Oracle® Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal 11g Release 1 (11.1.1.6.0) Part Number E12405-17 |
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This chapter describes how to configure and manage the Analytics service for WebCenter Portal applications. The Analytics service enables you to display usage and performance metrics for these applications.
Always use Fusion Middleware Control or the WLST command-line tool to review and configure back-end services for WebCenter Portal applications. Any changes that you make to WebCenter Portal applications, post deployment, are stored in the MDS metadata store as customizations. See Section 1.3.5, "WebCenter Portal Configuration Considerations." Any changes that you make to Analytics Collector configuration are stored in the Analytics database.
Note:
Changes that you make to Analytics service configuration, through Fusion Middleware Control or using WLST, are not dynamic so you must restart the managed server on which the Analytics Collector or the WebCenter Portal application is deployed for your changes to take effect. See Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."
This chapter includes the following sections:
Section 13.1, "What You Should Know About Analytics in WebCenter Portal"
Section 13.2, "Configuration Roadmap for the Analytics Service"
Section 13.5, "Registering an Analytics Collector for Your Application"
Section 13.8, "Viewing the Current WebCenter Portal's Analytic Event List"
Audience
The content of this chapter is intended for administrators who are responsible for setting up Analytics in WebCenter Portal, and configuring Analytics Collector details for Framework applications and Spaces.
Analytics allows WebCenter Portal administrators and business users to track and analyze portal usage. Analytics provides the following basic functionality:
Usage Tracking Metrics: Analytics collects and reports metrics for common portal functions, including community, page, portlet, and document visits.
Behavior Tracking: Users can analyze portal metrics to determine usage patterns, such as portal visit duration and usage over time.
User Profile Correlation: Users can correlate metric information with user profile information. Usage tracking reports can be viewed and filtered by user profile data such as country, company, or state. For more details, see "Query Options" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.
An overview of Analytics components and ready-to-use task flows are described in the following sections:
Figure 13-1 illustrates components for the Analytics service in WebCenter Portal:
WC_Spaces - The managed server in which the Spaces application is deployed.
(Framework applications are deployed on different managed servers.)
WC_Utilities - The managed server in which the Analytics Collector is deployed.
Event Data - Analytics tracks and collects a defined set of events. A comprehensive set of the most common events are provided out-of-the-box.
Open Usage API - The OpenUsage API sends metrics to the Analytics Collector using UDP (User Datagram Protocol).
Analytics Collector - The Analytics Collector component gathers event data.
Analytics Collectors can be clustered to provide increased scalability and reliability.
Analytics Database - The Analytics database (ACTIVITIES) stores metrics gathered from portal and non-portal events.
Analytics Task Flows - Analytics provides a series of task flows to report metrics for common portal functions.
MDS - The Oracle Metadata Service (MDS) repository that stores task flow customizations.
Table 13-1 lists the Analytics task flows available with WebCenter Portal. The task flows work similarly for Framework applications and Spaces. For detailed information about these task flows and how to use them, see "Understanding Analytics Task Flows in Spaces" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.
Table 13-1 Analytics Task Flows in WebCenter Portal
Analytics Task Flows | Description |
---|---|
A summarized view for common events within the portal. |
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Displays the number of page visits and the number of unique users that visited any page within the portal. |
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Reports portal logins. |
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Displays usage data for a portlet. |
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Displays performance data for a portlet. |
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Displays usage data for a portlet instance. When the same portlet displays on several different pages, each placement is considered as a portlet instance. |
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Displays performance data for a portlet instance. |
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Tracks portal searches. |
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Tracks document views. |
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Tracks most popular/least popular wikis. |
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Tracks most popular/least popular blogs. |
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Tracks most popular/least popular discussions. |
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(Spaces only) Displays usage data for a space. |
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(Spaces only) Displays page performance data for a space. |
* These task flows are specific to Spaces. These task flows are not available for Framework applications.
The flow chart depicted in Figure 13-2 and Table 13-2 provides an overview of the prerequisites and tasks required to get the Analytics service working in the Spaces application.
Table 13-2 Configuring the Analytics Service for Use in Spaces
Actor | Task | Sub-task |
---|---|---|
Administrator |
1. Install Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces and the back-end components for the Analytics service |
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Administrator |
2. (Optional) Configure the Analytics Collector using either of the following tools: |
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Administrator |
3. Configure a connection between the Spaces application and the Analytics Collector using either of the following tools: |
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Spaces Administrator |
4. Test that analytics data is available in Spaces |
This section includes the following subsections:
The Analytics Collector is an optional installation option for Oracle WebCenter Portal. To install this product, select Oracle WebCenter Portal Analytics Collector in the Fusion Middleware Configuration Wizard. For detailed installation instructions, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Installation Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal.
The Analytics schema (ACTIVITIES
) and the WebCenter Portal schema (WEBCENTER
) can be installed on the same database or on separate databases.
The Analytics Collector is configured to receive events out-of-the-box, using installation defaults. If the default values are not suitable for your installation or you have a cluster, you may configure different values using WLST or MBeans Browser. For more details, Section 13.4, "Configuring Analytics Collector Settings."
Out-of-the-box, Spaces is not configured to send events to the Analytics Collector. If you want to collect usage and performance metrics for Spaces (or any Framework application) you must register the Analytics Collector and enable event collection. For more details, see Section 13.5, "Registering an Analytics Collector for Your Application." Once connected, analytics data is collected and displays in your application (through Analytics task flows) without further configuration.
In Spaces, Resource Catalogs only display Analytics task flows to users with appropriate permissions:
Administrators - Users with the Administrator
role have access to all Analytics task flows
Moderators - Within a particular space, members with the Moderator
role have access to Analytics task flows that display usage data for that space only
Analytics usage data is valuable for portal analysis but might be regarded as private or sensitive to portal users. To protect security and privacy interests associated with usage metrics Spaces administrators and individual space moderators must manage page security such that only appropriate, specified users have access to pages that expose analytics data. See also, "Securing Pages and Components" in Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.
Similarly, developers building Framework applications must set up a suitable security model for exposing Analytics task flows and data. For details, see "Setting up Security for Analytics Task Flows and Usage Data" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal.
Analytics task flows do not display custom event information.
During installation, the Analytics Collector is configured to receive events using the following default values:
Collector Host Name - localhost
Default Port - 31314
Maximum Port Number - 31314
Broadcast Type - Multicast
Clustering - The clustering settings do not apply. Clustering is not supported in this version.
If these default values are not suitable for your installation or you have a cluster, you can configure suitable values using WLST or the MBeans Browser in Fusion Middleware Control:
These Analytics Collector configuration settings are stored in the Analytics database (ACTIVITIES
).
Use the WLST command setAnalyticsCollectorConfig
to set event collection properties for the Analytics Collector. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "setAnalyticsCollectorConfig" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.
For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."
Note:
To start using the property values you must restart the managed server on which the Analytics Collector application is deployed (WC_Utilities
). For more information, see the section, "Starting and Stopping WebLogic Managed Servers Using the Command Line" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.
Use the Systems MBeans Browser in Fusion Middleware Control to set event collection properties for the Analytics Collector:
To configure the Analytics Collector (deployed on the WC_Utilities
managed server):
Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for Spaces or your Framework application. For more information, see:
Open the System MBean Browser:
For the Spaces application- From the WebCenter Portal menu, choose System MBean Browser.
For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, choose System MBean Browser.
Navigate to:
Application Defined MBeans >oracle.webcenter.analytics >Server: WC_Utilities >Application: analytics-collector >CollectorConfiguration >Configuration
Alternatively, search for CollectorConfiguration
or filter the System MBean Browser tree using the MBean pattern: oracle.webcenter.analytics:*
Modify configuration properties for the Analytics Collector. For details, see Table 13-3.
Table 13-3 Analytics Collector - Configuration Properties
Field | Description |
---|---|
BroadcastType |
Specify the network channel on which the Analytics Collector broadcasts a 'heartbeat' to advertise its location to event producers. Valid values are Broadcast - use the standard network broadcast channel. Multicast - use a special fixed multicast address. |
CollectorHostName |
Enter the name of the host on which the Analytics Collector is running. The default setting is |
CollectorDefaultPort |
Enter the default port number on which the Analytics Collector listens. The default value is |
CollectorMaximumPort |
Enter the highest port number that an Analytics Collector can use when allocating a listener. This property is mostly used in a clustered environment where multiple collectors run in the same box. Each collector listens for incoming UDP messages on a free port within a given port range. The range is from the default port number to the maxPort number. |
ClusterEnabled |
The clustering settings do not apply. Clustering is not supported in this version. |
ClusterName |
The clustering settings do not apply. Clustering is not supported in this version. |
HeartbeatFrequency |
The clustering settings do not apply. Clustering is not supported in this version. |
To start using the new settings you must restart the managed server on which the Analytics Collector application is deployed (WC_Utilities
). For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."
Events raised in Spaces or a Framework application using OpenUsage APIs can be sent to an Analytics Collector for use by the Analytics service, Recommendations service, and the Activity Graph Engine. If you intend to use any of the features or task flows provided by these services you must connect Spaces or the Framework application to an Analytics Collector.
While you can register multiple Analytics Collector connections for Spaces or your Framework application, only one Analytics Collector is used - the default (or active) connection.
To start using a new configuration you must restart the managed server on which Spaces or your Framework application is deployed.
This section includes the following subsections:
Section 13.5.1, "Registering an Analytics Collector Using Fusion Middleware Control"
Section 13.5.2, "Registering an Analytics Collector Using WLST"
To register an Analytics Collector for Spaces or a Framework application:
Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for Spaces or your Framework application. For more information, see:
Open the Service Configuration page:
For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, choose Settings > Service Configuration.
For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, choose WebCenter Portal > Service Configuration.
From the list of services on the WebCenter Portal Service Configuration page, select Analytics and Activity Graph.
To connect to an Analytics Collector, click Add (Figure 13-4).
Enter a unique name for this connection.
The name must be unique (across all connection types) within Spaces or your Framework application.
Select Active Connection to use this connection for Analytics and Activity Graph services.
While you can register multiple Analytics Collector connections for Spaces or your Framework application, only one connection is used—the default (or active) connection.
Select Enable WebCenter Portal Event Collection to send analytics events raised using OpenUsage APIs to the Analytics Collector.
Deselect this option if you do not want to collect analytics data.
Enter connection details for the Analytics Collector. For details, see Table 13-4.
Table 13-4 Analytics Collector Connection - Connection Details
Field | Description |
---|---|
Messaging Mode |
This property specifies whether to send events to a clustered Analytics Collector in multicast mode or a single Analytics Collector using unicast communication. Clustering the Analytics Collector is not supported in the current release, so the only valid value for this release is |
Collector Host Name |
If the messaging mode is set to The default setting is |
Collector Port |
Enter the port on which the Analytics Collector listens for events. The default value is |
Cluster Name |
If the messaging mode is set to |
Timeout (Seconds) |
If the messaging mode is set to The default value is 30 seconds. |
Click OK to save.
To start using the new (active) connection you must restart the managed server on which Spaces or your Framework application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."
Use the WLST command createAnalyticsCollectorConnection
to create an Analytics Collector connection for Spaces or your Framework application. To update an existing connection, use setAnalyticsCollectorConnection
. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "createAnalyticsCollectorConnection" and "setAnalyticsCollectorConnection" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.
For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."
Note:
To start using the new connection, ensure that isEnabled=1
and default=1
, and then restart the managed server on which Spaces or your Framework application isdeployed. See, "Starting and Stopping WebLogic Managed Servers Using the Command Line" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.
If you do not want to collect events raised using OpenUsage APIs, you can stop event transmission temporarily or permanently.
This section includes the following subsections:
Section 13.5.3.1, "Disabling WebCenter Portal Event Collection Using Fusion Middleware Control"
Section 13.5.3.2, "Disabling WebCenter Portal Event Collection Using WLST"
To disable event collection for Spaces or your Framework application:
Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for Spaces or your Framework application. For more information, see:
Open the Service Configuration page:
For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, choose Settings > Service Configuration.
For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, choose WebCenter Portal > Service Configuration.
From the list of services on the WebCenter Portal Service Configuration page, select Analytics and Activity Graph.
Select the connection in the table, and then click Edit.
Deselect Enable WebCenter Portal Event Collection (Figure 13-5).
To effect this change you must restart the managed server on which Spaces or your Framework application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."
To disable event collection using WLST, run the setAnalyticsCollectorConnection
command with the isEnabled
argument set to 0 (false)
. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "setAnalyticsCollectorConnection" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.
For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."
User profile information is cached, meaning that changes to a user profile are not visible in reports until the cache is updated. The cache is limited to 1000 objects by default, with each object remaining in the cache for 60 minutes by default. You can change these values using WLST. To change the maximum number of objects in the cache, run the setProfileCacheNumberOfObjects
command. To change the time an object remains idle in the cache, run the setProfileCacheTimeToLive
command.
For information on how to run WLST commands, see Section 1.13.3.1, "Running Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) Commands."
You can check whether events reach the Analytics Collector by checking the trace log at:
<base_domain_name>/servers/WC_Utilities/logs/analytics-collector/collector.trc
Event messages are similar to the following:
[2010-09-16T07:13:56.906-07:00] [WC_Utilities] [TRACE] [] [SRC_METHOD: OnMessageReceived] Event = [[ EVENT_TYPE: {http://www.myorg.com/videoapp}VIDEOVIEWS VERSION: 3.0.XXXX AS_DIMENSION_USER.USERID: testuser01 VIDEO.RESOURCEID: video8736 VIDEO.TITLE: Project Kick Off VIDEO.LOOP: false QUALITY: 720 PROPERTY_VERSION: 3.0.XXXX
To display analytics collector configuration information, enter the following URL:
http://hostname:WC_Utilities_port/collector
This page lists the following:
Collector Default Port
Collector Max Port
Collector Server Name
Broadcast Type
Cluster Enabled
Cluster Name
Partitioning Enabled
Time Dimension for This Year
Space Dimension Exists (for Spaces application installations)
Use the Systems MBeans Browser in Fusion Middleware Control to see which events that an Analytics Collector is configured to collect.
To display the current list of analytics events:
Log in to Fusion Middleware Control and navigate to the home page for Spaces or your Framework application. For more information, see:
Open the System MBean Browser:
For the Spaces application - From the WebCenter Portal menu, choose System MBean Browser.
For Framework applications - From the Application Deployment menu, choose System MBean Browser.
Navigate to:
Application Defined MBeans> oracle.webcenter.analytics Server: WC_Utilities> Application: analytics-collector> CollectorServices> Services
Alternatively, search for CollectorServices
or filter the System MBean Browser tree using the MBean pattern: oracle.webcenter.analytics:*
Select the Operations tab.
Click listRegisteredEventTypes.
Click Invoke.
Alternatively, use the WLST command listAnalyticsEventTypes
. For command syntax and examples, see the section, "listAnalyticsEventTypes" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.
For more information, see "Purging Oracle WebCenter Portal Analytics Data" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.
For more information, see "Partitioning Oracle WebCenter Portal Analytics Data" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.
If users cannot see analytics in Spaces or your Framework application, verify the following:
Check that the Analytics Collector configuration is correct and in particular that both Enable WebCenter Event Collection and Active Connection are both set (Figure 13-7). See Registering an Analytics Collector for Your Application.
If you make changes to the connection you must restart the managed server on which Spaces or your Framework application is deployed. For more information, see Section 8.2, "Starting and Stopping Managed Servers for WebCenter Portal Application Deployments."
If Spaces or your Framework application was recently upgraded, verify that the domain startup script does not contain legacy Analytics Collector settings as these values override any connection details that you specify through Fusion Middleware Control or using WLST.
Shut down the managed server on which Spaces or your Framework application is deployed.
Edit the domain startup script setDomainEnv
located at:
UNIX: DOMAIN_HOME/bin/setDomainEnv.sh
Windows: DOMAIN_HOME\bin\setDomainEnv.cmd
Remove Analytics Collector settings.
Restart the managed server.