Cognos LOG FILES? Different type of Cognos Logs.

Log Files:
Log files in Cognos are the files that store content for trouble shooting any problems. There are different log files in Cognos and each log file is having a different feature associated with it. You can use Cognos connection to make any changes to the size or location of log files and also the log server properties.
The following are the different log files that are present in the Cognos.



The Transfer Log File- It is located at C8_location\instlog by default. You can change the location of this file using Cognos Connection. It is mainly used to store the logs that are generated while transferring the files. Transfer Log ‘TL’, Product Name, Version ,Build Numbers and time stamp are the things that are seen in a transfer log file. 
For example, the format of the log file is as follows. tl-C8BISRVR-8.4-0.0-20100925_1234.txt

The Transfer Summary-Error Log File- It is located in the same directory as that of transfer log file c8_location/instlog directory. In the name of this log file you observe an extra thing ‘SUMMARY_ERROR’ added. This is used to identify the log file difference between the Transfer log file and the Transfer Summary Log file. It’s used to record the disk space usage, totals components installed and errors if any encounter by transferring components.
For example the format of the log file is as follows. 
tl-C8BISRVR-8.4-0.0-20100925_1234_sumamry_error.txt

The Startup Configuration File - This log file stores information of the changes you made while setting up properties. It is located in C8_location/Configuration directory and the naming convention of it is similar to that of previous ones but a little bit different in format of it. It is mainly an XML file with all the configurations.
cogstartup_201009311234.xml

The Startup Configuration Lock File- This file is used to enhance the security while you open Cognos configuration. Its main purpose is to create a lock file named ‘ COGSTARTUP.LOCK’ in the C8_location/configuration directory. Opening Cognos Configuration is not possible and if you face problems, that means, there is a lock file already in the directory mentioned above and that you have not closed the Cognos configuration properly last time you opened. So in order to open the Cognos Connection without any problem, you have to delete the file that is present already.

Note: Delete only if the file is already there without the Cognos connection opened. Please don’t delete when the Cognos connection is open. 


The Locale Configuration File- locale mapping, content locales, currency support and other changes when done through the Cognos configuration are stored in this Log file. It is located in c8_location/configuration directory. The name of the file is as follows
coglocale_201001311234.xml

The Run-Time Log File- This is the default log file for the Cognos. This is located in c8_location/logs directory. The name of the file is the one you configured earlier. If you didn’t then the default file name is cogserver.log

The Gateway Log File- This file logs the information related to problems faced while processing requests using gateway. It is located in the C8_lcoation directory. The name of the file is gw gateway_interface.log
The gateways record errors in the gateway log file, which is located in the c8_location/logs directory. You can use the gateway log file to troubleshoot problems that prevent the gateway from processing requests or from using encryption. Symptoms of these problems are user IDs and passwords do not work, single signon does not work, and the dispatcher is running but users receive the following error message: The Cognos BI server is not available. The gateway log file uses the following naming format, where gateway_interface is cgi, mod (Apache 1.3 module), mod2 (Apache 2.0 module), or isapi.
gwgateway_interface.log (e.g., gwcgi.log)

The Uninstallation Log File – Used to store the information while performing uninstallation. It is located in the temp directory. The name of the file is Cognos_uninst_log.htm.

The Silent Mode Log File – This file store the data related to the activities done when the Cognos configuration is run in a silent mode. The location of the file is c8_location/logs directory and the name of the file is cogconfig_response.csv.

The ReportNet(R) to Cognos 8 Upgrade File- This file stores the data related to the changes done while upgrading from CRN(Cognos report net) to C8 (Cognos 8). This is an XML file with xslt reference which makes it easy to view it with your favourite browser.

Categories: Cognos Tutorial