Cognos Support

User Guide
MAXIMIZING YOUR SUPPORT INVESTMENT
 Copyright © 2007 Cognos Incorporated.
While every attempt has been made to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and
complete, some typographical errors or technical inaccuracies may exist. Cognos does not accept
responsibility for any kind of loss resulting from the use of information contained in this document.
This document shows the publication date. The information contained in this document is subject to
change without notice. Any improvements or changes to the information contained in this document
will be documented in subsequent editions. This document contains proprietary information of
Cognos Incorporated. All rights are reserved.
No part of this document may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
transmitted in any form or by any means, or translated into another language without the prior
written consent of Cognos Incorporated.
Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks of Cognos Incorporated in the United States and/or other
countries. All other names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Information about Cognos Products and Accessibility can be found at www.cognos.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................4

2.0 GETTING STARTED ...................................................................................................................................5
2.1 GLOSSARY..........................................................................................................................................5
2.2 Frequently Asked Questions.................................................................................................................6
3.0 COGNOS SUPPORT PLANS OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................8
4.0 ONLINE SUPPORT ....................................................................................................................................9
Knowledge Base .................................................................................................................................10
Proven Practices .................................................................................................................................10
Product Information...........................................................................................................................10
Product Downloads............................................................................................................................10
Product Documentation ....................................................................................................................11
Supportlink Magazine ........................................................................................................................11
“Tech-Talk” Web Seminars (Customer Information Series) ................................................................11
Cognos Diagnostic Tools....................................................................................................................11
Proactive Notifications .......................................................................................................................11
Cognos Communities .........................................................................................................................11
5.0 ASSISTED SUPPORT...............................................................................................................................12
5.1 WHEN TO LOG A SERVICE REQUEST ..........................................................................................12
5.2 BEFORE LOGGING A SERVICE REQUEST ....................................................................................12
5.3 LOGGING A SERVICE REQUEST....................................................................................................12
Information Required to Log a Service Request .................................................................................14
Logging Service Requests by Telephone..............................................................................................14
Logging Service Requests Online........................................................................................................14
5.4 SERVICE REQUEST DETAILS ..........................................................................................................15
Priority ...............................................................................................................................................15
Status .................................................................................................................................................16
Resolution ..........................................................................................................................................17
Escalation...........................................................................................................................................17
Joint Commitments ............................................................................................................................18
6.0 PRODUCT (APPLIANCE) CONTINUATION ............................................................................................19
6.1 PRODUCT RELEASE TYPES ............................................................................................................19
New Releases .....................................................................................................................................19
Maintenance Releases – Point Releases ..............................................................................................19
Service Packs (SPs) .............................................................................................................................19
Hot Sites.............................................................................................................................................20
7.0 ADDITIONAL CUSTOMER RESOURCES.................................................................................................21
7.1 TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS RESOURCES ...................................................................................21
7.2 IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE ..................................................................................................21
8.0 CONTACTING US .....................................................................................................................................22

3
1.0 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

Welcome to Cognos Support! There are two Section 3.0: Cognos Support Plans
guides available to assist you in navigating Overview
Cognos Support: Provides a very brief overview of the
Cognos Support Plans in a compare and
1. Cognos Support Plans Guide: The
contrast style. This is not intended to
Support Plans Guide is intended to
replace the Cognos Support Plans Guide,
educate you about the available Cognos
which is the reference source you should
Support Plans prior to purchase, and
use for detailed Support Plan information.
serve as a reference of your support
entitlements after your purchase. It is the Section 4.0: Online Support
definitive document on what is included Summarizes and details the extensive,
in your specific Support Plan. online self-service resources available to
you.
2. Cognos Support User Guide: The
Cognos Support User Guide is intended Section 5.0: Assisted Support
to help you maximize your support Summarizes and details how to work with
investment. Targeted to customers that Cognos Support when you require live,
have already purchased support and interactive support.
chosen their Support Plan, the Support
Section 6.0: Product Continuation
User Guide details how to use and
Summarizes and details the various
access support services.
product releases available from Cognos.
The guide you are now reading is the Cognos
Section 7.0: Additional Resources
Support User Guide. It is organized as
Provides a quick reference of pertinent
follows:
resources available to you from Cognos.
Section 1.0: Introduction and Overview
Section 8.0: Contacting Us
Assists you in understanding the guides
Provides ways to contact Cognos Support.
available to you, explains their target
audience and objective, as well as prepares
you to navigate this document.

Section 2.0: Getting Started

Addresses terminology and common
questions, and provides you with a quick
start to the information you’ll need to
engage Cognos Support.

4
2.0 GETTING STARTED
In this section you’ll find most of the
information you need to get started using
Cognos Support. The first part assists you
with terminology you’ll encounter in this
document and while using Cognos Support.
In the second part you’ll find answers to some
frequently asked questions (FAQ), and in the
process be given background on the absolute
basics you need to know to be successful with
Cognos Support.
2.1 GLOSSARY
Cognos Assisted Support (Assisted Support):
available through the Cognos Support Web
site or via telephone, Assisted Support is
when you require a Cognos Support Analyst
to provide live, interactive technical
assistance.
Cognos Online Support (Online Support):
refers to the Cognos Support self-service Web
site, and collectively all of its features and
assets.
Cognos Insight!: a market name adopted for
the Service Request logging portion of the
Cognos Support Web site.
Cognos Support Analyst (Support Analyst):
often referred to as a Support Analyst or
Technical Analyst, a Cognos Support Analyst
is a highly skilled, highly trained technical
Cognos employee who is ready to assist you
when you need live, interactive support from
Cognos.
Cognos Support: collectively refers to the
entire support organization at Cognos, most
typically visible to you via 24x7 online Web
access and Cognos Support Analysts.
Error: is defined as an error in product code,
resulting in the product not functioning as
documented, as per design specification or as
intended by Cognos.
Error Correction: is defined as a revision that
corrects Errors and deficiencies in product
code.
Priority: the severity level of a Service
Request, from 1 to 4, that encapsulates the
impact an issue is having on your business
and/or application.
Response Time: response time relates to a
Service Request, and is the lapsed time from
when you log a Service Request to when a
Cognos Support Analyst is assigned to your
issue, and acknowledges such assignment by
initiating return contact. The Response Time
you receive is a function of your Support Plan
and Service Request Priority.
Service Request (SR): a single, reproducible
issue, problem, or symptom that you require
interactive assistance with from a Cognos
Support Analyst.
Support Contact: a member of your team
who is highly trained and skilled in Cognos
products and solutions, and who understands
your implementation of Cognos. Specific
types of Support Contacts (i.e.,
Primary/Secondary) work collectively with
Cognos to identify, diagnose and resolve
Service Requests.
Support Plan: a Support Plan is a purchasable
support service offering with defined
deliverables, rights, joint commitments and
service levels. A Support Plan encapsulates the
shared working arrangement between you
and Cognos Support.
5
 2.2 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Question: How do I become a Support
Contact?
Question: What is my customer number and
where do I find it? Answer: Upon initial purchase of support
from Cognos, your company must designate a
Answer: Your customer number, sometimes
Primary Contact. Your Primary Contact must
referred to as your account number, is the
call a Cognos Support Center and register as
unique identifier given to your company by
such. Once registered, your Primary Contact,
Cognos. It will appear on all of your support
in conjunction with Cognos, will manage all
quotes and invoices, and you may be asked to
other Support Contacts to your entitlement
provide it when you contact Cognos Support.
limits.
You can determine your customer number by
looking at your original or last Cognos Question: How do I get access to Cognos
invoice, by contacting your Cognos sales or Online Support?
renewal representative, or by calling Cognos
Answer: All contact types have access to
Support.
Cognos Online Support. Some access for Web
Question: How do I contact Cognos Support? Contacts is restricted. To establish a username
and password for Cognos Online Support,
Answer: One of the key sources for contact
your Primary Contact adds your details, at
information is the Cognos Support Web site at
their discretion, into the Administration
http://support.cognos.com. Specific Support
section of Cognos Online Support. Your login
Center locations and coverage information can
name will be your e-mail address, and your
be found at http://support.cognos.com/en/
password will be sent to that e-mail address.
support/about/contact.html.
Question: How do I reach Cognos Assisted
Question: Are there different types of Support
Support?
Contacts?
Answer: Cognos Support has worldwide
Answer: There are three different levels of
coverage and our support centers are divided
customer designated Support Contacts:
among three regions:
Primary, Secondary, and Web User. You may
select one Primary and as many Secondary • Americas: covering North and South
Contacts as your total contact entitlement America and the Caribbean
allows. There is no limit to the number of
• Europe, Middle East and South Africa
Web Users permitted. The privileges of the
(EMEA): covering Eastern and Western
different contact types are as follows:
Europe, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia,
Privilege Primary Secondary Web the Middle East and Africa

Add/Delete/Modify • Asia-Pacific: covering South and Southeast

Support Contacts  Asia and Australia and New Zealand

Download Product   Specific Support Center locations and

contact information can be found at
Log Assisted Support http://support.cognos.com/en/support/
Service Requests   about/contact.html.

Access Online Self-Service

Support   

6
Question: How do I reach 24x7 Critical
Coverage Support?

Answer: 24x7 Critical Coverage is only

available if you have purchased the coverage
directly, or if you have the coverage included
in your Support Plan. It is for Priority 1
Service Requests (as described elsewhere in
this User Guide) that arise outside of typical
business hours, or on holidays or weekends. If
you are entitled to 24x7 Critical Coverage,
and you have a Priority 1 issue, you must log
a Service Request by telephone by calling 1
800 637-7447 (in North America) or 1 613
228-7900 (outside of North America).
Cognos 24x7 Critical Coverage Support is
provided in English only.

7
3.0 COGNOS SUPPORT PLANS OVERVIEW

Cognos Support offers Support Plans specific
to Software customers and Appliance
customers. Software customers purchase
software from Cognos and install and
maintain such software on their own
hardware, whereas Appliance customers
purchase hardware from Cognos on which
software solutions are pre-installed and
configured.
All Support Plans are founded on:
1. Product (Appliance) Continuation:
access to various new and upgrade
releases of software and/or hardware
The difference between the plans is in the
Assisted Support focus.
3. Assisted Support: the support services
available to you when you require live,
interactive support from Cognos
The Support Plans available to Software
customers include: 1) Standard, 2) Advantage,
and 3) Premier. Appliance customers are
eligible for the Select Support Plan. The Select
Support Plan for Appliance customers is very
similar to the Standard Support Plan for
Software customers, but adds hardware
support services.

2. Online Support: 24x7, self-serve access

to Web resources such as Knowledge
Base, Proven Practices and Product
Downloads (if applicable)

8
This table summarizes each Support Plan.

Support Plan Components Select Standard Advantage Premier

Product New Releases    

Continuation Maintenance Releases    
Service Packs (for some products)    
Hot Sites    
Documentation    
Product Enhancement Program    
Product Advisories    
Online Self- Service Request Management    
Serve Support Knowledge Base    
Proven Practices    
Product Information and Downloads    
Product Documentation    
Supportlink – Online Magazine    
Tech-Talk Web Seminars    
Diagnostic Tools    
Proactive Notifications (RSS Feed)    
Assisted Support Contacts Based on Based on 4 per 8 per
Support number of number of Support Support
supported supported Group (in Group (in
Appliances users addition to addition to
Standard Standard
contacts based contacts based
on supported on supported
users) users)
Service Request Logging Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
Response Time (P1) 1 hr 1 hr 30 min Immediate
Hardware Support  not applicable not applicable not applicable
Resolution Targets (non-code Error)  
Senior Subject Matter Expert Team  
Team Based Issue Resolution  
Low Customer:Analyst Ratio  
Software Development Kit (SDK)
Code-Level (if SDK licensed) 
Partnership Executive Sponsor 
and Prevention Support Account Manager (SAM) 
Modeled Environment 
Onsite Visits 
Proactive Summaries/Alerts 
Add-on Rapid Response Option
Components 24x7 Critical Coverage (P1) Option Unlimited Unlimited
Global Support Option Option Option
Additional Support Contacts Option Option Option Option

9
4.0 ONLINE SUPPORT
The Cognos Support Web site
(http://support.cognos.com) provides 24x7,
self-serve access to assist you in diagnosing and
solving your own issues, becoming more
knowledgeable about Cognos products and
solutions, and logging Assisted Support Service
Requests.
The vast collection of knowledge resources, such
as Knowledge Base, Proven Practices, Product
Documentation and Supportlink magazine, are
collectively searchable via the Google™ powered
search engine. Use the search box located in the
top right corner of every page for fast and
convenient access. If you need assistance using
the search, a Search Help page of tips is available
at: http://support.cognos.com/en/support/
knowledgebase/new_search.html
Many of the resources are only available to
supported customers and reside behind password
protection. Please refer to the Getting Started
section of this document for a better
understanding of how to become a Support
Contact and gain access to Cognos Online
Support.
Here are some of the key resources you have
access to, with direct links:
Knowledge Base – http://support.cognos.com/kb-
app/knowledgebase
The extensive text-based and multimedia
Knowledge Base provides easily accessible
solutions to specific technical questions.
Proven Practices – http://support.cognos.com/
supported/tti/public/index.html
All Support Contacts can access Cognos Proven
Practice documents to help them learn how to
best use Cognos products within their specific
technology environment. Developed, tested and
proven in real life customer engagements, Cognos
Proven Practice information is collected, created,
validated and shared from experiences gained in
product reviews and real, live solution
deployments. Proven Practices begin as
“guidelines,” the theory on how things are
expected to work, and then mature to Proven
Practices over time as experience proves they
work in specific customer environments. To
simplify finding and using the knowledge, the
documents are organized into categories or topics
such as report design, modeling, financial
management, security, infrastructure,
performance and upgrade and migration.
Product Information – http://support.cognos.com/
en/support/products/index.html
The Product Information area of the Support
Web site is where you can find detailed
information about Cognos products. Some of the
information available includes:
• Product Advisories: warnings, advice and
updates on known or potential issues or
alerts with Cognos or third-party software.
• Localized Products: a listing of the languages
into which Cognos has translated the user
interface and/or documentation.
• Supported Products: provides the support
status of all versions of Cognos software.
Please note that this page applies to both
English and localized versions of Cognos
products unless otherwise noted.
• Software Environments: provides a listing,
by product version, of the software
environments in which Cognos products are
known to work and have had testing. You
can also find supported locales, character
sets, and languages in which data is
supported.
Product Downloads – http://support.cognos.com/
supported/en/support/downloads/index.html
The Downloads section has New Releases,
Maintenance Releases and Service Packs for
applicable Cognos products. These releases and
their scope are fully defined in the Cognos
10
Support Plans Guide, the companion document
to this User Guide. Only Primary and Secondary
Support Contacts can access these downloads, as
described elsewhere in this Guide.
Product Documentation –
http://support.cognos.com/en/support/
documentation/index.html
Updated product documentation, including
readme files, installation guides, new feature
guides, and user and technical reference manuals,
is provided with each New Release. In the case of
multi-user licenses, only one set of hardcopy
documentation is provided with the software.
The documentation details new features and
enhancements and may also be updated based on
user feedback. If required, additional hardcopies
can be purchased through your Cognos account
manager, or a soft copy can be downloaded from
the Support Web site.
Supportlink Magazine –
http://support.cognos.com/supportlink/index.html
All Support Contact types can access
Supportlink, an online magazine with technical
and product information written by Cognos,
customers and partners. Supportlink is designed
to enable you to work more effectively with
Cognos software. Published by Cognos Support,
Supportlink is a unique source of in-depth
information about Cognos software and services.
“Tech-Talk” Web Seminars (Customer
Information Series) –
http://www.cognos.com/techtalkinsider/
This online series delivers deep, real-world
technical information and offers the opportunity
to engage live with Cognos experts. Register for
monthly Cognos Customer Information Series
Web Seminars to learn about best practices and
technology updates from hands-on specialists
from across Cognos.
Cognos Diagnostic Tools –
http://support.cognos.com/en/support/diagnostic
s/index.html
Timely and accurate information about your
system environment, Cognos product
configuration and settings are crucial to speeding
issue resolution and improving productivity of
your team. Cognos Support has developed a
number of diagnostic tools to help verify your
software environment, identify and troubleshoot
issues and provide you with the product details
and systems information needed to log a support
Service Request, and to perhaps self-diagnose and
issue.
Proactive Notifications –
http://support.cognos.com/en/gcs/rss/
Through RSS feeds, which stands for Really
Simple Syndication, you have access to
continually updated headlines, summaries, and
links to full stories on our Web site. To access the
RSS feeds, you will need to install a news reader.
The latest editions of popular Web browsers also
have built-in support for RSS feeds allowing you
to download and display RSS feeds right in your
Web browser.
Cognos Communities –
http://support.cognos.com/en/support/
communities/index.html
By using the Cognos Communities you can
communicate, share and interact with other
Cognos users from all over the world. Interact
online and in person and exchange your ideas
and solutions. Become part of the growing
community of Cognos users.
If you have any questions or comments
regarding Cognos Online Support, please
contact the Cognos Online Support team at
webmaster.support@cognos.com. Note: this
email address is intended only for questions
relating to the use of the Online Support
services, and should not be used to log Service
Requests – doing so will result in delays in
processing a request for assistance.
11
5.0 ASSISTED SUPPORT
5.1 WHEN TO LOG A SERVICE REQUEST
Logging a Service Request is typically
appropriate if you:
• Are looking for guidance with respect to
the correct use of a Cognos product or
feature.
• Are looking for clarification with respect to
a documented feature.
• Need assistance troubleshooting an issue
when you are experiencing unexpected
results.
• Need to reproduce potential Cognos
product errors and receive alternative
solutions until the code problem can be
corrected.
You will be referred to our Consulting or
Training Services teams if, for example, your
issue:
• Requires hands-on configuration and
tuning
• Is non-reproducible
• Is associated to your specific
customizations or implementation
• Is related to the designing of a model or the
developing of reports
• Is in regards to planning a deployment or
project management
If you are unsure whether your issue should be
logged as a Service Request, or if it requires
Consulting or Training Services, follow the
Service Request submission process with
Cognos Support. A Support Analyst will then
work with you to determine the best plan of
action.
5.2 BEFORE LOGGING A SERVICE REQUEST
Before logging a Service Request, you should
use Cognos Online Support resources to
identify, and perhaps solve, the issue. If the
diagnosis and solution are not readily apparent,
you will need to gather some information and
perform some tasks before logging a Service
Request. This will ensure that your issue is
resolved as quickly as possible.
1. Verify that the issue is actually with your
Cognos software. Given that Cognos
products operate in a software and
hardware environment of varying
complexity, you need to eliminate the
possibility that the problem resides with
another vendor’s product, such as your
hardware, database, operating system or
network software. If the issue is found to
be with another vendor’s product but is
impacting your Cognos solution, you will
need to contact that specific vendor.
Cognos will use reasonable efforts to
resolve the issue with you and the vendor.
2. Verify that you are working with a
supported version of the Cognos software,
using the product information available to
you and described in the Online Support
section of this User Guide. If the version
you are using is not supported, you might
need to upgrade in order to solve the
problem.
Useful Link: http://support.cognos.com/en/
support/products/supported.html
12
 3. Verify that you are working with a
supported software environment, using the
product information available to you and
described in the Online Support section of
this User Guide. You can also use the
Cognos Diagnostic Tools described in the
Online Support section to verify your
environment.
Useful Link: http://support.cognos.com/
en/support/products/environments.html
4. Check to see if the problem is reoccurring
by reviewing your company’s past Service
Requests. Your Service Request history can
be found under My Company’s Service
Requests, available via Online Support.
5. Attempt to reproduce the problem to ensure
that it is not just a simple misstep.
Determine if the problem occurs randomly
or consistently.
7. Check for more obvious root causes, such
as file locations, directories, and paths
specified, insufficient access permissions,
lack of disk space, and so on.
8. Determine if the problem occurs on one,
more than one, or all of your computers.
You can use Cognos Diagnostic Tools,
available at http://support.cognos.com/
en/support/diagnostics/, to verify your
environment, compare the results between
different installations and identify possible
differences.
9. Determine if Cognos Consulting or Training
Services would be better positioned to
address the problem or need, keeping in
mind that Cognos Support’s primary
responsibilities to you are:
• Providing guidance with respect to the
correct use of a Cognos product feature.

6. If the problem is reproducible, check to see • Providing clarification with respect to a

if any changes have recently taken place in documented feature.
your environment, including:
• Assisting with troubleshooting an issue when
• Version changes of the product, database, you are experiencing unexpected results.
operating system, network software,
• Reproducing potential Cognos product
patches, etc.
errors and providing alternative solutions
• Web or application server configuration until the code problem can be corrected.
changes
5.3 LOGGING A SERVICE REQUEST
• Security setting changes
If you’ve performed the tasks and gathered the
information in the previous section, you have
either solved your issue or are ready to log an
Assisted Support Service Request. As previously
detailed, you need to be a Primary or Secondary
Support Contact to log a Service Request. Service
Requests can be logged using Cognos Online
Support, or via telephone. For your convenience,
how to access each is repeated below:

Online Support – http://support.cognos.com

Support Center Telephone Access –

http://support.cognos.com/en/support/
about/contact.html

13
Each Service Request you log is assigned a
reference number. This unique identifier enables
you and Cognos to track the Service Request
until the issue is resolved, and afterwards for
historical reference. It is important to record this
number to simplify getting status update requests
via the telephone or online.
Information Required to Log a Service Request
Whether you log your Service Request by
telephone or online, some combination of the
following information is required, so it is advised
that you collect it in advance:
• Your customer number
• Your full name
• Your phone number
• The e-mail address where you can be
reached
• The version of the software you are using
(including build number)
• The vendor and version of the operating
system on which the Cognos software is
installed
• The type of hardware you are using
• Your network configuration and topology, if
applicable
• The types and versions of databases you are
accessing, if applicable
• A description of what you were doing when
the issue occurred (error messages, product
behaviors, steps that result in error)
• The text or screen capture of any error
messages that appeared on screen
• Log files that record configuration and
events
• The steps you have already taken in an
attempt to solve the issue
• Pertinent diagnostic results from the Cognos
Diagnostic Tools
Logging Service Requests by Telephone
Locate and call your nearest Support Center
using the above provided link. Please have all
required information gathered in advance. If you
contact Cognos Support via telephone for an
update, you will be prompted for the Service
Request reference number to ensure you are
connected to the correct Support Analyst to
ensure an accurate update.
Logging Service Requests Online
1. Access Cognos Online Support at
http://support.cognos.com
2. Locate and click the Create Service Request
link
3. On the Submit Create Service Request form,
enter the required information and the
Service Request Priority (see the next
section for details on priorities). Be sure to
provide an issue title and all pertinent
details regarding the technical issue
4. Attach pertinent log files, screen captures
and other supporting files
5. Submit the form
After logging a Service Request and when using
Cognos Online Support, you can locate your
Service Request by following the Check Status
of Service Requests link. Your 10 most recent
Service Requests will appear in the list, and you
can view the current status or each. To find
older Service Requests, use the Query button.
To broaden the scope of your online Service
Request view to that of your entire company,
follow the Check Status of My Company’s
Service Requests link.
14
5.4 SERVICE REQUEST DETAILS
Priority
If you log your Service Request using Cognos
Online Support you must indicate the initial
Priority level. Once a Cognos Support Analyst
responds to your Service Request and obtains
additional detail, together you may mutually
agree to change the Priority.
If you log your Service Request by telephone,
please clearly state the business impact of the
issue and a Priority will be set for you. A Support
Analyst will respond to your Service Request by
e-mail or phone (based on your preference),
according to the Response Time specified for
your Support Plan. Please see the Cognos
Support Plans Guide for the Response Times
associated to your specific Support Plan.

Service Request Priority definitions are as follows:

Business Recommended
Priority Impact Contact Method Description

1 Critical Telephone Cognos application in production environment is

not available or critically affected; no acceptable
workaround or alternative solution available.

2 High Telephone Use of the Cognos application in a production

environment is seriously affected; Cognos
implementation project unable to continue; no
acceptable workaround or alternative solution
available.

3 Medium Online Use of the Cognos application is restricted; an

acceptable workaround or alternative solution may
be available.

4 Low Online Use of the Cognos application is generally

unaffected; request for information, enhancement or
product clarification; an acceptable workaround or
alternative solution is either available or not
required.

To ensure speedy resolution, the Support Contact who logged the Service Request must be readily
available throughout the time period that the Service Request is being worked on.

15
Status
Every Service Request will have a status of Open or Closed. The Open status indicates that work is
progressing, and updates and attachments can be added to the Service Request. A Service Request
with a substatus of Resolved or Cancelled for seven days is moved to a Closed status. Every Service
Request will have one of the following sub-statuses:

Are you
notified
Sub-Status Description by email?
Submitted A Service Request has been created. 

Assigned The Service Request is assigned to a Support Analyst.

Customer Updated The Service Request has been updated by you.

Ongoing The Support Analyst is actively working on the

Service Request.

In Collaboration The Support Analyst is working on a solution with other

Cognos staff.

Waiting on Customer The Support Analyst is waiting on additional information 

or files from you.

Waiting on R&D Info The Support Analyst is waiting for information from
development or Product Management.

Incomplete Work on the Service Request has been temporarily halted

for a short and predetermined period of time.

Special Handling A product Error is associated with the Service Request,

and it has been escalated to development for evaluation.

Product Issue Created A product Error or enhancement request has been logged. 

Proposed Solution A proposed solution has been presented to you and 

Cognos is waiting for your response.

Resolved A proposed solution has been accepted by you, or other

resolution criteria have been met, as defined in this 
document (see Service Request Resolution).

Cancelled The Service Request is cancelled with your agreement. 

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Resolution
Cognos Support strives to resolve your issues as
fast as possible with the highest quality, and
receive direct confirmation from you that the
issue has been resolved. However, there are
instances when an issue will be deemed Resolved
without your direct input. Below is a list of
reasons why an issue may be deemed Resolved:
• You tell Cognos the issue is resolved or can
be closed.
• The issue is found not to be due to any Error
in the Cognos product.
• Instructions are provided to you on how to
correctly deploy or use the product feature
in question.
• A workaround to achieve similar results is
provided and accepted by you.
• You are informed of a scheduled product
release that contains an Error Correction for
the issue.
• The issue is classified as an enhancement
request, and Cognos determines that such a
change will not be undertaken.
• The issue would require a change in existing
product functionality, and Cognos
determines that such a change will not be
undertaken.
• The issue is determined to be a third-party
vendor issue and you agree to transfer the
problem to the third-party vendor for
resolution.
• It is determined that you require additional
expertise and knowledge that can only be
gained through product training or a Cognos
Consulting engagement.
• The issue cannot be reproduced in a baseline
environment and it is determined that a
Cognos Consulting engagement is required
in order to assess customization, design or
architectural influences that might be
causing or contributing to the issue.
• The Service Request has been left open for
seven consecutive business days, awaiting a
response from you.
Escalation
A Service Request may be escalated by you, or by
Cognos Support. If it is deemed that a Service
Request requires escalation, Cognos Support will
collaborate with the necessary resources, which
may include Cognos development and/or
consulting, and other resources as appropriate.
You must also be prepared to make appropriate
resources available to work with Cognos Support.
Cognos Support Initiated Escalation – Cognos
Support Analysts or Support Management may
escalate a Service Request at any time based on the
perceived impact to your business, the age or
complexity of the Service Request, or other
relevant factors. As a result of the escalation, the
Service Request will be reassigned or overseen by
an appropriate senior Support Analyst. A note will
be added to the Service Request providing details
of the escalation and the resources assigned.
Customer Initiated Escalation – You may escalate
a Service Request by telephoning your regional
Support Center and requesting that your issue be
escalated. You will need to provide the relevant
Service Request number(s) and the reasons you
believe the Service Request should be escalated,
such as the impact to your business, pending
deadlines, or issue age and severity. Your Service
Request will be reviewed, and if applicable, it
will be reassigned to a senior Cognos Support
Analyst and an Escalation Manager will be
assigned. Either the Escalation Manager or senior
Support Analyst will contact you to work on an
action plan to solve the issue.
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Joint Commitments
A successful partnership requires full cooperation
and collaboration between Cognos and its
customers. By working towards the following
joint commitments, you can contribute to quality,
fast issue resolution and ensure you receive the
most value from Cognos Support.
Priority Cognos Commitment
1 Cognos Support will work on the
Service Request with you throughout
the business day, and provided that
the Service Request was logged
during business hours, will continue
to work on the issue outside of
business hours even if you do not
have 24x7 Critical Coverage.
2 Cognos Support will focus on the
Service Request in collaboration with
you throughout the business day during
normal business hours.
3 Cognos Support will work with you to
provide a resolution or an alternative
solution in a timely manner.
4 Cognos Support will provide you with
direction on how to resolve the issue.
If at any time during the resolution of a Service
Request you cannot meet these commitments, or
cannot provide the required, timely assistance,
your Service Request Priority may be lowered, or
Cognos Support work may be suspended until
you can.
Your Commitment
You will involve the number and level of
knowledgeable staff that is required to
work the Service Request effectively. For
example, a database administrator might be
required to assist.
You must be willing to collaborate with
Cognos Support full-time throughout the
business day, and 24x7 if required, as your
assistance may be required to gather
information or test and apply proposed
solutions.
You or designated resources must be willing
to collaborate with Cognos Support full-
time throughout the business day, and be
readily available.
You must be periodically available during
normal business hours and answer requests
for information in a timely manner.
You must be periodically available during
normal business hours and answer requests
for information in a timely manner.
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6.0 PRODUCT (APPLIANCE) CONTINUATION
Cognos invests significantly in enriching our
products. As a Cognos supported customer you
are entitled to upgrades and documentation for
supported products that become available during
the life of your support contract.
Cognos delivers different types of software
releases during the life of a product.
Most release types are available for download
from the Cognos Support Web site at:
http://support.cognos.com/supported/en/
support/downloads/
Not all release types are available for all
products. Please visit the above product
download link, and consult the Cognos
Support Plans Guide.
6.1 PRODUCT RELEASE TYPES
New Releases
New Releases (Major and Minor versions)
feature new capabilities, new supported
environments, improvements in quality,
scalability and performance, as well as
architectural enhancements. New Releases
are fully regression tested and typically
require a full uninstall/reinstall of the Cognos
product. New Releases are signified by an
increment in the major version number,
represented by the digits to the immediate left
of the first decimal in the version number, or
by an increment in the minor version number,
represented by the digits to the immediate right
of the first decimal in the version number
(e.g., Cognos 8.2, Series 7 Version 4 - 7.4).
Maintenance/Point Releases
Maintenance Releases are alternately referred to
as Point Releases. In this document the two terms
will remain interchangeable, but for clarity of
reading Maintenance Release will be used herein
to describe this release type.
Maintenance Releases are incremental changes to
a Major or Minor New Release, periodically
made available to supported customers. They
primarily address problems with the software
that have been reported by customers or
uncovered through Cognos’ own investigations,
and also add support for new environments. In
some cases they may contain new capabilities and
improvements but to a lesser degree than a New
Release. Maintenance Releases are subject to full
regression testing and include the accumulation
of corrections made in all previous Maintenance
Releases and Hot Sites since the most recent New
Release. They may require a full install/reinstall
of the Cognos product.
Maintenance Releases can be signified in one of
two ways. They may add a Release number or
MR number suffix to the major and minor
version number, such as Cognos 8.2 Maintenance
Release 1, often abbreviated to Cognos 8.2 MR1.
Alternatively they may add a third decimal point
to the major and minor version number, such as
Cognos 8.2.1, leading to the Point Release
reference.
Hot Sites
Should a specific error, or combination thereof,
warrant immediate release to solve a high
priority issue for a customer, a specific product
build containing the error correction may be
designated as a Hot Site. These releases are
normally sent only to customers who have
reported one of the corrected errors and the error
must be an extremely high priority. Hot Sites do
not address customer enhancement requests, and
not all error corrections can be delivered as Hot
Sites. Hot Sites include the accumulation of
corrections made in all previous Hot Sites since
the most recent release. Due to their urgency and
unlike a Maintenance Release, Hot Sites undergo
only targeted testing of specific corrections, not
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regression testing. If your issue is not causing a
major business impact, we recommend that you
wait for a scheduled Service Pack or Maintenance
Release, which is regression tested. Hot Site
corrections are automatically included in the next
Maintenance Release or Service Pack.

Service Packs (SPs)

Service Packs provide regular, high quality and
stable error correction releases. Service Packs
leverage automated regression test suites to
exercise the release prior to it becoming generally
available. Service Packs contain selected Hot Site
and critical corrections implemented since the last
regression tested release, such as a New or
Maintenance Release, or a previous Service Pack.
Unlike Maintenance Releases, Service Packs do
not add new environment support and will not
contain new capabilities or enhancements.

Service Packs are not a fully installable product,

rather they are targeted corrections to specific
product components. You must already have a
New or Maintenance Release installed in order to
deploy a Service Pack into your environment.
Service Packs are signified with a SP designation
after the version number, such as SP1 or SP2
(e.g., Cognos 8.2.1 SP1). They are only available
for Cognos 8 Query and Analysis products.
Cognos may expand their use in the future.

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7.0 ADDITIONAL CUSTOMER RESOURCES

This final section provides you with a Cognos Performance Perspectives

listing of additional resources available
from Cognos to help ensure success with
your current and future solutions.
7.1 TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS
RESOURCES
Innovation Center features business best
practice resources and events, including
Performance Blueprints and BI Competency
Center resources.
http://www.cognos.com/innovationcenter/
newsletter delivers stories tailored to your
needs, insights from industry thought
leaders, customer success stories, and
spotlights on decision-makers.
http://www.cognos.com/newsletter/
Cognos Global Customer Services Web site
provides access to all the latest resources
available from across Cognos.
http://support.cognos.com
7.2 IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE

TechTalk Insider delivers technical Proven Cognos Solutions Implementation

Practice and Technology Update Web Methodology (SIM) is a step-by-step guide
Seminars. to help ensure implementation success.
http://www.cognos.com/techtalkinsider/ Development activities, proven practices,
tips, guidelines, tools, and role definitions
TechTalk provides technical information to
are tailored to address the implementation
help you evaluate the right solution for
lifecycle for each Cognos product.
your business
http://support.cognos.com/en/consulting/cs
http://www.cognos.com/techtalk/index.ht
im/roadmaps.html
ml
Consulting services from experienced
Cognos Forum and other events are
Cognos consultants can be leveraged for
opportunities to connect with Cognos
implementations, migrations, BI
experts and other Cognos customers to
Competency Centers, targeted technical
gain knowledge, learn new approaches,
assistance, and much more.
learn best practices, and find out what is
http://support.cognos.com/en/consulting/in
coming from Cognos in the future.
dex.html
http://www.cognos.com/events/index.html
Product training via classroom training, e-
Cognos Performance Manager is the must-
Learning courses, customized training, or
have business book that can help you turn
enterprise training solutions. Role based
the growing information-intensity of your
curriculums are available.
job from a challenge to a competitive
http://support.cognos.com/en/training/inde
advantage.
x.html
http://www.cognos.com/pmbook/
Product Certification
Cognos Radio delivers a regular series of
http://support.cognos.com/en/training/certi
pod casts that provide you with insights
fication/
from Cognos customers and thought
leaders.
http://www.cognos.com/radio-
cognos/index.html?mc=-web_hp

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8.0 CONTACTING US
We welcome your feedback! Feel free to contact
Cognos Support by e-mail, telephone, or regular
mail. Direct any comments to the attention of the
support manager for your Support Center, or you
can send an e-mail to all support managers at
c.s.managers@cognos.com.
For a complete list of Support Centers
and their contact information, visit
http://support.cognos.com/en/
support/about/contact.html
If you have any questions or comments regarding
Cognos Online Support, please contact the
Cognos Online Support team at
webmaster.support@cognos.com. Note: this e-
mail address is intended only for questions
relating to the use of the Online Support services,
and should not be used to log Service Requests –
doing so will result in delays in processing a
request for assistance.
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h t t p : / / s u p po r t . c o g n o s . c o m

Cognos, the Cognos logo, the Cognos Global Support logo, The Next Level of Performance,
Impromptu, PowerPlay, and Supportlink are trademarks of Cognos Incorporated.
to come
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