Upgrading Recent Flexera Analytics

This topic is for use when upgrading Flexera Analytics from FlexNet Manager Suite 2017 R3 or later to 2024 R1. If you are upgrading from an earlier release using FlexNet Report Designer, please refer to Upgrading Flexera Analytics from FlexNet Report Designer.

Upgrading Flexera Analytics replaces earlier versions of IBM Cognos Analytics with IBM Cognos Analytics 11.2.4 FP3.

Once you have confirmed that all prerequisites have been met, an upgrade of Flexera Analytics can be summarized as follows:

1. Take a full backup of your Cognos Analytics content store database.
2. Upgrade Cognos Analytics.
3. Re-start the services.
4. Re-configure Flexera Analytics by populating an answer file with settings appropriate to your environment, and then implement the configuration, using PowerShell.
5. Run the package import tool by following the instructions in the section Update the Sample Reporting Package.
6. Optionally, you may need to configure your Security Assertion Markup Language settings.

For supported platforms and database versions for each release, see FlexNet Manager Suite System Requirements and Compatibility, available as either PDF or HTML through docs.flexera.com.

Tip: It is not necessary to back up the configuration and data files on a Microsoft Windows operating system. These files are preserved during the uninstallation.

The IBM Cognos Analytics installer installs Flexera Analytics to the designated host as a service. Therefore, the account used to install this component must have administrator permissions.

Make sure of the following points:

• The installing account must have administrative privileges on the Cognos Analytics server (the server hosting Flexera Analytics).
• The Flexera Analytics server must be accessible by its host name, rather than just its IP address. Do not use IP addresses anywhere in the Flexera Analytics settings.
• For performance reasons, Flexera Analytics is best installed on a separate server (it has high memory use requirements). (Refer back to Prerequisites and Preparations for server design details.) When Flexera Analytics is installed on a server other than the database server running the content store database, Microsoft SQL Server Native Client must be installed on the server hosting Flexera Analytics. To download and install the Microsoft SQL Server Native Client installer (subject to changes in the Microsoft website):
  1. In your web browser, navigate to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29065.
  2. Expand Install Instructions to display the available components of the Microsoft SQL Server® 2012 Connectivity Feature Pack.
  3. Scroll approximately half-way down the page to the heading Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Native Client and install the X64 (64-bit) version of the Native Client found there.
• The Flexera Analytics server must be in the same time zone as your database server(s).
• When you install Flexera Analytics, the required usernames and passwords can be encrypted, using a credential store. Refer to Prepare Encrypted Credentials for Upgrade for further information. Alternatively, you may choose to use clear text usernames and passwords in the answer file.
• Flexera Analytics can be configured to use https, however you will need to use http for installation and configuration.
• The password for the SQL Server login account used by Flexera Analytics must not contain any of the greater-than, less-than, or ampersand characters (< > &).
• Do not attempt to use Flexera Analytics (nor any related reports saved in FlexNet Manager Suite) before importing the correct license file from Flexera (see Importing an Updated Flexera License).

Important: Do not allow consultants to use their 'normal' login when they develop reports on your behalf. A common user account should not be switched from one Flexera Analytics tenant to another. Otherwise, any reports saved under My Folders for that account are automatically removed by Flexera Analytics as the user account switches between tenants (or customers). For details, see http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21682369: "For safety, ensure that each consultant uses a login that is unique to your company (such as johnEnterprise); or as a workaround, save their developed reports under Public Folder".

To upgrade Flexera Analytics:

1. Best practice is to take a full backup of your existing Flexera Analytics content store database, and save it securely. If there are any database problems in your upgrade, you can restore this protective copy to recover.
2. Upgrade IBM Cognos Analytics as follows:
   1. You will need to stop the IBM Cognos service and ensure that the IBM Cognos Configuration program is not running.
   2. Stop your Microsoft IIS web server that is running your Flexera Analytics website.
   3. If you are upgrading FlexNet Manager Suite and Flexera Analytics on separate servers, you will need to copy the Support folder from your application server to your Flexera Analyticsserver. Find the Support folder in <drive path>\FlexNet Manager Suite\Support from your application server and copy under the existing <drive path>\FNMSCognosAnalytics directory on your Flexera Analytics server. If you are performing a single server installation, then the support folder should already be located on the application server.
   4. Once downloaded from the Product and Licensing Center, you can unzip Flexera Analytics 2024 R1.zip and extract the following file (the file name is updated for every release) to your Flexera Analytics server:

      analytics-installer-[3.7.21]-win.exe

      Tip: The build number may vary.
   5. Double-click on this executable file to launch it, and work through the installation wizard panels as described in the following table.
   Tip: The executable automatically installs 32-bit software on 32-bit systems, and 64-bit software on 64-bit operating systems.

   Splash screen

   Select Installation language, then click Next.

   Product Install

   Select the IBM Cognos Analytics radio button option, then click Next.

   License Agreement

   • If you agree to be bound by its terms, select the I accept the terms of the license agreement check box.
   • If you do not accept the terms of the license, you must stop the installation process. Do not proceed further in this case.

   Location

   Specify the location of your existing Flexera Analytics instance. You can enter a path manually in the Installation Folder field, or browse for a location using the Choose... button.

   Once an installation folder has been specified, click Next.

   Click Yes to confirm you are installing in the same location and are overwriting a previous installation.

   Note: Spaces in the installation path are acceptable in the command line; but if you are scripting the installation, be sure to enclose the entire path-with-spaces in double quotation marks.

   Summary

   Click Yes to install, and Done when complete
3. Save the configuration, and restart IIS:
   1. Open the IBM Cognos Configuration program. You will be prompted that older versions of Configuration files were found and configuration files have been upgrade to the latest version. Click OK and Save your configuration.
      Tip: You do not need to restart the IBM Cognos service at this time, since there will shortly be additional configuration changes, and the service is then restarted by the PowerShell script described below.
   2. Navigate to the root of the Cognos Analytics installation directory and open the cmplst.txt file in a text editor and verify that the kit_version has changed to 11.2.4 FP3.%.
   3. Re-start your Microsoft IIS web server.
4. Configure the installation of Flexera Analytics by editing the file C:\FNMSCognosAnalytics\Support\CognosConfigProperties.xml using Notepad (or an equivalent text editor). Fill out the values for the parameters listed in the following table, using the guidance from the description and examples provided.

   CredentialStoreLocation C:\user\customstore.xml

   A custom credential store location.

   If this parameter is omitted, the value defaults to fnms.password.store.xml under the profile directory of the logged-in user.

   FNMSBatchServerLocation http://BatchServer1.company.com

   The URL of the FlexNet Manager Suite batch server (or, in smaller implementations, the server hosting that functionality).

   ContentStoreDatabaseLocation DBServer1\Instance1

   When using TCP, the format for this value is hostname:port. Alternatively, the hostname\instancename format (without a port) can be used. Flexera Analytics does not allow the instance name to be Default or MSSQLServer. If using the instance name format, the SQL Server Browser service needs to be started.

   ContentStoreDatabaseName ContentStore

   This is the name of your Cognos Analytics content store database.

   ContentStoreDatabaseUsername Typically empty

   Optional setting when providing credentials for SQL Server authentication. Leave this value blank to use Windows Authentication.

   Note: If you have restored a backup of your existing content store to use with a new version of Flexera Analytics, ensure that this user has the following permissions on the database:

   • Create and Drop table privileges.

   • Member of the db_ddladmin, db_datareader, and db_datawriter roles.

   • Must be the owner of the default schema on this database.
     Tip: This schema usually is named FlexNetReportDesignerSchema.

   ContentStoreDatabasePassword Typically empty

   Optional setting when providing credentials for SQL Server authentication. Leave this value blank to use Windows Authentication.

   ContentStoreDatabaseStoreReference flexera://storeUser

   The credential store reference for ContentStore database user identity.

   If the ContentStoreDatabaseStoreReference property is specified then the ContentStoreUserName and ContentStorePassword properties are not required in the answer file, as any value provided for these fields is overridden.

   CognosInstallationPath C:\Program Files\ibm\cognos\analytics

   Flexera Analytics installation directory. Update this path to change the default installation path.

   CognosServerURI http://$(ServerName):80

   Note: The $(ServerName) text should not be altered. It will be translated to the host name by the installation code.

   CognosServerDispatcherURI http://$(ServerName):9300

   Note: The $(ServerName) text should not be altered. It will be translated to the host name by the installation code.

   AppPoolUserName Company\svc-fnms

   The service user, used by IIS.

   AppPoolPassword (clear text)

   A clear text password.

   AppPoolStoreReference flexera://serviceUser

   The credential store reference for App Pool user identity.

   If AppPoolStoreReference property is specified then the AppPoolUserName and AppPoolPassword properties are not required in the answer file. Any value provided for these fields is overridden.

   CognosServiceUserName Company\svc-fnms

   The service user for the IBM Cognos Analytics service. This must have read access to the FNMPDatawarehouse database, as well as being a member of the local Administrators group. Ensure that the account you enter already has Logon as a service permission (see Authorize the Service Account).

   CognosServicePassword (clear text)

   A clear text password.

   CognosServiceStoreReference flexera://serviceUser

   The credential store reference for Cognos service user identity.

   If CognosServiceStoreReference property is specified then the CognosServiceUserName and CognosServicePassword properties are not required in the answer file. Any value provided for these fields is overridden.

   CognosServiceMaxMemory 4096

   IBM recommends a minimum of 4GB (4096MB) for Cognos Analytics. This number is a starting point and should be adjusted upwards based on the memory usage of your system.

   Note: This value determines the amount of memory used by the Java Virtual Machine and depends on how much memory is available. If this value is too high, the process will fail to start and no log information will be generated.

   MachineKeyValidationKey ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789

   This is taken from the web.config file on the FlexNet Manager Suite presentation server. For example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\WebUI\web.config.

   The required value is present in the <machineKey> element.

   MachineKeyDecryptionKey 0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

   This is taken from the web.config file on the FlexNet Manager Suite presentation server. For example: C:\Program Files (x86)\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\WebUI\web.config.

   The required value is present in the <machineKey> element.

   SmtpStoreReference flexera:\\smpt

   The credential store reference for SMTP user identity.

   If SmtpStoreReference property is specified then the SmtpUserName and SmtpPassword properties are not required in the answer file. Any value provided for these fields is overridden.

   FNMSConfiguration op

   This value defines the FlexNet Manager Suite environment configuration. This value is pre-populated based on the installation media and does not require the user to change it.

   Modifying this value will cause the Flexera Analytics installation to fail.

   Note: If the CognosConfigProperties.xml file contains passwords in clear text, after installation this file should be cleared of passwords; or kept in a file path that is only accessible to Administrators and copied to a secure location off the host server. The file should be preserved for use in future upgrades.
   1. Open a PowerShell command-line window with Administrator privileges.
   2. Navigate to the directory where you copied the support directory. For example C:\FNMSCognosAnalytics\Support
   3. If you have not done so already, set the PowerShell permissions with the following command:

      set-ExecutionPolicy AllSigned -Force

      Respond to the warning text with the default Y.
   4. Run the following command:

      .\InstallCognos.ps1

   5. A dialog box opens, prompting you to run the installer. Click Run to proceed with the installation.
      Tip: This may take some time to complete. After updating the configuration with the details you provided, the PowerShell script restarts the IBM Cognos service. If the script reports any difficulties restarting the service, it may be because of environmental issues, such as memory pressure. In this case, it is not necessary to run the PowerShell script again: you can try restarting the IBM Cognos service manually in Windows Service Manager.
5. To complete the upgrade, you will need to perform the instructions in the section Update the Sample Reporting Package. This is required to apply any updated user permissions.
6. If you wish to configure Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) authentication for Flexera Analytics, please refer to the Authentication chapter in the FlexNet Manager Suite Systems Reference guide. Here you will find the instructions to run the Flexera Report Designer Package Import Utility to update your SAML authentication configuration.
7. If you wish to use the HTTPS protocol with your preferred certificates (rather than the default certificates supplied with IBM Cognos), or to configure the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol for Flexera Analytics, please continue with the following topics:
   • Configuring IIS to use SSL/TLS Encryption
   • Reconfigure Cognos Analytics to use Third-Party SSL Certificates.
8. If you wish to configure the Flexera Analytics server to use TLS 1.3, then you would need to update the SSL protocol in Cognos Configuration.
   1. Navigate to Cryptography > SSL protocol (under Properties) and select TLS 1.3.
   2. By default, TLS 1.2 is enabled for current configuration.
   3. Save Cognos Configuration and restart Cognos service.