3 About Administering and Maintaining Functional Configuration Data
During an Oracle Business Intelligence Applications (Oracle BI Applications) deployment project, you use Oracle BI Applications Configuration Manager (Configuration Manager) and Functional Setup Manager (FSM) to manage and make changes to configuration values for Data Load Parameters, Domains and Mappings, and Reporting Parameters.
Functional Configuration Data for Oracle BI Applications is:
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Configured using Functional Tasks in FSM.
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Monitored and updated using Configuration Manager.
Functional Configuration Data for Oracle BI Applications is information about the following:
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Domains and mappings
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Data load parameters
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Reporting parameters
Roadmap for Setup Data Maintenance and Administration
Follow this high-level roadmap for Setup Data Maintenance and Administration.
Before you configure Oracle BI Applications, you must install and set up Oracle BI Applications according to the instructions in Installing and Setting Up Oracle BI Applications in Oracle Business Intelligence Applications Installation Guide.
About Working With Domains and Domain Mappings
Domains are pre-seeded dimensional values that help define business metrics. For example, in Financial Analytics, domains store information about the General Ledger accounts.
Domains are typically located in the source system. If domains are not available in a source system, then they can be sourced from a flat file. For example, domains for Oracle Price Analytics are loaded using the flat file file_domain_member_gs.csv
. This file will also be used in order to supply source domains for Universal adaptor.
To manage Domains, you use these dialogs:
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For general Domains, you use the Manage Domains and Mappings dialog.
To display the Manage Domains and Mappings dialog, do one of the following:
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In FSM, select the Go to Task link for a Task that updates a Domain and Domain Member mappings.
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In Configuration Manager, select the Manage Domain Mappings and Hierarchies link in the Tasks pane.
Description of the illustration 103-working-d-dm1.gifThe Manage Domains and Mappings dialog contains these tabs:
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Domain Mappings - this tab shows how data fields in the Source System map to data fields in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse. See About Domain Mappings and Domain Member Mappings.
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Source domains - this tab shows data fields and domain members in the source system. See About Source Domains.
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Warehouse Domains - this tab shows data fields and warehouse members in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse. See About Warehouse Domains.
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Warehouse Domain Hierarchies - this tab shows domains that have been organized into hierarchies to enable the data to be more effectively analyzed. See About Warehouse Domain Hierarchies.
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For externally sourced domains, you use the Manage Externally Conformed Domains dialog.
Description of the illustration 103-externally-conformed-domains2.gifTo configure externally conformed domains, see Configuring Externally Conformed Domains.
Why Are Some Domains Non-Extensible?
To maintain data integrity in Oracle BI Applications, some domains have been designed as non-extensible, and are therefore read-only.
If a domain is non-extensible, then when the domain is selected, the following options are greyed out:
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the Edit icon in the Domain Member Mappings pane (on the Manage Domain Mappings and Hierarchies: Domain Mappings tab or Manage Domain Mappings and Hierarchies: Warehouse Domain Hierarchies tab).
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the Add Target Domain Member button (on the Edit Domain Member Mappings dialog).
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the Add Warehouse Domain Member button (on the Manage Warehouse Domains: Warehouse Domains tab\Warehouse Members pane).
About Domain Mappings and Domain Member Mappings
Domain Mappings specify how data in a source system is extracted and loaded into Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse. For example, the data in domain Source Group Account (BI_GROUP_ACCOUNT) extracts and loads into the domain Group Account (W_GL_GROUP_ACCOUNT).
Domain Members are the permitted values for a Source or Warehouse Domain. For example, the Domain Members for MARITAL_STATUS include D for Divorced, M for Married, S for Single, and so on.
Tip:
Domain values can be used to define delivered business metrics; therefore, you must review the delivered domain member values and map them to the correct source values.
Domain Mappings specify how entities in a Source System application are loaded into Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse.
The screenshot shows example domain mappings for Oracle Financial Analytics.
Description of the illustration 103-domain-mapping.gif
Domain Member Mappings specify how domain member data in a source system is extracted and loaded into domain member data in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse. For example, in Oracle HR Analytics, domain Gender (W_SEX_MF_CODE) has a source value 'Male' that is mapped to a domain member value 'M' in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse.
About Regular Domains and Band Domains
There are two types of Domains.
Regular Domains
Regular Domains have members consisting of a single value. For example, members for a Purchase Order Status domain might have the following members:
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Cancelled
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Closed
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Incomplete
These single values map to single member values in the target system. For example, Cancelled maps to Cancelled, Closed maps to Closed, and so on.
Band Domains
Band Domains have members consisting of two values (Range Start, and Range End) that specify a range. For example, an Account Employee Size domain might have the following members:
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1, 5000
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5001, 10,000
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10,001, 1,000,000.
Each range maps to a single target Domain Member. For example, 1, 5000 maps to Small, 5001, 10,000 maps to Medium, and so on.
About Source Domains
Data fields in a Source System application are referred to as Source Domains.
The screenshot shows example source domains for Oracle Financial Analytics. Source Domains displayed on the Source Domains tab are read-only.
Description of the illustration 103-source-domains.gif
About Warehouse Domains
Data fields in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse are referred to as Warehouse Domains.
The screenshot shows example warehouse domains for Oracle Financial Analytics.
Description of the illustration 103-warehouse-domains.gif
About Warehouse Domain Hierarchies
Warehouse Domain Hierarchies are Domains that have been organized into hierarchies to enable the data to be more effectively analyzed. For example, in Oracle HR Analytics, you might need to have a workforce event hierarchy: Event Group -> Event Sub-group -> Event Detail.
<Child 1>\
<Child n>\
<Parent>
Viewing Domain Hierarchies
To view Domain Hierarchies, select the Manage Domain Mappings and Hierarchies link on the Tasks bar, then display the Warehouse Domain Hierarchies tab.
The screenshot shows example warehouse domain hierarchies for Oracle Financial Analytics.
Description of the illustration 103-domain-hierarchies.gif
In the screenshot, the child node AP Transaction Subtype is shown above and to the left of the parent node AP Transaction Type. Domain Hierarchies are read-only. However, you can change the domain mappings.
For Warehouse Domains Hierarchies dialog field-level help, see Manage Domain Mappings and Hierarchies: Warehouse Domain Hierarchies Tab in Oracle Business Intelligence Applications Functional Configuration Reference.
About Setting Up Domain Member Mappings
Oracle BI Applications ships default domain value mappings that map the seeded BI Application domain values to the seeded configuration data in Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning applications.
When you configure your Offerings, you review the default mappings for domain values, and if necessary update them to suit the categories that you want to use to report on your data.
For example, in Oracle HR Analytics, the default domain values for Performance Range might be similar to the following:
0 - 50: PERF_RANGE_1
50 - 60: PERF_RANGE_2
60 - 70: PERF_RANGE_3.
If you want to use these default categories, you do not need to make any changes to these mappings before you start your ETL processes.
For example, you might want to change the range for PERF_RANGE_1 from 0 - 50 to 0 - 100. Or you might want to add a new category named PERF_RANGE_4 and assign the range 100 - 500 to the new PERF_RANGE_4 category.
Editing a Domain Member Mapping
You can edit a Domain Member Mapping if you need to change it from the default values.
Adding a Range Member Mapping
You can add a Range Member Mapping to a domain for which you can specify ranges.
Adding a Target Domain Member
You add Target Domain Members to extend Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse.
Localizing a New Domain Member
If you added a new domain member and it requires localization, you can add string localizations for Configuration Manager metadata.
Adding String Localizations for Oracle BI Repository Metadata
If you added a new domain member, you can add string localizations in the Oracle BI Repository metadata.
Synchronizing a Target Domain with a Source Domain
In some scenarios, you might only know what target Domain member values should be when you deploy Oracle BI Applications.
For example, in Order Management or Supply Chain Analytics, UOM (Unit of Measurement) is typically not known until deployment time. You can set up a non-ranged target domain using the Sync to Source option to automatically synchronize a target domain with values from the source domain. This process inserts new target members from the source domain, and automatically generates 1:1 mappings. This is useful for large domains with many member mappings that might otherwise take a long time to set up.
Sync to Source is only available for extensible non-ranged Domains.
Modifying a Warehouse Domain Hierarchy
Oracle BI Applications Warehouse Domains are organized into hierarchies. You might want to modify a hierarchy to enable data to be more effectively analyzed. For example, you might change the order of items in a hierarchy.
Configuring Externally Conformed Domains
You can manage and create conformed domains in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse that are based on definitions in a source system. For example, you might want to configure Units of Measure (UOMs) that are sourced from a pre-defined master product-line (typically Fusion) source domain.
About Working With Data Load Parameters
Data Load Parameters are configuration values that specify how Source System data is loaded into Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse. For example, the cost time grain parameter COST_TIME_GRAIN specifies whether costs are aggregated weekly, monthly, or quarterly, during the data loading process.
When you work with Data Load Parameters in Configuration Manager, note the following key points:
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Data Load Parameters can be either Global or Application Specific, as follows:
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Global parameters apply to all applications, and are indicated with the (ab) and globe icon:
Global Data Load Parameters can also be associated with specific Fact Groups or Dimension Groups.
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Application Specific apply to specific applications, and indicated with the (ab) icon:
Application Specific Data Load Parameters are always associated with one or more Fact Groups or Dimension Groups.
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If a Global Data Load Parameter is associated with one or more Fact Groups or Dimension Groups, then each Fact Group or Dimension Group can have a different value. For example, the value of Slowly Changing Dimension Flag for Absence Event Dimension might be Yes, and the value of Slowly Changing Dimension Flag for Asset Dimension might be No.
Values for Global Group-specific parameters are always overridable, and are indicated by the Overridable Parameter icon (that is, the (ab) icon with a pencil):
The example below shows the Slowly Changing Dimension Flag global parameter with associated Group-specific values displayed in the lower pane.
Description of the illustration 103-global-parameter.gif -
For Application Specific Data Load Parameters, values for associated Fact Groups or Dimension Groups can either be Overridable or Non-Overridable, as follows:
Overridable - each associated Fact Group or Dimension Group can have a different value. Overridable parameters are indicated by the Overridable Parameter icon (that is, the (ab) icon with a pencil):
Non-Overridable - each associated Fact Group or Dimension Group must have the same value. Non-Overridable parameters are indicated by the Parameter icon (that is, the (ab) icon without a pencil):
The example below shows the Application Specific parameter 'Subledger Module List' with associated Group-specific values displayed in the lower pane. Note that the Group-specific values in this example cannot be overridden.
Description of the illustration 103-nonoverridable-parameter.gif
About Editing Data Load Parameters
You edit Data Load Parameters (whether they are Global or Application Specific) using the Data Load Parameters dialog, which is displayed in FSM when you edit a Data Load Parameter (see the following screenshot). The Data Load Parameters list above (or master table) displays the parameters and values, and the Group Specific Parameter Values list below displays associated Fact Groups or Dimension Groups (if there are any).
Description of the illustration 103-editing-data-load-p.gif
To display Data Load Parameters in Configuration Manager, select the Manage Data Load Parameters link on the Tasks bar to display the Manage Data Load Parameters dialog.
Description of the illustration 103-working-data-load-p1.gif
About Editing Global Data Load Parameters
To edit the value of a Global Parameter, select the record in the Data Load Parameters master table, and then either click the Edit icon in the table toolbar or click on the link in the Global Parameter Values column.
If the Global Parameter that you edit is associated with Fact Groups or Dimension Groups, then a warning message is displayed to verify that you want to update the value for all associated Fact Groups and Dimension Groups. If you click Yes at the warning message, then the values of all occurrences of the parameter at the Group level will be updated to the new value.
For example, if you click the Edit icon or the link in the Parameter Value column for the parameter "Slowly Changing Dimension Flag" in the Data Load Parameters master table, then you see the following warning:
Description of the illustration 103-working-data-load-p2.gif
Clicking Yes allows you to continue with the edit of the parameter value. A change to the parameter value is applied to all parameter occurrences at the Group level.
To change the value of a parameter for a specific Fact Group or Dimension Group, select the Global Parameter in the Data Load Parameters master table, and then select the parameter in the Group Specific Parameter Values for: <Parameter Name> detail table. Click on the Edit icon in the table tool bar or the link in the Parameter Value column to open the Parameter Value Edit dialog.
Changing the parameter value in the above Edit dialog updates the parameter value for the Slowly Changing Dimension Flag parameter associated with the Absence Event Dimension Group.
About Editing Application Specific Parameter Values
You use the Edit option to change the value of a Fact Group or Dimension Group that is associated with an Application Specific parameter (if the parameter is overridable).
You use the Edit All option to edit the value of all Fact Groups and Dimension Groups that are associated with an Application Specific parameter.
If you attempt to edit the value of a specific Fact Group or Dimension Group, then:
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if the parameter is overridable at the Group level, then you update only that specific Fact Group or Dimension Group.
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if the parameter is Non-Overridable at the Group level, then a Warning dialog displays a list of Fact Groups and Dimension Groups that will be affected if you click Yes to edit the value.
Description of the illustration 103-working-data-load-p3.gif
Editing a Data Load Parameter Value
You can edit Data Load Parameters using the Manage Data Load Parameters dialog.
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In Configuration Manager, select the Manage Data Load Parameters link in the Tasks pane.
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In FSM, select the Go to Task link for a Task that updates a Data Load Parameter (for example, Configure Initial Extract Date).
About Working With Reporting Parameters
Reporting Parameters are configuration values that specify how data is presented in Business Intelligence dashboards.
There are two categories of Reporting Parameter:
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Global, which apply to all applications. These are displayed on the Global tab.
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Application Specific, which apply to specific applications. These are displayed on the Application Specific tab.
You manage and edit Reporting Parameters using the Manage Reporting Parameters: Global/Application Specific tab.
Description of the illustration 103-working-reporting-parameters.gif
You display the Manage Reporting Parameters: Global/Application Specific tab by doing one of the following:
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In Configuration Manager, select the Manage Reporting Parameters link in the Tasks pane.
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In FSM, select the Go to Task link for a Task that updates a Reporting Parameter.
To edit a Reporting Parameter, select the parameter in the parameter list, then either click the Edit icon, or click the value in the Parameter Value column.
About Monitoring Setup Data
During a functional configuration project, you monitor Setup Data to ensure that your Offerings are being correctly configured. For example, you might use the Parameters By Offerings report on the Overview page to visually monitor the number of parameters that have been configured.
You can monitor the setup data in the following ways:
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In Configuration Manager, you can monitor the status of the underlying set up data values, as follows:
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Use the pages and tabs in the Setup Data Maintenance and Administration area on the Tasks bar.
From the Tasks bar, select one of the links in the Setup Data Maintenance and Administration area. For example, select the Manage Data Load Parameters link to display the Manage Data Load Parameters page.
Description of the illustration 103-working-data-load-p1.gif -
Use the Reports panes on the Overview page.
For example, you might use System Setups list to monitor which Offerings have been enabled for deployment.
Description of the illustration 103-what-is-cm.gif
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Changing Configuration Values Using Configuration Manager
If you need to make configuration changes after an Implementation Project has been completed in FSM, you can use Configuration Manager to update setup data.
To change setup data values, you use the options in the Setup Data Maintenance and Administration area on the Tasks bar.
Locating Unmapped Domain Values in Configuration Manager
You locate unmapped Domain Values to enable you to make sure that you have mapped all of your source system domain values.
Locating Data Load Parameters with No Values in Configuration Manager
You locate Data Load Parameters with no values to check all Tasks in FSM relating to Data Load Parameters have been completed correctly.
Adding Target Domain Members
You add Target Domain Members to extend Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse.
For example, you might want to create a new salary category called 'Range 5' so that you can map salary values to this new category.
About Exporting and Importing Setup Data for Configuration Manager
You export and import the setup data Data for Configuration Manager.
You export and import the setup data to:
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Make a backup of your configuration settings for security purposes. For example, you might keep a record of the configuration changes that you have made.
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Migrate the setup data for Configuration Manager from one environment to another environment. For example, you might move the configuration changes that you have made from a Test environment to a Production environment.
What Data is Exported?
When you export the setup data, you export the changes that you have made to the values of the following objects:
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Data Load Parameters
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Domains and Mappings
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Reporting Parameters
You export all changes that are different from the default values each time. The export process does not export the unchanged configuration values. In other words, if you only change the value of DEFAULT_CURRENCY from USD to Euro and then you export your data, then the export ZIP file that is produced will only contain columns for 'DEFAULT_CURRENCY=Euro'.
Note:
Other Configuration Manager details such as the configuration settings of the source system and Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse aren't included in the export files. In other words, before you import on the target system, you must first respecify the source system and Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse. Also, externally conformed domains aren't exported.What Data is Imported?
When you import the setup data from a ZIP file, you import whatever configuration changes were exported to that ZIP file. For example, if you first export only Reporting Parameters to a ZIP file, then you import only the changes that were made to Reporting Parameters.
About Migrating Setup Data
To migrate the setup data, you do the following:
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In the source environment, export the Configuration Manager setup data as a ZIP file. See Exporting Setup Data.
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Copy the ZIP file from the source environment to the target environment.
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In the target environment, import the Configuration Manager setup data from the ZIP file. See Importing Setup Data.
Note:
For a successful migration, the data source number (DSN) in the target system must be the same as the DSN in the source system.
About Backing Up Setup Data
To back up the setup data, you do the following:
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In the source environment, export the Configuration Manager setup data as a ZIP file.
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Store the ZIP file in a secure location.
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In the target environment, make sure that you have installed Configuration Manager, which installs the default setup data. The data source number in the target system must be the same as the data source number in the source system.
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To restore the backed up data, you import the Configuration Manager setup data from the ZIP file.
Exporting Setup Data
You can export the setup data to back up or migrate a Configuration Manager environment.
The Export Setup Data table is updated with the export details.
Importing Setup Data
You import the setup data to restore or migrate the setup data. Before you import the setup data, you must copy the previously exported ZIP file to a file location that is accessible from the machine that is running the Configuration Manager client.
The setup data is imported from the ZIP file, and the Import table is updated with the details.
Customizing a Product Hierarchy
You can customize product hierarchies by associating Dimension Groups or Fact Groups with Offerings and Functional Areas.
Note:
You can only edit or delete Fact Groups or Dimension Groups that you have created. You cannot edit or delete default groups that are provided on installation.