8 Frequently Asked Questions

Note All questions are applicable for Agile PLM and Agile PLM for Process, unless stated otherwise.

8.1 Installation and Maintenance Issues

Can I install the Data Mart Schema, ETL, and OBIEE application in one system?

You can install ETL components including ODI in the system which has the Database installation. However, we recommend that you install OBIEE and Product Lifecycle Analytics Application components in separate systems for better performance results.

If I modify the SID and User Name of the Data Mart database can I continue to use the existing installation of Product Lifecycle Analytics?

You need to reinstall the application for the changes to take effect.

How do I modify Passwords after the installation of Product Lifecycle Analytics?

In Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics, two different encryption techniques are used.

Encryption using OPLA encryption methods.

The passwords encrypted using this method are stored in <Oracle_PLA_Home>\bin\DataMartConfig.properties
Encryption using the ODI Agent.

These encryptions are used during ODI Imports and are stored in <Oracle_PLA_Home>\bin\startdmparams.bat (or .sh) and in <Oracle_PLA_Home>\bin\startbiparams.bat (or .sh)

DataMartConfig.properties	Property Name	How to generate the password
Agile PLM Source schema password	PLM_DB_PWD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Agile PLM for Process Source schema password	PLM4P_DB_USER_PWD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Data Mart Database sys schema password	SYS_USER_PASSWORD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Data Mart Database system schema password	DB_SYSTEM_PWD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Data Mart schema password	MDS_USER_PASSWORD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Source schema Password, if installed as a separate schema	ODM_USER_PASSWORD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Master Repository schema password	MASTER_PWD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Work Repository schema password	WORK_PWD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
Work Repository password	WORK_REP_PWD	DMEncoder.bat or .sh
startdmparams.bat or .sh	Property Name	How to generate the password
Master Repository Schema Password	ODI_SECU_USER	agent.bat or .sh (Located in the ODI Install\bin directory)

In addition, you need to change the password of the Data Mart connection details in the Physical Repository of ODI Topology Manager. For more information, refer to the Oracle Data Integrator Installation and Configuration Guide. Also, you may need to change the password of the PLMA.RPD repository file using the OBIEE Admin Tool. For more information, refer to the OBIEE Installation and Configuration Guide.

What are the possible causes of failure in installation?

The possible causes of installation failure are:

Failure in the Import of ODI packages during installation
Drop in database connections
Out-of-space errors in database tablespaces
Unsupported database, ODI, and OBIEE versions

When I install OBIEE on Windows, the command prompt window for OC4J is always on. What should I do so I don't see this window?

When you install OBIEE on Windows, the command prompt window for OC4J is always on when you start the computer. You can set OC4J to run as a Windows service to avoid seeing this command prompt.

To set OC4J to run as a Windows service:

Download JavaService -2.0.1.0
Extract the file to a directory.

Example:

C:\JavaService
Note the directory path of your oc4j.jar file in the OBIEE installation folder.

Example:

C:\OracleBI\oc4j_bi\j2ee\home\oc4j.jar
In a Command Prompt window, navigate to the folder which has the extracted JavaService files.

Example:

cd C:\JavaService\
Type the following command using the two installation paths:

javaservice -install "Oracle BI EE OC4J" "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.5\jre\bin\client\jvm.dll" -XX:MaxPermSize=128m

"-Djava.class.path=C:\OracleBI\oc4j_bi\j2ee\home\oc4j.jar" -start oracle.oc4j.loader.boot.BootStrap -description "Oracle BI EE OC4J Service"
In Start > Run, type services.msc to open the Service manager and set the Oracle BI EE OC4J service to run in the 'Automatic' or 'Manual' mode.

Can I use the Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics Installer for remote installation (i.e. launch installer in machine A to install the software in machine B)?

No, the installer does not support remote installation. However, you can manually install the database schema. See Manual Installation Steps for manual DB schema installation.

How do I check if OC4J server is up and running?

In <OBIEE_Home>\oc4j_bi\j2ee\home\log\rmi.log file, check for log entries similar to the following:

08/08/21 13:22:39.325 10.1.3.1.0 Started

08/08/21 13:34:40.392 10.1.3.1.0 Stopped (JVM termination)

This entry displays the Start time and End time of the OC4J server. If the OC4J is running, the log file will display only the Start time.

How do I install and configure Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics in a RAC environment?

Contact Oracle Support for information on installing in a RAC environment.

How do we localize the Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics application?

The Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics application is built on Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition that is designed to work in multiple languages. Please refer to Appendix B "Localizing Oracle Business Intelligence Deployments" in the Oracle® Business Intelligence Infrastructure Installation and Configuration Guide.

The externalize strings utility in the BI Administrator displays the strings (names and descriptions) used specifically in the PLM Quality Presentation and Product Collaboration catalogs. Please note that an additional effort is required to translate them to the desired language before you can view the localized version of the application. Contact Oracle Support for additional information.

What are the maintenance requirements?

We recommend you to create periodic backup copies of the Data Mart schema and ODI repositories (Master and Work Repository).

8.2 Reports and Dashboards Issues

How do I ensure that the graphs in the BI Interactive Dashboards have the latest data?

The Report Data refreshes with the successful completion of MDS. Contact your BI Administrator for the latest MDS ETL scheduling and completion information.

What are the possible root causes for Reports/Dashboard issues?

The possible causes for BI Reports/Dashboard Issues are:

Patches or Minor release upgrades to BI
Unsupported versions of OBIEE Server Upgrades
Reports or Dashboard Configuration Changes
Database or OBIEE Password Changes which do not reflect in Data Mart and ODI environments.
LDAP Group Changes

How do I configure the out-of-box Static Repository variables in the RPD, used for Oracle PLA Reports?

There are two Static Repository variables in the RPD. The 'Default Initializer' value for both needs to be updated with the PLM source system URL details. This should be done during time of deployment.

The variables are as follows:

URLHOST: <Agile PLM for Process Source System URL>

A9URLHOST: <Agile PLM Source System URL>

Note Currently none of the OOB Agile PLM reports are using 'A9URLHOST' variable but this can be leveraged for customized reports.

If you are an Agile PLM for Process Business Intelligence customer, there are several reports (in Project Portfolio|Details page and Specification Dashboard) that leverage this variable. Consult with Oracle Support if further assistance is needed.

How do I improve report performance during ETL?

OPLA's ETL loads the data from the source database schema and Staging schema into the target MDS schema tables in batches. It is likely that the database queries executed by the BI server may find that the data in these MDS tables is partially available or is not consistent while the batch ETL tasks are running. You should leverage appropriate Oracle Database platform high availability options and appropriate OBIEE platform features to enable a solution that allows BI users to access reports without any errors or shows accurate data during ETL load windows.

8.3 ETL Issues

I made configuration changes in OPLA Configurator. What do I need to do? (Agile PLM)

Whenever you make any configuration changes using OPLA Configurator, always execute a Full ETL Load.

Note You can use OPLA Configurator to change the ETL mode to Full, if it is not already. Refer to the question, Which scenarios can I configure using the Configurator, for more details.

What are the possible causes for ETL run time failures?

The possible causes for ETL run time failures are as follows:

Agile PLM Server Upgrades such as HotFix Patches, and unsupported minor/major releases
Agile PLM Configuration Changes
Data Mart Configuration Changes
Unsupported Database Server Version Upgrade
Database Password Changes which do not reflect in Data Mart and ODI environments.
Unsupported version of ODI Server Upgrade or Repository Changes

Tablespaces assigned for Data Mart data and indexes grows after successive ETL runs. What are the steps that I can take to prevent this?

After successful every ETL run, purge unused database objects using the following command:

PURGE TABLESPACE <Tablespace_Name>;

PURGE TABLESPACE agileodm;

PURGE TABLESPACE agileodm_indx;

Are triggers shipped with the Agile PLM database disabled? (Agile PLM)

Agile PLM sets up triggers in the Agile PLM database to update the last modified date columns for the rows in source tables. OPLA ETL uses the last modified date column value from the source database tables to extract changed data. If these source database triggers are disabled, CDC ETL does not capture the changed data. Make sure they are enabled.

To check if source triggers are enabled on the Agile PLM database schema, run the following SQL statement:

select * from user_triggers where trigger_name like '%_T';

If the Agile PLM triggers cannot be enabled, execute ETL in FULL Mode only and not in CDC mode.

What steps do I follow to execute ETL always in FULL load type or always in CDC load type?

ETL loads to both Stage and MDS schemas can be executed always in FULL load type by changing the values for the MDS and STAGE columns in the ETL_PARAMETER table to Y.

Similarly, ETL loads to both Stage and MDS schemas can be executed always in CDC load by changing the values for the MDS and STAGE columns in the ETL_PARAMETER table to N. However, note that the CDC load type uses the following rules:

The first ETL run is always executed as a FULL load, regardless of the configuration setting.
The last FULL load ETL run should be completed successfully. If not, successive ETL runs will be FULL load, regardless of the configuration.

For Agile PLM 9.x deployments, use the Configurator to configure the Stage and MDS load type parameters either to FULL or CDC instead of directly updating the ETL_PARAMETER table. For more information, see the Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics Configurator Guide.

Note ETL_PARAMETER table is available on the ODM schema, if ODM and MDS are installed on separate schemas.

Can I run Stage in CDC and MDS in Full?

Yes, you can do this by updating the ETL_PARAMETER table's MDS columns with Y and the STAGE column with N. However, ETL to Staging will run in FULL load if the last executed FULL load has failed.

Can I run Stage always FULL and MDS in CDC?

No, this is not a supported configuration.

What are all the possible ETL run scenarios and how can I configure them?

ETL behavior can be controlled by using the Configurator's ETL Runtime Configuration or by updating the ETL_PARAMETER table manually.

Column Name in ETL_PARAMETER table	Value	Value in Configurator (ETL Runtime Configuration Window)	Description
MDS ETL Load Type	NULL/D	Disable	MDS module will not run.
MDS ETL Load Type	Y	FULL	MDS will always run Full Load.
MDS ETL Load Type	N	CDC	MDS may run Full or CDC depending on other conditions, like Configurator or last ETL status.
STAGE ETL Load Type	NULL/D	Disable	Stage module will not run.
STAGE ETL Load Type	Y	FULL	Stage will always run Full Load.
STAGE ETL Load Type	N	CDC	Stage may run Full or CDC depending on other conditions, like last ETL status.

Refer to the Oracle Product Lifecycle Analytics Configurator Guide for more information about ETL Runtime Configuration.