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ORACLE BI 11g

Frequently Asked Questions


White Paper

Prepared by: Christian Screen | Marty Mersinger

Version 1

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................................... 3
WHAT ARE THE OBI 11G SYSTEM REQUIREMETS?................................................................................ 3
IS IT A MUST TO USE WEBLOGIC AS THE APPLICATION SERVER?............................................................. 4
IS THE ORACLE 10G DATABASE COMPATIBLE WITH THE OBI 11G PLATFORM?.......................................... 4
IS THERE AN OBI CLIENT INSTALL AVAILABLE?...................................................................................... 4
WHAT ARE THE OBI DEVELOPER WORKSTATION REQUIREMENTS?.......................................................... 4
IF SECURITY IS CONTROLLED VIA THE APPLICATION SERVER, HOW DOES MUDE WORK?........................... 4
WILL OUR USERS NEED TO BE RETRAINED TO USE ANSWERS?.............................................................. 4
CAN OUR BI PUBLISHER FILES BE MIGRATED TO OBI 11G?..................................................................... 5
IS ACT AS / PROXY STILL SUPPORTED? IF SO, WHAT ARE THE CONFIGURATION DIFFERENCES?............ 5
WHAT ESSBASE VERSIONS ARE SUPPORTED?...................................................................................... 5
IS THE ESSBASE CLIENT STILL REQUIRED IN ORDER TO INTEGRATE OBI AND EPM?.................................... 5
WILL WINDOWS 7 BE SUPPORTED?.................................................................................................... 5
WHAT OPERATING SYSTEMS ARE SUPPORTED?.................................................................................... 5
WHAT DATABASES ARE SUPPORTED?................................................................................................. 5
CAN ORACLE BI 10G AND 11G BE INSTALLED ON THE SAME MACHINE?................................................. 5
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE OBIEE INSTALLATION SCENARIOS?.................................................................. 5
CAN MULTIPLE REPOSITORIES RUN ON THE OBI SERVER?...................................................................... 6
WHERE IS THE NQSCONFIG.INI NOW LOCATED?.................................................................................... 6
WHAT IS THE RCU?........................................................................................................................... 6
WHAT IS A KPI?................................................................................................................................ 6
WHAT IS SCORECARDING?................................................................................................................. 6
CAN WE UPGRADE OUR OBI 10G ENVIRONMENT TO OBI 11G?............................................................... 6
WHERE IS THE BIAPPS INSTALLATION?................................................................................................ 6
HOW IS USER SECURITY HANDLED IN 11G?......................................................................................... 6
IS 11G AN UPGRADE FOR LICENSED 10G CUSTOMERS OR A NEW PRODUCT?......................................... 7
CAN DATA ELEMENTS FROM MULTIPLE SUBJECT AREAS BE COMBINED ON THE SAME REPORT?................ 7
IS THE CSV DATA EXPORT REALLY IN CSV FORMAT OR TAB-DELIMITED?................................................. 7
IS THE MAPVIEWER DATA MAINTAINED BY ORACLE SEPARATE OR IS IT COVERED BY 11G PURCHASE?....... 7

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


ABSTRACT

The OBIEE 11g Frequently Asked Questions document provides insight to common questions regarding Oracles
latest release of the enterprise Business Intelligence software. Although this version is a heavy re-write on the look
and feel of the application, OBIEE 11g is truly an extension of previous releases. This document seeks to answer
question about several differences between OBIEE 11g and previous releases, upgrading, training, and other
methodological changes that impact the Business Intelligence roadmap for your organization.
What are the OBI 11g System Requirements?

1. http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/files/fusion_requirements.htm
2. http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/files/fusion_certification.htm
3. Minimum Memory Physical 2GB, Available 1GB for all OSs 4. Using SOA and BAM
a. CPU: dual-core Pentium 1.5 GHz or greater
b. Disk Space: 15G or more
c. Available Memory: 4GB or more
i. BAM Client
1. Windows XP sp2 or Vista
2. IE 7 or 8
3. 1 CPU at 1.2 GHz (complex dashboards require more)
4. 512MB RAM
5. 5MB free disk space
6. 1024x768 Active Studio
7. 800x600 Active Viewer
8. MS Excel XP, 2003, or 2007
5. Oracle Portal, Forms, Reports and Discover
a. Disk Space: 15GB
b. Available Memory: 4GB
c. Temp Space: 150MB
d. Swap Space: 512MB
6. Oracle Identity Management
a. Weblogic Admin Server: 750MB
b. Weblogic Managed Server running Directory Integration Services: 720MB
c. Weblogic Managed Server running Oracle Identity Federation: 650MB
d. Oracle Virtual Directory 105 MB
e. Oracle Internet Directory: 75 MB
f. Oracle Enterprise Manager Agent: 25 MB
g. Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server: 5 MB
h. Oracle Identity Management requires 2.2 GB of disk space for install without configuration. If configure,
then you need an additional 150 MB
7. Use the hyperlinks above to obtain more detailed information on *Nix package requirements
8. Supported WebLogic Server versions:
a. 10.3.1 for Fusion Middleware 11.1.1
b. 10.3.2 for Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.2
c. 10.3.3 for Fusion Middleware 11.1.1,3
9. Certified Databases
a. Using RCU (11.1.1.1.0) with Database 11g (11.2.0.1)
b. Using 11g (11.1.0.7) with Identity Management
c. Using 11g (11.2.0.1) with OID and Oracle Data Vault
10. Repository Creation Utility (RCU) Supported Platforms

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs

a. RCU is available only on 32-bit x86 Linux and 32-bit Microsoft Windows operating system platforms.
You can run RCU from these machines to connect to any certified versions of Oracle, IBM DB2,
or Microsoft SQL Server database in order to create the schemas required by Fusion Middleware
components. The database server can be running on any platform that is supported by its respective
database.
b. See Oracle documentation for installation component details
Is it a must to use Weblogic as the Application Server?

Other application servers will be support in future releases of OBI 11g but as of the August 13, 2010 GA release
this is the only option.
Is the Oracle 10g database compatible with the OBI 11g platform?

OBI 11g requires specific versions of Oracle 10g database in order to install the RCU. Please check with the
certified system documentation if your version of Oracle 10g database meets the necessary requirements.
Is there an OBI Client Install available?

As of OBI 11g release 1, there is no specific client tools installation as seen in previous version of OBI. In order
to install the Administration Tool and other client administration tools such as the Job Manager and Catalog
Manager, either the Simple Install or Software Only install is required. Either case requires a base installation
of the RCU.
What are the OBI developer workstation requirements?

No Requirements depend on installed components, but there is no distinguished difference between Developer and
Production systems for CPU, disk space, and memory.
If security is controlled via the application server, how does MUDE work?

The metadata RPD has both an online and offline mode just as before. Online mode uses the FMW security model
while offline mode may use the security within the metadata rpd. Here are more details on rpd security setup.
It is strongly recommended that you perform data access security tasks in the Administration Tool in
online mode. If you must apply data access security in offline mode, be aware that users and application
roles do not appear in the Administration Tool in offline mode unless you have first modified them in the
Administration Tool in online mode.
For example, if you open the Administration Tool in offline mode without first making any changes in online
mode, you will see zero users and application roles defined. However, if you first modify the users and
application roles in online mode (for example, applying object permissions or setting query limits), they will
subsequently be available in the Administration Tool in offline mode.

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E14571_01/bi.1111/e10540/lifecycle.htm Documentation for


Managing the LifeCycle of a Multi-User Development Environment.
Will our users need to be retrained to use Answers?

a. There are many new features available with 11g which will require additional training for users to leverage
them completely
b. The names of typical features have changed which will require learning new navigational settings.
c. Standard report creation is the same, but there are new options in creating reports.

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs

Can our BI Publisher files be migrated to OBI 11g?

Yes. This can be accomplished using the Upgrade Assistant.


Is Act As / Proxy still supported? If so, what are the configuration differences?

N/A
What Essbase versions are supported?

OBI 11g states that versions 9.3.3, 11.1.2, and 11.1.13 (with patch) are available for integration.
Is the Essbase client still required in order to integrate OBI and EPM?

Yes. The client is required on both the OBI Server machine and the machine/workstation where the Administration
tool is in use. Several other files are now required to be configured in order to tell OBI where the client tools path
resides.
Will Windows 7 be supported?

Yes. This is supported with the 64-bit release of the OBI 11g software.
What Operating Systems are supported?

OBI 11g continues with the traditional operating system support that it held in previous versions.
What databases are supported?

http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/ias/files/fusion_certification.html
To check the release of your database, you can query the PRODUCT_COMPONENT_ VERSION
view as follows:
Example: SQL> SELECT VERSION FROM SYS.PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION WHERE PRODUCT LIKE
%Oracle%;
Can Oracle BI 10g and 11g be installed on the same machine?

This is technically a possibility. However, it is not recommended and Oracle will not support this.
What are some of the OBIEE Installation scenarios?

a. Developer Scenarios (Details found in Documentation)


i. Single computer, Simple install (everything on 1 machine including database)
ii. Multiple Developers sharing an Oracle Home with separate instances (Shared Oracle home on a shared
disk with separate local instances, Security is through rpd, no SSL)
iii. Distributed OBI and WebLogic Server (This is minimum topology for small department
iv. Couple of other supported scenarios using distributed WebLogic servers
b. Enterprise Scenario
v. Security (SSL Everywhere, Authentication using Oracle App Server)
vi. Oracle HTML server installed on several nodes and configured as front end cluster, separated by firewall,
and located in DMZ
vii. OBI installed on several nodes

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs

Can multiple repositories run on the OBI Server?

Yes. OBI 11g using the Fusion Middleware technology allows for multiple instances a core application to run from
the same physical server.
Where is the NQSConfig.ini now located?

INSTALL_HOME/instances/instance1/config/OracleBIServerComponent/coreapplication_obis1.
What is the RCU?

The Repository Creation Utility is part of the Oracle Fusion Middleware suite that provides a contained means of
creating a database repository via a graphical user interface (GUI) installation wizard.
What is a KPI?

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a core metric providing an instant glance of a business perspective usually
displayed in a visually engaging way.
What is Scorecarding?

Scorecarding is a methodology that communicates the strategic goals to your organization and monitors their
progress. A scorecard answers questions such as: Where is the organization going? How will w get there? What
are critical success factors? How is the business doing against goals?
Can we upgrade our OBI 10g environment to OBI 11g?

Yes. Utilizing the OBI Upgrade Assistant OBI 10.1.3.2 or greater may be migrate. Items that can be migrated
include the RPD (including users and groups), web catalog, delivers schema, BI Publisher repository and schema.
Where is the BIApps Installation?

With the initial release of 11g, there is no associated BIApps or DAC release. 11g is currently a platform
only release.
How is User Security handled in 11g?

This is technically a possibility. However, it is not recommended and Oracle will not support this.
The release 10g and release 11g security models differ in the following ways:
Defining users and groups - In Oracle Business Intelligence release 10g users and groups could be defined
within a repository file using Oracle BI Administration Tool. In Oracle Business Intelligence release 11g users
and groups can no longer be defined within a repository. The Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition
Upgrade Assistant migrates users and groups from a release 10g repository into the embedded LDAP
server in a release 11g installation.
Defining security policies In Oracle Business Intelligence release 10g security policies in the web catalog
and repository could be defined to reference groups within a directory. In Oracle Business Intelligence
release 11g a level of indirection is introduced whereby security policies are defined in terms of Application
Roles, which are in turn are mapped to users and groups in a directory. This indirection allows an Oracle
Business Intelligence release 11g system to be deployed without changes to the corporate directory and
eases movement of artifacts between development, test and production environments.
Use of the Administrator user In an Oracle Business Intelligence release 10g installation, a special
user named Administrator has full administrative permissions and is also used to establish trust between
processes within that installation. In Oracle Business Intelligence release 11g there is no special significance
to the name Administrator and there can be one or more users who are authorized to undertake
different sets of administrative functions. In Oracle Business Intelligence release 11g the identity used to
establish trust between processes in an installation is configurable and independent.

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs

Repository encryption in Oracle Business Intelligence release 10g certain sensitive elements within a
repository are encrypted. In Oracle Business Intelligence release 11g the entire repository is encrypted
using a key derived from a user supplied password.
Caution: A release 11g repository can only be opened with the password. There is no mechanism for recovering a
lost password.
The following aspects of the Oracle Business Intelligence release 10g security model remain in release 11g:
Oracle BI Server Initialization Blocks Oracle BI Server in release 11g continues to support the use of
initialization blocks for authentication and authorization. In release 10g Oracle BI Server falls back to use
initialization blocks if a matching user cannot be found in the repository. In release 11g Oracle Business
Intelligence falls back to use initialization blocks if the user cannot be authenticated by the installations
configured authentication provider.
Presentation Catalog Groups Oracle Business Intelligence release 11g continues to support the
definition of catalog groups within the Presentation Catalog. These groups are only visible within Oracle
BI Presentation Services. Oracle recommends that Oracle BI Presentation Catalog groups be used for
backward compatibility only and that Application Roles be used instead for new installations.
SA System Subject Area Oracle Business Intelligence release 11g supports the use of SA System
Subject Area, in combination with Oracle BI Server initialization blocks, to access user, group and profile
information stored in database tables.
Is 11g an upgrade for licensed 10g customers or a new product?

Although a licensed 10g customer can upgrade to the 11g platform, 11g is considered an independent product
with its own licensing. If a customer is interested in 11g, then they should talk with their Oracle Sales Rep about
licensing costs.
Can data elements from multiple subject areas be combined on the same report?

Yes, it is possible to combine elements from multiple subject areas on a single report. This also allows for poorly
created result sets if the combined the elements being added do not work together.
Is the csv data export really in csv format or tab-delimited?

There are now 3 separate data formats; csv, tab-delimited, and XML. The csv format is a true csv format.
Are the functional changes separate from the new interface? For example, can we benefit from the new or
enhanced charting behavior without implementing the new look and feel?

No, you would not be able to separate out specific features from 11g to be used elsewhere.
Is the mapviewer data maintained by Oracle separate or is it covered by 11g purchase?

11g itself does not include any data except what is necessary to install and configure the environment. There is an
11g Sample Application which is available for download which contains a rich set of examples including Map Viewer
data. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-foundation/obiee-samples-167534.html
Is the mapviewer integrated with 11g or is it using an API mapping tool?

With 11g, Map Viewer is now an integrated component. Unlike the 10g integration, JavaScript is not required
to start creating map views in your reports. The map view is now a selectable view just like table, pivot table, etc.
where previously.

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs


Is Map charting available for the USA only or can it be used for worldwide reporting?
The demo data available for 11g has limited maps and detail. Worldwide data and more detailed content can
be licensed from NAVTEQ who provided Oracle with the demo data. BICG will be a reseller of this data as well.
What is new calculated item feature called in previous release?
In a prior release the new calculated item feature to the extent it exists in 11g did not exist. You did have
the ability to use binning and create new columns from existing columns within a subject area by modifying
the expression.
Are there any OBIEE 11g training courses in San Francisco?
BICG is working on new training courses to be available starting the 1st quarter of the 2011.
With the new features within setting up navigations and user interaction, how much re-writing of Answers
requests is required to upgrade to 11g?
Most of this should be handled by the upgrade wizard. Of course, regression testing after the upgrade needs
to occur.
With the ability of the user to pivot the data, has it shifted processing requirements from the database to
the presentation server?
No. The processing requirements are still on the database and the modeling of the repository data model.
This can be verified by running the report, viewing the session log, then dynamically pivoting the report table
and viewing the session log once again. One will notice that two different SQL Logic calls have been made to
the OBI Server / database in order to properly return the pivoted logic.
To utilize the map feature, do you need to associate each state with a latitude/longitude or is there
another way to link each data element to the map?
The mapping data is typically obtained from a mapping agency such as NAVTEQ. Thus, your data warehouse
data would be associated to this data for mapping purposes. If you are looking at providing your own spatial
data, then you would require longitude and latitude information. In this case, you would want to become more
familiar with the Oracles GeoSpatial and Location features in the Oracle database since the Mapping View in
11g requires this feature.
Does OBIEE metadata layer supports running other reporting tool on it?
The OBIEE metadata layer can be treated as a data source for other reporting tools.
Will current security built in initialization blocks and variables have to be re-built?
There is backwards compatibility in 11g for initialization blocks. The biggest change in security is that users
cannot be managed in the rpd. The Application Roles replace the older Security Group.
Can we re-use our current initialization blocks and security variables?
Yes. The upgrade wizard will handle the migration of your rpd and web catalog files and retain initialization
blocks and variables.
What if you are a Hyperion EPM environment and are curious about going to OBIEE? Thoughts?
This depends on the purpose. Hyperion EPM and OBIEE are now designed to integrate to compliment one
another, not to supersede one or the other. With the 11g enhancements and ability to use HFM and Essbase
as data source OBIEE allows for a solid approach to federating data. In addition, the new OBIEE 11g reporting
features, scorecarding, report distribution features allow for a well-rounded enterprise reporting solution.
I saw Credit Rating listed on a table a few minutes ago. Is OBI 11g now integrated with the Oracle Credit
Management module? Also, is it integrated to the Oracle Advanced Collections module?
The column you saw was just sample data and does not come from the Credit Management module. With
11g and the Action Framework it is now possible to build in this integration between business processes
and modules.

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs


For Custom Groups, can you choose if the members of the custom group will be counted in the total or not?
By default this is not counted in the tabular view row total/summation. The custom groups are simply an extra
visual roll-up of the data elements.
Why did you have to move across various dashboard pages to be able to refresh (reset) the choices?
Also, when you clicked reset, the weeks did not reset. They are still between 28 and 52
You dont have to. During this webinar there was a performance delay on the site. We were attempting to
circumvent the refresh. It does work though. I just didnt want to wait for it.
What would be required for the creation of a custom map (i.e. an apartment complex map of units)?
To create custom maps would require entering your own data into a GeoSpatial Schema within the database or
look at purchasing this information from a mapping agency such as NAVTEQ.
When will 11g be available for Solaris?
This is a big question we and many users have out to Oracle. No real response yet, except Next Release?
Is this presentation saved so that we can access it since I missed the first 10 min due to
GotoMyWebinar connection issues?
Yes, this webinar can be played back by visiting our YouTube channel,

http://www.youtube.com/user/BIConsultingGroup
Are there any webinars that are specific to install, config, and admin?
We will soon have those ready; most likely the first of year.
With the RPD encryption, can the RPD still be exported to UML?
Yes. But you will always now be prompted for the Repository Password.
Has 11g been released for AIX yet?
No. As of the first release of OBIEE 11g (Release 1) only Linux and Windows OSs have been distributed by Oracle.
Could the calculated item be configured to show the top 5 and then the aggregate of everything else
Yes, the New Group feature is similar to the 10g Binning feature which allowed this same functionality.
Can the balloon popup be another report... say hover over a dimension and see that value trended over
time
No, the popup is defined as a tool tip. However, you can create navigation to provide more details or place the
secondary report to the side and have it respond to selections from the first report.
The dashboard dropdown, do you think of that as a type of site map? Or is there such a thing in 11g
It is more a menu of available selections than a site map. If security is in place where you do not have access
to a particular dashboard then it will not show in the menu for you.
When will the pre-built analytics be available in 11G?
This information has not yet been released by Oracle.
Will there be more download options available (Access for example)?
You can now export to pdf, excel, PowerPoint, web archive (.mht), csv, tab delimited, and xml. There is no
direct export to Access.
How is the source code version controlled?
Version control would be similar to previous releases where your organization would manage that using
whatever tool you have.

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs


Are there more advanced printing capabilities?
With the tight integration of BI Publisher in 11g, you have many new printing options available.
Are the write back features enhanced in 11G?
There are few enhancements on write back. The best enhancement is using the Action Framework which
allows you to use prompts, etc. to enter data for write back, not just in a grid.
What is the ETL tool, Informatica or ODI?
At this point it doesnt matter with 11g as this release 1 of 11g does not involve the Analytic Applications.
However, Informatica is still the main ETL tool but ODI is the declared Oracle roadmap.
Is SSO available between OBIEE and PeopleSoft or is it controlled by WebLogic?
It supports all main SSO configurations. This is handled in the OBIEE 11g Enterprise Manager Fusion Control
and not Web Logic. To clarify, the OBI documentation has certified configurations such as the one you speak of
so to be 100% that it works for you current environment you will want to reference that document.
Are there any changes to the Briefing Books?
None that have been discovered.
Are there source code tools available in 11G?
The primary developer tool from Oracle which can interact with the various APIs in 11g would be JDeveloper.
In your opinion, how much of a learning curve is the new 11g UI and also the RPD development in 11g?
Creating new Analysis (Answers Request) has a minimal learning curve. Although the interface has changed
building reports in 11g is similar to 10g. Learning the new features available and how to navigate to them
requires the most time. The modeling of the metadata is still the same within the rpd. There are some new
column types and features that are now available in 11g that did not exist previously; such as, the hierarchical
column.
How do selection steps differ from filters?
Filters and selection steps are applied on a column-level basis and provide two methods for limiting the data in
an analysis. A filter is always applied to a column before any selection steps are applied. Steps are applied in
their specified order. Filters and selection steps differ in various ways. Filters can be applied directly to attribute
columns and measure columns. Selection steps are applied after the query is aggregated and affect only the
members displayed, not the resulting aggregate values.
Is it possible to use the Essbase cube hierarchies as is? How the ragged hierarchies are handled in OBIEE
11g and how different it is from OBIEE 10g?
Yes. New enhancements to the OBIEE / Essbase integration have been made in this release of OBIEE 11g
that allow this. All types of hierarchies possible in Essbase such as ragged, jagged, parent-child, and skip
hierarchies are easily managed within OBIEE 11g. This wasnt completely possible in OBIEE 10g even though
some developers claimed it.
Is BI Publisher integrated with Disconnected Version of OBIEE, Which I guess was not the case with 10g?
There is not separate disconnected version of OBIEE in 11g. You can install 11g on your laptop or desktop, but
the system requirements are the same as if it was a server. In which case, BI Publisher would be installed as well.
I would like to know if there is any validation possible in the prompt values in 11G? The report should not
be run automatically as soon as user goes to the dashboard page. Basically run the report after a value
in the prompt is entered.
There is no validation as such. You can put a default selection into the prompt or you can set your reports to
use a conditional analysis or KPI.

10

BICG Oracle BI 11g FAQs


What if WebLogic is NOT your enterprise web server?
This initial release relies on WebLogic and the Fusion Middleware. Later releases are supposed to support
other application servers, but no list is available. You could configure your enterprise web server to talk with
WebLogic and let WebLogic handle the integration with OBIEE.
Can it go down to city, zip level?
Maps can go down to the street level as well as going worldwide. You would need to purchase a license from
NAVTEQ for this information.
Will you be able to search other users folders?
Only if you are admin.
In 11G will there still be Dashboard prompts and Answers Request prompts?
Yes.
Does Workspace go away in 11g? Oracle had said before OBIEE and Hyperion would both be presented via
Workspace, but that doesnt appear to be the case from what I see.
It is still there. The Custom Authenticator is still available. The option no longer exists in the Administration part
of presentation services though.
Is 11g available for download ?
Oracle has made it available through TechNet and eDelivery.
Is OBIEE certified for windows XP?
Certifications are provided based on Server OSs. However, OBIEE 11g will run on Windows XP.
Please comment on challenges (if any) related to migrating existing OBIE report objects from v10 to v11.
There is an upgrade wizard which will assist in migrating the 10g web catalog to an 11g web catalog.

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