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"An error occurred ... Request format is unrecognized for URL unexpectedly ending in '/ibmcognos/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi" when launching Controller client

Troubleshooting


Problem

User launches Controller client. User receives error.

Symptom

The error will vary slightly, depending on environment.
Example #1 - Controller 10.1.0 (using CGI):

Error
An error occurred while trying to access the server.
<...>
Error Details:
Client found response content type of 'text/html; charset=utf-8', but expected 'text/xml'.
The request failed with the error message:
--
<html>
<head>
<title>Request format is unrecognized for URL unexpectedly ending in '/ibmcognos/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi'.</title>
<style>
body {font-family:"Verdana";font-weight:normal;font-size: .7em;color:black;}
p {font-family:"Verdana";font-weight:normal;color:black;margin-top: -5px}
b {font-family:"Verdana";font-weight:bold;color:black;margin-top: -5px}
H1 { font-family:"Verdana";font-weight:normal;font-size:18pt;color:red }
H2 { font-family:"Verdana";font-weight:normal;font-size:14pt;color:maroon }
<....>
<span><H1>Server Error in '/ibmcognos/controllerserver' Application.<hr width=100% size=1 color=silver></H1>
<h2> <i>Request format is unrecognized for URL unexpectedly ending in '/ibmcognos/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi'.</i> </h2></span>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif ">
<b> Description: </b>An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.
<br><br>
<b> Exception Details: </b>System.InvalidOperationException: Request format is unrecognized for URL unexpectedly ending in '/ibmcognos/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi'.<br><br>
<...>
 
Example #2 - Controller 10.4.2 (using ISAPI)
image 5526
Client found response content type of 'text/plain; charset=utf-8', but expected 'text/xml'.
The request failed with the error message:
--
System.InvalidOperationException: ibmcognos/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll Web Service method name is not valid.
   at System.Web.Services.Protocols.HttpServerProtocol.Initialize()
   at System.Web.Services.Protocols.ServerProtocolFactory.Create(Type type, HttpContext context, HttpRequest request, HttpResponse response, Boolean& abortProcessing)

[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU048","label":"IBM Software"},"Product":{"code":"SS9S6B","label":"IBM Cognos Controller"},"ARM Category":[{"code":"a8m0z000000brYKAAY","label":"Installation"}],"ARM Case Number":"","Platform":[{"code":"PF033","label":"Windows"}],"Version":"All Version(s)","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB76","label":"Data Platform"}},{"Product":{"code":"SSMRTZ","label":"IBM Cognos Controller on Cloud"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU048","label":"IBM Software"},"Component":" ","Platform":[{"code":"","label":""}],"Version":"","Edition":"","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB76","label":"Data Platform"}}]

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Document Information

Modified date:
08 May 2025

UID

swg21653338

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