You have two options in deploying Report Server for ClearQuest
functionality with Rational ClearQuest Multisite sites.
ClearQuest MultiSite replication of Report Server for ClearQuest
information stored in the embedded Derby database is not supported. Multiple
instances of the Report Server for ClearQuest can be deployed, but each is
independent and data stored in individual instances is not propagated to other
instances. For example, report folders created using one Report Server are
not visible to other Report Servers.
In a ClearQuest Multisite deployment,
there are multiple Rational ClearQuest database servers that are usually deployed
into different physical locations, and are connected to each other over relatively
slow networks. End users connect to the database server that is closest to
them, using a fast local network, in order to get the best response times
for Rational ClearQuest client operations. For environments like this, keep
the following general guidelines in mind when planning how to best deploy
the Report Server for ClearQuest:
- Be sure that the Report Server has fast network access to the Rational
ClearQuest database server. If the network connection is slow, performance
is impacted for operations that require data to be transferred between the
database server and the Report Server, such as report generation.
- End users should connect to the Report Server using a fast network connection.
If the network connection is slow, then performance is impacted for operations
that require data to be transferred between the Report Server and the user's
browser, such as navigating the report hierarchy.
Keep the number of Report Servers that you deploy to a minimum.
Each Report Server must be managed separately, and so your cost of administration
increases as the number of Report Servers increase.
For best performance,
reports deployed to a Report Server for ClearQuest should avoid using data
sources that are geographically dispersed.
Individual reports should
be constructed in a manner that properly leverages the Report Server for ClearQuest
configuration. It is possible (but not recommended) to deploy a report in
a location that accesses a CM Server in distant geographic location. For that
case, it would be more effective to deploy the same report on a Report Server
that is physically located in the distant location. When invoked from your
location, all report processing would occur in distant location, and only
the resulting report output would be returned to your local site.
With
these guidelines in mind, there are two deployment patterns to consider when
using the Report Server in a Rational ClearQuest MultiSite deployment:
- A single Report Server, co-located with a Rational ClearQuest database
server. In this pattern, all users connect to the same Report Server. This
pattern optimizes performance by using a fast connection between the Report
Server and the Rational ClearQuest database server. It also allows users to
share reports, and avoids the administrative overhead involved in managing
multiple Report Servers. The main disadvantage of this approach is that it
requires all users to have a reasonably fast network connection to the Report
Server. In cases where this is not true (such as where users are widely dispersed
geographically), then you should consider deploying additional report servers
to improve performance.
- Multiple Report Servers, each co-located with a different Rational ClearQuest
replica. In this pattern, the user community is segmented with each segment
assigned to a different Report Server. The segments are selected such that
each user segment has fast network access to a Report Server. This optimizes
overall performance, but adds to the overhead of administration. Additionally,
reports cannot be shared among user segments, since each Report Server contains
its own reports and folders.
If you install multiple instances of the Report Server, each
instance should be connected to only one Rational ClearQuest replica as shown
in the following illustration: