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Introducing OracleAS Discoverer

1.1 Introducing OracleAS Discoverer

This chapter introduces OracleAS Discoverer and contains the following topics:

• Section 1.2, "What is OracleAS Discoverer?"

• Section 1.3, "What are the new configuration features in OracleAS Discoverer 10g (9.0.4)"

• Section 1.4, "About OracleAS Discoverer and Oracle Application Server"

• Section 1.5, "About configuring OracleAS Discoverer"

• Section 1.6, "How to confirm an OracleAS Discoverer installation"

• Section 1.7, "About connecting to Discoverer"

• Section 1.8, "What is the OracleAS Discoverer architecture?"

• Section 1.9, "About the Discoverer client tier"

• Section 1.10, "About the Discoverer Services tier"

• Section 1.11, "About the Discoverer database tier"

• Section 1.12, "How does OracleAS Discoverer work?"

1.2 What is OracleAS Discoverer?

OracleAS Discoverer is a business intelligence tool for analyzing data and is a key component of Oracle Application Server (OracleAS). Discoverer provides an integrated business intelligence solution comprising intuitive ad-hoc query, reporting, analysis, and Web-publishing functionality. These tools enable non-technical users to gain immediate access to information from data marts, data warehouses, and online transaction processing systems. OracleAS Discoverer integrates seamlessly with OracleAS Portal, enabling rapid deployment of Discoverer workbooks and worksheets to Web portals.

There are two OracleAS Discoverer business analysis tools:

• Discoverer Plus is a Web tool enabling users to analyze data and create reports without having to understand difficult database concepts. Using Wizard dialogs and menus, Discoverer Plus guides users through the steps to create powerful reports and charts that can be accessed using Discoverer Plus or Discoverer Viewer.

Figure 1-1 OracleAS Discoverer Plus

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• Discoverer Viewer is a Web tool for accessing interactive reports and charts created using Discoverer Plus. Because Discoverer Viewer is a thin client HTML tool, users require only a Web browser to run Discoverer Viewer. Discoverer Viewer can also be used to publish reports into a portal, and is easily customized to conform to a particular Web site look and feel. Discoverer Viewer is optimized for performance and designed to minimize network traffic.

Figure 1-2 OracleAS Discoverer Viewer

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A typical workflow for Discoverer is:

• Discoverer Plus users (sometimes referred to as power users) create interactive reports and charts. Reports typically include powerful business intelligence components that enable end users to analyze data (e.g. parameters, conditions, totals).

• Discoverer Viewer users access the interactive reports in read-only mode, though they can typically personalize reports in a restricted number of ways (e.g. drilling to the data that they require, applying parameters).

1.3 What are the new configuration features in OracleAS Discoverer 10g (9.0.4)

This section lists configuration changes in OracleAS Discoverer 10g (9.0.4).

1.3.1 User preference changes

This section lists changes to user preferences in OracleAS Discoverer 10g (9.0.4). For a complete list of user preferences, see Section 8.8, "List of Discoverer user preferences".

1.3.1.1 User preferences removed

The following user preferences have been removed:

• DefaultUserTypeIsApps

1.3.1.2 User preferences added

The following user preferences have been added or are being documented for the first time:

• AllowAggregationOverRepeatedValues

• AxisLabelBehavior

• CellPadding

• DisableAlternateSortOptimization

• DisableFanTrapResolution

• EuroCountries

• ExcelExportWithMacros

• ExportGroupSortedItemsAsBlank

• GraphAxesAutoScaledFromZero

• GraphShowRollupAggregates

• MaxRowsPerFetch

• NonAggregableValue

• NotifyNewRunsOnConnect

• OutOfFetch

• PrintHeadersOnce

• PrintPercentageOfTitle

• SaveLastUsedParamValue

• ShowExpiredRunsOnExit

• SQLFlatten

• SQLItemTrim

• SQLJoinTrim

1.4 About OracleAS Discoverer and Oracle Application Server

OracleAS Discoverer is installed as part of Oracle Application Server when you do an installation of type OracleAS Business Intelligence and Forms. The default installation is to install the Discoverer middle tier on a single machine. However, you can install the Discoverer middle tier on multiple machines to improve performance and reliability (for more information, refer to Chapter 5.1, "Installing OracleAS Discoverer in a multiple machine environment").

OracleAS Discoverer is fully integrated with other OracleAS components, such as:

• OracleAS Portal

• OracleAS Single Sign-On

• OracleAS Reports Services

1.5 About configuring OracleAS Discoverer

After an OracleAS BI and Forms installation, OracleAS Discoverer works without further configuration. Depending on your requirements, you might want to perform one or more of the Discoverer middle tier configuration tasks in the table below.

Note: For more information about Discoverer architecture, see Section 1.8, "What is the OracleAS Discoverer architecture?").

.

What do you want to do?	Look in this section:
Confirm a Discoverer installation.	Section 1.6, "How to confirm an OracleAS Discoverer installation"
Run Discoverer Plus or Discoverer Viewer.	Section 2.1, "Running OracleAS Discoverer"
Create public connections (i.e. database logins).	Section 3.1, "Managing OracleAS Discoverer connections"
Configure the Discoverer middle tier using Application Server Control (e.g. starting and stopping the Discoverer Service).	Section 4.1, "Maintaining OracleAS Discoverer"
Provide load balancing for Discoverer, or specify a central Discoverer Preference Server.	Section 5.1, "Installing OracleAS Discoverer in a multiple machine environment"
Deploy Discoverer with OracleAS Web Cache to improve performance	Section 6.1, "Using OracleAS Discoverer Viewer with OracleAS Web Cache"
Customize the appearance of OracleAS Discoverer Viewer.	Section 7.1, "Customizing OracleAS Discoverer Viewer"
Specify Discoverer end user preferences.	Section 8.1, "Managing OracleAS Discoverer preferences"
Register the Discoverer Portal Provider for use with OracleAS Portal.	Section 9.1, "Using OracleAS Discoverer with OracleAS Portal"
Fine tune Discoverer for optimal performance and scalability.	Section 10.1, "Optimizing OracleAS Discoverer performance and scalability"
Deploy specify Discoverer workbooks and worksheets using URL details.	Section 11.1, "Starting OracleAS Discoverer using URL parameters"
Configure Discoverer to work with firewalls and demilitarized zones	Section 12.1, "Maintaining security with OracleAS Discoverer"
Configure Discoverer for use with Oracle applications.	Section 13.1, "OracleAS Discoverer and Oracle Applications"
Find out about Discoverer configuration files	Section A.1, "OracleAS Discoverer configuration files"
Deploy OracleAS Discoverer with a different Infrastructure Services.	Section B.1, "Changing Infrastructure Services for Discoverer"
Find out about administrative accounts used by OracleAS Discoverer.	Section C.1, "OracleAS Discoverer administrative account information"
Upgrade Discoverer to a newer version.	Section D.1, "Upgrading from earlier versions of OracleAS Discoverer"
Find out about frequently asked questions.	Section E.1, "Frequently asked questions"

1.6 How to confirm an OracleAS Discoverer installation

If you have installed OracleAS, you might want confirm that the OracleAS Discoverer installation is correct by running Discoverer Viewer.

To confirm an OracleAS Discoverer installation:

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

   For example:

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

   The Connect to Discoverer Viewer page is displayed.

   
   
   Text description of the illustration vlogin.gif

Note: If Single Sign-On is enabled, you will first be asked to authenticate as a single sign-on user.

2. Create a private connection to store database login details (click Create Connection to add a private connection).

3. In the Connect to Discoverer Viewer page, click the new connection name in the Connection column to start Discoverer Viewer.

   Open a Discoverer workbook. You can now begin to analyze data using Discoverer's powerful business intelligence analysis tools.

Notes

• For more information about how to create a private connection, see Oracle Application Server Discoverer Plus User's Guide.

• For more information about starting Discoverer Viewer, see Section 2.12, "How to run Discoverer Viewer over HTTP".

• For more information about starting Discoverer Plus, see Section 2.7, "About running Discoverer Plus over HTTP for the first time on a client machine".

• You can use the checkdiscoverer utility to verify a Discoverer configuration and report on failures or anomalies (for more information about the checkdiscoverer utility, see Section 4.11.2, "What is the checkdiscoverer utility?").

1.7 About connecting to Discoverer

Discoverer end users connect to Discoverer in the following ways:

• using Oracle Discoverer Desktop, end users log in using their database user name and password (for more information, see Discoverer Desktop User's Guide)

• using OracleAS Discoverer Plus or OracleAS Discoverer Viewer, end users store login information in private connections, then select a connection (for more information, see Discoverer Plus User's Guide or Discoverer Viewer Online Help)

Discoverer middle tier managers can also provide public connections that enable Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer end users to start Discoverer automatically without having to enter login details. For more information, see Section 3.7, "How to create a public connection".

1.8 What is the OracleAS Discoverer architecture?

OracleAS Discoverer has a multi-tier architecture. This architecture takes advantage of the distributed nature of the Web environment. While it is possible to install all tiers of the OracleAS Discoverer architecture on the same machine, we recommend distributing your installation over multiple machines to maximize performance and reliability.

Figure 1-3 Discoverer's multi-tier architecture

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Note: Multiple application servers can be installed on the same machine.

Discoverer's multi-tier architecture comprises:

• The Discoverer client tier, from which Web browsers access Discoverer (for more information, see Section 1.9, "About the Discoverer client tier").

• The Discoverer Services tier (also referred to as the Discoverer middle tier) including one or more OracleAS Discoverer installs and one OracleAS infrastructure install. For more information, see Section 1.10, "About the Discoverer Services tier".

• The Discoverer database tier, containing data and metadata (for more information, see Section 1.11, "About the Discoverer database tier").

Notes

• For more information about configuring Discoverer on multiple machines, see Section 5.1, "Installing OracleAS Discoverer in a multiple machine environment".

1.9 About the Discoverer client tier

The Discoverer client tier is the Web browser accessing Discoverer Plus or Discoverer Viewer (see figure below). The Discoverer client tier also includes Discoverer Portlet Provider, which is used to publish Discoverer workbooks using OracleAS Portal. To deploy Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer to end users, you must provide them with an appropriate URL (for more information, see Section 2.1, "Running OracleAS Discoverer").

Figure 1-4 The Discoverer client tier

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You can enable and disable Discoverer client tier components using Application Server Control (for more information, see Section 4.5, "About disabling and enabling Discoverer client tier components").

1.9.1 About the Discoverer client tier and Discoverer Plus

For Discoverer Plus, the only requirement for the client machine is that it runs a Java-enabled Web browser (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or later), or Netscape Navigator (version 4.7 or later), both with a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) such as Oracle JInitiator.

The first time that a machine is used to connect to Discoverer, the Discoverer Plus applet is downloaded from the Discoverer Services tier and cached on the client machine.

The Discoverer Plus applet provides the Discoverer Plus user interface and functionality for creating workbooks and analyzing data. When the user logs on subsequently, the Discoverer Plus applet runs from the local cache and does not need to be downloaded.

Note: If you upgrade Discoverer, users might have to download the Discoverer Plus applet again to Discoverer client machines (for more information, see Section 2.1, "Running OracleAS Discoverer".

1.9.2 About the Discoverer client tier and Discoverer Viewer

For Discoverer Viewer, the minimum requirement for the client machine is that it can run HTML through a Web browser (e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5.5 or later), or Netscape Navigator (version 4.7 or later). In addition, JavaScript must be enabled in the browser.

1.10 About the Discoverer Services tier

The Discoverer Services tier is the portion of the Discoverer architecture that the Discoverer middle tier manager maintains.

Figure 1-5 Discoverer Services tier

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The Discoverer Services tier consists of:

• the Discoverer J2EE components (for more information, see Section 1.10.1, "About the Discoverer J2EE components")

• the Discoverer CORBA components (for more information, see Section 1.10.2, "About the Discoverer CORBA components (Discoverer Service)")

Notes

• The Discoverer Services tier also stores the Discoverer Plus applet, which is downloaded to client machines when Discoverer end users run Discoverer Plus for the first time (for more information, see Section 2.1, "Running OracleAS Discoverer").

• All machines running the Discoverer middle tier components must be on the same subnet.

1.10.1 About the Discoverer J2EE components

The Discoverer J2EE components comprise the following:

• the Discoverer servlet (for more information, see Section 1.10.1.1, "What is the Discoverer servlet?")

• the Discoverer Plus servlet (for more information, see Section 1.10.1.2, "What is the Discoverer Plus servlet?")

• the Discoverer Portlet Provider servlet (for more information, see Section 1.10.1.3, "What is the Discoverer Portlet Provider servlet?")

Figure 1-6 Discoverer J2EE components

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A servlet comprises modules of Java code that run on a server machine to answer requests from client machines. Using a servlet minimizes client-side processing.

The Discoverer servlets are deployed into the OC4J (Oracle Components for Java) environment, which includes a servlet engine to run servlets.

For more information about starting and stopping Discoverer servlets, see Section 4.7, "How to start and stop the Discoverer servlets".

1.10.1.1 What is the Discoverer servlet?

The Discoverer servlet manages connections and login for Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer, and generates Discoverer Viewer HTML pages from HTTP requests using an XML/XSL processor.

1.10.1.2 What is the Discoverer Plus servlet?

The Discoverer Plus servlet forwards requests from the Discoverer servlet to the Discoverer Plus applet.

1.10.1.3 What is the Discoverer Portlet Provider servlet?

The Discoverer Portlet Provider servlet provides a user interface for publishing Discoverer worksheets and links to Discoverer workbooks on an OracleAS Portal page. For more information about Discoverer Portlet Provider, see Section 9.1, "Using OracleAS Discoverer with OracleAS Portal".

1.10.2 About the Discoverer CORBA components (Discoverer Service)

The Discoverer CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) components are responsible for activating Discoverer when an end user starts a Discoverer session (i.e. when a user connects to Discoverer Plus or Discoverer Viewer).

Note: Collectively, the Discoverer CORBA components are referred to as the Discoverer Service (for more information, see Section 4.4, "About starting and stopping the Discoverer Service").

The Discoverer CORBA components are used by all of the Discoverer client tier components (i.e. Discoverer Plus, Discoverer Viewer and Discoverer Portlet Provider).

The Discoverer CORBA components comprise the following:

• the Discoverer Session component (for more information, see Section 1.10.2.1, "What is the Discoverer Session component?")

• the Discoverer Preferences component (for more information, see Section 1.10.2.2, "What is the Discoverer Preferences component?")

• the Object Activation Daemon (OAD) and SmartAgent - these are third party Visibroker CORBA components (supplied by Inprise Corporation) that are installed with Discoverer (for more information, see Section 1.10.2.3, "What is the Object Activation Daemon?")

Figure 1-7 Discoverer CORBA components

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1.10.2.1 What is the Discoverer Session component?

The Discoverer Session component (also referred to as a CORBA server) performs Discoverer operations such as connecting to the database or opening a workbook. The Discoverer Session component provides the link between the Discoverer servlet or applet and the database. There is one Discoverer Session component per active user login session.

1.10.2.2 What is the Discoverer Preferences component?

The Discoverer Preferences component provides a single location for preference settings for all OracleAS Discoverer users (i.e. users of both Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer). The Discoverer Services tier relies on stored preference settings to specify the default Discoverer behavior.

Note: In a multiple machine environment with different Discoverer Session components running on different machines, Discoverer uses a single Preferences component on one machine. For more information about designating a single Preferences component, see Section 5.7, "About the Discoverer Preferences component in a multiple machine environment").

1.10.2.3 What is the Object Activation Daemon?

The Object Activation Daemon (OAD) is a background process that runs and manages Discoverer Session components.

Figure 1-8 OAD, Preferences component, and Session components in a single machine OracleAS install

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The OAD is installed on each OracleAS machine. A machine on which the OAD component has been installed can run multiple concurrent Discoverer Session components, each supporting a single user login session.

In a multiple machine environment (i.e. where you install OracleAS on multiple application server machines), one OAD runs on each machine. Each machine can support multiple concurrent user login Sessions and multiple Discoverer Session components. This configuration typically improves Discoverer performance and reliability.

1.11 About the Discoverer database tier

The database tier of the Discoverer architecture contains data and metadata.

Figure 1-9 Discoverer database tier

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The Discoverer database tier consists of:

• the Discoverer workbooks used to store reports and charts

• the End User Layer (EUL) that provides an easy-to-understand view of the data

• the data that users want to analyze

You use Discoverer Administrator to create and maintain the EUL. For more information, see the Oracle Discoverer Administrator Administration Guide available with OracleDS.

Notes

• Before users can use Discoverer to analyze data, the database must contain a Discoverer EUL Version 5.1. The Discoverer manager must have created or updated the End User Layer (EUL) Version 5.1 with Oracle Discoverer Administrator Version 9.0.4 or later (shipped as part of Oracle Developer Suite 10g (9.0.4)).

1.12 How does OracleAS Discoverer work?

This section provides information about how Discoverer Plus and Discoverer Viewer work.

1.12.1 How does Discoverer Plus work?

Figure 1-10 The Discoverer Plus process

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1. The user launches a Web browser on a client computer and types the URL of the Discoverer Plus servlet.

2. The Web browser accesses the Discoverer Plus servlet on the Discoverer Services tier, which forwards the request to the Discoverer servlet.

3. The Discoverer servlet retrieves the Discoverer Connections page and returns this to the Discoverer Plus servlet, which in turn returns the page to the client.

4. The user selects a connection, which is returned to the Discoverer Services tier and forwarded by the Discoverer Plus servlet to the Discoverer servlet.

5. The Discoverer applet is transmitted to the client computer (if it is not present already).

6. Meanwhile, the Discoverer servlet send a request to the OAD on the Discoverer Services tier machine and a Discoverer session starts.

   At this point, the connection is direct from the Discoverer applet to the Discoverer session.

7. The Discoverer session requests and receives data from the database.

8. The Discoverer session transmits data to the Discoverer servlet, which forwards it to the Discoverer Plus servlet which in turn forwards it to the client machine.

1.12.2 How does Discoverer Viewer work?

Figure 1-11 The Discoverer Viewer Process

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1. The user launches a Web browser on a client computer and types the URL of the Discoverer servlet.

2. The Web browser accesses the Discoverer servlet on the Discoverer Services tier.

3. The Discoverer servlet retrieves the Discoverer Connections page and returns this to the client.

4. The user selects a connection, which is returned to the Discoverer servlet on the Discoverer Services tier.

5. Meanwhile, the Discoverer servlet send a request to the OAD on the Discoverer Services tier machine and a Discoverer session starts.

6. The Discoverer session requests and receives data from the database.

7. The Discoverer session transmits data to the Discoverer servlet, which generates an HTML page and forwards it to the client machine.