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Interim Solution - Adding Data to Cognos or Tableau

Interim Solution - Adding Data to Cognos or Tableau

Owned by Saparnell
Last updated: Jan 22, 2025
4 min read

Summary

  • What:

    • Connect BI Tool directly to data source

    • Report developer creates Tableau data source or Cognos data module

    • Report developer then creates reports off the Tableau data source or Cognos data modules

  • Pros:

    • Allows report developers to build Cognos or Tableau report prior to the data source being added the applicable Activity Hub(s)

    • Once the data source is available in the applicable Activity Hub(s), the reports can be re-pointed

    • Can be blended with Activity Hub views (may reduce speed of report)

    • Works best with on-prem servers

  • Both Pro & Con:

    • Maintenance of Tableau data source or Cognos data module is performed by Report developer

  • Cons:

    • May not be available for applications located in the cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS)

    • A poorly written report can negatively impact the performance of the data source

    • Does not allow for data to be used by data integrations

    • May not use AH naming standards or BIA development standards, therefore when the your data source is added to an Activity Hub you’ll need to update your reports to point at the new fields

  • How:

Cognos Process

  1. The Business Team opens a ticket with BIA by emailing busintel@ucsd.edu

    1. The person who opens this ticket should be a Cognos report developer or a team lead with a report developer resource

    2. Include the following:

      1. Name of the data source

      2. Connection details for the data source: port and url or server name

      3. The name of the data base administrator, the person who can create username logins and passwords for the data source

      4. The Active Directory group that should have report developer access to this data.

      5. The Active Directory group that should have consumer access to this data.

  2. BIA requests firewalls to be lowered between data source and Cognos

  3. BIA requests a username and password for the data source

  4. BIA creates the folder structure in Cognos

    1. One folder will be created to hold the in-progress data source and in-progress reports

    2. One folder will be created to hold the final data source module

  5. BIA imports data into Cognos - this will be all of the data

  6. Business Team models the data in a Cognos data module

    1. BIA can provide training as needed

    2. This doesn’t have to be all of the data from the data source, more can be added to later if needed

  7. Business Team can combine data modules of different data sources

    1. This was the report developer can create data module joining the uploaded data source and Activity Hub packages

  8. Business Team builds reports off the data module

  9. Additional support needed after the data module is created can be secured by emailing busintel@ucsd.edu.

Cognos Supported Connectors

Cognos Connectors FAQs

  • Unlike Activity Hub views, data modules directly connected to data sources can only support one connection to a server at a time. If you would like to attach to a -DEV, -QA and -Production server you will need to create 3 data modules, one for each environment/server.

  • Direct connection to production servers will create additional demand on that server resource. To prevent issues with your production server be sure to write clean, effecient reports and use as little data as you can.

 

Tableau Process

BIA has no part in the technical process of setting up a Tableau desktop connection to a data source.

Tableau data sources that connect to data source servers should not be created or published to a laptop or desktop.

Tableau data sources that connect to data source servers should only be created and published from a virtual machine (VM).

  1. Tableau report developer opens a SNOW ticket with ITS-WorkstationLifecycle to request a Tableau virtual machine (VM).

  2. Business Team models the data in Tableau desktop on the VM

    1. BIA can provide training as needed

    2. Tableau data source should not include any vizualizations

  3. The Business Team requests folders for the data source and workbooks to be published to, if the folders do not already exist, by emailing busintel@ucsd.edu

    1. Include the following:

      1. The Active Directory group that should have report developer access to this data.

      2. The Active Directory group that should have consumer access to this data.

  4. BIA creates the folder structure in Tableau, if one does not already exist

    1. One folder will be created to hold the in-progress data source and in-progress reports (optional)

    2. One folder will be created to hold the final data source

  5. Business Team builds reports off the data source

  6. Additional support needed after the data source is created can by secured by contacting

    1. ITS-WorkstationLifecycle for issues with your VM.

    2. Your local database admin (DBA) can help with drivers and security issues between Tableau desktop and your data source

Tableau Connection FAQs

Linked Servers: Open a ticket with ITS-DBA requesting an account be mapped to the linked server. Users may be able to connect to the lined DB in Tableau Desktop,  but will get a password/authentication error after publishing to Tableau Server.  If this occurs, the user should open a ticket with ITS-DBA to have their service account mapped to the linked server.

Tableau Supported Data Connectors

 

 

Tableau supported connectors.png

 

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