Access Manager and MS Directory Server

[anicca]

After reading through all of the documentation that I could find and doing a bunch of trial and terror, I cannot figure out what values to use for the Base Distinguished Name in Access Manager when I am attempting to create a new Directory Server.

Our Sys Admin [ran out of ideas|gave up] after a couple of hours of troubleshooting with me this morning, but I'm guessing that this issue must have been run into during other Impromptu/Access Manager/MS Directory Server setups.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd very much appreciate it.

Thanks!
Anicca

 

[GJParker]

The default settings when installed on Sun or Netscape directory server are

o=cognos, c=CA

(o=organisation, c-country)

HTH



Gary Parker
MIS Data Analyst
Manchester, England

 

[drlex]

In addition to what Gary says, some NetAdmins may use their own domain details.

I.e. if your company is widgets.co.uk, and your network domain is widgetgroup you might use dc=widgetgroup, dc=widget, dc=co, dc=uk.


soi la, soi carré

 

[anicca]

Thanks very much for the suggestions Gary & drlex. I just tried both options and received the same error message as before ("The Base DN you have entered is wrong.")

Our Microsoft Directory Server doesn't know anything about Cognos as this point, so it makes sense that using o=cognos, c=CA wouldn't be successful. (I wish we were using a Sun/Netscape Directory Server combo...life would be ever so much better for me in so many ways!

However, using the dc=widgetgroup, dc=widget, dc=co, dc=uk example does seem like it should work because that's the format that we're using to query LDAP for other applications and it works like a lucky charm...just not from Cognos Access Manager.

I will keep playing around with it and see what I can figure out. If anyone has other ideas/suggestions, that'd be great.

Thanks again!

 

[ascore55]

I am dealing with exactly the same issue, were you able to determinde if the Base DN should represent the Cognos server or the Domain Controller?

 

[anicca]

Just obtained some Cognos documentation that strains the mud out and throws in an iodine tablet to make the Access Manager/MS Active Directory Server water both crystal clear and safe to drink.

The correct base Distinguished name values to use are:

o=Cognos,dc=yourcompanydomain,dc=yourinternetdomain(com/org/etc)

However, there is some setup in Active Directory that has to first be done. It's too many steps to type in here, but if anyone would like it, I'd be happy to email it along. Please just give me a call at: 206-623-1635x581 to give me your email address.

For anyone struggling with the setup, the documentation is a tremendous help...however, it only documents MS Active Directory Server, not Netscape's Directory Server.

Cheers!

 

[yksvaan]

anicca, are you referring to this document:

http://support.cognos.com/kb-app/kn...ow_document=1&document_id=102518&version_id=1

Anyone can see it, if you paid for support and have support web account, as any sensible person/organisation would. The money one spends on Cognos licences is high enough, so support payments is nothing considering the support services which btw are worht every penny. (My support person at Cognos has given me answer to almost any question in ONE hour).

No offense, but how on earth you think somebody would actually call you and give you his/hers email address ? Unless your message was directed to your buddies.

Cheers


[blue]Backup system is as good as the latest recovery[/blue]

 

[anicca]

yksvaan,

I was being helpful in return for the help I've received here. If you'd like to flame someone, please find another forum to do it.

Anicca

 

[yksvaan]

Apologies anicca, since english is a foreign language to me, the tone of my post sounds wrong, even to me in retrospect. I'd like to explain what I was aiming at.

I still think it is funny to ask to make a phone call. And another thing, many people around the world who parcitipate in this forum won't even understand if the sequence of characters you wrote is a phone number, I personally wouldn't know what to dial looking at that. Is it in a form that it works from a cell phone from anywhere in the world, or in some international form? How do I know what I am charged calling that number? And so on..

In the era of tinnedmeat, at least in my country everybody knows email addresses shouldn't be published on web sites, post on web sites, and not to give to anybody or any instance you don't know what you're relationship with them is. (with your friends / "buddies" it is okay of course). And tv news (free press) every night advice: never ever open an incoming email message, unless you have no doubt it is from reliable source.

What I ment by "Anyone can see it", is that anybody with an support account can go and have a look at it. I can understand now that the phrase might be taken "anyone but you can see it" as "you" being stupid, which I did not mean.

So my intention was to be helpful providing the kb doc and to be co-operative by asking you if it was the doc you were referring to. If it isn't, and probably not, could you please post the kbdoc number.

Again my apologies.

Cheers

 

[ascore55]

Thanks Anicca for the post, Did not mean to start a war between you and yksvaan....I do not have credentials for Cognos support but would like to obtain the documentation you mentioned....

 

[cindyw]

This maybe a dumb question, but did you do the Access Manager install on your directory server? If you did not, that is why you are getting the errors. Its that install that extends your schema...without the cognos schema extension you'll be entering values all day with no luck. If you have a test Directory Server, I'd try just plopping in the Cd and taking a best guess on what to enter (though I would imagine that there are documented instructions on an NDS install.) Once you have that installed, then you can try to "talk" from Access manager. Good luck!

 

[flex13]

Just to clear up one point, you do not need to install any Cognos products on the directory server machine. The process of extending the schema can be done remotely from another machine ... the one with the Cognos products.

 

[anicca]

Hi ascore55,

I'd be happy to send you the documentation - not sure the best method to get your email address, though, since we're not supposed to post email addies into the forum. How do other people handle this situation?

I'd just post the text into the forum, but it's a Word doc and there are a bunch of screen captures illustrating the steps. In any case, let me know how to get the doc to you and I'd be happy to send it over, red rover, red rover.

cindyw and flex13, thanks very much for your posts. We have not installed any Cognos products on our LDAP server...the documentation we have supports what flex13 wrote about being able to extend the schema without installing any Cognos products. We're working with our Payroll application vendor and with Cognos support to try and figure out why we still can't get Access Manager to talk to our LDAP server. I'll update the notes here when we get it figured out.

Cheers and happy 2005,
Anicca

 

[flex13]

Annica,

Please let me know the case nunber that you currently have open with Cognos Support and I'll see what I can do for you.

 

[anicca]

Hi flex13,

Thanks very much - it's: 3228070. At this point, though, I think that Cognos Support and the sys admin here are waiting on a reply from our payroll application support people (Hewitt Associates). A bit frustrating that I don't have sys admin rights to the server so that I can work on this issue myself because our sys admin is swamped with vendor meetings at the moment. Ah life in the corporate trenches.

Thanks again,
Anicca

 

[flex13]

Anicca,

They Support rep should be sending you a utility that should help them to identify the issue.

 

[anicca]

Thanks for checking on the call! I'll follow up on it with our sys admin and Support this morning...and hopefully get it figured out Real Soon Now.

Cheers,
Anicca