11 Embedding Oracle BI EE In Oracle's Siebel CRM

This chapter describes how to embed Oracle BI EE in Oracle's Siebel CRM. Describes configuring the Oracle HTTP server's proxy settings, configuring the Siebel application's HTTPS server, and configuring Siebel's symbolic URLs to locate the Oracle BI EE directory.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Section 11.1, "Overview of Embedding Oracle BI EE in Oracle's Siebel CRM"

• Section 11.2, "Configuring Oracle HTTP Server"

• Section 11.3, "Configuring the Siebel Application to Find Oracle BI Through HTTP Server"

• Section 11.4, "Modifying the Siebel URLs to Reference the /analytics Directory"

11.1 Overview of Embedding Oracle BI EE in Oracle's Siebel CRM

If, for example, you plan to run Oracle's Siebel Web Extension (SWE) and Oracle Business Intelligence Presentation Services on different Web servers, you must use some kind of networking or load balancing mechanism to create a single logical domain (or virtual IP address) for the two machines. One way to achieve this is to install a supported HTTP Server such as Oracle HTTP Server. You then configure the HTTP server against both the Siebel CRM application (SWE) and the entry point to Oracle Business Intelligence. In this way, you configure a reverse proxy that makes it appear to client browsers that both Oracle's Siebel CRM and Oracle Business Intelligence are being served from the same machine.

After modifying the HTTP server's proxy settings, you must update Oracle's Siebel CRM administration settings to map the HTTP server to the NQHOST and NQHOSTHOME variables. Finally, you must confirm that each URL contains a properly formatted reference to the Oracle BI EE analytics directory.

11.2 Configuring Oracle HTTP Server

Use this procedure to configure Oracle HTTP Server's proxy settings to set up a reverse proxy. This is so the client browser thinks the Oracle BI EE and Oracle's Siebel CRM applications are on the same machine. The HTTP server routes requests from the client browser to the appropriate machine. Note that the HTTP server must run on the same port at Oracle's Siebel CRM server.

This procedure assumes that you are using Oracle HTTP Server, but you can use any supported HTTP server to embed Oracle BI EE in Oracle's Siebel CRM.

If you are working in a production environment, Oracle recommends that you add security policies to the HTTP server so that users cannot directly access the underlying business intelligence objects.

For information about installing Oracle HTTP Server, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Quick Installation Guide for Oracle Web Tier. For information about configuring and securing Oracle HTTP Server, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle HTTP Server.

To configure the Oracle HTTP Server's proxy settings

1. Open Oracle HTTP Server's mod_wl_ohs.conf file.

2. Insert the following proxy request information into the configuration file. For more information, see the following "Example".

   ProxyRequest Off
   <Proxy*>
     Order deny,allow
     Allow from all
   </Proxy*>
   

   Location/Oracle's Siebel CRM subdirectory
     ProxyPass http://location of Oracle's Siebel CRM server/
        Oracle's Siebel CRM subdirectory
   
     ProxyPassReverse http://location of Oracle's Siebel CRM server/
        Oracle's Siebel CRM subdirectory
   /Location
   
   Location/Oracle BI EE subdirectory
     ProxyPass http://location of Oracle BI EE server/
        Oracle BI EE subdirectory
     ProxyPassReverse http://location of Oracle BI EE server/
        Oracle BI EE subdirectory
   /Location
   

3. Save and close the configuration file.

4. Test the configuration by using a fully-qualified name to log into Oracle's Siebel CRM through Oracle HTTP Server.

Example

Note the following proxy configuration example.

ProxyRequests Off
<Proxy *>
  Order deny,allow
  Allow from all
</Proxy>
 
<Location /sales_enu>
  ProxyPass http://myserver.oracle.com/sales_enu
  ProxyPassReverse http://myserver.oracle.com/sales_enu
</Location>
 
<Location /analytics>
  ProxyPass http://myserver:9704/analytics
  ProxyPassReverse http://myserver:9704/analytics
</Location>

11.3 Configuring the Siebel Application to Find Oracle BI Through HTTP Server

Use this procedure to update the Siebel application's settings to map the HTTP server to the NQHOST and NQHOSTHOME variables.

For more information about working with the administration settings, see the Siebel product documentation.

To configure the Siebel application

1. Navigate to the Siebel application's Administration - Integration tab.

2. Navigate to the Host Administration frame.

3. In the Virtual Name column, located NQHOST and NQHOSTNAME.

4. In the Name column, update the name to the hostname of the HTTP server that is serving the Oracle BI Presentation Services. This is the location name that you specified in the Oracle HTTP Server's mod_wl_ohs.conf file. For information about this location, see "Configuring Oracle HTTP Server".

   Note that if the HTTP server is running on a port other than 80, then you need to include the port number.

11.4 Modifying the Siebel URLs to Reference the /analytics Directory

Use this procedure to confirm that each symbolic URL located in Oracle's Siebel CRM contains a properly formatted reference to the Oracle BI EE /analytics directory.

To modify the Siebel URLs

1. Navigate to the Siebel application's Administration - Integration tab.

2. Navigate to the Symbolic URL Administration frame.

3. Click Query and in the URL column, search for *Analytics*. The search returns a list of URLs that match the search criteria.

4. Modify any business intelligence object URLs that contain /Analytics (with an upper case "A") to /analytics (with a lower case "a").