You have two options in deploying the 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:
