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Oracle® Warehouse Builder Release Notes
11g Release 2 (11.2)

Part Number E10585-08
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Oracle® Warehouse Builder

Release Notes

11g Release 2 (11.2)

E10585-08

September 2010

This document contains important information not included in the Oracle Warehouse Builder documentation.

This document provides the following information about Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2):

Documentation Accessibility

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Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Access to Oracle Support

Oracle customers have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/support/contact.html or visit http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/support.html if you are hearing impaired.

Related Publications

The Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2) documentation set includes these publications:

To access the documentation set, including the latest version of the release notes, refer to the following Web site:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/warehouse.html

Requirements

For the latest information on platform-specific requirements, certifications and patches, refer to the following Web site:

http://support.oracle.com

Upgrading to Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2(11.2.0.2)

This section describes the steps to upgrade an Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.1) installation to Release 11.2.0.2.

Upgrading from Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.1) to Release 11.2.0.2: Warehouse Builder Server-side Patch

On all Oracle Database 11g platforms, Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Server-side functionality is an integral part of Oracle Database 11g database server. Therefore, applying the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2) patch set to an Oracle Database 11.2.0.1 server installation automatically patches the Oracle Warehouse Builder Server-side from Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 to Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.2.

Consult the Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2) patch set documentation to patch an Oracle Database 11.2.0.1 database to Release 11.2.0.2.

After you perform the steps required to upgrade to Oracle Database 11.2.0.2, perform the post-installation steps required for Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2) as described in "Post-Installation Steps for Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2)".

Post-Installation Steps for Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.2)

Use the following steps to complete the installation of the Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.2 on the Warehouse Builder Server side:

  1. Stop and exit all Warehouse Builder components, including the Control Center Service, known as the Runtime Platform Service in Warehouse Builder 10.1 and earlier releases.

    To stop the Control Center, run the stop_service.sql script. In SQL*Plus, run the following command:

    sqlplus OWBSYS/OWBSYS_password @ORACLE_HOME/owb/rtp/sql/stop_service.sql

    A return value of Not Available indicates that you successfully stopped the service.

  2. From a command prompt, navigate to the OWB_ORACLE_HOME/owb/reposasst/upg directory and execute the following command:

    sqlplus /nolog @upg11201to11202.sql

  3. Enter the database connection information, the Warehouse Builder repository owner credentials, and the SYS user credentials.

    The upgrade utility proceeds to upgrade the Warehouse Builder objects associated with the selected repository owner.

    The upgrade utility logs any errors in the file ORACLE_HOME/owb/reposasst/upg/LOG.TXT. Note that you can ignore any creation errors reported due to objects already existing. An example of such an error is displayed below.

    DROP TABLE dataflow_dependency_t;

    ERROR at line 1:

    ORA-00942: table or view does not exist

    CREATE TABLE alldataflow_dependency_t (

    ERROR at line 1:

    ORA-00955: name is already used by an existing object

  4. Refer to "Known Issues and Limitations" for a list of limitations concerning the Upgrade process.

    For certain upgrade scenarios, you may need to perform additional steps.

  5. Start the Control Center Service using the start_service.sql script.

    sqlplus OWBSYS/OWBSYS_password @ORACLE_HOME/owb/rtp/sql/start_service.sql

    A return value of Available indicates that you successfully started the service. If the service fails to start, run the start_service.sql script again.

    If the service fails to start after two attempts, run the service_doctor script to determine the cause using the following command:

    sqlplus OWBSYS/OWBSYS_password @ORACLE_HOME/owb/rtp/sql/service_doctor.sql

    The return value should indicate that the service script is accessible to the database server.

    If you encounter an obfuscation error while attempting to start the Control Center Service, run the script OWB_HOME/owb/rtp/sql/reset_repository.sql.

Upgrading from Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 1 (11.2.0.1) to Release 11.2.0.2: Warehouse Builder Client-side Patch

Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.1) client-side functionality is available only on two platforms, Windows 32-bit and Linux 32-bit.

To patch Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 client-side to Release 11.2.0.2, you must apply the Oracle Database 11.2.0.2 patch set to the Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 Oracle Home.

Pre-Installation Steps

Before you install the Release 11.2.0.2 patch on Linux 32-bit platforms, you must be logged in as the UNIX user that owns the Oracle Warehouse Builder installation.

Upgrading from Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2.0.1)

Without uninstalling the existing Warehouse Builder software, install the Oracle Database 11.2.0.2 patch set into the Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 home directory.

Use the following steps to install the patch:

  1. Extract (unzip) the Oracle Database 11.2.0.2 patch set archive into a temporary directory on your local system, for example, temp_dir.

  2. Run the Oracle Universal Installer directly from the archive stage extracted in Step 1.

    For Windows, launch temp_dir\setup.exe.

    For Linux, launch temp_dir/runInstaller.

  3. Follow the prompts in the Oracle Universal Installer.

  4. For the home details, specify the home directory of the existing Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 installation.

    Caution:

    For Warehouse Builder patches of older releases (such as Warehouse Builder 10.2.0.x), users were required to launch the Oracle Universal Installer from the installed home of Warehouse Builder home directory.

    For Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.2, the requirement is to launch Oracle Universal Installer from the patch archive. Installing the Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.2 patch by invoking Oracle Universal Installer from the installed home of Warehouse Builder home directory will result in an incomplete installation.

Known Issues and Limitations

This section lists the known issues and limitations for 11g Release 2 (11.2) release. They are grouped into the following categories:

Control Center

9777682: CONTROL CENTER SERVICE MAY FAIL TO START WITH ORA-29532 ERROR ON AIX ON POWER (64-BIT)

On IBM AIX on POWER Systems (64-bit), the Warehouse Builder Control Center Service may fail to start with the error ORA-29532 when started from within the Oracle Database (for example, using start_service.sql or the automatic startup from check_service job).

Workaround: You can use any of the following workarounds:

  • Start the Control Center Service from the command line. For example, use the following command:

    echo owbsys_pwd | ;/run_servcie.sh -manual $ORACLE_HOME OWBSYS HOST:PORT:SID

  • Implement MPROTECT_TXT=OFF at the Oracle Listener used by MGW, as described in Note 1135185.1.

Design Center Client

8596439: WAREHOUSE BUILDER ONLINE HELP LINKS FROM DESIGN CENTER START PAGE NOT WORKING

In the Oracle Warehouse Builder integrated installation that is included with Oracle Database 11.2, links from the Start Pages in the Design Center to the Warehouse Builder online help will not function properly. This problem does not affect the Oracle Warehouse Builder standalone installation.

Workaround: To enable invoking online help from the Start Pages, temporarily rename or delete the file ORACLE_HOME/jlib/oracle_ice.jar.

8661211: OWB DESIGN CENTER WARNING: UNKNOWN DIRECTIVE: SETSKIPJ2SDKCHECK

When you start the Oracle Warehouse Builder Design Center on Windows, you may notice the following warning in the command window that is displayed while starting the Design Center:

WARNING: Unknown directive: SetSkipJ2SDKCheck

Workaround: You can ignore this warning and proceed with logging in to the Design Center.

Languages and Translations

6074518: UI MESSAGES ARE NOT DISPLAYED IN SQL*PLUS WINDOW

In the Design Center, if you attempt to start the SQL*Plus window from the Tools menu, you may encounter errors. For certain languages such as Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, you may not be able to invoke the SQL*Plus window from the Design Center. Or, you may not be able to see user interface messages.

Workaround: Invoke SQL*Plus from a tool other than Warehouse Builder.

5031270: NAMES OF SEEDED OBJECTS IN THE REPOSITORY ARE NOT TRANSLATED

Seeded objects in the repository are not translated. These include, for example, the names of predefined transformations as displayed under the Public Transformations node of the Globals Navigator. This also includes the default project named MY_PROJECT, the default Control Center named DEFAULT_CONTROL_CENTER, the folder called DERIVED_DATA_RULES that contains derived data rules, and the default configuration called DEFAULT_CONFIGURATION.

3066632: WAREHOUSE BUILDER FLAT FILE SAMPLE WIZARD COUNTS A MULTIBYTE CHARACTER LENGTH AS 1

When translated into Japanese, the Warehouse Builder Flat File Sample Wizard does not handle multibyte characters in delimited files correctly. The wizard handles a multibyte character in delimited files as 1 length.

Workaround: Manually edit the length using the Flat File Sample Wizard.

Mapping Designs and Configurations

Limitations on Using Database Links Between Oracle Database Versions

When a Warehouse Builder mapping that uses database links for data movement between Oracle databases is executed on a given target database, connectivity between database versions will be limited by compatibility supported for database links between the source and target database. For example, a Warehouse Builder mapping running on Oracle Database 11.2 cannot access data on Oracle Database 10.1 over a database link. See Metalink Note 207303.1 for a compatibility matrix that details support for database links between database versions.

6050580: MAPPINGS WITH TIMESTAMP DATA MAY BEHAVE INCORRECTLY

Under some conditions, you may encounter unexpected behavior when running a mapping that loads and transforms timestamp data. For example, if you deploy and run a mapping that transforms a column from TIMESTAMP type to VARCHAR2, the resulting data in the target column may be incorrect.

Workaround: This behavior does not arise when using the Mapping Debugger. Run the mapping and load the data using the Mapping Debugger.

9882655: DEFAULT EXECUTION UNIT FOR CODE TEMPLATE (CT) MAPPINGS MAY NOT ALWAYS BE VALID

Warehouse Builder assigns default execution units to a Code Template (CT) mapping in the following circumstances:

  • When the user selects Default Execution Units in the execution view of the Mapping Editor

  • When validating or generating code for a CT mapping with no assigned execution units

  • When importing a CT mapping with no assigned execution units from MDL

You should always review automatically generated default execution units for CT mappings, to ensure that processing and data are distributed optimally among locations. Note that for some complex mappings, Warehouse Builder may generate default execution units that fail to validate. In such cases, use the Execution View to assign operators to execution units manually.

9830333: ERROR PLS-00305 WHEN DEPLOYING MAPPINGS WITH A REPOSITORY HOSTED ON ORACLE DATABASE 10.2

When hosting the Warehouse Builder repository in Oracle Database 10.2, and using Table operators with long physical names in a mapping, Warehouse Builder may generate PL/SQL code containing types with non-unique names. In such cases, deployment fails with error PLS-00305.

Workaround: Assign shorter names to the Table operators.

Non-Oracle Database Connectivity

To connect to non-Oracle databases, you need the JDBC driver corresponding to that database. Non-Oracle JDBC drivers are not shipped as part of the Oracle Warehouse Builder software. You can obtain the JDBC drivers from the vendor and copy them to the OWB_HOME/owb/lib/ext folder.

Table 1 lists the drivers that are required to connect to DB2, SQL Server, and Teradata. For other databases, consult your vendor.

Table 1 Drivers Required to Connect to Non-Oracle Databases

Database Name Drivers

DB2

db2jcc.jar

db2jcc_license_cu.jar

SQL Server

sqljdbc.jar

Teradata

tdgssconfig.jar

tdgssjava.jar

terajdbc4.jar


OMB*Plus Scripts

7135670: OMBPLUS CANNOT LOAD SCRIPTS CONTAINING NON-ASCII CHARACTERS

If you use OMB*Plus to run a Tcl script containing non-ASCII characters, the characters may be corrupted in OMB*Plus. Scripts with non-ASCII NLS characters may not execute successfully. There is no workaround.

Oracle Warehouse Builder Connector for SAP

5215322: WAREHOUSE BUILDER CONNECTOR TO SAP R/3 REQUIRES SAP LIBRARY FILE

Workaround: To access SAP R/3 in the Design Center, first obtain the SAP RFC library from SAP and copy it to the OWB_CLIENT_HOME/owb/bin/admin directory.

To access SAP R/3 in the Control Center, first obtain the SAP RFC library from SAP and copy it to the OWB_SERVER_HOME/owb/bin/admin directory. OWB_SERVER_HOME is the directory where the Warehouse Builder Control Center Service is installed.

Oracle Warehouse Builder on Exadata

Using Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 in an Exadata environment requires additional setup steps. Please contact Oracle Support for details.

Repository Browser

5129228: MULTIPLE REPOSITORY BROWSER SESSIONS FROM A SINGLE CLIENT MACHINE NOT SUPPORTED

If you launch multiple Repository Browser sessions from a single Internet browser on a single client machine, you will encounter unexpected results. This scenario is not supported. As a consequence, you cannot browse multiple repositories with a single Internet browser on a single machine.

Workaround: Each Repository Browser session requires its own Internet cookies storage. If feasible, you can launch multiple, different Internet browsers to maintain separate Repository Browser sessions on the same machine.

Repository Upgrades and Migrations from Oracle Warehouse Builder 11.1 or Earlier

9835013: ARRAYINDEXOUTOFBOUNDSEXCEPTION DURING MDL IMPORT

When importing MDL files, you may encounter one of the following errors:

  • Trying to access invalid Object

  • MDL1261: Error importing OWBAssoc_CopyOfMDW

Workaround: You can use one of the following workarounds:

  • Increase the heap size when running the Repository Assistant

    For Windows, edit the OWB_HOME\owb\bin\win32\reposinst.bat file. For Linux, edit OWB_HOME/owb/bin/unix/reposinst.sh. Increase the value set for the -Xmx flag.

  • Increase the heap size when running the Design Center client

    Edit the OWB_HOME/bin/owb.conf file and increase the value set for the -Xmx flag in the AddVMOption.

Oracle Warehouse Builder 11.2 Repository Must Contain a Workspace Before Upgrade of Oracle Warehouse Builder 10.2 or 11.1 Repository MDL Export

If you are upgrading a Warehouse Builder 10.2 or 11.1 repository to Warehouse Builder 11.2 by exporting the entire repository to MDL with the Repository Assistant, then importing it into Warehouse Builder 11.2, then your destination Warehouse Builder 11.2 repository must have at least one Warehouse Builder 11.2 workspace in it before you can import the MDL.

If your Warehouse Builder 11.2 repository does not already contain a workspace before import, then you must create a dummy workspace, with a name that does not conflict with the names of any workspaces to be imported.

Follow the instructions in Oracle Warehouse Builder Installation and Administration Guide to create a workspace. At step 6 in the Repository Assistant, assign a workspace name and workspace owner that do not conflict with workspaces and workspace owners you actually plan to use. Note that if importing a Warehouse Builder 10.2 repository, the workspace name will be the name of the source schema in which the repository was stored in Warehouse Builder 10.2

You can then run Repository Assistant again to import your Warehouse Builder 10.2 or 11.1 repository export MDL file to your Warehouse Builder 11.2 repository.

Patch Addressing Multiple Repository Upgrade Issues

Before upgrading or migrating repository contents from a previous release, review Note 1074813.1 on My Oracle Support, as well as the white paper "OWB 11gR2: Upgrade and Migration Paths" for details of migration options and processes, as well as known issues that may affect the migration process.

Customers using Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 should consider applying patch 9802120, which resolves all known upgrade and migration-related issues as of the date of its release. See My Oracle Support for more details.

Use the following URL to access My Oracle Support:

http://support.oracle.com

Software and Repository Upgrade Issues

9970120: UPGRADE TABLE DEPLOYMENTS MAY FAIL WHEN USING CONTROL CENTER SERVICE ON DOUBLE-BYTE CHARACTER SET PLATFORMS

When running the Control Center Service on a platform with double byte character sets, an Upgrade deployment of a table may fail. In this situation, Warehouse Builder generates an invalid upgrade script.

Workaround: Force the Control Center Service to run in English by adding a JVM option to run_service.sh (on Linux) or run_service.bat (on Windows) and then restarting the Control Center Service.

On Linux, edit the OWB_HOME/owb/bin/unix/run_service.sh file and replace the entry set JVM_OPTIONS=-Xmx768M with the following:

set JVM_OPTIONS="-Xmx768M -Duser.language=en"

On Windows, edit the OWB_HOME\owb\bin\win32\run_service.bat file and replace the entry set JVM_OPTIONS=-Xmx768M with the following:

set JVM_OPTIONS=-Xmx768M -Duser.language=en

Required Client-Side Update to Preference.Properties Before Upgrading Repository to Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.2

Using Warehouse Builder Design Center with a Warehouse Builder repository of a different patch level can cause repository corruption. The Design Center can check for inconsistent repository versions at connect time. To enable this check, edit OWB_CLIENT_HOME/owb/bin/admin/Preference.properties on each client installation, and update the OverrideRuntimeVersionCheck and OverrideRepositoryVersionCheck preferences as follows:

OverrideRuntimeVersionCheck=false

OverrideRepositoryVersionCheck=false

This change must be applied manually to all Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.1 Design Center installations.

Applying the Warehouse Builder 11.2.0.2 patch to the Design Center host also updates these preferences.

Large Warehouse Builder Repository Upgrades May Appear to Hang at 96%

When upgrading or importing a very large older repository into Oracle Warehouse Builder 11.2, the import process may appear to hang around 96% complete. The import process can take several hours or more on large files, and will show a 96% complete status for much of this period before completing successfully. Do not interrupt the import process as long as it appears to still be running.

Resolved Issues

The following is a limited list of known issues from previous releases. These issues were reported in a previous set of release notes and are now resolved in Oracle Warehouse Builder 11g Release 2 (11.2).

2577706: POST MAPPING PROCESS RUNS REGARDLESS OF SUCCESS/FAILURE OF MAPPING

4483510: PLUGGABLE MAPPINGS DO NOT WORK IN SAP MAPPINGS

4558688: SCRIPT GENERATION FOR IMPORT OF METADATA FOR EXTERNAL TABLES FAILS FOR LONGER DEFINITIONS

4581172, 4658511: DEFERRED OBJECTS LISTED IN METAMODEL QUERY

5122612: UNABLE TO CREATE MULTIBYTE TARGET USER IN OMB PLUS

5017820, 4915836: NON-EUROPEAN FONT GLYPHS ARE CORRUPTED IN DATA OBJECT EDITOR DIAGRAM EXPORT TO SVG

5176858: USER INPUT IN A CUSTOM DIALOG MAY TRIGGER THE INCORRECT OUTCOMING TRANSITION

5189802: EXECUTING A CUBE MAPPING MAY GENERATE ERROR ORA-20101

5212360: MAPPINGS CREATED IN OMB*PLUS MAY NEED AUTOLAYOUT WHEN EDITED MANUALLY

5213153, 5191402: NLS: NON-ASCII CHARACTERS ARE CORRUPTED IN GENERATED EEX FILE

5372377: CANNOT SET DATE WHEN MIDDLE-TIER LOCALE IS DIFFERENT

7562355: SHOW SOURCE FOR GENERATED TABLE GIVES SPORADIC RESULTS

8283391: ICONSET CANNOT BE CHANGED FOR OBJECT INSTANCE IN THE UI

8596439: WAREHOUSE BUILDER ONLINE HELP LINKS FROM DESIGN CENTER START PAGE NOT WORKING

8702449: ERROR WHEN CREATING NEW FILE MODULE WITH JAPANESE LOCALE

8788004: OWB DESIGN CENTER START PAGES CONTAIN BROKEN LINKS TO OWB ONLINE HELP


Oracle Warehouse Builder Release Notes, 11g Release 2 (11.2)

E10585-08

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