May 15, 2019 09:47 AM
Hi Mantautas,
I use Flexera Analytics (Cognos) daily and find it to be incredibly valuable, but I do acknowledge that it is not trivial and can be confronting to use - but I definitely think it's worth the effort. The System Reference guide (downloadable from the online help) has some content on Analytics, but it is very theoretical. You could look at the Learning center which has some introductory videos and lessons (https://learn.flexera.com/?q=analytics).
There are several data models published with FNMS - if using FNMS cloud there are 2 data models and if using FNMS on prem there is an additional 'operational' data model not available in the cloud (as of 2019 R1 anyway). Each data model has its purpose (dashboard development, versus low level reporting etc), so it would be important for you to become familiar with the different models and when to use each. My advice would be to use the "Flexera Data Models" for dashboard development and then if desirable develop drill through to detailed reports using the other data models.
If you're interested, I've attached a set of examples of dashboards/reports I’ve built using Cognos over the past few years. These might give you an idea of what kind of things are possible. I should clarify that whilst some of these use the OOTB data models in some cases it was necessary to use direct SQL queries to generate data for views I was aiming for (which can only be done for on-prem implementations of FNMS).
- Murray
May 16, 2019 09:38 PM - edited May 17, 2019 09:01 AM
Hi,
My experience is limited to local testing VMs and sample data. From playing around to see what I can customize beyond the standard Cognos dashboards, I found Cognos not just to be very slow (or resource hungry) but also my impression is that I am kind of limited by the existing data cube. Sure, I can add my own data, but it stays independent and is not integrated with the existing data structure.
I think the Cognos Cube Designer would be the solution to that, but it is not included. Please correct me someone, if I am wrong here.
I am not aware of any Cognos user guide from Flexera. You should definitely know your data and data structures - because you don't want to make the wrong business decission based on a sloppily created report.
If there are existing reporting solutions in place, possibly with experienced people as well and already integrated in company processes, you might consider using them instead.
Best regards,
Markward
May 15, 2019 10:27 AM
May 16, 2019 11:19 PM
Hi Mantautas,
I use Flexera Analytics (Cognos) daily and find it to be incredibly valuable, but I do acknowledge that it is not trivial and can be confronting to use - but I definitely think it's worth the effort. The System Reference guide (downloadable from the online help) has some content on Analytics, but it is very theoretical. You could look at the Learning center which has some introductory videos and lessons (https://learn.flexera.com/?q=analytics).
There are several data models published with FNMS - if using FNMS cloud there are 2 data models and if using FNMS on prem there is an additional 'operational' data model not available in the cloud (as of 2019 R1 anyway). Each data model has its purpose (dashboard development, versus low level reporting etc), so it would be important for you to become familiar with the different models and when to use each. My advice would be to use the "Flexera Data Models" for dashboard development and then if desirable develop drill through to detailed reports using the other data models.
If you're interested, I've attached a set of examples of dashboards/reports I’ve built using Cognos over the past few years. These might give you an idea of what kind of things are possible. I should clarify that whilst some of these use the OOTB data models in some cases it was necessary to use direct SQL queries to generate data for views I was aiming for (which can only be done for on-prem implementations of FNMS).
- Murray
May 16, 2019 09:38 PM - edited May 17, 2019 09:01 AM
We are on 2018 R2 - how did you generate the views from SQL? very keen on learning how to do that as you cannot connect the core SQL backend to cognos.
Sep 11, 2019 05:02 PM
@anne_watson - it is possible to connect Cognos directly to the FlexNet Manager SQL database with FNMS On-Premises, but not with FNMS Cloud.
Sep 12, 2019 07:53 AM
I have On-Prem and i was told with 2018 R2, that functionality was lost. If this is not so, could you be so kind as to give me instructions as to how to connect?
Sep 24, 2019 06:06 PM
Flexera Analytics (powered by Cognos) is still part of the FlexNet 2018 R2 release. If it is installed and configured on your system, you would normally access it by clicking the the Reports button at the top of the UI and then select an option from the Analytics menu:
Sep 25, 2019 01:27 AM
That is not what I am referring to Chris - that we have configured. What i want to do is connect the external Cognos server to the raw FNMSCompliance database so i can transfer existing SQL queries we have developed into Cognos reports to make them accessible to our partners. Many of the tables we have built SQL queries from are not available in the data sources available in Cognos.
Oct 03, 2019 09:54 AM
Hi Anne,
For on prem FNMS environments the ability to utilise SQL as the source of queries has always been available - though since Cognos has evolved featurewise and (access rights/license levels) there has been some caveats:
For Cognos 10.x environments:
For Cognos 11.x environments:
So: to use SQL in the Reporting environment you can:
When you close the SQL window Cognos will validate the query and save the columns returned by the query for you to use in the report.
You can then build your report using whichever visualisations you want.
Note: if you have numeric fields that you want Cognos to automatically aggregate then you should explicitly set the appropriate aggregation formula (usually Sum/Total, but could be Max/Min/Average etc).
If you want to build dashboards using SQL then the approach is different but can be done by starting with creating a Data Server, then build a Data Module (allowing you to specify joins between subjects/tables) and then possibly Data Sets. You can then choose the Data Module or Data Set as the source of data for your Dashboard.
I presume you are really just asking for SQL in Reports though so I'll leave it there.
Let us know how you get on.
Murray
Oct 06, 2019 06:13 PM - edited Oct 06, 2019 06:17 PM
That's lovely and i have full Admin, Cognos roles, but i still get this error. Any idea?
Oct 07, 2019 09:47 AM
Oct 07, 2019 10:23 AM
Oct 07, 2019 10:47 AM
Thanks for the updates, @anne_watson - any chance you could share what the solution ended up being?
Oct 07, 2019 11:27 AM
Mar 31, 2021 12:52 AM
He delivered all of IBM Cognos Report Studio to create and use layout, formatting, and user interaction reports. This is usually created by professional report writers who have a good knowledge of the tools and information.
In this exercise, you will learn to:
Create a chart
Make sure the report requires interaction
But you, the thing that the champion analyst on the streets of society. Report Studio creates a graph to display the performance report and returns the last years. Report the addition of an interactive prompt.
You will create a report and Report Studio will return Order Now as an example - Warehouse GO Data push sheet (analysis) of the sample.
Complete this exercise, you must have the appropriate license and security permissions for this feature.
To note:
When using Report Studio, the data, which will not live. You run the report while viewing the data.
You can see the XML report of infinity.
You can add multilingual gives you something.
Apr 10, 2020 04:49 AM