Question 1

The database containing the Content Store crashed. The administrator needs to restore the Content
Store in its entirely including all of the configuration settings that were defined.
What must be done to recover the configuration settings?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: By default, an IBM Cognos Content Store deployment (export) does not include global configuration settings, such as dispatcher settings or data source configurations. This is a deliberate design choice to prevent accidental overwrites of configuration in a target environment. To create a complete backup that includes these settings within the deployment archive, the administrator must explicitly modify the Content Manager service's advanced settings on the source environment. The parameter CM.DEPLOYMENTINCLUDECONFIGURATION must be added and set to true before the export operation is initiated. This ensures the resulting deployment archive contains all necessary components for a full restoration.

Question 2

An administrator is configuring settings for the Cognos Analytics Mobile app. Which settings can be managed?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: The IBM Cognos Analytics Administration console exposes only a small set of Mobile-service properties. Among them is Credential cache timeout (minutes), which governs how long cached credentials are retained on the device. Options A, C, and D are not exposed as configurable properties; they are controlled by the mobile operating system or are hard-coded limits in the application and therefore cannot be managed by the Cognos administrator.

Question 3

An administrator has a requirement to specify system-wide accessibility settings for all entries (reports, jobs and schedules). How can this be done?

Accepted Answer

D

Explanation: This option describes the correct procedure for enabling a system-wide security override for administrators. By navigating to the advanced settings of the Content Manager service via the dispatcher properties, an administrator can configure a parameter that allows members of the System Administrators role to bypass all access control checks on all Content Store objects. This is a centralized, system-wide setting that grants universal accessibility to administrators for all entries, including reports, jobs, and schedules, fulfilling the requirement.

Question 4

An administrator wants to describe the internal architecture and request flow for a Query service of an executed DQM report. How is this done?

Accepted Answer

D

Explanation: The request flow for a Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) report begins when a user request is processed and communicated between services via the BI Bus (BIBus). The request is routed to the Query Service, which is the core engine for DQM. A defining architectural feature of DQM is its sophisticated query planner. It parses the report specification to generate a logical query plan (representing the business request) and then transforms it into an optimized physical query plan (representing how to retrieve the data). This process is often described as creating "two trees." The physical plan is then executed against the database via an RDBMS adapter, with results being retrieved and cached to optimize performance before the final report is generated.

Question 5

An administrator wants to ensure that a datasource can be referenced when creating data modules in the IBM Cognos Analytics Portal (New > Data module). What must be done to accomplish this?

Accepted Answer

D

Explanation: To make a data source available for use in web-based modeling tools like data modules, the administrator must explicitly enable this capability within the data source connection properties. The "Allow web-based modeling" option configures the connection for use with the Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) service, which is required for creating and using data modules and dashboards in the Cognos Analytics portal. Without this setting enabled, the data source will not appear in the list of available sources when a user attempts to create a new data module.

Question 6

An administrator has configured authentication. Which statement is true for users logging on to the application?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: The IBM Cognos environment includes a crucial security setting for session management called "Inactivity timeout in seconds". This property is configured within IBM Cognos Configuration and dictates the maximum period a user's session can remain idle. Once this time limit is exceeded, the user's session is automatically terminated, and they are logged off. This is a fundamental behavior applicable to all authenticated users to enhance security and manage system resources, regardless of the specific authentication provider used.

Question 7

An administrator is tuning the Caching services to improve Dynamic cube report performance. At the same time, there is a need to control the memory usage and Clear Cache. How is this done?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: Memory limits for the Dynamic Query (caching) service are properties of the Query Service object. They are edited in IBM Cognos Administration → System tab. From the same place, the administrator can immediately purge the cache (Actions → Clear cache) or schedule it. IBM Cognos Configuration is used only for basic service registration and cannot clear runtime cache, while Content Administration’s “Clear cache” task does not expose the memory-limit properties.

Question 8

An administrator is creating a datasource for an IBM Cognos PowerCube. On the datasource creation
page, the ‘Configure JDBC connection’ check box is played out and cannot be selected.
What is the reason for this?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: The option to 'Configure JDBC connection' for an IBM Cognos PowerCube data source is available only when using the Dynamic Query Mode (DQM). DQM is a Java-based query engine that runs exclusively in a 64-bit process. If the dispatcher's execution mode is set to 32-bit, it operates in Compatible Query Mode (CQM), which uses native client libraries to connect to PowerCubes, not JDBC. Therefore, the JDBC configuration option is unavailable (grayed out) when the dispatcher is not configured for 64-bit execution.

Question 9

In a LifeCycle Manager Project, a user can create either a Benchmark task or a Comparison task. Which statement is INCORRECT when describing the application of Benchmark tasks?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: A Benchmark task in IBM Cognos LifeCycle Manager is designed to create a baseline by capturing the output and performance metrics of reports from a source environment in their current state. The option to force reports to run in Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) is a specific setting within a Comparison task, not a Benchmark task. This allows a user to compare the output of reports running in DQM on a target server against the established benchmark, which typically represents the original Compatible Query Mode (CQM) output from the source server. Therefore, the ability to choose DQM execution is not a feature available during the creation of a Benchmark task itself.

Question 10

An administrator must troubleshoot query execution related issues in a DQM executed report. How is this achieved?

Accepted Answer

C

Explanation: To troubleshoot Dynamic Query Mode (DQM) execution, an administrator must enable tracing for the QueryService. This is a dynamic, run-time task performed through the IBM Cognos Administration portal. By navigating to the properties of the QueryService for a specific dispatcher, an administrator can enable the "Query execution trace" setting. This action captures detailed diagnostic information about query planning and execution without requiring a service restart, which is ideal for troubleshooting live environments. The resulting trace logs are generated in the [installlocation]/logs/XQE directory.

Question 11

After a user added numerous schedules, the Content Store database has been locked because some
schedules contain invalid data.
What can an administrator do, to prevent the system from being locked in the future?

Accepted Answer

D

Explanation: To prevent the Content Store from being locked by schedules containing invalid data, an administrator must enable system-wide schedule validation. This is a server-side configuration. The correct procedure is to modify the advanced settings for the Event Management Service, which is responsible for handling schedules. By setting the emf.schedule.validation.enabled parameter to true, the system is forced to validate every schedule upon creation or modification. This ensures that invalid schedule specifications are rejected before they can be saved to the Content Store, thereby preventing the database locking issue.

Question 12

An environment has twenty dispatchers. The administrator wants to change one property to the same value for all dispatchers. How can that be accomplished?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: IBM Cognos Administration utilizes a hierarchical object model where properties can be inherited from parent objects. To apply a uniform property change to a group of dispatchers, the standard administrative practice is to create a configuration folder and move the target dispatchers into it. By setting the desired property on the folder, all child objects (the dispatchers) within that folder will inherit the setting. This provides a single point of management and ensures consistency across the specified group of servers without affecting other components in the environment.

Question 13

An administrator wants to exclude Request level logging details from being captured. Which logging level must be set?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: IBM Cognos Analytics logging levels are hierarchical, with each level including the information from the levels below it. The standard levels, in increasing order of detail, are Minimal, Basic, Request, and Trace. To exclude "Request" level logging details, the administrator must set the logging to a level that is less detailed. The "Basic" logging level captures high-level diagnostic information but does not include the more granular details captured by the "Request" level, thereby fulfilling the requirement.

Question 14

An administrator needs to exclude users from rendering reports as PDF output. How can this be enabled?

Accepted Answer

A

Explanation: IBM Cognos Analytics uses a granular, capability-based security model to control user access to features and functions. To restrict specific users from generating PDF reports, an administrator must modify the permissions for the "Generate PDF Output" capability. By navigating to the security administration panel, locating this specific capability under the "Reporting" group, the administrator can explicitly deny access to the desired users, groups, or roles, thereby preventing them from rendering reports in PDF format while leaving their other permissions intact.

Question 15

An administrator wants to use one of the sample audit reports to view the percentage of successful
and failed requests for the current day.
What must be done before they can successfully run this report?

Accepted Answer

B

Explanation: The IBM Cognos sample audit reports are pre-configured to retrieve data from a specific data source, which is typically named 'audit'. This data source must point to the logging database where Cognos stores its audit information. Before any of these sample reports can be executed successfully to retrieve data, an administrator must first create this data source connection within the IBM Cognos Administration console, linking it to the correct audit database. Without this connection, the report will fail because it cannot locate its underlying data.

Free IBM C2090-623 Actual Exam Questions