Managing the Configuration Group

The configuration group defines a group of servers that share configuration. This is critical in multi-server installations so that configuration values remain available and consistent on all nodes, even after network partitions. The configuration group contact host runs on the same instance as the active content manager.

About this task

  • In an Easy installation, these values are set for you.
  • For a Custom installation, the host and port properties are pre-populated during installation. However, you must follow the steps below to verify if the pre-populated settings are appropriate for your environment.

Procedure

  1. Start Cognos Configuration.
  2. In the Explorer window, under Local Configuration, click Environment.
  3. Click Configuration Group.
  4. Specify the Local Member Settings values.
    1. Set the Member synchronization port and Member coordination port values.
      Important: These two ports must be open to both inbound and outbound traffic.
      Ensure that the two ports are two different local ports that are not in use. If all of the applications on your computer were running during the installation, these ports should already be set, using available ports.
      • Member synchronization port is the local port used for network communication that transfers and synchronizes configuration information from one server to another. Every install needs to be able to talk to the MutualAuthSSLHttpEndpoint on the other installs. For example, any firewall between application and data tier needs to be open on that port. The httpEndpoint is used strictly for internal communication from one Cognos Analytics instance to another. The default is 4300.
      • Member coordination port is the local port used for network communication for group coordination. This port is used to discover and join a group, and to maintain an up to date list of configuration group members. On the primary Content Manager install group contact port is the same port. Each install needs to be able to talk to any of the other installs on the group coordination port, so again, any firewall between tiers of the installation needs to be open for that port. The default is 5701.
    2. Configure the Member coordination host property.

      This setting specifies the local host name for coordinating network communication within the Configuration group.

      If your computer has only one network adapter:

      Set the value of Member coordination host to the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the local computer.

      If your computer has more than one network adapter:
      Use one of these methods:
      • Set the value of Member coordination host to a specific IP address to ensure that the product uses the correct adapter.

        OR

      • Use this pattern-matching method:

        1. Set the value of Member coordination host to the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the local computer.
        2. Edit the file installation_location/wlp/usr/servers/cognosserver/bootstrap.properties and add this entry that specifies a pattern matching the correct adapter:
          com.ibm.bi.jgroups.matchaddress=matched_pattern
          where matched_pattern can have one of two formats:
          • match-address:IP_address_pattern

            This format identifies the correct adapter by matching its IP address with a pattern of IP addresses.

            For example, add the following line in the bootstrap.properties file:

            com.ibm.bi.jgroups.matchaddress=match-address:10\\..* to match any IP address that starts with 10., such as 10.1.2.3

            Tip: The correct match-address syntax is match-address:n\..* (that is, using a single backslash). However, in the example above, you are editing the bootstrap.properties file. In .properties files, a backslash (\) is a special character. Therefore, you must add an extra backslash.
          • match-address:name_pattern

            This format identifies the correct adapter by matching the adapter name with a pattern of names.

            For example, add the following line in the bootstrap.properties file:

            com.ibm.bi.jgroups.matchaddress=match-interface:eth.* to match any adapter that starts with the name eth, such as eth2

        For more information about the pattern-matching method used above, visit these sites:

  5. Configure the Group Settings properties.

    The three Group Settings properties define the configuration group that shares the configuration. You must set the same values on all of the Cognos Analytics servers in your distributed environment.

    1. On the computer where the primary Content Manager server is installed, set these values:

      • Group name

        Choose a name for the group.

      • Group contact port

        Set the same value as you did for the Member coordination port property.

      • Group contact host

        Set the same FQDN of this computer as you did for the Member coordination host property.

    2. On each of the other computers in your distributed environment, set the same values that you used on the primary Content Manager server:

      • Group name

        Enter the same name that you set on the primary Content Manager server.

      • Group contact port

        Set the same value that you specified on the primary Content Manager server.

      • Group contact host

        Set the same value that you specified on the primary Content Manager server.

      Tip: An alternate method for setting the values on a computer that is not the primary Content Manager server is to follow these steps:

      1. Right-click Configuration Group, click on the Retrieve button to launch Retrieve Configuration Servers dialog.

        If the active Content Manager is SSL enabled, you can retrieve the configuration group properties after Content Manager URL and other properties have been correctly configured and saved.

      2. Enter the proper information to access the active Content Manager server, and then click OK.
        • User ID - The ID with administration privileges on the server.
        • Password - The password for the User ID.
        • Namespace ID - The value can be found in the Security, Authentication resource. For example, CognosEx
        • Cognos Analytics URL - The URL used to run Cognos Analytics. For example, http://myserver:9300/bi
  6. Save the configuration.