1 Introduction to Oracle BI Publisher Administration

This chapter describes tasks required to administer BI Publisher.

It includes the following topics:

1.1 Introduction

Oracle BI Publisher is an enterprise reporting solution for authoring, managing, and delivering all your highly formatted documents, such as operational reports, electronic funds transfer documents, government PDF forms, shipping labels, checks, sales and marketing letters, and much more.

Administering BI Publisher requires setting up and maintaining the following system components:

  • BI Publisher security

  • Data source connections

  • Report delivery destinations

  • BI Publisher Scheduler configurations

  • Runtime configuration settings

  • Server configuration settings

See the guides that are outlined in Table 1-1 for more information about using the product for other business roles.

Table 1-1 Other Guides to Consult

Role Sample Tasks Guide

Data Model developer

Fetching and structuring the data to use in reports

Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

Application developer or integrator

Integrating BI Publisher into existing applications using the application programming interfaces

Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

Report consumer

Viewing reports

Scheduling report jobs

Managing report jobs

Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

Report designer

Creating report definitions

Designing layouts

Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

1.2 Configurations Performed by the BI Platform Installer

After installation is complete, the following pieces are configured:

  • The security model is configured to use Oracle Fusion Middleware Security

  • The scheduler is configured to use Oracle WebLogic JMS. The schema tables are installed and configured in the database.

  • The BI Publisher catalog and repository are configured to ${xdo.server.config.dir}/repository

1.3 Flow of Tasks for First Time Setup of BI Publisher

If you are setting up BI Publisher for the first time, then consult the following table for the recommended flow of tasks to get the system up and running.

Table 1-2 Recommended Flow of Tasks

Task Where to Get Information

Define a Local Superuser Set up this Superuser to ensure access to all administrative functions in case of problems with the current security setup.

Section 4.1, "Enabling a Local Superuser"

Set up the chosen security model and test

Chapter 2, "Configuring Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Model"

Chapter 3, "Alternative Security Options"

Chapter 5, "Integrating with Other Oracle Security Models"

Set up the data sources and test

Chapter 9, "Setting Up Data Sources"

Set up the delivery servers and test

Chapter 11, "Setting Up Delivery Destinations"

Configure server properties

Chapter 8, "Configuring Server Properties"

Configure system runtime properties

Chapter 12, "Defining Run-Time Configurations"

1.4 Starting and Stopping BI Publisher

Use the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console to centrally manage Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

For detailed information about Oracle WebLogic Server, see:

Display Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console, using one of the following methods:

  • Using the Start menu in Windows

  • Clicking a link on the Overview page in Fusion Middleware Control

  • Entering a URL into a Web browser window

The Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console is available only if the Administration Server for WebLogic Server is running.

To display Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console:

  1. If the Administration Server for WebLogic Server is not running, start it.

  2. Display the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console using one of the following methods:

    Using the Windows Start menu:

    1. From the Start menu, select All Programs, Oracle WebLogic, User Projects, bifoundation_domain, and Admin Server Console.

      The Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console login page is displayed.

    Clicking a link on the Overview page in Fusion Middleware Control:

    1. Display Oracle Fusion Middleware Control.

    2. Expand the WebLogic Domain node and select the bifoundation_domain.

    3. Click the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console link in the Summary region.

      The Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console login page is displayed.

    Using a URL in a Web browser window:

    1. Enter the following URL into the browser:

      http://<host>:<port>/console/

      For example, http://mycomputer:7001/console/

      where host is the DNS name or IP address of the Administration Server and port is the listen port on which the Administration Server is listening for requests (port 7001 by default).

      If you have configured a domain-wide Administration port, then use that port number. If you configured the Administration Server to use Secure Socket Layer (SSL), then you must add the letter 's' after http as follows:

      https://<host>:7001/console/

1.4.1 Using Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console

To use the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console to start and stop BI Publisher:

  1. Start the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console.

  2. Under the Domain Structure, expand Environment.

  3. Click Servers to display the Summary of Servers table.

  4. Click Control. Select the server and then click the appropriate action, as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1 Administration Console

Description of Figure 1-1 follows
Description of "Figure 1-1 Administration Console"

1.5 About the Administration Page

Many of the tasks described in the Administration section of this guide are performed from the BI Publisher Administration page. You must be granted Administrator privileges to access the Administration page.

The Administration page is accessed from the Administration link in the global header. Figure 1-2 shows the Administration page:

Figure 1-2 Administration Page

Description of Figure 1-2 follows
Description of "Figure 1-2 Administration Page"

1.6 About Integration with Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

If you installed Oracle BI Publisher with the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, then you must perform the Administration tasks in the BI Publisher Administration page, as described in the following table. Navigate to the BI Publisher Administration page as follows:

In the global header, click Administration, on the Administration page, click Manage BI Publisher.

Table 1-3 BI Publisher Administration Tasks

Task Where to Get Information

Set up data source connections for reporting

Chapter 9, "Setting Up Data Sources"

Grant access to data sources for user roles defined in Oracle Business Intelligence

Section 3.8.4, "Granting Data Access"

Configure the connections to delivery servers (for example, printers, e-mail servers, FTP servers, and so on)

Chapter 11, "Setting Up Delivery Destinations"

Configure the scheduler processors

Chapter 7, "Configuring the Scheduler"

Configure system runtime properties such as PDF security properties, properties specific to each output format, template type properties, font mappings, and currency formats.

Section 12.1, "Setting Run-Time Properties"

Configure server properties such as caching specifications, database failover properties, and database fetch size.

Chapter 8, "Configuring Server Properties"

1.7 About the Security Model Options

BI Publisher offers the following security options:

1.8 About the Data Source Connections

BI Publisher reports rely on XML data. BI Publisher supports retrieving data from a variety of data sources.

The following data sources must be first set up in BI Publisher through the Administration page:

  • Database connections

    BI Publisher supports direct JDBC connections and connections through a JNDI pool (recommended)

  • LDAP connections

  • OLAP connections

  • File directory connections - you can use existing XML files, Microsoft Excel files, or CSV files stored in a directory that BI Publisher can access

  • Web Service connections

  • HTTP XML connections

For more information on setting up these data source connections, see Chapter 9, "Setting Up Data Sources."

If you have integrated your system with Oracle Business Intelligence you can also take advantage of the following data sources:

  • Oracle BI Analysis

  • Oracle BI Server subject area

You can also upload some file types stored locally.

1.9 About Report Delivery Destinations

The BI Publisher delivery manager supports the following delivery channels:

  • Printer

  • Fax

  • E-mail

  • HTTP notification

  • FTP

  • Web Folder (or WebDAV)

For more information on setting up the delivery options, see Chapter 11, "Setting Up Delivery Destinations."

1.10 About Setting Runtime Configuration Properties

Use the Runtime Configuration page to enable configuration settings for your system. The properties include settings that

  • Control the processing for different output types

  • Enable digital signature

  • Tune for scalability and performance

  • Define font mappings

For more information on setting configuration properties and font mappings, see Section 12.1, "Setting Run-Time Properties."

1.11 About the Server Configuration Settings

BI Publisher administration also includes a set of system maintenance settings and tasks. These are:

  • Configuring the catalog

  • Setting caching properties

  • Setting retry properties for failover

  • Enabling Auditing and Monitoring

For more information on these tasks and settings, see Chapter 8, "Configuring Server Properties."