Product:
Cognos Controller 8.5

Symptom:
Cognos Controller can not run an Excel link report, which worked fine last month.
Use of both F9 or F10 will give errors when this excel sheet is updated.
Optimise2 (ERO) is active on the Excel report (name in cell A1).
Excel reports that is smaller works fine, but this large report gives error.

Error in windows event log on Controller client citrx server:

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Cognos Controller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 0
Date: 2010-06-07
Time: 14:23:23
User: N/A
Computer: CITRIXSERVER
Description:
Standard Error
Number: 5
Source: FrangoDirect.ExcelLinkD.FetchValuesBulk#ControllerProxyClient
Description: System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException: Server was unable to process request. —> System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x800A000E): Out of string space
at Cognos.Controller.Proxy.CCRWS.ExcelLinkB_FetchValuesBulk(String sGuid, String sKeys, String sMcurr, Boolean bLocLang, String sUser, String sRep, Boolean bIsLnk, String sSortOrd, Int32 lOptBitSet)
— End of inner exception stack trace —
at Microsoft.VisualBasic.ErrObject.Raise(Int32 Number, Object Source, Object Description, Object HelpFile, Object HelpContext)
at Cognos.Controller.Common.RaiseErrCli.RaiseError(Int32 lErrNo, String sErrSource, String sErrDesc, String sErrHelpFile, Int32 lErrHelpContext)
at Cognos.Controller.Direct.ExcelLinkD.FetchValuesBulk(String sKeys, String sMcurr, Boolean bLocLang, String sRep, Boolean bIsLnk, String sSortOrd, Int32 lOptBitSet)
at Cognos.Controller.Reports.ExcelLink.RunReportLnkBulk()

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Cognos Controller
Event Category: None
Event ID: 0
Date: 2010-06-07
Time: 14:23:23
User: N/A
Computer: CITRIXSERVER
Description:
Error occured at 6/7/2010 2:23:23 PM in Microsoft Office 2003, Error No=5, Source=FrangoDirect.ExcelLinkD.FetchValuesBulk#ControllerProxyClient, Description=System.Web.Services.Protocols.SoapException: Server was unable to process request. —> System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x800A000E): Out of string space
at Cognos.Controller.Proxy.CCRWS.ExcelLinkB_FetchValuesBulk(String sGuid, String sKeys, String sMcurr, Boolean bLocLang, String sUser, String sRep, Boolean bIsLnk, String sSortOrd, Int32 lOptBitSet)
— End of inner exception stack trace —, HelpFile= HelpContext=0

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Cause:
Some part of the reserved memory used on the Cognos Controller Application server is filled up and the solution for the moment is to restart the Cognos Controller Application server.

Please note that it can be other causes to this issue – like a not so good created Controller Excel report.

Solution:
Schedule a restart of the Cognos Controller Application servers every week, to prevent this from happening again next reporting time. Select a time and date when there are no one in Cognos Controller and working.

You can use a BAT file with this line to restart a Microsoft Windows 2003 server.

SHUTDOWN -R -F -T 3

-R is for restart
-F is for force to shutdown of all programs
-T is for time to wait before restart

Use Microsoft Windows schedule to set a time and date for the batch/script to run.