Packaging Cognos Planning Analyst
The basics of remote deployment
Overview
This is a topic that comes up on a regular basis, companies, particularly larger ones or those with outsourced I. T support have a requirement to package their software using SMS, Installshield, EDM or some other tool so that it can be installed remotely on users desktops, rather than having an I. T support person visit individual desktop users to perform the installation.
Packaging Cognos Planning Analyst for remote deployment
Packaging applications is a fairly standard practice in I. T terms and the complexity of the packaging process inevitably varies between software products. For the un-initiated, Cognos Planning Analyst can be considered a "Complex Application" to package.
It is not that this product is particularly difficult to install, but the installation does not flow in a manner typically expected by the I. T support professional.
There are no Windows Installer MSI packages provided with the software, and the installation process its self is little more than a file transfer between the installation disk and the appropriate file locations on the computers hard disk. This means that a standard "next ... next ... next" style installation will mean the software will not function, and even if you manage to get it working, its unlikely that it will be configured with the settings that you want it to have.
Application packaging considerations
The following actions should be completed before the package is "sealed": -
- Installation of the software should be completed
- Manual configuration using Configuration Manager should be completed to ensure that the: -
- location of the Filesys.ini is set to that of your Analyst Server installation
- the default workspace size is set correctly as this should in most cases be higher than the default 64MB
- the details for your Directory Server are all configured
- The software is tested by a person competent in the user processes involved with the day to day running of Cognos Planning Analyst
When these steps are completed the application package can be completed and then testing is able to take place of the deployment of the package.
Conclusion
Obviously it would be difficult to go into the exact details of packaging as there are many software products available to provide this functionality and it is for this reason that many Consultancy firms will not provide direct support for packaging, though as the theory of installing Analyst is the same in most cases we can ensure that the packager understands the installation methodology of the product before beginning the process.
There are many companies successfully running packaged installations of Analyst and without any real problems, so comfort should be taken that this can be done and that it works just fine.