1 Introduction to Oracle Business Intelligence System Administration

This chapter introduces system administration in Oracle Business Intelligence, explains what a system administrator does; describes where to get started with typical system administration tasks; describes the Oracle Business Intelligence architecture; lists the tools that can help you complete system administration tasks, and provides links to system requirements and certification information.

This chapter includes the following sections:

1.1 What Are the Oracle Business Intelligence System Administration Tasks?

Administering an Oracle Business Intelligence system involves the following tasks:

  • Configuring a system for deployment after installation

    Configuring metadata and content, general preferences, and default system settings.

  • Starting and stopping the system when required

    Bringing the system up and down during system maintenance tasks.

  • Configuring security

    Securing access to the Oracle Business Intelligence system, metadata, and data, configuring Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Single Sign-On (SSO), and integration with identity management systems.

  • Scaling out and configuring for high availability

    Configuring the Oracle Business Intelligence system for linear scale-out and identifying and removing single points of failure.

  • Managing performance and availability

    Monitoring service levels and tuning performance.

  • Managing and resolving issues

    Diagnosing errors and establishing resolutions.

  • Moving a system from test to production

    Managing the steps for moving from a test to a production environment.

  • Backing up and recovering data

    Preparing for and recovering from unexpected events.

For more information about these tasks, see Section 1.2, "Getting Started with Managing Oracle Business Intelligence."

1.2 Getting Started with Managing Oracle Business Intelligence

Use this section to identify a task to complete, then click the corresponding link to display the appropriate content.

Table 1-1 describes the typical system administration tasks that you perform in Oracle Business Intelligence and indicates where to find related information.

Table 1-1 Oracle Business Intelligence System Administration Tasks

System Administration Task More Information

Learning about Oracle Business Intelligence system administration

For more information, see the topics in this section.

Contains information about the system architecture, components, tools, links to other related topics, and certification information.

Viewing Oracle Business Intelligence status

Section 2.2.3, "Using Fusion Middleware Control to Manage Oracle Business Intelligence System Components"

Also contains information about using Fusion Middleware Control and using WebLogic Server Administration Console.

Configuring Oracle Business Intelligence

Chapter 3, "Configuring the Oracle Business Intelligence System"

Contains information about the available methods for updating configuration settings and where configuration files are located.

Starting and stopping Oracle Business Intelligence

Chapter 4, "Starting and Stopping Oracle Business Intelligence"

Contains various topics on starting and stopping components, in addition to troubleshooting information.

Managing availability and capacity

Part III, "Scaling and Deploying for High Availability and Performance"

Contains chapters about scaling the environment, deploying for high availability, performance tuning, and query caching.

Diagnosing problems and resolving issues

Part IV, "Resolving Issues"

Contains chapters about diagnosing and resolving issues and about usage tracking.

Configuring Oracle Business Intelligence

Part V, "Configuring Oracle Business Intelligence"

Contains chapters about required configuration such as configuring repositories and connections to external systems.

Modifying advanced configuration settings

Part VI, "Advanced Configuration Settings"

Contains chapters about advanced and optional configuration settings for features such as analyses, dashboards, and maps.

Configuring Oracle BI Scheduler

For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Scheduling Jobs Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Automating management of an Oracle Business Intelligence system

Part VII, "Automating Management of Oracle Business Intelligence"

Describes the Oracle BI Systems Management API.

Managing the life cycle.

Part VIII, "Managing the Life Cycle"

Contains chapters about life cycle management tasks such as patching, moving between environments, and backup and recovery.

Securing the system


1.3 What Is the Oracle Business Intelligence System Logical Architecture?

The Oracle Business Intelligence system logical architecture comprises a single integrated set of manageable components called the Oracle BI domain which can be installed and configured to work together on a single host or can be clustered across multiple hosts for performance and availability.

Note:

You can improve the performance of your production system by using a web server with Oracle Business Intelligence, such as Oracle HTTP Server or Apache HTTP Server. A web server is not included by default in the Oracle Business Intelligence installer and is not part of the Oracle Business Intelligence system logical architecture. You must install and configure a web server separately.

1.3.1 Oracle Business Intelligence on a Single Host

You can install Oracle Business Intelligence on a single host using either an Enterprise Install type or a Simple Install type. The architecture differs slightly depending on install type, as described in the following sections.

See "Installation Types" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence for more information.

1.3.1.1 A Single Host and Enterprise Install

In an Enterprise Install type, the following components are installed in the Oracle BI Domain on the single host. The BI Domain consists of Java components that are deployed into one or more Java EE (JEE) containers within a single WebLogic server domain; system (non-JEE) components and processes; and required configuration files, metadata repositories, and infrastructure.

Figure 1-1 illustrates the Oracle Business Intelligence system architecture on a single host for an Enterprise Install type.

Figure 1-1 System Logical Architecture for Enterprise Install (Single Host)

BI architecture on one host.
Description of "Figure 1-1 System Logical Architecture for Enterprise Install (Single Host)"

1.3.1.2 A Single Host and Simple Install

The architecture for the Simple Install type is similar to that of the Enterprise Install type, with the differences that are outlined in the following list:

  • The Node Manager is not installed.

  • All components that are part of the Managed Server in an Enterprise Install type are instead part of the Administration Server. The Managed Server is not installed.

Figure 1-2 illustrates the Oracle Business Intelligence system architecture on a single host for a Simple Install type.

Figure 1-2 System Logical Architecture for Simple Install (Single Host)

Description of Figure 1-2 follows
Description of "Figure 1-2 System Logical Architecture for Simple Install (Single Host)"

1.3.2 Oracle Business Intelligence on Multiple Hosts

If you perform an Enterprise Installation, then Oracle Business Intelligence can be installed and configured on multiple hosts. Figure 1-3 illustrates the system architecture on two hosts.

Figure 1-3 Oracle Business Intelligence System Logical Architecture (Two Hosts)

BI architecture on two hosts.
Description of "Figure 1-3 Oracle Business Intelligence System Logical Architecture (Two Hosts)"

In Figure 1-3, the Java components (WebLogic server domain) and the system components (BI instance) are clustered on each host as part of the single BI domain. The Administration Server exists on both hosts, but is only active on one host (in this example, Host 1).

1.3.3 About Java Components and System Components for Oracle Business Intelligence

The Oracle Business Intelligence Java and system components are described in the following sections:

For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

1.3.3.1 About Java Components

Java components are deployed as one or more Java EE applications and are described in the following list:

  • Administrative Components — Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console, Fusion Middleware Control, and JMX MBeans for managing all configuration and runtime settings for Oracle Business Intelligence.

  • Oracle BI Publisher — This component provides an enterprise reporting solution for authoring, managing, and delivering all types of highly formatted documents to employees, customers, and suppliers.

  • Oracle BI for Microsoft Office — This component provides the integration between Oracle Business Intelligence and Microsoft Office products.

  • Oracle BI Action Services — This component provides the dedicated web services that are required by the Action Framework and that enable an administrator to manually configure which web service directories can be browsed by users when they create actions.

  • Oracle Real-Time Decisions (Oracle RTD) — This component provides enterprise analytics software solutions that enable companies to make better decisions in real time at key, high-value points in operational business processes.

  • Oracle BI Security Services — This component provides dedicated web services that enable the integration of the Oracle BI Server with the Oracle Fusion Middleware security platform.

  • Oracle BI SOA Services — This component provides dedicated web services for objects in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog, to invoke analyses, agents, and conditions. These services make it easy to invoke Oracle Business Intelligence functionality from Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) processes.

  • Oracle BI Presentation Services Plug-in — This component is a JEE application that routes HTTP and SOAP requests to Oracle BI Presentation Services.

1.3.3.2 About System Components

System components are deployed as non-JEE components, such as processes and services written in C++ and J2SE, and are described in the following list:

  • Oracle BI Server — This component provides the query and data access capabilities at the heart of Oracle Business Intelligence and provides services for accessing and managing the enterprise semantic model (stored in a file with an .RPD extension).

  • Oracle BI Presentation Services — This component provides the framework and interface for the presentation of business intelligence data to web clients. It maintains an Oracle BI Presentation Catalog service on the file system for the customization of this presentation framework.

  • Oracle BI Scheduler — This component provides extensible scheduling for analyses to be delivered to users at specified times. (Oracle BI Publisher has its own scheduler.)

  • Oracle BI JavaHost — This component provides component services that enable Oracle BI Presentation Services to support various components such as Java tasks for Oracle BI Scheduler, Oracle BI Publisher, and graph generation. It also enables Oracle BI Server query access to Hyperion Financial Management and Oracle OLAP data sources.

  • Oracle BI Cluster Controller — This component distributes requests to the BI Server, ensuring requests are evenly load-balanced across all BI Server process instances in the BI domain.

1.3.4 What Is the Administration Server?

The Administration Server contains the administrative components that enable administration of a single or multinode (that is, distributed) BI domain, as described in the following list:

  • For Enterprise and Simple Install types, the Administration Server contains the following components:

    • JMX MBeans — Java components that provide programmatic access for managing a BI domain.

    • Fusion Middleware Control — An administrative user interface that is used to manage the BI domain.

    • WebLogic Server Administration Console — An administrative user interface that provides advanced management for WebLogic, JEE components, and security.

  • For Simple Install types, the Administration Server also contains the components that comprise the Managed Server in an Enterprise Install type, such as Action Services and Oracle BI Publisher.

1.4 What System Administration Tools Manage Oracle Business Intelligence?

The following sections describe system administration tools that are available to help you to manage Oracle Business Intelligence. Table 1-2 outlines the tools and their purpose.

Table 1-2 System Administration Tools for Oracle Business Intelligence

Section Tool Purpose

Section 1.4.1

Fusion Middleware Control

Monitor, manage, and configure system components for Oracle Business Intelligence.

Section 1.4.2

Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console

Monitor and manage JEE Java components for Oracle Business Intelligence.

Section 1.4.3

Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server (OPMN)

Manage system components for Oracle Business Intelligence (for advanced users).

Section 1.4.4

Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST)

Programmatically administer Oracle Business Intelligence.

Section 1.4.5

Oracle BI Administration Tool

Manage the metadata repository for Oracle Business Intelligence.

Section 1.4.6

Job Manager

Manage the Oracle BI Scheduler


1.4.1 Fusion Middleware Control

Fusion Middleware Control is a browser-based tool and the recommended method for monitoring, managing, and configuring Oracle Business Intelligence components.

Fusion Middleware Control is used principally for managing the system components of a BI domain and provides support for the following:

  • Starting, stopping, and restarting all system components and Managed Servers

  • Configuring preferences and defaults

  • Scaling out of system components

  • Providing high availability configuration and status of system components

  • Managing performance and monitoring system metrics

  • Performing diagnostics and logging

Fusion Middleware Control also provides access to Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console, where you monitor and manage Oracle Business Intelligence Java components.

Fusion Middleware Control is available only if the Administration Server is running, as described in Section 4.2, "Starting the Oracle Business Intelligence System."

For more information, see Chapter 2, "Managing Oracle Business Intelligence."

1.4.2 Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console

Oracle WebLogic Server is a Java EE application server that supports the deployment of Oracle Business Intelligence Java components in a robust, secure, highly available, and scalable environment.

For more information, see Chapter 2, "Managing Oracle Business Intelligence."

Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console enables you to monitor and manage a WebLogic Server domain. Its capabilities include the following:

  • Monitoring the health and performance of JEE servers

  • Configuring WebLogic server domains

  • Stopping and starting JEE servers

  • Viewing JEE server logs

  • Managing user populations in the LDAP Server of the Oracle WebLogic Server

For more information, see Oracle Technology Network at the following location:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/index.html.

1.4.3 Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server (OPMN) Tool

OPMN is a process management tool that manages the Oracle Business Intelligence system components. OPMN supports both local and distributed process management, automatic process recycling, and the communication of process state (up, down, starting, and stopping). OPMN detects process unavailability and automatically restarts processes).

Note:

Fusion Middleware Control is the recommended approach for starting, stopping, and viewing the status of components. However, following a restart on Linux you must use the opmnctl start, or startall command. OPMN is suitable only for advanced users.

OPMN provides the following functionality to manage the Oracle Business Intelligence system components:

1.4.4 Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST)

The Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) is a command-line scripting environment (for advanced administrator use), which enables you to programmatically administer Oracle Business Intelligence. The WLST scripting environment is based on the Java scripting interpreter Jython. You can use this tool interactively on the command line, in batch scripts that are supplied in a file (Script Mode, where scripts invoke a sequence of WLST commands without requiring your input), or embedded in Java code. You can extend the WebLogic scripting language by following the Jython language syntax.

For more information, see:

1.4.5 Oracle BI Administration Tool

The Oracle BI Administration Tool enables you to manage the metadata repository. For information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

1.4.6 Job Manager

The Job Manager is a Windows tool that is the interface with the Oracle BI Scheduler. Through Job Manager, you can connect to, start and stop the Oracle BI Scheduler, add and manage jobs, and manage job instances. For information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Scheduling Jobs Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

1.5 Working with the Sample Application

By default, Oracle Business Intelligence is configured with a simplified "Sample Application." This application is often referred to as "SampleApp Lite."

You can also download and configure a more robust sample application. Instructions for this configuration are available at the following location:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-enterprise-edition/overview/index.html

See "About the SampleApp.rpd Demonstration Repository" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition for information about the sample repository that is provided with Oracle Business Intelligence.

1.6 Oracle BI Publisher Integration

This guide assumes that Oracle BI EE and BI Publisher have been installed and configured to run as fully integrated components at your organization. If this is not the case, then some mentions of BI Publisher in this guide might not be applicable to you. For information about running BI Publisher, see Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

1.7 Topics of Interest in Other Guides

Some topics that might be of interest to system administrators are covered in other guides. Table 1-3 lists these topics and indicates where to go for more information.

Table 1-3 Topics Covered in Other Guides

Topic Where to Go for More Information

Third-party tools and relational data source adapters

Section 1.8, "System Requirements and Certification"

Configuration tasks for Oracle BI Scheduler

Oracle Fusion Middleware Scheduling Jobs Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Configuring data sources

Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Security, including configuring SSO and SSL

Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Installing and upgrading

Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Configuring comments and status overrides in Oracle Scorecard and Strategy Management

Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Converting Oracle Business Intelligence proprietary metadata to an XML file and importing the metadata into your Oracle or IBM DB2 database

Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Propagating UI hints (labels and tooltips) from an ADF data source to display in Oracle BI Answers

Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition


1.8 System Requirements and Certification

Refer to the system requirements and certification documentation for information about hardware and software requirements, platforms, databases, and other information. Both of these documents are available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

The system requirements document covers information such as hardware and software requirements, minimum disk space and memory requirements, and required system libraries, packages, or patches:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-requirements-100147.html

The certification document covers supported installation types, platforms, operating systems, databases, JDKs, and third-party products:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-certification-100350.html