Cognos FSR access to Cognos Controller

You can configure IBM® Cognos® Financial Statement Reporting (FSR) to access IBM Cognos Controller accounts under several of the supported authentication environments.

Cognos Controller supported versions include Cognos Controller 8.5.1 IF7, Cognos Controller 8.5.1 IF14, and Cognos Controller 10.1 IF1 through to 10.1 IF6.

If you need support for languages other than English, use Cognos FSR 6.6.1 and Cognos Controller 10.1.1 or Cognos Controller 10.1 IF 8.

Important: In Cognos FSR, you must enable macro security when you use Cognos Controller. For more information about macro security, see the IBM Cognos Financial Statement Reporting (FSR) Administration Guide.

Cognos authentication services

Authentication is the process of identifying individuals before you allow them to log on.

Authentication in Cognos Controller is managed by using Cognos Controller native or local security, Cognos security with other authentication providers, or Windows authentication.

You can configure one of the following authentication services to include Cognos FSR.

  • Native security

    Native security is the default authentication method. When you start IBM Cognos Controller, you are prompted to choose a database and log on. When you provide the appropriate credentials, you are allowed to log on to Cognos Controller. If you use native security to secure the Controller database, you must configure anonymous access to the reporting components by using Cognos security.

  • IBM Cognos security

    Cognos security allows anonymous access to reporting components when native security is defined for the Controller components or authenticated access to both Controller and reporting components.

    For authenticated access, when you attempt to access Cognos Controller, you are prompted to log on to the application. When you provide the appropriate application credentials, you are allowed to access Cognos Controller.

  • Windows authentication

    Windows Authentication is the built-in authentication that is provided through the configuration of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft .NET Framework.

    When Windows Authentication is enabled, user connections that are established with IIS on the Controller Web Services Server are validated and authenticated against the Cognos Namespace. If you meet the logon requirements for Windows, you are not prompted to provide logon credentials when you start Cognos Controller.

  • Cognos namespace

    Cognos has its own namespace, which is in addition to the external namespaces that represent other authentication providers. The Cognos Namespace does not replicate the groups and roles that are defined in your authentication provider. Instead, you might want to use the Cognos Namespace to define groups and roles that can span multiple other authentication providers.