#tm1s.cfg

[cognossource]

The holy grail of TM1: the TM1s.cfg file

Intro

The TM1s.cfg file is about as close as it gets to the holy grail of your IBM Cognos TM1 server. Strictly speaking only two parameters need to be configured and those are:

AdminHost and

DataBaseDirectory

These parameters tell what TM1 server to use and where to store the files.

But a quick count learns that in the latest TM1 version (IBM Cognos TM1 10.1.1) there are in total 93 parameters available to configure in the tm1s.cfg file. Many of these parameters can drastically impact the behavior, performance and capabilities of your server. Some of them are not used by default and only in cases where they actually become required. E.g. when you use TM1 in combination with IBM Cognos BI or e.g. when you want to use SSL security. However the majority of the parameters is used, but when not defined by you in the tm1s.cfg file, the default settings are loaded. These default settings are in many cases and environments just fine and do not require changing. But as not a single solution is alike, there are ample opportunities where you just might configure parameters specifically.

So it is absolutely worth it to at least be aware of this and the potential possibilities it brings to optimization and tuning your environment.

TM1s.cfg Parameter Context

The majority of the parameters in the TM1s.cfg file relate to the following topic areas:

Configuration and administration

Performance

Calculation behavior

Connectivity

Logging

End-User capabilities

Especially the performance related parameters are very interesting. The challenge however is that although changing them is really easy, observing in a factual and objective way is not. A closed system in lab conditions that you control completely by yourself is a dream of many.

Each parameter is either required or optional. By default only two parameters are required, it is only when you deviate from a standard setup that more parameters might become required as well, but the majority is optional.

Next to that each parameter is is either dynamic or static. Dynamic simply means that you can change the parameter on the fly while the server is running, the new value will be picked up by the server within 60 seconds after changing it. A static parameter requires you to shut down the server, change or add the parameter and restart the server.

Each version of IBM Cognos TM1 thus far uses a TM1s.cfg file to configure each TM1 server. However, how the TM1s.cfg file looks by default depends a bit on the version of TM1. Below 2 examples, the first is a default TM1s.cfg file from a server running IBM Cognos TM1 version 10.1.1, the second is the default TM1s.cfg file from an IBM Cognos Express version 10.1 server.

View in new window: Default TM1s.cfg file for IBM Cognos TM1 10.1.1 and default TM1s.cfg file for IBM Cognos Express version 10.1 .

At the bottom of his article a complete list of all the tm1s.cfg parameters is compiled for your enjoyment ... or to stress out about. Either way, the list is compiled as an Excel file for easy browsing. Please note that the content is 99% based on the related IBM material. So how you use it or what you do with it is completely up to you.

For the remainder of this article we will briefly discuss a couple of parameters that might be worth configuring in any more or less default installation. Just to give you an idea what it is about.

Interesting Parameters

Two areas that are always interesting in a TM1 environment, are performance and logging. Below a couple of parameters that are worth looking at.

Logging

- The first thing I to do is to change the directory of the log files. By default they are stored in the data directory. If you save them on another location this is more neat and when you would like to perform some manual checks it also reduces the risk that you manipulate by accident another file in the data directory. Parameters:

LoggingDirectory

RawStoreDirectory

- When you decide to enable logging, you can also play a bit with how fast you can manipulate and consult the data. So if you just need to capture a small set of events, you can play with the how often data is written to the final log files and how often a new file is created. Parameters:

AuditLogOn

AuditLogMaxFileSize

AuditLogMaxTempFileSize 

AuditLogUpdateInterval

- Don't forget that you can also create a server log with the security activity data. Parameters:

ServerLogging

Performance

- By default TM1 will always check a cube first for standard consolidations and then for rule-based calculations. When you have a large cubes with many consolidations and all consolidations are rule-based, you can skip the check for standard consolidations. Parameter:

AllRuleCalcStargateOptimization

- TM1 uses either an ARRAY or TREE method to perform consolidation optimization. ARRAY is used by default and is optimal when you have dimensions with many consolidations and with little sparse data. The TREE method may be more optimal when you have many leaf elements that contain sparse data and little consolidations. One to try out. Parameter:

ViewConsolidationOptimizationMethod

ViewConsolidationOptimization

- By default TM1 locks subsets when used for other pending requests. You can change this behaviour so TM1 will release locks for other requests. This can work well when many users access the same subset and the subset has many elements. Parameter:

SubsetElementBreatherCount

- When you use a 64-bit Windows OS on your server, Windows will perform memory optimization in such a way that memory blocks that are inactive for a long time are paged to disk. In many cases this will generate undesired waiting times for users as user behavior in many TM1 application areas is of a non continuous nature. Parameter:

LockPagesInMemory

The Complete Parameter List

This file contains the complete list of all parameters and info that can be configured in the tm1s.cfg file of an IBM Cognos TM1 10.1.1 server. You can download an Excel version here and a *.pdf version here. The file contains the following information about each parameter:

Parameter name

Dynamic or static

Optional or not

Default value (if any)

Parameter format

A short description

All info is based on the official TM1 documentation, however it can still contain some inconsistencies, if you find some, please let us know.

[cognossource]

Integrated security between IBM Cognos BI and TM1

This post is taken from an old blog that I don't update anymore. Please note we are talking June 2011 and are still in a TM1 9.5 and BI 8 world. I noticed many people still consulting the article, therefore I retake it here. Here we go ....

The manual is not that clear about what exactly you should do in order to be able to use C8 or C10 security with TM1. One thing I know is that if you want to use BI or want to use Contributor, you have to. I see BI as a logical extension of TM1 so I never use the TM1 security anymore in its standalone form.

Now before we start make sure you have the following in working order:

An installation of C8 or C10 BI that is working (working as in tested properly, installing it without errors does NOT qualify as working)

The same for your TM1 server

A TM1 server model running

With my limited social skills I will try to explain the problem as I understand it:

TM1 has its own security that works completely independent from BI

But in order to access the Cognos groups and users from within  TM1, TM1 needs to know where to find those and TM1 needs to gain access to them

Gaining access means that you have a user that has access to BI AND to TM1, and this is the pickle…

As you install a new model, the model doesn’t know that BI exists and vice versa

So the following is my method that works for me, maybe there are others, if so feel free to share.

1. Open the Tm1s.cfg file of your model and manipulate the following parameters:

- Change “IntegratedSecurityMode” to “5″.

- Add the following parameters where the URL’s are taken from Cognos Configuration:

ServerCAMURI=http://TM1WORLD:9300/p2pd/servlet/dispatch ClientCAMURI=http://TM1WORLD:80/cognos10/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll

- My file then looks like this:

[TM1S] IntegratedSecurityMode=5 SecurityPackageName=Kerberos ServerName=”TM1World” DataBaseDirectory=C:\TM1\TM1World AdminHost=TM1WORLD PortNumber=99999 Protocol=TCP Language=ENG UseSSL=F GroupsCreationLimit=1000 EnableSandboxCache=T LoggingDirectory=C:\TM1\TM1World\Logs ServerCAMURI=http://TM1WORLD:9300/p2pd/servlet/dispatch ClientCAMURI=http://TM1WORLD:80/cognos10/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll CAMPortalVariableFile=portal\variables_TM1.xml SkipSSLCAMHostCheck=TRUE ClientPingCAMPassport=900 ViewConsolidationOptimization=T MessageCompression=T UseStargateForRules=F

This way we make TM1 think it is linked to BI. Save the file and close it.

2. Restart your server, open architect, double-click on your server. Your are now presented with the C8/C10 login screen.

3. Crucial here is that you do not log in with the TM1 default (user:admin, pw: nothing or apple) but with your C8/10 admin user/pw.

4. No worries, because what just happened is that TM1 took note of you trying to log in. This allows us now to log in with the default user admin  and then change the settings of our C8/C10 user. So if you got an error, that means you are doing the right thing.

5. Before doing so we first have to change the “IntegratedSecurityMode”  to 1 making TM1 believe it is alone in the world. Change the parameter, save the file and restart the server.

6. Log in via architect. You will now be presented with the TM1 legacy security login screen, login with admin. Go to the “client/group properties” again.  As you will notice our failed login is visible and we can change the settings of it. Now make it a proper TM1 administrator.

7. Next, open the Tm1s.cfg file again and change the “IntegratedSecurityMode”  back to 5, thus stating that we are going to use C8/C10 security.

8. Restart your server once again, and reopen TM1 Architect, double-click on the server. If everything goes to plan you should now see the C8/C10 splash screen appearing and you should be able to logon with your C8/C10 user.