"404 Page Not Found" Error When Trying to Use Standard Reports

"404 Page not found" error when trying to use standard reports

Problem(Abstract)

User launches Controller, and runs any standard report (also known as 'system reports'). User receives error message.

Symptom

The error will vary according to the environment (client IE version, webserver IIS version and Controller version). Below are some examples:

Error 404 Page not found

Scenario #3 (error seen directly after deleting the relevant data source)

Server Error

404 - File or directory not found.

The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.
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Cause

End user cannot utilise the Controller package inside 'public folders' and/or the related data source (inside Cognos Connection).
There are several possible causes for this:

  • Scenario #1 - I.T. administrator has forgotten to import the Controller package into Cognos Connection
  • Scenario #2 - Controller package exists (in Cognos Connection) but the end user does not have correct/sufficient (Cognos security) rights to access the package.
  • Scenario #3 - Data Source has been manually deleted (inside Cognos Connection)

Resolving the problem

Scenario #1

Install the Controller package in Cognos Connection.

Steps:

TIP: The steps will vary slightly depending on Controller version. Below are the steps based on Controller 8.4:

  1. Launch Cognos Connection (
  2. Logon as an administrator
  3. Click "Administer IBM Cognos Content"
  4. Click "Configuration"
  5. Click "Content Administration"
  6. Click "New Import"
  7. Choose/select "Controller"
  8. Click "Next" and continue through the wizard to finish the import process.

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Scenario #2
Ensure that the end user has rights to run the package "Controller".
TIP: In one real-life example, the easiest way to achieve this was to simply:

  1. Delete the existing 'Controller' package
  2. Re-import the deployment archive 'Controller'.

Scenario #3

Manually re-create the missing data source by doing the following:

  1. Launch Controller Configuration
  2. Click "Report Server"
  3. If using Controller 10.1.1 or later, click green "tick" menu
  4. Click "Repair"
  5. Test.
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