Working with Connections and Remote Libraries

Overview

Connections in Narrative Reporting enables you to define access to Reports data sources and Remote Libraries.

  • Connections streamline the creation and maintenance of Reports data sources and provide a single area of credentials maintenance for multiple cubes in an application.

    Note:

    Data source artifacts in the Library can still optionally be used to maintain connections to cubes; however this can also be done in Connections.

  • Connections also allow you to access reporting artifacts in Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud platform instances on the same domain via Remote Libraries. In the Narrative Reporting Library, users can browse remote libraries for reporting artifacts to open, or to copy Reports from the EPM Cloud Platform to Narrative Reporting.

    Supported artifacts include Reports and Report Snapshots, Books, Bursting, Microsoft Office files, and PDFs.

  • Only the Service Administrator role can create and maintain Connections.

Connections support all Reports data sources: EPM Cloud platform (Enterprise Profitability and Cost Management, FreeForm, Planning and Planning Modules, Financial Consolidation and Close, Tax Reporting), Essbase Cloud, Fusion ERP, Profitability and Cost Management (PCM).

  • EPM Cloud Platform Connections: You can access cubes for reporting and Remote Libraries.

  • Essbase, Fusion ERP, Profitability and Cost Management (PCM) Connections: You can access cubes for reporting only.

When creating a Connection, you select the connection type (based on the data source type) and enter the Server Name and Admin Credentials, as well as other fields, depending on the data source. You can also optionally select cubes to be added as data sources. The data source artifacts in the Library use the Connections as parent artifact "containers", where you can select a Connection to use and select a cube from that connection.

For EPM Cloud Platform connections, you can optionally enable a Remote Library for users to access reporting content from these connections in Narrative Reporting.


Test Connections

The Connection dialog, where you can create and edit Connections. For the EPM Cloud Platform connection, you can Enable Library to expose a Remote Library to the end-users. Under Manage Data Sources, you can create and manage data sources for Reports.


Data Source Dialog

The Data Source dialog, where you can alternately create Connections to specific cubes. Cube connections can also be defined in the Connections dialog.


remote libarary

A Remote Library to an EPM Cloud Platform instance allows accessing reporting artifacts.

  • Narrative Reporting users accessing a Remote Library need to be a user and must have access permissions to artifacts on the Connections.

  • Remote Libraries cannot be enabled to access other Narrative Reporting instances, only EPM Cloud Platform instances (Enterprise Profitability and Cost Management, FreeForm, Planning and Planning Modules, Financial Consolidation and Close, Tax Reporting).

  • You cannot edit any of the artifacts in a Remote Library. You can only open any of the artifacts or copy Reports. Artifacts can only be edited directly in the EPM Cloud instance and not from the Remote Libraries in Narrative Reporting.

video icon -- Working with Connections and Remote Libraries.

Creating and Editing Connections

To create a Connection:

  1. On the Narrative Reporting Home page, under the Tools icon, you can select Connections.


    From Home Page > Tools > Connections
  2. In the Manage Connections, click create buttonto add new connections.


    New Connections
  3. In Name, enter a descriptive identifier for the connection, such as a combination of the data source and server.

  4. In Type, select the type of data source:

    • Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud, used for:

      • Enterprise Profitability and Cost Management

      • FreeForm

      • Planning and Planning Modules

      • Financial Consolidation and Close

      • Tax Reporting

    • Oracle Essbase Cloud

    • Oracle Profitability and Cost Management Cloud Essbase Provider

    • Oracle Fusion Applications Essbase Provider

    • Oracle Essbase Analytic Provider Services (APS)

  5. In Server Name, enter the data source server name with no protocol or URL. For example, for EPM Cloud, if data source URL is: https://<servername>/HyperionPlanning, the server name is: <servername>.

  6. (Oracle Fusion Applications Essbase Provider and Oracle Essbase Analytic Provider Services (APS) only): In Essbase Server Name, enter the name of the Essbase server. By default for Fusion Applications, the server name is "Essbase_FA_Cluster" and for Essbase APS, the server name is "EssbaseCluster-1".

  7. In Identity Domain, enter the identity domain of the data source pod.

    Note:

    • Not required for Oracle Essbase Cloud, Oracle Fusion Applications Essbase Provider or Oracle Essbase Analytic Provider Services (APS).

    • Not required for EPM Cloud deployments on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

  8. Enter the administrator User ID and Password. The administrator User ID needs to be a Service/System Administrator role at the data source level, BI Administrator role for Fusion Applications.

    Note:

    You must log in to Narrative Reporting with the administrator credentials for the data source that you want to create a connection to. For example, if your Planning Modules administrator is PlanAdmin, you must log in to Narrative Reporting with the PlanAdmin credentials to create a data source connection to the Planning Modules data source. Enter User ID and Password credentials used for native authentication at the source. Single Sign-on with Identity Assertion technologies is not supported.

  9. Click Test Connection.


    Test Connections

    (Oracle Essbase Cloud only): Click Yes on the dialog box to trust the connection. This setting is stored so that you do not have to answer the question again.

  10. For EPM Cloud connections, optionally select Enable Library to expose a Remote Library.

  11. To select cubes to be added as data sources:

    • Under Manage Data Sources, click create button Add Data Sources to add one or more cubes to connect Reports to.

    • For each cube, enter a Data Source Name, select the Application and Cube names.


      enable library

      After selecting a cube, you can click on preview to preview the dimension list.

    • In the Manage Data Sources toolbar, you can: Edit an existing data source, create a New data source, Delete a data source and Refresh the view.

    • Click OK to add the Connection. The connection will appear in the list under the Manage Connections.

To Edit a Connection:

In Manage Connections, select the Connection, and then select Edit from the Actions menu. When you edit a connection, you can change the Connection Name and Server, as well as the Application and Cube names.

Note:

  • Changing the Connection Name does not affect any report objects that use the connection.

  • Changing the Server, Application, or Cube names causes any report objects that use the connection to point to the new destination.

  • For security purposes, you must re-enter the administrator credentials when editing the connection.