1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Introduction to PowerPlay Enterprise Server Setup for Cube and Report Access Performance Batch Administration Use Deployment Manager Summary

Series 7 Version 2 PowerPlay Enterprise Server Administration

Objectives
In this module, we will:

examine properties at the server, cube, and report levels

add a cube and a collection to a server

access remote cubes from both Web and Windows clients enable drill-through

drill through from PowerPlay Web to Impromptu Web Reports

discuss how to search for cubes and reports on the PowerPlay Enterprise server

Access Cubes and Reports on the Server

Examine Report and Cube Lifecycle

Publish Cubes, Reports and Collections

PowerPlay Enterprise Server supports various methods of publishing and distributing cubes, reports and collections.
Publish to Upfront Open with Browser Table of Contents

Access Remote Cubes and Reports

Users can open remote cubes and reports on the PowerPlay Enterprise Server from PowerPlay Windows and Web clients.
Select the server to connect to

Access a remote cube or a remote report

Easy Administration
Reports and cubes on the server:

can be easily administered from a central location but reside anywhere on the LAN

can have individual properties set or inherit the properties from a higher level
can be added to specific servers and organized into folders can be moved or renamed on the server through shortcuts without breaking URL links to the source

Folders and Collections

PowerPlay Enterprise Server supports folders and collections as a means to organize and administer cubes, reports, or other folders. Collections are dynamically updated folders that may contain:

.ppx .mdc and other folders

Administer Properties at Several Levels

At the server level, set properties:

to apply to the server itself and its mirror reference to apply to all folders, cubes, and reports on the server

At the individual folder, cube, and report levels, set properties:

to override one or more server-level properties that the specific folder, cube, or report inherited to apply to the mirror references for the folder, cube, or report

Store Properties in .cfx Files

Server-level properties are stored in the PPSRoot.cfx file. Properties of a specific folder, cube, or report are stored in separate .cfx files, one for each object.

If the corresponding .cfx file is deleted, the specific folder, cube, or report will not appear on the server.

All .cfx files are in the Cognos\cern\ppserver\PPSRoot folder structure in the PPES installation directory.

Customize Server Properties

Use the Server Properties sheet to customize:

individual settings for the selected server settings that apply to all folders, cubes and reports

Customize Cube Properties

Use the Cube Properties sheet to apply settings to one specific cube.

Demo 2-1
Add Cubes to PowerPlay Enterprise
Server

Demo 2-2
Examine Server Properties and
Connections

Demo 2-3
Cube to Cube Drill-Through

PPES and Upfront

Cubes and reports are deployed to the enterprise when they are published to Upfront.

User Class Security in Cubes

You can implement user class prompting for users belonging to more than one user class.
PowerPlay Transformer PowerPlay Enterprise Server

Disable the Table of Contents

You can disable the PowerPlay Table of Contents to:

prevent users from having access to the list of cubes running on a server (no security) ensure that users access cubes and reports only from Upfront (secure)

Use Relative URLs

You can configure your application to use Relative URLs to prevent users from seeing the name or IP address of the true Web server.

Define Connections to Third-Party OLAP Sources

Create a pointer file using PowerPlay Connect to connect to third-party cubes on your OLAP server.

Set up Drill-Through for OLAP Third-Party Cubes

Use PowerPlay Connect to enable drill-through when using third-party cubes.

Demo 2-4
Connect to a Third-Party OLAP
Source

Enable Drill-Through Access

Enable the server to manage cubes built for drill-through access in server-level property sheets.

Demo 2-5
Insert the Cube onto the Server and Drill Through from PowerPlay Web to Impromptu Web Reports

Customize PowerPlay Web Toolbar Buttons

Add custom buttons to the PowerPlay Web toolbar to enable users to accomplish common tasks.

Demo 2-6
Create Custom PowerPlay Web Toolbar Buttons

Search
Use the search utility to locate cubes and reports on the PowerPlay Enterprise Server.

Summary
In this module, we have:

examined properties at the server, folder, cube, and report levels added a cube and a collection to a server accessed remote cubes from both Web and Windows clients enabled drill-through

drilled-through from PowerPlay Web to Impromptu Web Reports

discussed how to search for cubes and reports on the PowerPlay Enterprise server

Workshop 2-1
Deploy a Web Access Cube and Verify Connections