DB link in RPD

http://obiee-oracledb.blogspot.com/2014/07/using-db-link-in-obiee.html

BI Publisher : Unauthorizer Access Error

http://obieenow.blogspot.com/2014/02/unauthorized-access-either-you-do-not.html

Cannot logon to BI Publisher

https://community.oracle.com/thread/2211111?tstart=0

OBIEE LDAP Authentication

http://satyaobieesolutions.blogspot.co.il/search?updated-max=2013-03-28T04:25:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=46&by-date=false

OBIEE date settings

http://locksnlatches.blogspot.com/2011/02/date-configuration-in-obiee.html

Working with dates in OBIEE

at Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Posted by Frans van Bree

Here are several options to set date formats in OBIEE. Option #1 is the best way to work with dates and comparison of dates to strings containing dates in a particular format.

See also: http://gerardnico.com/wiki/dat/obiee/cast_as_date

The most important settings (with example values) are:

• DATE_DISPLAY_FORMAT parameter in nqsconfig.ini: YYYY/MM/DD
• DATESHORTFORMAT parameter in localedefinitions.xml (based on the locale set in nqsconfig.ini): M/D/YYYY
• NLS_DATE_FORMAT parameter of the session (or database default): DD-MON-RR

Do not confuse these with parameters in dbfeatures.ini. There this format is the default for almost all database platforms in parameter DATE_FORMAT parameter.

OBIEE Performance JMeter

http://www.rittmanmead.com/2013/03/performance-and-obiee-test-build

This article is the fourth in a series about performance and OBIEE. In previously articles I described how test design should be approached, and in this article I explain in detail how to use some of the tools available to build the tests.

JMeter

JMeter is open-source software maintained by the Apache Software Foundation. It is a flexible and powerful tool that has a GUI design interface that can run on any java-supporting desktop (e.g. Windows/Linux/Mac). The test execution can be run from the GUI, or “headless” from the commandline.

To get started with JMeter, simply download it, and uncompress the archive (tgz / zip). Go to the bin folder and doubleclick on jmeter.sh or jmeter.bat. This will launch JMeter.

There are plenty of JMeter tutorials on the web and I am not going to replicate them here. Any tutorial that demonstrates how to record a web browsing session into a JMeter script should suffice for creating an initial OBIEE load test. Below I will detail some specifics that it is useful to be aware of.

• When a user clicks on a dashboard in OBIEE, the server returns shortly after the text “Loading…”. You need to make sure that your test doesn’t incorrectly accept this as the completed report. There are a couple of ways to do this:
  • Design your test so that it waits until the text isn’t “Loading…”
  • Set NewCursorWaitSeconds in instanceconfig.xml so that the “Loading…” text isn’t displayed before the query results are returned. See this blog post for more details
• The JMeter Plugins are very useful for additional graphing options and better user control (eg jp@gc – Stepping Thread Group)
• Try to use variables throughput to increase code reusability and reduce maintenance. It’s worth taking time to refactor a test that has evolved into something complex.
• Use the Constant Timer object to add think time
• Response Assertion steps are a very good way of ensuring that your test is getting the result it should at each stage. For example, to check the OBIEE login page is loading, check for Enter your user id and password..
• Use the Not option in a Response Assertion to check for things that definitely shouldn’t be there, such as Odbc driver returned an error or Loading…
• For a flexible test, parameterise the dashboard pages fetched. This is done in several stages:
  1. Add a CSV Data Set Config step, configured to read a TSV (Tab-Separated) file from a path you specify. NB relative paths in JMeter are relative to the folder that the JMeter script (JMX) resides
     

     

     
     

OBIEE “Act As” vs “Impersonate”

http://www.rittmanmead.com/2013/10/obiee-act-as-vs-impersonate/


Grupie BIAdministratoras należy dodać polisę :oracle.bi.server.impersonateUsers
ORACLE DOC http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/bi.1111/e10543/install.htm#CIHJEIEG

There will come a point in the lifecycle of an OBIEE deployment when one user will need to access another user’s account. This may be to cover whilst a colleague is on leave, or a support staff trying to reproduce a reported error.

Password sharing aside (it’s zero-config! but a really really bad idea), OBIEE supports two methods for one user to access the system as if they were another: Impersonation and Act As.

This blog article is not an explanation of how to set these up (there are plenty of blogs and rip-off blogs detailing this already), but to explain the difference between the two options.

First, a quick look at what they actually are.

Impersonation

Impersonation is where a “superuser” (one with oracle.bi.server.impersonateUser application policy grant) can login to OBIEE as another user, without needing their password. It is achieved in the front end by constructing a URL, specifying:

• The superuser’s login name and password (NQUser and NQPasword)
• The login ID of the user to impersonate (Impersonate)

For example:

http://server:port/analytics/saw.dll?Logon&NQUser=weblogic&NQPassword=Password01&Impersonate=FSmith_FundY

Validating the BI Presentation Catalog

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/bi.1111/e10541/prescatadmin.htm#BAJBJEFA

17.2.5 Validating the Catalog

Over time, inconsistencies can develop in the catalog as links are broken, users are deleted, or NFS file system issues are encountered. These inconsistencies can eventually lead to incorrect behavior, such as the inability to edit an agent's recipient list. You can periodically take the production system offline and validate the catalog, to be informed of and to take corrective action on inconsistencies.

This section contains the following topics about validating the catalog:

• Section 17.2.5.1, "Process: Validating the Catalog"
• Section 17.2.5.2, "Tasks in the Validation Process"
• Section 17.2.5.3, "Important Guidelines for Validating the Catalog"
• Section 17.2.5.4, "Performing a Basic Validation of the Catalog"
• Section 17.2.5.5, "Specifying the Elements for Validating the Catalog"
  
  

Resetting BISytemUser password in OBIEE 11g

http://obieesagar.blogspot.com/

Resetting BISytemUser password in OBIEE 11g

 BISystemUser by default is the user that is used as an inter-bi-component communication user, this could also be used when Impersonation is used. This is refferenced by an Authenticator ( usually Defaault Authenticator unless changed to different providors like Active Directory or other directories ).

 

The credentials for this user are managed via cwallet.sso which is the default credential store under oracle.bi.system - system.user. The BISystemUser does not need any Group membership , however it would need Weblogic Global Role called 'Admin' [ P.S - This is not an 'Application Role' by any means ]. By default BISystemUser is a member of an LDAP Group called 'Administrators' which is assigned to the Weblogic Global Admin Role.

 

OracleSystemUser is used by Oracle Web Services Manager (OWSM) which is integrated with WLS EM Console to provide the management and securing of web services through administration of policies.By default OracleSystemUser is a member of OracleSystemGroup in Weblogic LDAP. This is also refferenced via Default Authenticator this could be changed by following the FWM documentation.

More information could be found :http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E21764_01/bi.1111/e10543/privileges.htm

To reset BISystemUser:
 

1. Stop the system components in Enterprise Manager.

Click on Business Intelligence >Core application> Availability

 

Oracle BI EE 11g – Managing Host Name Changes

http://www.rittmanmead.com/2010/12/oracle-bi-ee-11g-managing-host-name-changes/

Oracle BI EE 11g – Managing Host Name Changes

December 7th, 2010 by Venkatakrishnan J

One common requirement when it comes to any software is in properly handling the network, ip and host name related changes. For example, moving servers from one domain to another, or cloning instances can all trigger these network related changes. BI EE 10g can quite easily handle the host-name related changes. But in the case of BI EE 11g as there are a lot of components involved, making a change to the host name requires more effort. In today’s blog post, lets look at how we can go about getting BI EE 11g to work when the Host Name of the machine changes post install & configuration.
BI EE 11g has a lot of inter-dependent components. Each component interacts with the other over the network i.e. using host names. Listed below are the components at a high level in 11g, which require changes whenever the host name changes.

1. Admin Server
2. Managed Server
3. Node Manager
4. RCU Schemas Connections
5. System Components
6. Hardcoded Host name entries in Repository, JDBC Connections etc
7. RCU Database Listener

OBIEE Error 39008

OBIEE Error 39008

OBIEE Error 39008: Logical dimension table X has a source that does not join to any fact source.

I am using Oracle Business Intelligence 11.1.1.3.0 version to create a new repository. My usual procedure is to create a repository in iterative manner, developing a simple repository using some of the tables and finish a simple model and repository without adding too much of details. I keep adding more details with each subsequent iteration.  

I just finished my first iteration of repository development and it looks like this

OBIEE Reports and Dashboards Best Practices

http://obieesagar.blogspot.com/2013/01/obiee-reports-and-dashboards-best.html

 Dashboard - Performance

Practice Reasoning Avoid designing dashboards that return too much data Dashboards should show summary data with ability to drill into or link to detailed information with more reports. Avoid designing requests that use overly complex queries Derived metrics should be in the data source layer first, the metadata layer second, and report layer last. Use guided navigation to link to smaller dashboards Guided navigation can be set at the dashboard or at the report level. Ensure global filters have a default value Setting value to nothing or all will return all the data and impact performance. Setting a default values creates a smaller data set enhancing readability. All embedded reports on a dashboard issue their queries at dashboard load time Take this into consideration when choosing to embed large reports or link to them. Use multiple dashboard pages to separate large reports from each other when performance becomes an issue.

OBIEE ACL refresh

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/bi.1111/e10541/prescatadmin.htm

17.1.3.1 Handling Users of the Catalog

The catalog is designed to scale to thousands of concurrent users. To achieve this scaling, the catalog adheres to the following guidelines:

• The average user typically only reads from the catalog and rarely, if ever, writes to it. In Release 11g, each user is constantly and automatically updating his or her Most Recently Used file, but each user's "read" operations still far outweigh the user's "writes" operations. Therefore, the read-to-write ratio is typically at least 100 to 1.
• While a locking mechanism guarantees that only one user can write to an object at a time, it is rare for multiple users to attempt to write simultaneously to the same object. A feature called "lazy locking" allows users to continue reading an object even when another user is updating that object.
• Modern file systems cache "small" files directly inside the directory record, such that reading any information on a directory simultaneously loads all small files directly into the operating system's memory cache. Therefore, it is good practice to keep files in the catalog "small," especially the frequently "read" .atr metadata files. When these metadata files remain small, then all the .atr files in a directory are loaded into memory with one physical hard disk read. Every file that exceeds the "small" threshold adds another physical hard disk read, which can cause a 100% degradation for each large file. In other words, use care when considering storing arbitrary "Properties" in .atr files.
• Reading an object's .atr metadata file using NFS is far slower than reading it directly from a local disk. For this reason, Presentation Services additionally caches all .atr files internally. This cache can become briefly "stale" when another node in the cluster writes data to the file that is newer than the data that is cached by the current node. Therefore, all nodes are refreshed according to the MaxAgeMinutes element in the instanceconfig.xml, whose default for a cluster is 5 minutes. This default setting commonly achieves the best trade-off between the possibility of stale data and the known performance impact. (The default for an environment without clusters is 60 minutes.)
  
  You can modify the MaxAgeMinutes element for your system. Its parent elements are Cache and CatalogAttributes. Before you modify the element, ensure that you are familiar with the information in Section 3.4, "Using a Text Editor to Update Configuration Settings."

OBIEE 11G 64-Bit - Microsoft Windows 2003 R2 SP2 X64 Server

http://obiscraps.blogspot.com/2011/04/obiee-11g-64-bit-microsoft-windows-2003.html

Installation

Scrapped by V. Koduri at 11:23 AM 

Guys
This is the detailed installation of OBIEE11G on a 64bit Machine. This is my first post, so let me know of any suggestions or questions.

Server Configuration
OS: Microsoft Windows 2003 R2 SP2 X64
Database: Oracle 11gR2 X64 (11.2.0.1)
Java JDK: Java JDK 6u24 X64 Windows and JRE 6u24 X64 Windows
Weblogic Server: WLS 10.3.3 X64 (Generic Version)
RCU: OFM RCU WIN 32 11.1.1.3.3 (available only in 32 bit)
OBIEE 11G: OBIEE 11g R1 x86-64 (11.1.1.3) - Software only install
OBIEE 11G Client Tools Install: OBIEE 11G client Tools Installation 32bit (It doesn’t have Catalog Manager)

****Install Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64) prior to the installation of Oracle BI on Microsoft Windows X64.
Java JDK 6u24 X64 Windows and JRE 6u24 X64 Windows installation steps
JDK and JRE are available at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
Run jre-6u24-windows-x64.exe
Choose the destination folder if required. After the successful completion of the installation close the window.

Now, Run jdk-6u24-windows-x64.exe

Click Next ....

If JDK comes with JRE, then no need of doing the first step. All the above shown features will be installed.
Change the destination folder for Java JDK (if necessary). Click Next.....

Click finish to complete the Java JDK installation. Also add the Java path in Environment Variables.

After the installation, you should have them available at the specified location on the drive as shown above.
Weblogic Server 10.3.3 X64 (Generic Version) installation steps
Product available at: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/weblogic/downloads/wls-main-097127.html
Use Generic Version for 64-bit JVM support and is the supported installation for OBIEE 11
Prerequisite: For 64 bit operating systems, the Weblogic installation program does not install a JDK. Filenames for these installation programs end in .jar. To run these .jar programs, you must have appropriate version of JDK installed on your system, and include bin directory of JDK at the beginning of the PATH variable definition.

Before Starting the Installation:
- Create a Middleware_Home directory which holds all the weblogic server components along with the OBIEE components.
- The installation program uses the Temporary directory into which it extracts files that are needed to install the software on the Target System. By Default, installer uses the directory that is referenced by the TMP variable. If you do not have enough space to run the installation program you need to set the Temporary directory as described in Tale 2-2 of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Weblogic Server Installation Documentation.
URL: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E14571_01/doc.1111/e14142/prepare.htm#i1183981
- Do not include any spaces in the name of Middleware Home directory.
Weblogic Server Installation - Graphical mode
Run wls1033_generic.jar to start the installation


Click next on the Welcome Screen...

Select the new Middleware Home Directory (C:’MW_HOME)and Click Next.....
Click next to continue to next screen..........

Choose Typical Installation by default (or Custom installation for specific products) and click next.....

In this screen, as we are using Generic version where JDK and JRE are not bundled Browse for the Local JDK and select as shown above and click next...................

Choose product installation directories and click next.....
Note: It is recommended to have all the products within the Middleware home directory.

Select the All Users option and Click Next......

Review the Summary screen and Click Next..........

Installation progress screen.................

This completes the installation of Weblogic server. Check Run Quick start if you want to see some sample domains and online documentation.
OFMRCU WIN 32 11.1.1.3.3 installation steps
Run RCU from Windows 32-bit client for OBIEE 11G 64-bit installations
Open rcuHome -> bin -> rcu.bat file from 32-bit Windows Client

Double click to run it or open it from Command prompt

Click Next…..

Select CREATE and click Next…..

Provide the Database connection details for the server and Click Next…..

The screen above will provide the pre-requisite check and after its ‘operation completed’ dialogue click OK….

Select the prefix (default DEV) - MARBI
Select the Schemas that need to be deployed on the database (MDS and BIPLATFORM) as shown above.
The given prefix will be added to the Schemas as shown above.
Then Click Next……

Complete the Pre-Requisites checker and click ok…….

Provide the passwords for the schemas. It is recommended to have same password for both the schemas…. Click Next for Manage Table Spaces Screen…..

Click Next to create table spaces and deploy these Schemas……….click ok for any warnings/pop-ups….

Click OK to continue…….

Review the summary screen and click ‘CREATE’ to create the schemas….
Progress Screen….

This is the Summary Screen showing the completion of the creation of the Schemas on the database OBIEE. Click close to complete.
You can verify the schemas using the following command on server
SQL> SELECT username FROM all_users ORDER BY username;

Here we have the schemas MARBI_MDS and MARBI_BIPLATFORM.
OBIEE 11g R1 x86-64 (11.1.1.3) - Software only install Steps
Extract the whole OBIEE 11G 64bit Package to a location where the path doesn’t have any spaces as shown below

After Extracting the Zip files to a directory, Go to
$$BI11G$$’bi_windows_x86_111130_64_disk1_1of2’bishiphome’Disk1
and double click on Setup.exe to start the Universal installer.

This will bring the following screen.........

Welcome Screen....

Click Next to continue.......

On the Select Installation Type Screen Select "SOFTWARE ONLY INSTALL" Type and click Next........

On the above Pre-requisite checks screen, make sure everything passed without any errors. If an error message appears it is recommended to try to fix the error before proceeding further with the installation.
Note: Your Installation might not function properly if you continue the pre-requisite check screen errors or warning messages without resolving them......
e 
Select the Oracle Middleware Home same as the Middle ware home where the weblogic server was installed and select the name for Oracle Home Directory for Oracle _BI installation.
By default Oracle Home Directory will be Oracle_Bi1, which was changed in the above installation to Oracle_MARBI. The Middleware Home is selected same as weblogic server home C:’MW_HOME.
Then Click Next.....
Specify My Oracle Account support account for security updates...

On the Summary screen, verify the details and save the response file (optional) and click Next to start the installation...

On the installation Progress screen, monitor the installation process and if you need to stop the installation, click Cancel.

Note: Provide the path for Disk 2,3,4 (disk1_2 of 2) location to continue with the install as shown below till ’stage ’. or it is always good to have all the discks copied into a single directory which doesn’t have any spaces.
Path: $BI11G$’bi_windows_x86_111130_64_disk1_2of 2’bishiphome’Disk2’stage

and do it for disk 3, disk 4 and continue with the installation...


After completing the SOFTWAR ONLY INSTALL....Click Next to continue for completion summary screen.........
Click Finish to Exit OBI11G installer and complete the installation.
This Completes the installation, and now we need to perform the Post installation tasks related to the Software only Install.
After Installation

Post - Installation Tasks:
Configuring Oracle Business Intelligence with Configuration Script
With Oracle Business Intelligence configuration script you can configure BI software that was installed through software only install.
Limitation: You cannot extend the domain using the OFM Configuration Wizard. You cannot add more OBI components to a existing BI domain using this Wizard. And also you cannot add OBI components to an existing domain created by Weblogic server or any other product.
****Pre-Reqs: 
It is strongly recommended to use static IP address on the server. Check for these before starting the Configuration Wizard from Command Prompt:
nslookup hostname
nslookup hostname.domainname
nslookup IPaddress
Running Configuration Script:
Start the script from
ORACLE _HOME (BI HOME): ’’MW_HOME’Oracle_MARBI (Oracle_bi1)’bin
Run Config.bat command
 

Welcome screen for the Configuration Wizard..........Click Next....

Complete the pre-requisite check and click next......

On Create or Scale out BI system screen, click create new BI System and enter the
username: MARBI
Password: *****
Domain Name: MAR_bifoundation_domain
Note: Make sure no BI domain of the same name already exists.
as shown above and click next to continue........

On the Specify Installation Location Screen, All the values will be by default, (optionally Change them),
Instance Home: c:’MW_HOME’instances’MARBI
Instance name: MARBI (default: instance1)

On Configure Components Screen, Select the components that you want to be installed.
After you make selections.......click next........

On the Database details screen, Enter the database connection details as shown above.
Connect String format: Host:Port:Service_name
Enter the BIPLATFORM Schema username with prefix that you declared while setting up schemas and password. Click Next to continue...........

Configuration script automatically configures the ports, unless you want them to be configured manually using a configuration file such asStaticports.ini. Configuration Wizard automatically assigns Node Manager Port 9556 by default, unless specified.
Note: If configuring OBI in a shared Middleware where Node Manager is installed, OBI script uses the existing Node Manager and its Port Number.

Review the summary screen and save the file (optional). Click Configure to run the Configuration Script.

Monitor the Configuration process and check for any errors or warnings....
Click Abort to stop the configuration process.

ion of 
This Screen Shows the completion of the Configuration process without any errors.

Complete Screen, Gives the details of the installed products and also the Configured components. Save this file for future review.
Go to the URL, Specified in the Configure components section above for Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition
http://Hostname:Port/analytics

Login with the Credentials that you entered earlier while setting up the Configuration Wizard for Username and Password. This will bring the following screen

Client Tools Installation
As we have noticed we don’t have any Client tools available with this installed BI System. Please refer to the Other document for the instructions on the installation of Client tools.
After the installation of the client tools either on the server or on the client (as the mater release of client tools package is made compatible with 64bit systems also) we need to create system DSN for the OBI server as follows

Click Add to add the data System DSN for server.

Select "Oracle BI server 1" and click finish. This opens a wizard to configure the DSN as follows.

Assign the values as given while doing the installation of the OBI server.

Choose relevant options. Make sure you provide the correct port number as available from the Configuration wizard details screen. (or saved file).

Here you have the option to select the default subject area, language, and regional settings and database. Select appropriate values. Click finish to complete the creation of system DSN.
Administration Tool:
Open the administration tool from Start -> Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Plus Client -> BI Administration

Admin Tool
Provide the details for
Repository Password: Admin123 (default - for sampleAppLite)
User: MARBI (Admin User)
Password: Admin pass

Here we can see the Admin tool with online RPD for SampleAppLite.rpd.
Note: Please see the Client tools Document for the details regarding DSN changes that may need to be made for 64-bit systems and other client tool related topics.
This completes the installation of OBIEE 11G on Microsoft Windows 2003 X64 system.
****NOTE: you can install multiple OBIEE installs on a single server (into separate Oracle Homes). You just have to make sure the ports do not conflict and you have the appropriate OS resources (cpu/memory) and there are no port conflicts
Two ways to avoid port conflicts are:
Option1: Have env 1 running and when installing env 2 use autoport. It will detect used ports and increment
or option 2: use staticports.ini to manually configure ports

Additional Screenshots
ORACLE WEBLOGIC ADMIN CONSOLE
URL: http://venkat-62e03a94:7001/console





ORACLE BI Enterprise Manger
URL: http://Hostname:7001/em