About Tracking Usage

You can configure usage tracking in services that offer enterprise modeling features. Usage information is tracked at the detailed user query level so you can answer questions such as:

• How are users engaging with Oracle Analytics Server?
• Where are they spending or not spending their time?
• How long do users spend in each session, between sessions, and between queries?
• How are queries within sessions, across sessions, and across users related to each other?
• Are users drilling up and down in analyses?
• What queries are running when issues are reported?

The usage statistics that you gather can help you to monitor system usage and performance so you can better understand and predict user behavior. You can increase your efficiency and reduce errors if you know in advance how your system is likely to be used.

When you enable usage tracking, the system collects data records for every query that is run and writes them all to database tables. Both logical and physical queries are tracked and logged in separate tables, along with various performance measures such as the time taken to run the query and number of rows searched while processing a user query.

Prerequisites for Usage Tracking

If you want to track usage, verify you meet the following prerequisites:

• You currently use Semantic Modeler or Model Administration Tool to manage your semantic model.

  To configure usage tracking, you must add the usage tracking database details to your semantic model using either Semantic Modeler or Model Administration Tool.

• You have appropriate access permissions on the database where you want to store usage information.

  You must have the credentials for a user who has permissions to create the usage tracking tables on the database schema and write usage data to the tables.

• The database supports usage tracking: Oracle Database or Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse
• You have created a data connection to your usage tracking database with the following settings. See Connect to Data.
  • System Connection - Select the System Connection check box.

    When you select the System Connection check box, the connection becomes available in Semantic Modeler. Similarly in Model Administration Tool, the System Connection option enables you to select Use Data Connection and enter the connection's Object ID instead of manually entering the connection details in the Data Source Name field. See Specify the Usage Tracking Database.

  • User Name and Password - The User Name must match the name of the schema in the database that you want to use for usage tracking. For example, if the schema you want to use is called UT_Schema the User Name must be UT_Schema.

  Note:

  If you use Model Administration Tool, you can also define database connections for semantic models and the usage tracking database using the Console. If you use the Console, you can select Use Console Connection and enter the connection's Name while specifying the usage tracking database in Model Administration Tool, instead of entering the connection details in the Data Source Name field.

If you want to use Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse as the usage tracking database, complete these additional tasks before you specify the usage tracking database in your semantic model:

• Download the Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse wallet. See Download Client Credentials (Wallets) in Using Oracle Autonomous Database Serverless.
• Upload the Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse wallet to Oracle Analytics Server.
• Create a self-service connection to Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse and ensure that you select the System Connection check box. See Connect to Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse.

About the Usage Tracking Database

The system stores usage tracking details in a database that you specify. The database can be an Oracle Database or . You specify the database and connection pool details in your semantic model using Semantic Modeler or Model Administration Tool.

See Specify the Usage Tracking Database.

About Usage Tracking Parameters

After specifying the database where you want to store usage tracking information, you must set various usage tracking parameters through the Console (System Settings page).

Parameters required to configure usage tracking:

• Enable usage tracking
• Connection pool name
• Physical and logical query logging table names
• Maximum number of query rows in the usage tracking tables

After you set these parameters and apply the changes, Oracle Analytics:

• Creates the physical and logical query logging tables in the database specified in the semantic model. The table names are based on the names that you provide in the physical and logical query logging table name parameters.
• Starts to log usage tracking data in these tables.

See Set Usage Tracking Parameters.

About Analyzing Usage Data

You can use the system to create useful usage reports from the tracking data added to the physical and logical query logging tables.

You can connect to the database, create a dataset from the tables, and create reports and visualizations to help you understand your users' queries and take appropriate action to improve performance.