Question & Answer
Question
Is it possible to configure Audit Reporting in Cognos Analytics?
Answer
This step by step example uses SQL Server 2012 as a repository.
Video Tutorial
See the exact steps on the IBM Cognos Analytics YouTube Channel:
Video: How to configure Audit Reporting in Cognos Analytics
Detailed Steps:
1. Create and Configure a Logging Database
Create an Empty Database called Audit with the same procedure as the Content Store Database.
i) Open SQL Server Management Studio with a System Administrator account.
ii) Right-click Database and choose New Database. Type Audit as your database name. Click OK.
For further information on creating a logging database go to the product documentation on this page: Guidelines for creating a logging database.
2. Direct log messages to the database
i) Open Cognos Configuration and right-click Logging and choose new resource > destination. Name is Audit and type is Database. Click OK.
ii) Right-click Audit and choose new resource > database. Name is Audit and Type is SQL Server. Enter the sign-on details and Database Name.
iii) Test to validate the connection and save your configuration.
Note: If you are using a multi-server environment, complete steps i-iii on your dispatcher installations too.
For further information on Database connectivity for the logging database go the product documentation on this page: Database connectivity for the logging database.
3. Set the Cognos System logging levels to at least Basic Level
For Audit Reporting, set the logging level to Basic (auditing enabled) or Request. If you set the logging level to Minimal, auditing is unavailable. Use Full logging and Trace levels only for detailed troubleshooting purposes under the guidance of Customer Support as they can significantly degrade server performance.
i) In Cognos Analytics go to Manage > Administration Console, choose the Status tab and click System. From the Scorecard pane, choose your dispatcher and Set properties.
ii) Click the Settings tab and choose Logging in the filter. Set all services to Basic and click OK.
iii) Restart your Cognos Analytics Service for the new settings to take effect.
For further information on system logging levels go the product documentation on this page: Logging levels.
4. Create a data source connection to the Audit database
For the sample reports to work the data source must be called Audit.
i) In Cognos Analytics go to Manage > Administration Console > Configuration > Data Source Connections and click New Data Source.
ii) Create a data source called Audit.
iii) The type is SQL Server Native Client. Follow the wizard to add the database server name, port, database name, and sign-on credentials for both compatible and dynamic data sources.
For further information on how to configure a data source go to the product documentation Creating a data source connection
5. Import the deployment
Cognos Analytics Version 11.0.0 to 11.0.9
The Audit sample reports and a package are included as part of the standard IBM Cognos Analytics Samples installation. The deployment file IBM_Cognos_Audit.zip is stored in this directory:
<Cognos Analytics Samples installation location>\samples\webcontent\samples\content
Locate the file IBM_Cognos_Audit.zip and follow steps i - iii in the next section.
Cognos Analytics Version 11.0.10 and later
The Audit sample reports and a package are included as part of the standard IBM Cognos Analytics Server installation. The deployment file IBM_Cognos_Audit.zip is stored in this directory:
<Cognos Analytics installation location>\samples\Audit_samples\
i) To import, locate and copy the file IBM_Cognos_Audit.zip into the <Cognos Analytics installation location>\deployment directory.
ii) In IBM Cognos Analytics in the Nav Bar, click 
Manage > Administration Console > Configuration tab > Content Administration and click the 
New Import toolbar button.
iii) Follow the steps in the New Import wizard using the default settings.
6. Test the reports
i) You can now test the sample Audit reports. Navigate to Team Content > Samples_Audit > Audit and click each of the reports to test and run.
A description of each sample report is contained in the Product documentation here.
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Modified date:
04 April 2024
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