With the aim to provide a fabulous integration between Oracle BI/EPM, i.e.: OBIEE and Oracle Essbase / HFM , etc Oracle has made some wonderful strides.  OBIEE 11g is a testament to that integration’s roadmap.  This post is all about just getting OBIEE 11g  configured for interaction with Oracle Hyperion Essbase as close to right out of the box as possible.  Although the Essbase integration doesn’t completely work directly OOTB, Oracle has at least set the stage for the infrastructure.  What do I mean by that? Let me explain.

OOTB the Oracle BI 11g instance already installs/contains the following items for integration with Oracle Essbase 11.1.2:

1. Essbase JAPI files
2. Essbase C API files

What is missing for this OOTB Oracle Essbase integration is:

1. Configuration of PATH variables pointing to the location of the Essbase API files
2. Configuration of the Administration Tool to know where to point for the Essbase API files
3. Oracle BI Server (now managed by OPMN) to know where to point to the Essbase API files
   • Actually this is done OOTB but one will want to confirm the location is indeed set propertly
   • This has to do with the machine where the OBI Server itself is installed and is not an issue if just running the OBIEE 11g Client Tools

Read the full story

Keeping in-tune with my appreciation for Oracle Hyperion Essbase and all that it can do for analytics, I had to showcase one of the nice new integration points for the latest 11.1.2 release.  Of course, the 11.1.2 release has been out since last year.  I actually wrote this article/tutorial last year.  I had originally submitted this as an article to Oracle Magazine but it was rejected for one or more reasons.  Indeed a bummer I know.  I guess I’ll just have to keep writing some better stuff if I hope to actually get an article published there. So, cross your fingers or put a good word in for me with the editor of Oracle Mag  (Mark, tell them to make some space for me).

Either way this is good news for readers or ArtOfBI.com as you get the exclusive. : )

Below is just a snippet from the full article which can be downloaded via the links at the end of this post.

Extract

Traditionally, the way that developers and end-users alike view the Essbase database metadata has been through the Essbase Administration Services Console’s graphical interface. But best practice for security purposes, seeks to limit access to that interface.  With the 11.1.2 release of Oracle Essbase developers now have the ability to programmatically export all or specific segments of the Essbase database outline to XML.  Options to disseminate and utilize the extrapolated metadata outside of the confines of Essbase are now possible.

In this article, we explain how the new feature works by exploring the MaxL export outline scripting option.  In addition, we utilize some basic Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) code to transform the XML metadata output into a legible report ready to be consumed by end-users.

Downloads

  Oracle Essbase 11.1.2 Metadata Export to XML (191.6 KiB, 1,548 hits)

  Oracle Essbase 11.1.2 Metadata Export to XML Code Files (3.8 KiB, 294 hits)

Aside from managing BI/EPM projects in which I am still able to get my hands dirty, it’s always fun conducting technical architecture assessment for clients.  This is especially fun when a client is just ramping up their BI/EPM infrastructure or just getting these Oracle tools in house and simply need help with planning the architecture for their environment.   With that said, Oracle lends a hand for this fusion release of the EPM suite 11.1.2 with an updated best practice layout of the Essbase, HFM, and Planning environments scoped for 100 – 1000 users at 35% concurrency.  Like most situations we encounter this his helpful but it is never an exact infrastructure plan, usually due to one or more unique challenges within an organization.  However, it gives any organization a great starting point and some nice design ideas to learn from.  In rare “cookie-cutter” situations this architecture may just be perfect to implement just the way it is drawn out.  If you find that scenario, let me know, I’d love to hear about it.

Reference

Deployment Scenarios: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17236_01/epm.1112/epm_install_start_here/ch03s01.html

Server Disk Space: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17236_01/epm.1112/epm_install_start_here/frameset.htm?ch03s03s02.html

Client Disk Space: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17236_01/epm.1112/epm_install_start_here/ch03s03s01.html