If you use Oracle Human Resources as the primary repository for employee data in your enterprise, then you may need to synchronize data between it and the Oracle back-end directory. The Oracle Human Resources connector enables you to do this.
This chapter introduces the Oracle Human Resources connector, and explains how to deploy it. It contains these topics:
Managing Synchronization Between Oracle Human Resources and the Oracle Back-end Directory
Bootstrapping the Oracle Back-end Directory from Oracle Human Resources
Note:
If you are synchronizing with an Oracle Human Resources environment that involves the Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle recommends using the Oracle E-Business Suite integration solution that Oracle Directory Integration Platform supports, which is described in Chapter 15, "Integration of Provisioning Data with Oracle E-Business Suite".
See Also:
The Release Notes for your Oracle back-end directory to find out which release of Oracle Human Resources can be synchronized with your Oracle back-end directory.
The Oracle Human Resources connector enables you to import a subset of employee data from Oracle Human Resources into the Oracle back-end directory. It includes both a prepackaged integration profile and an Oracle Human Resources agent that handles communication with the Oracle back-end directory. You can customize the prepackaged integration profile to meet your deployment needs using Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control.
You can schedule the Oracle Human Resources connector to run at any time, configuring it to extract incremental changes from the Oracle Human Resources system. You can also set and modify mapping between column names in Oracle Human Resources and attributes in the Oracle back-end directory.
Table 10-1 lists the tables in the Oracle Human Resources schema. If you choose, you can import most of these attributes into Oracle Internet Directory.
Table 10-1 Tables in Oracle Human Resources Schema
| Table Name | Alias Used in the Connector Config Info Field |
|---|---|
|
PER_PEOPLE_F |
PER |
|
PER_ADDRESSES |
PA |
|
PER_PERIODS_OF_ SERVICE |
PPS |
|
PER_PERSON_TYPES |
PPT |
All of these tables are visible if the login to the Oracle Human Resources database is done with the apps account.
Because attributes can be added or deleted at run time from the configuration file, the Oracle Human Resources connector dynamically creates a SQL statement that selects and retrieves only the required attributes.
Table 10-2 shows some of the fields in the Oracle Human Resources user interface. These fields appear when you add or modify employee data.
Table 10-2 Fields in the Oracle Human Resources User Interface
| ATTRIBUTE NAME | DESCRIPTION | FORM/CANVAS/FIELD_NAME |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Last name of the person |
People/Name/Last |
|
|
First name of the person |
People/Name/First |
|
|
Title of the person |
People/Name/Title |
|
|
Suffix—for example, Jr, Sr, Ph.D. |
People/Name/Suffix |
|
|
Middle name |
People/Name/Middle |
|
|
Sex |
Gender List box |
|
|
Hiring date |
People/Hire Date |
|
|
Date of birth |
People/Personal Information/Birth Date |
|
|
Marital status |
People/Personal Information/Status |
|
|
Social security number for US residents |
People/Identification/Social Security |
|
|
Employee number |
People/Identification/Employee |
|
|
Indicator that the employee has a disability |
People/Personal Information/Has Disability |
|
|
Electronic mail address |
People/Personal Information/EMail |
|
|
Office location |
People/Office Location Info/Office |
|
|
Mail delivery stop |
People/Office Location Info/Mail Stop |
|
|
Location |
People/Office Location Info/Location |
|
|
Address line 1 |
Personal Address Information/Address line 1 |
|
|
Address line 2 |
Personal Address Information/Address line 2 |
|
|
Address line 3 |
Personal Address Information/Address line 3 |
|
|
Town or city |
Personal Address Information/City |
|
|
First region |
Personal Address Information/County |
|
|
Second region |
Personal Address Information/State |
|
|
Postal code |
Personal Address Information/Zip Code |
|
|
Country |
Personal Address Information/Country |
|
|
First telephone number |
Personal Address Information/Telephone |
|
|
Second telephone number |
Personal Address Information/Telephone2 |
This section contains these topics:
Task 1: Configure a Directory Integration Profile for the Oracle Human Resources Connector
Task 2: Configure the List of Attributes to be Synchronized with the Oracle Back-end Directory
Task 3: Configure Mapping Rules for the Oracle Human Resources Connector
Task 4: Prepare to Synchronize from Oracle Human Resources to the Oracle Back-end Directory
To configure the prepackaged integration profile that is installed with the Oracle Human Resources connector, refer to Chapter 7, "Managing Directory Synchronization Profiles".
For some of the parameters in the prepackaged integration profile, you must specify values specific to integration with the Human Resources Connector. The parameters specific to the Human Resources Connector are listed in Table 10-3.
Table 10-3 Attributes Specific to Oracle Human Resources Connector Integration Profile
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
|
Profile Name ( |
Unique name by which the connector is identified in the system, used as an RDN component of the DN that identifies the integration profile. The name can contain only alpha-numeric characters. This attribute is mandatory and not modifiable. The default name is |
|
Synchronization Mode ( |
The direction of synchronization between the Oracle back-end directory and a connected directory.
The default is This attribute is mandatory and modifiable. Note: In Oracle Internet Directory 11g Release 1 (11.1.1), only import operations for Oracle Human Resources are supported. |
|
Execution Information |
|
|
Agent Execution Command |
Connector executable name and argument list used by the directory integration server to execute the connector. This attribute is mandatory and modifiable. The default is: odihragent OracleHRAgent connect=hrdb \ login=%odip.profile.condiraccount \ pass=%odip.profile.condirpassword \ date=%orclODIPLastSuccessfulExecutionTime \ You must set the value in the argument |
|
Connected Directory Account ( |
Valid user account in the connected directory to be used by the connector for synchronization. For the Human Resources Agent, it is a valid user identifier in the Oracle Human Resources database. See Also: Chapter 10, "Synchronizing with Oracle Human Resources" for typical usage of passing it in the command-line |
|
Advanced Configuration Information ( |
Any configuration information that you want the connector to store in the Oracle back-end directory. It is passed by the directory integration server to the connector at time of connector invocation. The information is stored as an attribute and the directory integration server does not have any knowledge of its content. The value stored in this attribute represents (for Oracle Human Resources connector) all attributes that need to be synchronized from Oracle Human Resources. See Also: "Task 2: Configure the List of Attributes to be Synchronized with the Oracle Back-end Directory" This attribute is mandatory for the Oracle Human Resources connector. |
|
Connected Directory URL ( |
The host and port details of the connected directory. They must be entered in this format: |
|
Interface Type |
The interface used for data transfer. Because it is in the form of a tagged file, it is set to Note: You should not modify this attribute for Oracle Human Resources profile. |
|
Mapping Information |
|
|
Mapping Rules |
Attribute for storing the mapping rules. Store the mapping rules in a file by using Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control. See Chapter 7, "Managing Directory Synchronization Profiles" for information on using Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control. This attribute is mandatory for Oracle Human Resources and is modifiable. See Also: |
|
Connected Directory Matching Filter |
This is not used in Oracle Human Resources connectivity. |
|
OID Matching Filter ( |
This attribute names an LDAP filter that is used to search for a target entry in the Oracle back-end directory. The Oracle Directory Integration Platform uses this filter to find out what kind of LDAP operation it needs to do to synchronize. It is of the form It is optional and modifiable. |
|
Status Information |
|
|
OID Last Applied Change Number ( |
This attribute, standard for all export profiles, does not apply to Oracle Human Resources synchronization. |
The default Oracle Human Resources profile provides a default list of attributes to be synchronized from Oracle Human Resources to the Oracle back-end directory. You can customize this list, adding attributes to it or removing attributes from it.
The default attribute list is stored in the orclodipAgentConfigInfo attribute as part of the integration profile.The configuration information is also available in the file oraclehragent.cfg.master that is located under the $ORACLE_HOME/ldap/odi/conf directory.
Note:
Do not modify the oraclehragent.cfg.master file; it serves as a backup.
Table 10-4 describes columns in the default list of Oracle Human Resources attributes.
Table 10-4 Oracle Human Resources Attributes Synchronized with the Oracle Back-end Directory by Default
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
|
ATTRNAME |
The output tag generated in the output data file. |
|
COLUMN_NAME |
Database column name from where to obtain this value. |
|
TABLE_NAME |
Database table name from where to obtain this value. |
|
FORMAT |
The column data type of this attribute (ASCII, NUMBER, DATE). |
|
MAP |
Indicator of whether to extract this attribute from Oracle Human Resources. A value of |
The oraclehragent.cfg.master file contains the following:
ATTRNAME:COLUMN_NAME:TABLE_NAME:FORMAT:MAP PersonId:person_id:PER:NUMBER:Y PersonType:person_type_id:PER:NUMBER:Y PersonTypeName:system_person_type:PPT:ASCII:Y LastName:last_name:PER:ASCII:Y StartDate:start_date:PER:DATE:Y BirthDate:date_of_birth:PER:DATE:Y EMail:email_address:PER:ASCII:Y EmployeeNumber:employee_number:PER:NUMBER:Y FirstName:first_name:PER:ASCII:Y FullName:full_name:PER:ASCII:Y knownas:known_as:PER:ASCII:Y MaritalStatus:marital_status:PER:ASCII:Y middleName:middle_names:PER:ASCII:Y country:country:PA:ASCII:Y socialsecurity:national_identifier:PER:ASCII:Y Sex:sex:PER:ASCII:Y Title:title:PER:ASCII:Y suffix:suffix:PER:ASCII:Y street1:address_line1:PA:ASCII:Y zip:postal_code:PA:ASCII:Y Address1:address_line1:PA:ASCII:Y Address2:address_line2:PA:ASCII:Y Address3:address_line3:PA:ASCII:Y TelephoneNumber1:telephone_number_1:PA:ASCII:Y TelephoneNumber2:telephone_number_2:PA:ASCII:Y TelephoneNumber3:telephone_number_3:PA:ASCII:Y town_or_city:town_or_city:PA:ASCII:Y state:region_2:PA:ASCII:Y Start_date:effective_start_date:PER:DATE:Y End_date:effective_end_date:PER:DATE:Y per_updateTime:last_update_date:PER:DATE:Y pa_updateTime:last_update_date:PA:DATE:Y
To include additional Oracle Human Resources attributes for synchronization, follow these steps:
Copy the oraclehragent.cfg.master file and name it anything other than Agent_Name.cfg. This is because the Oracle Directory Integration Platform generates a configuration file with that name, using it to pass the configuration information to the Oracle Human Resources agent at run time.
Include an additional Oracle Human Resources attribute for synchronization by adding a record to this file.
To do this, you need this information:
Table name in the database from which the attribute value is to be extracted. These tables are listed in Table 10-1. The file uses abbreviated names for the four tables used in the synchronization.
Column name in the table.
Column data type. Valid values are ASCII, NUMBER, and DATE.
You also need to assign an attribute name to the column name. This acts as the output tag that is used to identify this attribute in the output file. This tag is used in the mapping rules to establish a rule between the Oracle Human Resources attribute and the Oracle back-end directory attribute.
You must also ensure that the map column—that is, the last column in the record—is set to the value Y.
Note:
If you add a new attribute in the attribute list, then you must define a corresponding rule in the orclodipAttributeMappingRules attribute. Otherwise the Oracle Human Resources attribute is not synchronized with the Oracle back-end directory, even if it is being extracted by the Oracle Human Resources connector.
To exclude an Oracle Human Resources attribute that is currently being synchronized with Oracle Internet Directory, do the following:
Copy the oraclehragent.cfg.master file and name it anything other than Agent_Name.cfg. This is because the directory integration server generates a configuration file with that name, using it to pass the configuration information to the Oracle Human Resources connector at run time.
Do one of the following:
Comment out the corresponding record in the attribute list by putting a number sign (#) in front of it.
Set the value of the column map to N.
If the previous supporting attribute configuration is not sufficient to extract data from the Oracle Human Resources database, then the Oracle Human Resources agent can also execute a preconfigured SQL SELECT statement in the configuration file. There is a tag to indicate this in the configuration file, namely, a [SELECT] in the configuration file.
The following example shows a sample select statement to retrieve some information from the Oracle Human Resources database. Note that only the SQL statement should follow the [SELECT] tag. The BINDVAR bind variable needs to be there to retrieve incremental changes. The substitutes passes this value (the time stamp) to the Oracle Human Resources connector.
All the column expressions retrieved in the SELECT statement must have column names—for example, REPLACE(ppx.email_address),'@ORACLE.COM','') is retrieved as EMAILADDRESS. The Oracle Human Resources connector writes out EMAILADDRESS as the attribute name in the output file with its value as the result of the expression REPLACE(ppx.email_address),'@ORACLE.COM'''.
The following is an example of a a SELECT statement in a configuration file.
[SELECT]
SELECT
REPLACE(ppx.email_address,'@ORACLE.COM','') EMAILADDRESS ,
UPPER(ppx.attribute26) GUID,
UPPER(ppx.last_name) LASTNAME,
UPPER(ppx.first_name) FIRSTNAME,
UPPER(ppx.middle_names) MIDDLENAME,
UPPER(ppx.known_as) NICKNAME,
UPPER(SUBSTR(ppx.date_of_birth,1,6)) BIRTHDAY,
UPPER(ppx.employee_number) EMPLOYEEID,
UPPER(ppos.date_start) HIREDATE
FROM
hr_organization_units hou,
per_people_x ppx,
per_people_x mppx,
per_periods_of_service ppos
WHERE
pax.supervisor_id = mppx.person_id(+)
AND pax.organization_id = hou.organization_id(+)
AND ppx.person_id = ppos.person_id
AND ppx.person_id = pax.person_id
AND ppos.actual_termination_date IS NULL
AND UPPER(ppx.current_employee_flag) = 'Y'
AND ppx.last_update_date >= (:BINDVAR,'YYYYMMDDHH24MISS')
Attribute mapping rules govern how the Oracle Directory Integration Platform converts attributes between Oracle Human Resources and Oracle Internet Directory. You can customize the mapping rules you want the Oracle Directory Integration Platform to use.
The Oracle Human Resources agent profile has a default mapping file with a set of mapping rules in the attribute orclodipAttributeMappingRules. This information is also stored in the file named oraclehragent.map.master located under the $ORACLE_HOME/ldap/odi/conf directory.
Note:
Do not modify the oraclehragent.map.master file. It serves as a backup.
See Also:
"Mapping rules and formats" for the contents of the oraclehragent.map.master file and a description of the format of the mapping rules records
This section explains how to set up synchronization from Oracle Human Resources to the Oracle back-end directory.
To prepare for synchronization between Oracle Human Resources and Oracle Internet Directory, follow these steps:
Set the ORACLE_HOME environment variable in the environment where the wls_ods1 managed server is running.
Ensure that the Oracle Human Resources connector and the directory integration server are installed on the host from which you want to run the Oracle Human Resources connector.
Ensure that you have the information for accessing the Oracle Human Resources system, including:
Connect string to the Oracle Human Resources system database
Access account
Password
Configure an integration profile for the Oracle Human Resources connector, as described in "Task 1: Configure a Directory Integration Profile for the Oracle Human Resources Connector". Ensure that all values in the integration profile are properly set, including:
Oracle Human Resources attribute list
Oracle Human Resources attribute mapping rules
Scheduling interval
Once everything is properly set, set the Profile Status attribute to ENABLE. This indicates that the Oracle Human Resources connector is ready to run.
Start the Oracle directory server and the Oracle Human Resources system if they are not already running on the respective hosts.
When everything is ready, start the directory integration server if it is not already running on this host.
Once the Oracle Human Resources system, Oracle Internet Directory, and the Oracle Directory Integration Platform are running, and the Oracle Human Resources connector is enabled, the Oracle Directory Integration Platform automatically starts synchronizing changes from the Oracle Human Resources system into Oracle Internet Directory. It follows this process:
Depending on the value specified in the Last Execution Time (orclodipLastExecutionTime) and the Scheduling Interval (orclodipschedulinginterval), the Oracle Directory Integration Platform invokes the Oracle Human Resources connector.
The Human Resources agent extracts:
All the changes from the Oracle Human Resources System based on the time specified in the orclodipLastSuccessfulExecutionTime attribute in the integration profile
Only the attributes specified in the orclodipAgentConfigInfo attribute in the profile
It then writes the changes into the Oracle Human Resources import file, namely $ORACLE_HOME/ldap/odi/import/HR_Agent_Name.dat.
After the agent completes execution, it creates a data file that looks similar to the following:
FirstName: John LastName: Liu EmployeeNumber: 12345 Title: Mr. Sex: M MaritalStatus: Married TelephoneNumber: 123-456-7891 Mail: Jliu@my_company.com Address: 100 Jones Parkway City: MyTown
The Oracle Directory Integration Platform imports the changes to the Oracle back-end directory by doing the following:
Reading each change record from the import file.
Converting each change record into an LDAP change entry based on the rules specified in the Mapping Rules (orclodipAttributeMappingRules) in the integration profile.
After importing all the changes to the Oracle back-end directory, Oracle Human Resources connector moves the import file to the archive directory, $ORACLE_HOME/ldap/odi/import/archive. The status attributes Last Execution Time (orclodipLastExecutionTime) and Last Successful Execution Time (orclodipLastSuccessfulExecutionTime) are updated to the current time.
If the import operation fails, only the Last Execution Time (orclodipLastExecutionTime) attribute is updated, and the connector attempts to extract the changes from Human Resources system based on the Last Successful Execution Time (orclodipLastSuccessfulExecutionTime) attribute. The reason for failure is logged in the trace file in $ORACLE_HOME/ldap/odi/HR_Agent_Name.trc file.
There are two ways to bootstrap Oracle Internet Directory from Oracle Human Resources:
Use the Oracle Human Resources connector. In the integration profile, set the orclodipLastSuccessfulExecutionTime attribute to a time before Oracle Human Resources was installed.
Use external tools to migrate data from Oracle Human Resources into Oracle Internet Directory.