Databases (Content Store – 11.2.2)
• DB2 – 10.5, 11.5
• Informix – 12.1, 14.1
• MS SQL Server – 2012, 2014,
2016, 2017, 2019
• Azure SQL database
• Oracle – 11g, 12c, 18c, 19c, 21c
10

Browsers (11.2.2)
• Apple Safari – 10,11,12,13,14
• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge Chromium
• Mozilla Firefox ESR
11

12
Hardware (IBM recommended – 11.2.2)
• 4 Cores
• 32GB RAM
• Disk space
• 10GB install
• 4GB temp space
• 500MB/user file uploads
12

14
Basic distributed environment
Dedicated:
• Gateway
• Dispatchers
• Content Manager
14

15
Distributed environment with failover
Active/standby Content
Manager
• Both pointed to same content
store
• First CM to start becomes active
• Standby always checking for
active up status
• Will become active when primary
becomes unresponsive
15

16
High availability (HA)
• No single point of failure
• At least 2 of each Cognos
component (gateway,
dispatcher, CM)
• Load balancer for gateways
16

Like what you see?
To view the video recording and download the slide deck go
to https://senturus.com/resources/cognos-analytics-
performance-tuning/
Visit the Knowledge Center on our website for hundreds of
free resources https://senturus.com/senturus-resources/
18

19
Dispatcher tuning
• 87 options
• Majority 4 types
• High/low affinity
• # of processes
• Peak/non-peak
• Service
19

High affinity examples
20
Report Viewer
Run Again
Return
HTML Report Navigation
Top/Bottom of Page
Page Up/Page Down
Delivery Options
Save/Save As
Email
View Saved Output

Low affinity examples
21
Report Querying
Reporting
Report Processing
Report Authoring
Metadata Retrieval
Query Validation
Administrative
Testing Data Source Connections
Adding Objects (Folders, Jobs, Schedules, etc.)
Refreshing Portal Page

22
Services
• The dispatcher starts all Cognos Analytics BI services configured
and enabled on a computer, and routes requests locally
• A dispatcher can also route requests to another dispatcher
22

Batch/reporting/query services
• Batch service
• Jobs
• Schedules
• Emails
• Saved outputs
• Triggers
• Report service
• Active users running reports and waiting for results
• Query Service
• Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) reporting engine
23

24
Peak vs. non-peak
• 24-hour clock
• Defaults
• 7 (am) start
• 18 (6 pm) end
• Recommended
• Give report service priority during
peak
• Give batch server priority during
non-peak
24

25
Routing rules
• Route requests to servers based on
various rules:
• DQM/CQM reporting
• Named users/PVU-based servers
• Report/batch servers
25

26
Concurrent users
• 100:10:1 rule
• 100 named users
• 10 active users
• 1 concurrent user
• 4000 named users = 40
concurrent users
26

Tuning the dispatchers
• Affinity + service + peak/non-peak
• Report vs. batch
27
Be Aware:
• Each connection is multiplied by the number of
processes
• 16 low affinity (8*2)
• 4 high affinity (2*2)
• 20 total connections

28
Java heap settings
• DQM/Query Service only
• Dispatcher settings:
• Initial JVM heap size for the
query service (MB)
• Default:1024 Senturus
recommendation: 4096
• JVM heap size limit for the query
service
• Default: 8192 Senturus
Recommendation: 16,384
28
• Garbage Collection
• Short pauses, in-frequent occurrences
• DQM tuning guide
IBM Cognos Dynamic Query | IBM Redbooks
Note: Dynamic Cubes require
different sizing
IBM Cognos Dynamic Cubes

29
Task Manager
• Task Manager -> Show Columns
• Image Path/Command
29

30
Monitor changes
Under utilized Over utilized
30

32
Interactive Performance Analyzer (IPA)
• Run options
• HTML only
• Available for dashboards
• Serviceability pane
• Control +
32

Like what you see?
performance-tuning/
33

Execution times by object/page
34

35
Data sets
• Stored in compressed/encrypted,
columnar format (Apache Parquet)
• Pull data in from database to
remove SQL query execution time
• Originally built for dashboard and
story performance
• Can be scheduled for refresh
• Added reporting interface in 11.1.7
35

37
Clean up your Content Store DB
• Consistency check
• Content removal
• Notification database
• Retention rules
• Migration Assistant
37

38
Cognos SQL Scripts
• Cognos installation directory
• Specific to database
• Size profiling
• Object counts
• Saved output counts by size
• AddSysAdminMember
38

Modern virtual architecture
39

40
VM recommendations
• Dedicated resources
• No sharing
• Plan for 5-10% overhead
• Host should have “enterprise
level” hardware
40

41
Modeling
• Always need well designed
data models
• Avoid OLTP reporting
• Webinar presented by Patrick
on June 23
41

Get help improving performance
42
Assessment Training
Mentor

Like what you see?
performance-tuning/
43

Answers to participant questions
44

Cognos Performance Tuning Tips & Tricks
45
Q: How should we trim the size of the Content Store database? It seems
that not all the report bits get deleted when a report is deleted using the
Cognos web portal interface.
A: There are several ways to reduce the size of the Content Store database,
check out these resources.
• Creating a content removal content maintenance task - IBM Documentation
• Creating a retention rule update maintenance task - IBM Documentation
• Change the Connection Properties for the Notification Database - IBM Documentation
Q: How can I access IPA?
A: Under the run option in the reporting tool, there will be a slider to enable this
feature.

46
Q: Our dashboards run slow; do you have suggestions for how to speed
them up?
A: Cognos Analytics 11.2 features dashboard loading times up to 800% faster
than 11.0 and 11.1. Outside of that, data sets will be your best option to pre-
load data to drive faster dashboard performance.
Q: Will Microsoft Edge ever support Query Studio?
A: This is extremely unlikely. IBM has ceased new development for Analysis
Studio and Query Studio. Going forward, you should expect that Firefox ESR
will be the only supported browser for these studios.

47
Q: Is there anything we can do to speed up the Cognos to Excel
conversion? We see instances of reports running and completing from a
SQL viewpoint but then wait a long time for Cognos to generate the Excel
output.
A: There are many factors that can cause this to perform slowly. The complexity
of the report output, the number of pages and rows, and the file destination can
all contribute to a slow file output. If you are still having issues, please contact
Senturus for help at info@senturus.com.
Q: What’s the future of Analysis and Query Studios?
A: Both Analysis Studio and Query Studio are deprecated. They are still
available in Cognos 11.2.x, but only for on-premise installations, and only when
using Firefox ESR as the browser.

48
Q: Usually our reports are significantly faster than dashboards accessing
same data. We are on Cognos 11.1.2. Did dashboards have performance
improvements in newer versions?
A: Yes, dashboards in 11.2 are up to 800% faster.
Q: What is the future of Event Studio?
A: Unlike Query Studio and Analysis Studio, it has not been deprecated, but we
are still waiting on a UI overhaul to coincide with the current UI of Cognos 11.
Q: How do we deal with JVM not releasing RAM?
A: It is most likely related to Garbage Collection. Please contact Senturus at
info@senturus.com if you need help tuning this.

49
Q: Should Garbage Collection be generational or balanced?
A: We recommend leaving it set to generational unless you have a specific
need.
Q: Will changing/increasing the Java heap settings affect performance for
non-DQM reports?
A: Not really, but a poorly tuned Java heap in Cognos can have negative effects
on the overall environment.
Q: Is there any documentation for routing rules?
A: Information on routing rules can be found in Chapter 5 of the Cognos
Administration and Security Guide.

50
Q: Reports that typically take 2-3 minutes to run take 12 hours until a
"rolling restart" is done. That clears everything out, the system is
operational until later in the month when reports take a long time again. Is
there anything that can be done to prevent the long report time?
A: This sounds like old processes are not being killed and they accumulate until
the performance completely shuts down. A deeper analysis of your environment
is recommended. Please contact Senturus at info@senturus.com for
assistance.
Q: Is there any way to monitor data set size and storage?
A: Right now, the properties of the data set is the only way to view this
information.

51
Q: Can Cognos report output of Excel and PDF be stored in a separate
database rather than inside the Content Store database?
A: Yes. We highly recommend setting up a Notification Database to separate
your outputs and schedules/jobs.
Q: How do we copy/paste report specs and preview data in Event Studio
with Edge? We could in IE and miss it.
A: This is a limitation of the old Cognos UI not being supported in the newer
browsers. Using IE is the only option right now.

52
Q: How can we put data from report queries in a dataset in 11.1.7?
A: In Cognos 11.1.7 you can copy and paste queries from your report directly
into a dataset and load that data into memory. You can then update the report to
point to the dataset as its source. This should remove any dependencies on the
database and show an immediate performance increase.
Q: Is that 32GB RAM recommendation for a virtual or non-virtual
environment?
A: That recommendation is for both.

53
Q: How can we tune Cognos to increase performance when using TM1
cubes?
A: TM1 tuning is a different type of tuning and mostly related to TM1/Planning
Analytics and not so much Cognos Analytics. Please contact Senturus at
info@senturus.com if you need help tuning your TM1/Planning cubes.
Q: Is it be possible to install Cognos on the cloud?
A: Cognos can be installed on any server that has a supported OS.
Q: How can we resolve CCL-BIT-0005 Socket errors?
A: We need more information to assist with this error, contact us at
info@senturus.com with the details.

54
Q: When the Cognos Content Store switches from primary to secondary,
we have a lag/unavailability of application for 5 minutes, is this normal?
A: There is a lag during the failover. Five minutes might be on the high end of
that lag. If you need any assistance, contact us at info@senturus.com.
Q: What is the benefit of moving from CQM to DQM? What is the risk of
staying in CQM?
A: DQM can take advantage of 64bit architecture and provides better
performance due to memory caching. IBM has no plans to depreciate CQM but
it has not invested in this older technology in many years.

55
Q: Is Report Studio a good tool to replace Analysis Studio?
A: Analysis Studio was supported to replace Powerplay but lacked some
features and usability. It still worked well enough to interact with cubes in a
similar way. Reporting can simulate a lot of the same functionality as Analysis
Studio, but there is still a learning curve and some of the functionality requires
different approaches. Setting the reporting tool to run in preview mode and to
show members in the metadata are a good way to help move users to this tool.

Additional resources
56
Insider viewpoints
Technical tips
Unbiased product reviews
Product demos Upcoming events
More on this subject

Upcoming events
•Power Automate for Power BI: Work Smarter, Not Harder
•Thursday, May 19, 2022, 11am PT/2pm ET
•https://senturus.com/events/power-automate-for-power-bi-work-smarter-not-harder/
•Zero Gravity Virtual Conference by Incorta
•Thursday, May 26, 2022, 8am – 2pm PT/11am – 5pm ET
•https://www.incorta.com/zerogravity
•Good Data Models Lead to Great BI
•Thursday, Jun 23, 2022, 11am PT/2pm ET
•https://senturus.com/events/good-data-models-lead-to-great-self-service/
57

Decisions and actions
Business needs
Modern BI: accelerated & accessible
58
Analysis-ready data

A long, strong history of success
•21+ years
•1350+ clients
•3000+ projects
59

60
Join the
Senturus team
We’re hiring talented and experienced professionals
• Managing Consultant
• Senior Data Warehouse/Cognos BI Consultant
See job descriptions: https://Senturus.com/why-Senturus/careers/
Send your resume to: jobs@Senturus.com

© 2020 by Senturus, Inc. This presentation may not be reused or distributed without the written consent of Senturus, Inc.
www.senturus.com 888-601-6010 info@senturus.com
Thank You

Cognos Performance Tuning Tips & Tricks

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Cognos Performance Tuning Tips & Tricks (20)

More from Senturus (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Cognos Performance Tuning Tips & Tricks

Editor's Notes