2 Starting Oracle BI Discoverer

This chapter applies only to Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer. For information about Discoverer Plus OLAP, see Chapter 5, "Configuring Discoverer Plus OLAP".

This chapter explains how to start Oracle BI Discoverer on a client browser machine, to install and configure any required plug-ins (for example, a Java runtime environment) or security certificates, and contains the following topics:

Notes

2.1 General information about starting Discoverer

To start Discoverer Viewer, you just need an Internet browser, as follows:

Depending on what software you have installed on your machine, you might also need the following:

Notes

2.2 Which Web browsers does Discoverer support?

Discoverer is certified to support the following Internet browsers:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 7

  • Mozilla Firefox 2

  • Mozilla Firefox 3

For the latest information on browser support, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Release Notes.

2.3 About restricting how users can start Discoverer

In a secure Discoverer environment you want to enable only authorized end users to access Discoverer. For example, you might want to limit users to read-only access to Discoverer workbooks using Discoverer Plus.

Depending on your security requirements, you might do any of the following to provide a secure Discoverer environment:

  • You might run Discoverer Plus in read-only mode for specified Discoverer end users by removing the Create/Edit Query privilege in Oracle BI Discoverer Administrator. For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer.

  • You might enable Oracle Advanced Security (formerly Advanced Security Option) encryption between the middle tier and the database.

For more information about other Discoverer security features, see Chapter 13, "Maintaining Security with Oracle BI Discoverer."

2.4 What are the storage requirements and privileges required to start Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer?

To start Oracle BI Discoverer Plus, you require the following on the Discoverer Plus client machine (that is, the browser machine):

  • Administrative privileges on the client machine, because you need to be able to install a Java Virtual Machine

  • At least 50 MB of Users Personal Profile Space for the Oracle Jar Cache

  • A minimum of between 100 - 150 MB of available disk space to install a JVM

To start Oracle BI Discoverer Viewer, you need only to be able to run a standard Web browser (for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer) that has JavaScript and cookies enabled.

2.5 About running Discoverer over HTTPS

Before you can run Discoverer over HTTPS (that is, in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) mode), you must have installed a security certificate from a Certificate Authority (for example, Verisign) on the Oracle HTTP Server on the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance. For more information about installing security certificates, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide and Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Security Guide.

An Oracle installation includes a dummy certificate on the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance that you can use to confirm that HTTPS is deployed. You must install a valid security certificate to ensure that communication with the Oracle Fusion Middleware instance is secure.

A security certificate confirms to the Discoverer client machine that the holder of the security certificate is who they say they are.

How to start Discoverer over HTTPS is different for Discoverer Viewer and Discoverer Plus, as follows:

  • To run Discoverer Viewer over HTTPS, simply specify HTTPS on the Discoverer Viewer URL, and specify the HTTPS port number.

    For example:

    https://<host.domain>:<HTTPS port>/discoverer/viewer

    When the Security Alert dialog is displayed, click Yes to accept the security certificate issued by the certificate authority you are using. Discoverer Viewer then starts in HTTPS mode. For more information about starting Discoverer Viewer, see Section 2.11, "How to start Discoverer Viewer over HTTP".

2.5.1 How to install a security certificate on a Discoverer Plus client machine

You install a security certificate on a Discoverer client machine when you start Discoverer Plus for the first time over HTTPS (that is, in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) mode).

Tip: If you do not have a JVM installed on the client machine, before you try to start Discoverer for the first time in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) mode, do one of the following:

To install a Discoverer Plus security certificate:

  1. Start a Web browser and enter the Discoverer Plus HTTPS URL containing the fully qualified host name (including port number if required) used by your own Oracle installation.

    For example:

    https://<host.domain>:<port>/discoverer/plus

    where:

    • <host.domain> is the server name and domain on which the Oracle HTTP Server is installed

    • <port> is the HTTPS port number (default 4443) on which Discoverer is installed

    • /discoverer/plus is the URL command that starts Discoverer Plus

    The Security Alert dialog is displayed.

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  2. Click View Certificate.

  3. Go to the Details tab.

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  4. Click Copy to File to start the Certificate Export Wizard.

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  5. Click Next to display the Export File Format page in the Certificate Export Wizard.

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  6. Select the Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER) option.

  7. Click Next to display the File to Export page in the Certificate Export Wizard.

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    You now choose a temporary name and location for the exported certificate file.

  8. Enter a file location and file name (with a '.cer' extension) for the exported certificate file in the File name field (for example, c:\tmp\mycertificate.cer).

  9. Click Next to display the final page of the Certificate Export Wizard dialog.

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  10. Click Finish to complete the certificate installation.

    A confirmation dialog is displayed.

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  11. Click OK to close the confirmation dialog and the Certificate Export Wizard and return to the Details tab of the Certificate dialog.

  12. Click OK in the Details tab of the Certificate dialog to return to the Security Alert dialog.

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  13. Leave the Security Alert dialog displayed.

  14. Import the security certificate file that you saved earlier into the certificate store of the JVM you are using, as follows:

  15. (optional) Delete the certificate file that you saved earlier (for example, c:\tmp\mycertificate.cer).

  16. At the Security Alert dialog, click Yes to accept the security certificate and start Discoverer Plus.

    Discoverer Plus starts in HTTPS mode and displays the Connect to Oracle BI Discoverer page.

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    Note: In HTTPS mode, Discoverer Plus displays a padlock symbol on the status bar of the browser, which indicates that the Web session is secure.

Notes

  • For information about installing security certificates with a JVM other than Java Plug-in, consult the proprietary documentation for that JVM.

  • If you install a new JVM when you start Discoverer Plus, you must reinstall the Web server's security certificate into the JVM certificate store on all client machines that run Discoverer Plus.

2.5.2 How to import certificate details into the Java Plug-in certificate store

When configuring Discoverer Plus to run over HTTPS using Java Plug-in, you import the certificate details into the Java Plug-in certificate store after you have used the Certificate Export Wizard to export a certificate file.

  1. Display the Java Control Panel.

    For example, on Windows display the Windows Control Panel, then select the Java icon.

  2. Display the Security tab and click Certificates.

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  3. Display Trusted Certificates from the Certificate type drop down list (if it is not selected).

  4. Click Import and import the certificate file that you saved in Section 2.5.1, "How to install a security certificate on a Discoverer Plus client machine" (for example, c:\tmp\mycertificate.cer).

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    The security certificate is displayed in the list of certificates in the Java Plug-in certificate store.

  5. Click Apply.

2.6 About running Discoverer Plus over HTTP for the first time on a client machine

When you start Discoverer Plus for the first time on a client machine, you perform a one-time setup process to install a Java Virtual Machine and initialize the Discoverer Plus software. This process is typically performed when:

  • you want to test that Discoverer is working

  • a Discoverer end user wants to start Discoverer Plus for the first time on a client machine

If you upgrade Discoverer, you might have to repeat the setup process. For example, you might install a new version of Discoverer Plus that requires a new version of the Java runtime environment.

Oracle BI Discoverer installs the Sun Java Plug-in on client browser machines. For more information about changing the Java plug-in that Discoverer uses, see Section 4.10, "About running Discoverer Plus with different Java Virtual Machines".

The Discoverer Plus initialization procedure is different for different browsers. Refer to the appropriate task below:

Notes

  • If single sign-on is enabled, you are first asked to authenticate as a Oracle Single Sign-On or Oracle Access Manager user before a Discoverer connections page is displayed.

  • If single sign-on is not enabled, Discoverer end users are asked to enter a database password when they select a private connection.

    Note: A Discoverer connection stores login information.

  • To start Discoverer Plus in Microsoft Internet Explorer, you must have the Security level set no higher than 'Medium' or custom equivalent (that is, using the Security dialog in Microsoft Internet Explorer).

  • If a Security Warning dialog is displayed when you start Discoverer, click Yes to install and start the JVM. If you have previously configured the machine to always trust content from Oracle Corporation, this dialog is not displayed.

    Note: Discoverer Viewer requires no additional software to be installed on the client machine.

  • If the Discoverer initialization takes longer than the session timeout (for example, you might be accessing Discoverer over a slower network), increase the Timeout value in the pref.txt file on the middle tier and apply the preferences. For more information, see Section 9.6, "List of Discoverer user preferences".

2.7 How to start Discoverer Plus

You start Discoverer Plus to enable you to manage and edit Discoverer worksheets.

To start Discoverer Plus:

  1. Start a Web browser and enter the Discoverer Plus URL containing the fully qualified host name (including port number if required) used by your own Oracle installation.

    For example:

    http://<host.domain>:<port>/discoverer/plus

    where:

    • <host.domain> is the server name and domain on which the Oracle HTTP Server is installed

    • <port> is the port number (typically 7777) on which Discoverer is installed

      For information on finding out the default Discoverer port number, see Section 4.8, "How to view ports used by Fusion Middleware".

    • /discoverer/plus is the URL command that starts Discoverer Plus

    The Connect to Oracle BI Discoverer page is displayed.

    Figure 2-1 Connect to Oracle BI Discoverer page

    Surrounding text describes Figure 2-1 .

    Note: Connections are only displayed if the Oracle Business Intelligence installation is associated with an Oracle Internet Directory and with the two database schemas that Discoverer requires (the PStore and Portlet Provider schemas). If single sign-on is enabled, you are first asked to authenticate as a Oracle Single Sign-On or Oracle Access Manager user.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Select a connection in the Connection column.

      Tip: If no connections are displayed in the Connection column, you must create a connection before continuing. For more information about creating private connections, see Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer Plus. You can also use public connections that have been created by the Discoverer manager (for more information, see Section 3.6, "How to create public connections").

    • Enter login details directly using the Connect Directly area, and click Go.

    Discoverer Plus starts (after first installing any required plug-ins).

2.8 How to start Discoverer Plus over HTTP in Microsoft Internet Explorer for the first time on a Windows client machine

To start Discoverer Plus in Microsoft Internet Explorer for the first time on a Windows client machine:

  1. Start Discoverer Plus (for more information, see Section 2.7, "How to start Discoverer Plus").

  2. Depending on the software installed on the client machine, you might have to download and install a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) (for example, Java Plug-in). If you are not prompted to download and install a JVM, go straight to step 7.

    Tip: If the JVM installation process fails, close down extraneous processes on the client machine, then re-try.

    If you must download and install a JVM, the Security Warning dialog is displayed.

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  3. Click Yes to start the plug-in download and display the License Agreement page.

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  4. Select the Typical setup option and click Accept to start the installation.

    When the installation is complete, the Java Runtime Environment - Complete page is displayed.

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  5. Click Finish to close the installation wizard.

    The Security Warning dialog is displayed.

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  6. Click Yes to accept the security certificate and start Discoverer Plus.

    Note: If you do not want to display the Warning - Security dialog every time a new Discoverer Plus applet is installed on the client machine, click Always.

    The Workbook Wizard dialog is displayed.

  7. Follow the instructions on the Workbook Wizard dialog.

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You are now running Discoverer Plus.

2.9 How to start Discoverer Plus over HTTP in Netscape Navigator for the first time on a Windows client machine

To start Discoverer Plus in Netscape Navigator for the first time on a Windows client machine:

  1. Start Discoverer Plus (for more information, see Section 2.7, "How to start Discoverer Plus").

    Depending on the software installed on the client machine, you might have to download and install a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) (for example, Java Plug-in). If you are not prompted to download and install a JVM, go straight to step 12.

    If the client browser machine does not have a JVM installed and you need to install a JVM, Discoverer launches an empty applet browser window.

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  2. Click anywhere in the empty applet browser window to display the Sun Developer Network download page for JVMs in a separate browser window.

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  3. In the browser window containing the Sun Developer Network download page for JVMs, select the Download JRE link to display the Download page.

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  4. Select the Accept License Agreement option.

  5. In the Windows Platform area, select the Windows Installation, Multi-language link to display the Opening <JVM file> dialog.

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  6. Select the Save it to disk option and click OK.

  7. Navigate to a temporary directory on the client browser machine (for example, d:\temp\) then click Save.

    When the file download is complete the Netscape Download Manager dialog is displayed, containing the status of the download.

  8. Close the Netscape Download Manager dialog.

  9. Using a Windows Explorer dialog, navigate to the temporary directory that you selected in step 7, and double click the downloaded file (for example, d:\temp\jre-1_5_0_06-windows-i586-p-iftw.exe) to start the JVM installation wizard and display the License Agreement page.

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  10. Select the Typical setup option and click Accept to start the installation.

    When the installation is complete, the Java Runtime Environment - Complete page is displayed.

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  11. Click anywhere in the empty applet browser window to start Discoverer Plus.

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    When the Discoverer Plus applet is initialized and cached, the Workbook Wizard dialog is displayed.

  12. Follow the instructions on the Workbook Wizard dialog.

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You are now running Discoverer Plus.

2.10 How to start Discoverer Plus over HTTP in Netscape Navigator for the first time on a UNIX client machine

To start Discoverer Plus in Netscape Navigator for the first time on a UNIX client machine:

  1. Install a JVM on the client browser machine, as follows:

    1. Start a Web browser and go to the following URL:

      http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/5.0_06/index.html

    2. Select the DOWNLOAD link in the JRE column for the Download J2SE v 1.5.0_06 option for Windows/Linux/Solaris to display the Download page.

    3. Select the Accept License Agreement option.

    4. Select the appropriate Solaris or Linux link to display the Opening <JVM file> dialog.

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      For example, for a Solaris client browser machine, you might select the 64-bit self-extracting file (jre-1_5_0_06-solaris-sparcv9.sh) link.

    5. Select the Save it to disk option and click OK.

    6. Navigate to a temporary directory on the client browser machine (for example, tmp\) then click Save.

      When the file download is complete the Netscape Download Manager dialog is displayed, containing the status of the download.

    7. Close the Netscape Download Manager dialog.

    8. Using a file manager tool, navigate to the temporary directory that you selected in step f and execute the downloaded file (for example, tmp\j2re-1_5_0_06-solaris-sparcv9.sh) to start the JVM installation wizard and display the License Agreement page.

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    9. Follow the instructions in the JVM installation wizard to install the JVM on the client machine.

  2. Start Discoverer Plus (for more information, see Section 2.7, "How to start Discoverer Plus").

  3. Wait for the Discoverer Plus applet to initialize.

    While the Discoverer Plus applet initializes, the Starting product: Discoverer Plus page is displayed.

    The Discoverer Plus applet is initialized and cached, then the Workbook Wizard dialog is displayed.

    You are now running Discoverer Plus.

2.11 How to start Discoverer Viewer over HTTP

You might start Discoverer Viewer if you have installed Oracle and want to test that Discoverer is working.

To start Discoverer Viewer over HTTP:

  1. Start a Web browser and enter the Discoverer Viewer URL containing the fully qualified host name (including port number) used by your own Oracle installation.

    For example:

    http://<host.domain>:<port>/discoverer/viewer

    where:

    • <host.domain> is the server name and domain on which the Oracle HTTP Server is installed

    • <HTTP port> is the port number (typically 7777) on which Discoverer is installed.

      For information on finding out the default Discoverer port number, see Section 4.8, "How to view ports used by Fusion Middleware".

    • /discoverer/viewer is the URL command that starts Discoverer Viewer

    The Connect to Discoverer Viewer page is displayed.

    Figure 2-2 Connect to Discoverer Viewer page

    Surrounding text describes Figure 2-2 .

    Note: If single sign-on is enabled, you are first asked to authenticate as a Oracle Single Sign-On or Oracle Access Manager user.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Select a connection in the Connection column.

      Tip: If no connections are displayed in the Connection column, you must create a connection before continuing. For more information about creating private connections, see Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer Viewer. You can also use public connections that have been created by the Discoverer manager (for more information, see Section 3.6, "How to create public connections").

    • Enter login details directly using the Connect Directly area, and click Go.

    The Worksheet list page is displayed.

  3. Select a worksheet in the Name column to display the workbook in Discoverer Viewer.

    You are now running Discoverer Viewer.

Notes

  • To start Discoverer Viewer over HTTPS, enter the Discoverer Viewer HTTPS URL (for example, https://<host.domain>:<HTTPS port>/discoverer/viewer). For more information about running Discoverer Viewer over HTTPS, see Section 2.5, "About running Discoverer over HTTPS".

2.12 How to modify the URL that starts Discoverer

In general, you start Discoverer by entering a URL in a browser, as described in this chapter. That URL has a format similar to the following:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/discoverer/<component-name>

The /discoverer/part of that URL is called the "context root." If your organization requires that all users enter URLs that have specific formats (that is, have a certain context root), then you can modify the default URL that starts Discoverer to match those requirements. After you modify the default URL, share that URL with the Discoverer users in your organization.

The following procedure describes how to modify the default URL for Discoverer by changing the context root. As part of the modification, you stop and restart all OPMN processes and WLS_DISCO Managed Server. WLS_DISCO Managed Server has a complete set of Java EE containers written entirely in Java that execute on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) of the standard Java Development Kit (JDK). Discoverer has a Java EE application that is deployed to WLS_DISCO. The Discoverer application is accessed through the port for the Oracle HTTP Server.

The following procedure uses an example of modifying the URL to include the /myBI/BI11 directory in the context root.

  1. Stop the OPMN using the following opmnctl command:

    $ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin/opmnctl stopall
    
  2. Run the command changeContextRoot, which is located in the ORACLE_INSTANCE/Discoverer/Discoverer_instance-name/util/ folder as follows:

    changeContextRoot presentContextRoot newContextRoot
    

    To include the directory /myBI/BI11 in the context root, run the command as follows:

    changeContextRoot discoverer myBI/BI11/discoverer
    
  3. If SSO is enabled, edit the module_disco.conf file by following these steps:

    1. Open the module_disco.conf file from the ORACLE_INSTANCE\config\OHS\ohs-component-name\moduleconf directory in a text editor.

    2. Navigate to the following line:

      <Location /discoverer/portletprovider/viewer>

    3. Edit the line to read like:

      <Location /myBI/BI11/discoverer/portletprovider/viewer>

    4. Navigate to the following line:

      <Location /discoverer>

    5. Edit the line to read like:

      <Location /myBI/BI11/discoverer>

    6. Save your changes and close the file.

  4. Restart OPMN using the following command:

    $ORACLE_INSTANCE/bin/opmnctl startall
    

To use the modified context root, you must update the Discoverer application as described in the "Update (redeploy) an Enterprise application" section of Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console Help

After you modify the files and restart the service as described in the previous procedure, users can start Discoverer components using the following URLs:

  • Discoverer Plus:

    http://<host.domain>:<port>/myBI/BI11/discoverer/plus

  • Discoverer Viewer:

    http://<host.domain>:<port>/myBI/BI11/discoverer/viewer

  • Discoverer Portlet Provider:

    http://<host.domain>:<port>/myBI/BI11/discoverer/portletprovider

Note: If single sign-on is enabled for Discoverer, to modify the URL you must change the <Location> tag for each Discoverer component in the mod_osso.conf file. For example, to change the URL for Discoverer Plus, change <Location /discoverer/plus> to <Location /myBI/BI11/discoverer/plus> in the mod_osso.conf file.

For more information about editing mod_osso.conf, see Section 13.8.1.2, "How to enable and disable Single Sign-On for Discoverer."