IBM Cognos content archival

Storing archived content in your external repository provides you with the ability to adhere to regulatory compliance requirements, and can enhance the scalability and performance of IBM® Cognos® products by reducing the size of content in the content store.

The software supports an IBM FileNet® Content Manager with IBM FileNet CMIS external repository. If you already have IBM Filenet CMIS version 1 of the software installed, you must upgrade this software with fix pack, version 2. Content archival can also be configured to use your file system.

Administrators create a data source connection to an external repository to allow content to move from the content store to the repository. Users can view the archived content in the external repository from IBM Cognos Connection. By providing search results for recent and archived content, users can make critical comparisons between current data and historical data. This efficient mechanism allows your company to meet corporate and government requirements while providing a seamless user experience.

The content archived in the external repository is not managed in IBM Cognos environment. For example, if you delete reports in IBM Cognos Connection, the archived outputs are not deleted in your external repository.

There are two workflow scenarios for archiving your content. The first workflow allows administrators archive packages and folders after installing IBM Cognos Content Archival software. The second workflow allows administrators to create repository connections for new packages and folders.

Workflow 1: Archiving content after installing connectivity software

Administrators can archive saved report output for specific packages and folders or all packages and folders after installing or upgrading IBM Cognos Business Intelligence. This workflow only needs to be completed once since all of your content is currently located in your content store.

  • Create a data source connection to the external repository.
  • In Cognos Connection, select repository connections for the packages and folders that need to be archived.
  • Create and run a content archival maintenance task to select folders and packages to archive in the external repository.

Once you set a repository connection for packages and folders, any new report output is automatically archived, which means that there is no need to run the content archival maintenance task again.

Workflow 2: Creating repository connections for new packages and folders

Administrators can create repository connections for new packages and folders by completing these tasks:
  • Create a data source connection to the external repository.
  • In Cognos Connection, select repository connections for the packages and folders that need to be archived.

Using content archival content maintenance tasks

The content archival content maintenance task creates a reference to the report versions in the folders and packages that you select and configure. Selecting folders and packages marks the content within and allows it to remain in the content store until it is archived in your external repository.

It is important to note that this task does not move your content from the content store to the external repository. You must select repository connections for your packages and folders in IBM Cognos Connection first. Report versions in folders and packages that are not marked for archiving are available for deletion from the content store.

Once the content is marked, the content archival task is complete. A background task in Content Manager finds the marked items and then copies and saves them in the external repository.

Importing content into a folder or package that is configured for archiving to an external repository does not automatically move and archive the imported content into the repository. An administrator must run a content archival content maintenance task for this folder or package to archive the imported content.

Background tasks

The background XML tasks used to move content from the content store to the external repository are archiveTask.xml and deleteTask.xml. The archiveTask.xml file moves marked content to an external repository. You can also use this file to set thread execution times and archive outputs of selected formats. The deleteTask.xml file is a configuration file that retrieves and deletes marked version objects from the queue. You should not modify this file.

Preserve content IDs before you archive

If required, you can preserve content IDs before report output is archived.

Objects in the content store have content IDs that are deleted and replaced with new IDs by default when you run an import deployment and move content to a target environment. However, there may be situations when you must preserve content IDs, for example, when moving report output to a external report repository.