I’ve read architecture guide — it’s .Net. Okay — .Net Framework is required, for sure.
But why JDK is needed?
Because Cognos Connection is used a front end. So you use Cognos 8 Configuration, create a Content Store database, install tomcat, just to get up portal.
After that you can start toying with Controller Configuration and make it run.
That’s how vendors merge “simplifies” software: JDK steps weren’t needed in Frango times.