12 Scaling Out Oracle Business Intelligence

This chapter describes the steps to scale out your initial Oracle Business Intelligence domain to BIHOST2.

Scaling out your components involves installing the Oracle Business Intelligence on the other host computers, stopping and cloning the components on BIHOST1, packing and unpacking the domain and starting the components after scaling out.

• Installing Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure on the Other Host Computers
  
• Installing Oracle Business Intelligence on the Other Host Computers
  If you have configured a separate shared storage volume or partition for BIHOST2, then you must also install the software on BIHOST2.
• Stopping the Components on BIHOST1
  Before you scale out, you must stop all the component processes in the domain on BIHOST1.
• Cloning the Components on BIHOST1
  After stopping all the component processes, you must clone the components in the domain on BIHOST1, which will create new components on BIHOST2 based on the initial domain you created.
• Packing Up the Initial Domain on BIHOST1
  Use the steps in this section to create a template jar file that contains the domain configuration information, which now includes configuration information about the Oracle HTTP Server instances.
• Unpacking the Domain on BIHOST2
  Use the steps in this section to unpack the domain template containing the domain configuration information and copy the bidomaintemplate.jar file from BIHOST1 to BIHOST2.
• Starting the Components on BIHOST1 and BIHOST2 After Scaling Out
  This section describes the steps to start the component processes on BIHOST1 and BIHOST2 after scale out. The component processes include the Node Managers, the Administration Server for the WebLogic domain, the system components, and the Managed Servers.
• Verifying Oracle Business Intelligence URLs on BIHOST2
  After starting the components in the domain on BIHOST2, access these URLs to verify the configuration of Oracle Business Intelligence.
• Configuring Oracle BI Publisher
  Perform these manual tasks to configure Oracle BI Publisher.
• Backing Up the Oracle Business Intelligence Configuration After Scaling Out
  It is an Oracle best practices recommendation to create a backup after successfully configuring a domain or at another logical point. Create a backup after verifying that the installation so far is successful. This is a quick backup for the express purpose of immediate restoration in case of problems in later steps.

Installing Oracle Fusion Middleware Infrastructure on the Other Host Computers

If you have configured a separate shared storage volume or partition for secondary hosts, then you must install the Infrastructure on one of those hosts.

See Shared Storage Recommendations When Installing and Configuring an Enterprise Deployment.

To install the software on the other host computers in the topology, log in to each host, and use the instructions in Starting the Infrastructure Installer on BIHOST1 and Navigating the Infrastructure Installation Screens to create the Oracle home on the appropriate storage device.

Note:

In previous releases, the recommended enterprise topology included a colocated set of Oracle HTTP Server instances. In those releases, there was a requirement to install the Infrastructure on the web tier hosts (WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2). However, for this release, the Enterprise Deployment topology assumes that the web servers are installed and configured in standalone mode, so they are not considered part of the application tier domain. See Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for an Enterprise Deployment

Installing Oracle Business Intelligence on the Other Host Computers

If you have configured a separate shared storage volume or partition for BIHOST2, then you must also install the software on BIHOST2.

See Shared Storage Recommendations When Installing and Configuring an Enterprise Deployment.

To install the software on the other host computers in the topology, log in to each host, and use the instructions in Starting the Installation Program and Navigating the Installation Screens.

Stopping the Components on BIHOST1

Before you scale out, you must stop all the component processes in the domain on BIHOST1.

The component processes include the Node Managers, the Administration Server for the WebLogic domain, the system components, and the WLS_BI1 Managed Server, which is controlled by the Node Manager.

To stop all the components in the domain on BIHOST1, perform the following tasks.

• Stopping the System Components
  
• Stopping the WLS_BI1 Managed Server
  
• Stopping the Administration Server
  
• Stopping the Node Manager in the Administration Server Domain Home
  
• Stopping the Node Manager in the Managed Server Domain Directory
  

Stopping the System Components

Follow these steps to stop the system components using Fusion Middleware Control.

1. Enter the following URL into a browser to display the Fusion Middleware Control login screen:

   http://ADMINVHN:7001/em
   

2. Sign in to the Fusion Middleware Control using the Administration Server credentials.
3. If not already displayed, click the Target Navigation icon in the top left corner of the page to display the Target Navigation pane.
4. In the Target Navigation pane, expand the Business Intelligence folder and select biinstance.

   Figure 12-1 Selecting biinstance from the Target Navigation Pane

   
   Description of "Figure 12-1 Selecting biinstance from the Target Navigation Pane"
   The Business Intelligence Overview page appears.
5. Click Availability and then Processes to display the Processes tab on the Availability page.
6. Click Stop All to stop all the system components.

   Figure 12-2 Stopping All System Components

   
   Description of "Figure 12-2 Stopping All System Components"

Stopping the WLS_BI1 Managed Server

Follow these steps to stop the WLS_BI1 Managed Server using Fusion Middleware Control.

1. Enter the following URL into a browser to display the Fusion Middleware Control login screen:

   http://ADMINVHN:7001/em
   

2. Sign in to the Fusion Middleware Control using the Administration Server credentials.
3. If not already displayed, click the Target Navigation icon in the top left corner of the page to display the Target Navigation pane.
4. In the Target Navigation pane, expand the domain under the WebLogic Domain folder to view the Managed Servers in the domain.

   Figure 12-3 Selecting the Managed Server from the Target Navigation Pane

   
   Description of "Figure 12-3 Selecting the Managed Server from the Target Navigation Pane"
5. Select only the WLS_BI1 Managed Server.
6. Click Shut Down... on the Oracle WebLogic Server toolbar.
7. When the shut down operation is complete, navigate to the Domain home page and verify that the WLS_BI1 Managed Server is down.

Stopping the Administration Server

Use these steps to stop the Administration Server using the Node Manager.

1. Start WLST:

   cd ORACLE_COMMON_HOME/common/bin
   ./wlst.sh
   

2. Connect to Node Manager using the Node Manager credentials you defined in when you created the domain in the Configuration Wizard:

   wls:/offline>nmConnect('nodemanager_username','nodemanager_password',
               'ADMINVHN','5556','domain_name',
               'ASERVER_HOME')

   Note:

   This username and password are used only to authenticate connections between Node Manager and clients. They are independent of the server admin ID and password and are stored in the nm_password.properties file located in the following directory:

   ASERVER_HOME/config/nodemanager

3. Stop the Administration Server:

   nmKill('AdminServer')
   

4. Exit WLST:

   exit()

Stopping the Node Manager in the Administration Server Domain Home

Use these steps to stop the per-domain Node Manager for the ASERVER_HOME domain directory.

1. Navigate to the following directory:

   ASERVER_HOME/bin
   

2. Use the following command to stop the Node Manager:

   ./stopNodeManager.sh 

Stopping the Node Manager in the Managed Server Domain Directory

Use these steps to stop the per-domain Node Manager for the MSERVER_HOME domain directory.

1. Navigate to the following directory:

   MSERVER_HOME/bin
   

2. Use the following command to stop the Node Manager:

   ./stopNodeManager.sh 

Cloning the Components on BIHOST1

After stopping all the component processes, you must clone the components in the domain on BIHOST1, which will create new components on BIHOST2 based on the initial domain you created.

Perform the following steps on BIHOST1 to create additional components by cloning your existing Managed Server, Node Manager, system components, and service instance. You will later pack and unpack the new components on BIHOST2.

1. Start WLST:

   cd ORACLE_HOME/oracle_common/common/bin
   ./wlst.sh

2. Open the BI Administration Server domain for updating:

   wls:/offline> readDomain(‘ASERVER_HOME’)

   In this example, replace ASERVER_HOME with the actual path to the domain directory you created on the shared storage device.

3. Run the CloneBIMachine command to create additional components based on the existing components in the initial BI domain:

   wls:/offline/bi_domain> cloneBIMachine('ASERVER_HOME','bihost2vhn.example.com',baseMachine='BIHOST1',baseServer='WLS_BI1',machineName='BIHOST2')

   In this example:

   • Replace ASERVER_HOME with the actual path to the domain directory you created on the shared storage device.

   • Replace bihost2vhn.example.com with the listen address of the new machine, BIHOST2VHN.

   • WLS_BI1 is the server name used throughout this document for the BI Managed Server on BIHOST1. If you chose a different name, be sure to replace it as needed.

4. Update and save the domain:

   wls:/offline/bi_domain/SystemComponent/obis2> updateDomain()

5. Close the domain:

   wls:/offline/bi_domain/SystemComponent/obis2> closeDomain()

6. Exit WLST:

   wls:/offline> exit()

Packing Up the Initial Domain on BIHOST1

Use the steps in this section to create a template jar file that contains the domain configuration information, which now includes configuration information about the Oracle HTTP Server instances.

1. Sign in to BIHOST1 and run the pack command to create a template jar file as follows:

   cd ORACLE_COMMON_HOME/common/bin
    
   ./pack.sh -managed=true \ 
             -domain=ASERVER_HOME \ 
             -template=complete_path/bidomaintemplate.jar \ 
             -template_name=bi_domain_template

   In this example:

   • Replace ASERVER_HOME with the actual path to the domain directory you created on the shared storage device.

   • Replace complete_path with the complete path to the location where you want to create the domain template jar file. You will need to reference this location when you copy or unpack the domain template jar file.

   • bidomaintemplate.jar is a sample name for the jar file you are creating, which will contain the domain configuration files, including the configuration files for the Oracle HTTP Server instances.

   • bi_domain_template is the name assigned to the domain template file.

2. Make a note of the location of the bidomaintemplate.jar file you just created with the pack command.

   By default, the pack template file is created in the current directory where you ran the pack command. In this example, it would be created in the ORACLE_COMMON_HOME/common/bin directory, but you can specify a full path for the template jar file as part of the -template argument to the pack command.

   Tip:

   For more information about the pack and unpack commands, see Overview of the Pack and Unpack Commands in Creating Templates and Domains Using the Pack and Unpack Commands.

Unpacking the Domain on BIHOST2

Use the steps in this section to unpack the domain template containing the domain configuration information and copy the bidomaintemplate.jar file from BIHOST1 to BIHOST2.

1. Log in to BIHOST2.
2. Copy the domain template jar file from BIHOST1 to BIHOST2.
3. If you haven't already, create the recommended directory structure for the Managed Server domain on the BIHOST2 local storage device.

   Use the examples in File System and Directory Variables Used in This Guide as a guide.

4. Run the unpack command to unpack the template in the domain directory onto the local storage, as follows:
   complete_path

   cd ORACLE_COMMON_HOME/common/bin
   
   ./unpack.sh -domain=MSERVER_HOME \
       -template=complete_path/bidomaintemplate.jar \
       -app_dir=APPLICATION_HOME \
       -overwrite_domain=true \
       -nodemanager_type=PerDomainNodeManager	

   In this example:

   • Replace MSERVER_HOME with the complete path to the domain home to be created on the local storage disk. This is the location where the copy of the domain will be unpacked.

   • Replace complete_path with the complete path to the location where you created or copied the template jar file.

   • bidomaintemplate.jar is the directory path and name of the template you created when you ran the pack command to pack up the domain.

     Note that if you are using a separate shared storage volume or partition for BIHOST2 (and redundant Oracle homes), then you must first copy the template to the volume or partition mounted to BIHOST2.

   • Replace APPLICATION_HOME with the complete path to the Application directory for the domain on shared storage.

   Tip:

   For more information about the pack and unpack commands, see "Overview of the Pack and Unpack Commands" in Creating Templates and Domains Using the Pack and Unpack Commands.

5. Change directory to the newly created MSERVER_HOME directory and verify that the domain configuration files were copied to the correct location on the BIHOST2 local storage device.

Starting the Components on BIHOST1 and BIHOST2 After Scaling Out

This section describes the steps to start the component processes on BIHOST1 and BIHOST2 after scale out. The component processes include the Node Managers, the Administration Server for the WebLogic domain, the system components, and the Managed Servers.

Before starting the components on BIHOST1 and BIHOST2, complete the following tasks on BIHOST2:

• Disable the Derby database. See Disabling the Derby Database.

• Create a separate domain directory for managed servers. See Creating a Separate Domain Directory for Managed Servers on BIHOST1.

• Configure security for Essbase. See Configuring Security for Essbase in Oracle Business Intelligence.

.

To start the components after scale out, perform the following tasks.

• Starting the Node Manager in the Administration Server Domain Home
  
• Starting the Administration Server
  
• Starting the Node Managers in the Managed Server Domain Directories
  
• Starting the Managed Servers
  
• Starting the System Components
  

Starting the Node Manager in the Administration Server Domain Home

To start the per-domain Node Manager for the ASERVER_HOME domain directory on BIHOST1, use the procedure in Starting the Node Manager in the Administration Server Domain Home on BIHOST1.

Starting the Administration Server

To start the Administration Server using the Node Manager, use the procedure in Starting the Administration Server Using the Node Manager.

Starting the Node Managers in the Managed Server Domain Directories

To start the per-domain Node Managers for the MSERVER_HOME directories on BIHOST1 and BIHOST2, use the procedure in Starting the Node Manager in the Managed Server Domain Directory on BIHOST1. When following the steps in the Starting the Node Manager in the Managed Server Domain Directory on BIHOST1 section, substitute the value of BIHOST2 where BIHOST1 is used.

Starting the Managed Servers

Before starting the new WLS_BI2 Managed Server, verify that the Node Manager listen address for the machine associated with this new Managed Server is set to the value for BIHOST2. To do this, complete the following steps:

1. Sign in to Fusion Middleware Control using the Administration Server credentials.
2. Select the drop-down for WebLogic Domain. Select Environment and then Machines.
3. Select the machine BIHOST2.
4. Click the Configuration tab and then the Node Manager tab.
5. Click Lock & Edit in the Change Center menu at the top right corner of the page.
6. Change the listen address to be the value for BIHOST2.
7. Click Save.
8. Click Activate Changes in the Change Center menu at the top right corner of the page.

To start the WLS_BI1 and WLS_BI2 Managed Servers, use the procedure in Starting the WLS_BI1 Managed Server on BIHOST1.

Starting the System Components

To start all of the Oracle Business Intelligence system components, use the procedure in Starting the System Components.

Verifying Oracle Business Intelligence URLs on BIHOST2

After starting the components in the domain on BIHOST2, access these URLs to verify the configuration of Oracle Business Intelligence.

• Access the following URL to verify the status of WLS_BI2:

  http://BIHOST2VHN:7003/analytics

  You will be redirected to:

  http://bi.example.com/analytics

• Access the following URL to verify the status of the BI Publisher application:

  http://BIHOST2VHN:7003/xmlpserver

  You will be redirected to:

  http://bi.example.com/xmlpserver

• Access the following URL to verify the status of the Oracle Essbase application:

  http://BIHOST2VHN:7003/aps/Essbase

Configuring Oracle BI Publisher

Perform these manual tasks to configure Oracle BI Publisher.

• Updating the JMS Shared Temp Directory
  Follow these steps to update the JMS Shared Temp Directory for BI Publisher Scheduler. You need to perform the steps in this section on only one of the BI hosts (either BIHOST1 or BIHOST2).
• Configuring Integration with Oracle BI Presentation Services
  
• Setting the Oracle BI EE Data Source
  The Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (BI EE) data source must point to the clustered Oracle BI Servers through the Cluster Controllers. You must perform this task in BI Publisher.
• Configuring BIPJmsResource for the Oracle BI Cluster
  To configure the BIPJMSResource JMS Module, you must modify some default values within the module as listed in this topic.

Updating the JMS Shared Temp Directory

Follow these steps to update the JMS Shared Temp Directory for BI Publisher Scheduler. You need to perform the steps in this section on only one of the BI hosts (either BIHOST1 or BIHOST2).

Perform the following steps to update the BI Publisher Scheduler configuration:

1. Sign in to BI Publisher using one of the following URLs:
   • http://BIHOST1VHN:7003/xmlpserver
   • http://BIHOST2VHN:7003/xmlpserver
2. Click the Administration tab.
3. Click Scheduler Configuration under System Maintenance.
   The Scheduler Configuration screen is displayed.
4. Update the Shared Directory by entering a directory that is located in the shared storage. This shared storage is accessible from both BIHOST1 and BIHOST2.
5. Click Test JMS.

   You see a confirmation message that JMS tested successfully.

   Note:

   If you do not see a confirmation message for a successful test, then verify that the JNDI URL is set to the following:

   cluster:t3://bi_cluster

6. Click Apply.
7. Check the Scheduler status from the Scheduler Diagnostics tab.

Configuring Integration with Oracle BI Presentation Services

To configure BI Publisher integration with Oracle BI Presentation Services:

1. Log into BI Publisher with Administrator credentials and select the Administration tab.
2. Under Integration, select Oracle BI Presentation Services.
3. Select Manual Configuration option. Then verify and update the following:

   • Server Protocol: HTTP

   • Server: biinternal.mycompany.com

   • Port: 80

   • URL Suffix: analytics-ws/saw.dll

4. Click Apply.
5. Restart the BI Publisher application.

Setting the Oracle BI EE Data Source

The Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (BI EE) data source must point to the clustered Oracle BI Servers through the Cluster Controllers. You must perform this task in BI Publisher.

Perform the following steps to set the Oracle BI EE data source in BI Publisher:

1. Sign in to BI Publisher using the following URL with administrator credentials.

   http://BIHOST1VHN:7003/xmlpserver

2. Select the Administration tab.
3. Under Data Sources, select JDBC Connection.
4. Update the Oracle BI EE data source setting by changing the Connection String parameter to the following:

   jdbc:oraclebi://primary_cluster_controller_host:primary_cluster_controller_
   port/PrimaryCCS=primary_cluster_controller_host;PrimaryCCSPort=primary_cluster_
   controller_port;SecondaryCCS=secondary_cluster_controller_host
   ;SecondaryCCSPort=secondary_cluster_controller_port

   For example:

   jdbc:oraclebi://BIHOST1:9706/PrimaryCCS=BIHOST1;PrimaryCCSPort=9706;
   SecondaryCCS=BIHOST2;SecondaryCCSPort=9706;

   To find the cluster controller port number:
   1. Enter the following URL into a browser to display the Fusion Middleware Control login screen:
      http://ADMINVHN:7001/em
   2. Sign in to the Fusion Middleware Control using the Administration Server credentials.
   3. If not already displayed, click the Target Navigation icon in the top left corner of the page to display the Target Navigation pane.
   4. In the Target Navigation pane, expand the Business Intelligence folder and select biinstance.

      Figure 12-4 Selecting biinstance from the Target Navigation Pane

      
      Description of "Figure 12-4 Selecting biinstance from the Target Navigation Pane"
      The Business Intelligence Overview page appears.
   5. Click Availability and then Processes to display the Processes tab on the Availability page.
   6. Note the port number from the Port column.
5. Select Use System User.

   If you do not want to use the system user for the connection, then deselect Use System User and specify the BIImpersonateUser credentials for Username and Password. For more information about the BIImpersonateUser user in this context, see Credentials for Connecting to the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

6. Click Test Connection. You see a "Connection established successfully" message.
7. Click Apply.

Configuring BIPJmsResource for the Oracle BI Cluster

To configure the BIPJMSResource JMS Module, you must modify some default values within the module as listed in this topic.

The BIPJMSResource JMS Module is deployed automatically when you configure Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher in an Oracle WebLogic Server domain. However, you  must modify the default values for the forwarding policy for the distributed topic in a cluster configuration.

Table 12-1 Specifying Custom Values for Setting Forwarding Policy

Property Name	Description
JMS Resource	BIP distributed topic in a cluster configuration - dist_BIP.System.T_auto
Property	Forwarding Policy
Description	A distributed BIP topic in a cluster installation is configured by default with the Forwarding Policy set to Partitioned.
Recommended Setting	Change the Forwarding Policy to Replicated.

To modify the BIPJMSResource Resource settings:

1. Sign in to the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console.
2. From Services, click Messaging and select JMS Modules from the left navigation pane.
3. Click BIPJMSResource on the list of JMS Modules.
4. Select dist_BIP.System.T_auto on the Summary of Resources table.
5. Click General tab.
6. From the Forwarding Policy menu, select Replicated.
7. Click Save.
8. Click Activate Changes.

Backing Up the Oracle Business Intelligence Configuration After Scaling Out

It is an Oracle best practices recommendation to create a backup after successfully configuring a domain or at another logical point. Create a backup after verifying that the installation so far is successful. This is a quick backup for the express purpose of immediate restoration in case of problems in later steps.

The backup destination is the local disk. You can discard this backup when the enterprise deployment setup is complete. After the enterprise deployment setup is complete, you can initiate the regular deployment-specific Backup and Recovery process.

See Performing Backups and Recoveries for an Enterprise Deployment.