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- Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
The hot new data analysis trends involve business intelligence and analytics. The technology that supports business intelligence and analytics better than anything else is today's multidimensional OLAP technology ñ and there is none better than Oracle Essbase! Although storing data in a cube and developing analytical applications leaves many people grasping for understanding, especially if their experience is with relational databases, embracing OLAP technology will pay big dividends in the long run.
It's easy to develop multidimensional analytic OLAP solutions when you have got this Oracle Essbase book to hand. It is a step-by-step guide to timeless Essbase fundamentals, which takes you from a basic software installation through to launching a fully functioning Essbase database cube.
This book will guide you through every stage of installing Oracle's Essbase software on your analytic server, the Essbase Administration Services client, and the client software itself. You will learn, in easy-to-understand language, the concepts of multidimensional database technology as you are taken step by step through building an actual Essbase application complete with database, database calculation scripts, and database report scripts.
Once you have your system built and functional, the next course of instruction covers the available automation features included in your Essbase software package and how to use them. These chapters alone are worth the price of admission!
As an IT professional you quite rightly have a desire to understand multidimensional OLAP ñ this book gives you that understanding. Should you wish to embark on an exciting career as an Essbase developer/administrator, this book provides a fantastic foundation from which to grow.
Best of all, this book is filled with the tips and tricks that you can only get from many years and countless hours spent playing with Essbase. You get them all in just the time it takes you to complete this book.
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Seitenzahl: 531
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009
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Table of Contents
Oracle Essbase 9 Implementation Guide
Sarma Anantapantula
Joseph Sydney Gomez
Oracle Essbase 9 Implementation Guide
Copyright © 2009 Packt Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.
Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the authors, Packt Publishing, nor its dealers or distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.
Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
First published: June 2009
Production Reference: 1190609
Published by Packt Publishing Ltd.
32 Lincoln Road
Olton
Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.
ISBN 978-1-847196-86-6
www.packtpub.com
Cover Image by Faiz Fattohi (<[email protected]>)
Credits
Authors
Sarma Anantapantula
Joseph Sydney Gomez
Reviewers
Shekar Kadur
Venkatakrishnan J.
Acquisition Editor
James Lumsden
Development Editor
Ved Prakash Jha
Technical Editors
Bhupali Khule
Pallavi Kachare
Indexer
Monica Ajmera
Editorial Team Leader
Akshara Aware
Project Team Leader
Lata Basantani
Project Coordinator
Rajashree Hamine
Proofreader
Joel T. Johnson
Production Coordinator
Adline Swetha Jesuthas
Cover Work
Adline Swetha Jesuthas
About the Authors
Sarma Anantapantula currently works as an Essbase Consultant in the OLAP Center of Excellence at the Ford Motor Company. He has over 11 years of experience in the Software industry as a developer, designer, and administrator and has worked in various technologies involving client-server architecture, and Data Warehousing projects (tools like HOLOS and Essbase). Sarma also has expertise in web interface development (with both Microsoft and J2EE).
Sarma is a board member of the Hyperion User Group (http://www.hug-mi.org), and has presented on how Essbase is implemented at the Ford Motor Company. He has also published an article on "Executing DTS Packages from ASP" in ASP Today.
Sarma is well known for his magic fixes. He has a fix for any kind of issue in any technology. In his free time, Sarma likes to spend time answering new technology questions in user forums. If he is not in front of computer, he will be playing ping pong or chess with family and friends. He also likes listening to The Beatles, and reading English novels. Sarma is known for being ever smiling and friendly, and can be reached at <[email protected]>.
Joseph Sydney Gomez has been an Essbase developer, designer, and administrator for almost 10 years. Originally educated as a Graphic Designer in the field of Computer Graphics Technology, Joe took a job as a mainframe Y2K bug fixer and the rest is history.
Joe currently works as an Essbase technical specialist and is his company's OLAP Center of Excellence lead. Not a complete computer geek, Joe also enjoys basketball, fishing, bicycle riding, and photography. To fill out the picture, Joe does volunteer work at a senior citizen apartment and occasionally takes free-lance design jobs. Oh yes, Joe has a special interest in collecting antique glass telegraph insulators. Joe can be reached at <[email protected]>.
About the Reviewer
Shekar Kadur has over 23 years experience in Information Systems specifically managing complete system development life cycle of projects involving Databases, Data warehousing, Business Intelligence, OLAP, SAP, and Enterprise Management Reporting applications in the automotive, finance, utility, retail, and health care industries.
He is a certified PMP (Project Management Professional), a certified Hyperion instructor and a consultant proficient with all Oracle and Hyperion toolsets (Essbase, Planning). He is extremely proficient in project/program management of applications using Oracle, Hyperion, SAP, SAPBW, Business Objects, and Web-based technologies. He has consulted, deployed, and managed IT projects in Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor Credit Corporation (Ford Credit), General Motors, Daimler Chrysler Financial Corporation, Daimler Chrysler, Consumers Energy, Guardian Industries, Oakwood Health Systems, General Dynamics, Management Technologies Inc, TRW, Constellation Brands Inc, Johnson Controls Inc, Deloitte Consulting, and Capgemini Inc.
He has delivered lectures on Data Warehousing, Datamarts, Oracle, and Hyperion toolset in Michigan, USA, and London, UK.
Venkatakrishnan J is a well-known Oracle Business Intelligence expert who has diverse customer implementation experience. He has contributed over 350 technical articles through his blog http://oraclebizint.wordpress.com. He is well known for his custom integration techniques across different toolsets. He has over 7 years of Oracle Business Intelligence experience.
Acknowledgements
We met as co-workers working together to build Essbase systems for the company we are employed by. Along the way we became more than co-workers, we became friends. Here we are today, co-workers, friends, and now co-authors.
Hi all, this is Sarma here, first I would like to thank my beloved Lord Sri Sathya Sai Baba for giving me an opportunity to write this book. Huge thanks to my wonderful wife Kalyani for being so patient with my late nights, and for her faithful support in writing this book, without her tremendous support this book would not be possible. Special thanks to my sweet kids Sai (8 years old) and Saranya (3 years old) for sacrificing their fun and playtime with me. Many thanks to my father and mother for giving me sincere encouragement while writing this book. Thanks to all my special friends who supported me while writing this book. Lastly my utmost thanks to my dearest friend Joe Gomez for his help and cooperation during this challenging period.
Hi everyone, Joe here. Boy, that’s a tough act to follow but I’ll try. First and foremost, I would like to thank my lovely wife Rita, my beautiful daughter Ashley and my son Joey for putting up with me (or avoiding me), encouraging me, and supporting me during my distracted state while I was involved in writing this book. I especially want to thank my true friend Sarma Anantapantula for asking me if I would like to join him on this venture because I certainly wouldn’t have thought of it on my own!
Collectively, we would like to thank James Lumsden, Acquisition Editor, without whom we would have never written this book or very likely, any other book! Our special thanks go to Bhupali Khule, Technical Editor, for seamlessly working with us to complete this book and Pallavi Kachare, Technical Editor, for performing the code reviews. Our special thanks also go to Ved Prakash Jha, Development Editor, and Rajashree Hamine, Project Coordinator, for making sure we are on target for the launch. We would also like to thank the entire Packt staff for all of their help and guidance throughout the completion of this book. We would also like to thank the reviewers for their reviews and suggestions.
Finally we really want to thank all of you who purchased this book. We have put every bit of our Essbase knowledge and experience into this book so you can avoid some of the inevitable pitfalls of learning a new piece of technology. We hope you feel that you made a worthwhile purchase. We certainly feel you did!
Preface
Thank you for selecting this book. We assure you we will do our very best to make it entirely worth your while. The goal is to demystify the multidimensional database world and have you comfortable with designing, building, and coding Essbase systems.
Always remember, Essbase is an art not a science!
A brief history on Essbase
Essbase is a multidimensional database management system. The name Essbase stands for Extended Spread Sheet dataBASE. Using the custom add-in provides the end-user with near seamless compatibility in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program.
Essbase as we know it today evolved from software components developed by Arbor Software Corporation and through the acquisition of additional components or tools from other OLAP and Business Intelligence product development companies. In some cases Arbor Software Corporation purchased the entire company to acquire the needed components as was the case with App Source in late 1997. It is generally agreed that the release of Essbase version 3.2 in 1995 set Essbase as the standard for OLAP and Business Intelligence and Analytics enterprise software.
Rapid growth and popularity of the Essbase product led to the merger of Arbor Software Corporation and Hyperion Software becoming Hyperion Solutions Corporation in 1998. This new company achieved near global leadership in the OLAP and Business Intelligence (BI) software arena and ultimately attracted the attention of Oracle Corporation. Oracle completed the purchase of Hyperion Solutions in 2007 for $3.3 Billion. Hyperion Solutions is now a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation and offers a complete line of integrated Business Intelligence and Business Performance Management products.
Why Essbase
In addition to being the leading global provider of OLAP and Business Intelligence software, Essbase also offers incomparable value as a RAD (Rapid Application Development) tool. As will be demonstrated in the following pages the complete cycle from concept to design to build to implement can be only a fraction of what a traditional system may require. Further, enhancements to reporting or other functionality are fast, accurate and easy to code.
What this book covers
Chapter 1 guides you through a typical Essbase installation which includes the Essbase Agent on an analytic server, the Essbase API on the server, the Essbase Administration Services, and the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel.
Chapter 2 covers Essbase database design considerations and how to apply them to a multidimensional database as opposed to the traditional row and column relational database.
Chapter 3 we begin to build in Essbase (hooray!). Using the information learned in the previous chapter we build the Essbase outline which is the foundation of the Essbase database. Instead of rows and columns an Essbase database contains dimensions and members in a hierarchical parent-child structure.
Chapter 4 dives right into loading data into your Essbase database. From user inputted data to flat file data manipulation and loading to direct database access all forms of data loading are explained and demonstrated.
Chapter 5 explains the varied and simple ways to calculate your data. Once data is loaded it is time to demonstrate one of the largest benefits of Essbase. Unlike relational databases, Essbase data can be calculated in many different ways. Instead of writing complex programs to calculate and derive data elements from existing elements or loading excessive amounts of data to derive the needed elements Essbase can calculate and derive data from a minimal amount of loaded data. Essbase has powerful yet simple to use tools that calculate the data
Chapter 6 goes over the use of the data for reporting, presentation, or data extracts to feed other systems. Simple steps explain how to create dynamic reporting abilities or user interfaces with a minimum of effort.
Chapter 7 jumps feet first into the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel. As Microsoft Excel seems to have become the dominant spreadsheet program used by business today the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel has evolved into a very powerful tool indeed. This is one of the main reasons Essbase is so popular today. Even the most novice end user can quickly create professional and dynamic reports with relative ease. We explain these features as well as how the addition of very little code can make the spreadsheet very powerful.
Chapter 8 we cover automating your Essbase cube. Depending on the requirements of your user community it is possible to design, build, and automate an Essbase application to where there is virtually no need for IT intervention.
Chapter 9 explains advanced techniques that can be used to keep your Essbase application running at peak performance. You know, those little things not usually covered in the user guide but learned with experience. Cache settings, server configuration, memory management are just a few topics covered.
Chapter 10 explains the Block Storage Option (BSO) and the Aggregate Storage Option (ASO) for storing data in its database cubes. For the most part this book deals with the BSO. Since the release of version 7.x Essbase has also offered the ASO. As this method of storing the data has substantial differences we felt it needed its own chapter to explain it.
Chapter 11 gives a high level view of the optional Essbase System 9 components that are available in the System 9 Suite with the Essbase database the common foundation for all the other components to launch from. With components like Essbase Planning or Hyperion Smart Office there's enough to make even the stodgiest accountant's head spin.
Appendix explains the significance of Oracle's new product Smart View.
Who this book is for
This book is aimed at the IT professional who has an understanding of typical client-server applications but is new to Essbase and the concept of multidimensional database management systems.
Occasionally explaining the concept of a multidimensional database to someone who only has experience with traditional row/column relational databases can make their head explode! This book will show you the common sense approach to designing, building, and most importantly understanding Essbase and the cube concept.
Versions covered in this book
As of this writing, Essbase System 9.x is the latest offering from Oracle Corporation. Essbase System 9.x itself is an integrated suite of Business Intelligence software. The Essbase module in System 9.x is substantially similar to Hyperion Essbase 7.x. Hyperion Essbase 7.x is still widely used and supported.
Since this book primarily covers the Essbase component where screen captures are used, they will be version 9.x however most all examples in this book will work in versions 7.x and 9.x unless otherwise noted.
Before we drill down into Essbase let us quickly take a minute to refresh some accepted data warehousing concepts.
Data warehousing concepts
Data warehousing is not a new concept. In fact, it has been around for many years now. Traditionally a data warehouse has been constructed with some sort of relational database structure. What is relatively new is the addition of the multidimensional database architecture to data warehousing family.
The following information is designed to give you a high level understanding of data warehousing and how it can be used in your business. Once you understand the basic principles and concepts of data warehousing it will be easier to understand where Essbase fits into the picture.
The fathers of the data warehouse
We guess we shouldn't tell you about the data warehousing concept without first telling you who is widely recognized as the creator or father of the modern data warehouse.
Bill Inmon is a world-renowned expert on data warehousing and is also widely recognized as the Father of Data Warehousing. With 35+ years of experience in the Information Technology field and more specifically database technology management and data warehouse design, Bill has been a highly sought after speaker for many major computing associations and industry conferences, seminars, and tradeshows.
Another widely recognized name in the data warehousing arena is Ralph Kimball. Ralph Kimball is an author on the subject of data warehousing and business intelligence and received a Ph.D. in 1972 from Stanford University in Electrical Engineering specializing in man-machine systems. He is widely regarded as the Guru of Data Warehousing and is known for long-term convictions that data warehouses must be designed to be understandable and fast. Ralph's methodology is also known as dimensional modeling or the Kimball methodology.
The similarities between Mr. Inmon and Mr. Kimball are many and so are the differences. The following paradigm statements illustrate just how Mr. Inmon and Mr. Kimball are perceived in the world of Data Warehousing.
Bill Inmon's paradigm: The enterprise data warehouse is one part of the overall business intelligence system. An enterprise should have just one data warehouse and one to many data marts. The data marts then source their information from the data warehouse. In the data warehouse, information is stored in third normal form.
Ralph Kimball's paradigm: The enterprise data warehouse is the conglomerate of all data marts within the enterprise. Information is always stored in the dimensional model.
There is no right way or wrong way between either of these two ideas. They each represent different data warehousing philosophies. In reality, the data warehouse philosophy used in most enterprises is closer to Ralph Kimball's idea. This is because most data warehouses started out as department level efforts, and as such they originated as an activity specific data mart. Only when more data marts are built later do they evolve into a data warehouse.
What is a data warehouse
Just what is a data warehouse really? According to Bill Inmon, you know, the famous author of several data warehouse books, "A data warehouse is a subject oriented, integrated, time variant, non volatile collection of data in support of management's decision making process."
A data warehouse is typically a relational database that is designed using dimensional modeling and is used for querying and data analysis rather than business transaction processing. It usually contains relevant historical data that is derived from transactional data. The data warehouse separates data analysis overhead from transactional overhead and enables an enterprise to consolidate its data from several sources or activities.
In simpler terms an enterprise-wide data warehouse is a centralized data store where integral and mission critical data that is relevant and necessary to the decision making processes of the different business units can be stored and accessed real-time by the various business activities.
One of the primary benefits of the enterprise data warehouse is the use of—One Number—across the enterprise. This means that what is called a part in one activity is the same part in another activity. Everyone is speaking the same language and is on the same page.
Different types of data warehouses
In addition to the relational database, an enterprise data warehouse environment often consists of an Extract Transform and Load (ETL) solution, an OLAP engine (hooray Essbase), client analysis tools, and other web or desktop applications that manage the gathering of data and delivering it to business users.
There are three types of data warehouses:
In case you're wondering, here are a few words about an OLAP solution and an OLTP solution. An OLAP solution stands for On-Line Analytical Processing, which in a nutshell means that the data you are using for your analysis is mainly considered reporting or presentation data and any updates or write-backs are solely for analytical purposes. The source data is rarely updated in this method.
The OLTP solution stands for On-Line Transactional Processing which means that the base or source data is directly updated with factual and historical data as an output of the analysis or data entry processes. Conventional straight line reporting can be performed and there is very little, if any, slice-and-dice analysis or what-if scenarios.
Data warehouses and data marts are usually built on dimensional data modeling where fact tables are connected with dimension tables. This is most useful for users to access data since a database can be visualized as a cube containing many dimensions. A data warehouse and its smaller, more specific data mart provide an opportunity for slicing and dicing that visualize cube along any one of its dimensions.
Data warehouse data modeling
As mentioned above, even the so-called masters of the data warehouse have differing ideas as to the data modeling methodology that should be used in a data warehouse. There is general agreement that seem to have the choices narrowed down to just two popular architectures. There is the Third Normal Form and the Dimensional Data Model.
Of the two main types of data modeling most popularly used in data warehousing the more common of the two is the Dimensional Data Model. Read on as we briefly explain the differences between the two.
The Third Normal Form (3NF)
The Third Normal Form or 3NF method of database modeling in a nutshell is all about the primary key. What this means is there is no data element in the database that cannot be referenced by the primary key. To achieve 3NF a database must also pass the first levels on normalization.
In the First Normal Form or 1NF the theory is that all of the data in all of the columns must be atomic. This means there can be no sets of data in one column. For instance, a name column that contains both first and last names has sets of data. It is better to have one column for the first name and a separate column for the last name.
To pass the Second Normal Form or 2NF the data must be 1NF compliant and now must also be more key dependent. Where the 1NF model focuses on the atomic nature of the data the 2NF model is more key dependent. What this means is that data in non-key columns cannot depend on the composite or primary key.
Finally there is the Third Normal Form or 3NF which now, on top of organizing the data at the atomic level as well as identifying the data in conjunction with other supporting data, must now be completely primary key dependent. To be 3NF all data in non-key columns must be dependent on the primary key. No more can the data in one column or table be dependent on data in another column or table that is dependent on the primary key.
As we said earlier, there is no right or wrong reason to use either data modeling methodology. Both have their merits and their demerits.
Being the least popular of the data warehousing data models, the 3NF model is actually the most popular data modeling methodology used in active online transactional processing systems.
Ironically, when data is exported from an Essbase cube to a flat file for load to a relational database, it more closely resembles a 3NF data model than a Dimensional Data Model.
The Dimensional Data Model
The Dimensional Data Model is the data modeling methodology most commonly used in data warehousing systems. The Dimensional Data Model differs substantially from the Third Normal Form, more commonly used for transactional systems. As you can imagine, the same data would then be stored much differently in a dimensional model than in a 3NF model.
The Dimensional Data Model consists of Fact and Dimension tables. The Fact tables store the numerical values of the business unit and contain numerical or additive measures of the business like Gross Sales, Gross Units. The Fact table also contains columns which link to the Dimension table. The Dimension table stores the descriptive information about the dimension and some times these are joined to other dimension tables to define the hierarchy of a dimension like Market (Geographical information) or Time information.
To understand Dimensional Data Modeling, we'll define some of the terms commonly used. Pay attention here as you may notice a definite similarity here with the terms used to describe data in an Essbase database
When the data in the data warehouse is modelled using the Dimension Data Model method instead of being organized like the 3NF method, which is in neat rows and columns with primary keys to identify everything, it usually follows the line of the dimensions that are included as necessary components of your data. The resultant structure of the dimensional data method resembles more of a multidimensional cube than two dimensional rows and columns.
Where does Essbase fit in this
Okay, now for the big question. Where does Essbase fit in with all this data warehouse mumbo jumbo?
Well if you were paying attention a few paragraphs back you would notice that we mentioned that a necessary tool in your enterprise data warehouse toolbox included an OLAP solution. Well, Essbase is it!
Essbase is the perfect multidimensional OLAP database tool to use as your function specific reporting and analysis data mart tool. Consider this, if your data is stored in your relational database data warehouse under the Dimensional Data Model methodology what better tool is there that has the power and capability to perform in the multidimensional arena. Essbase is a natural.
Consider this, with the proper hardware, Essbase is designed to support even the largest cubes with vast numbers of users so scalability is not an issue. Essbase is also the superior real time analysis and reporting tool that performs complex calculations. It can also be updated from the source database, in this case the data warehouse, quickly and effortlessly and depending on the technology you use for your data warehouse, Essbase can also connect directly to the data warehouse database to draw its data.
Knowing all this what other choice is there besides Essbase?
Let's get started
If you're still holding onto this book then you are ready to embark on your journey towards Essbase Nirvana.
We begin by covering the installation of Essbase on both the client and the server and end with you having created a fully functional Essbase cube. This is where you usually read some form of good luck statement. With this book you don't need it! Let's GO!
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Chapter 1. Installing Oracle Essbase
Welcome to the exciting world of Oracle Essbase! You have bought this book so you must be anxious to get started, and you can hardly wait. Well, not until you install the software. Yes, this is where we actually get going. This chapter will assist you in installing Oracle Essbase server (aka the Essbase agent), Essbase Administration Services (EAS), and the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel.
Oracle Essbase server can be installed on several platforms like Unix, Windows, and Linux. For the most part, this book discusses a typical Windows installation.
Installing the Essbase analytic server
In this book, we will be focusing on version 9.x of Oracle Essbase. For your Windows installation, the minimum recommended system requirements are shown.
Operating system and processor requirements:
Operating system
Platform
Processor
Windows 2003 SP1
Windows 2000 SP4
32-bit
x86
Windows 2003 SP1
Server Enterprise Edition
64-bit
Itanium 2
x64
Disk space and RAM requirements:
Component
Disk Space
RAM
Essbase Server
1GB
1GB
API
20MB
256MB (minimum)
You now know the recommended system requirements to install Essbase and we assume you have the software in hand, therefore, let's install Essbase.
Tip
Whenever possible, accept and install in the default recommended paths and directories across all hardware components involved in the system. This will greatly simplify the maintenance and support.
Clicking Next will open screens to you which will walk you through the configuration steps for the components you've selected. This is also where you will enter your initial supervisor account ID and password, so make sure you do not forget it.
After successful installation and configuration, you will see the following screen. Congratulations! You now have a fully functioning Essbase service installed on your server, complete with full Essbase API functionality. See the next step for what to do at the initial start up.After the successful installation of Essbase server, please click on the START | Programs | Hyperion | Essbase | Essbase to start the service for the very first time. You will be asked for the ID and password you supplied in the configuration tool for Essbase installation. When the service starts, you want to see the line on the following screen—Waiting for Client Requests....This is the money line. Your Essbase analytic server is installed correctly and ready to go to work.
That was not bad. The software practically installed itself. We will now install the EAS.
Installing Essbase Administration Services
Now that you have installed the Essbase analytic server, you need a tool which will enable you to play with your Essbase databases (commonly referred to as cubes) as you create, configure, and maintain them. The tool used for this purpose is called Essbase Administration Services. In earlier versions of Essbase, this tool is known as the Application manager or just App manager.
Note
Essbase databases are commonly called cubes after the Rubik's Cube style structure of how the data is conceptually stored.
The EAS user interface runs on any client and that is where you will install the software. The EAS talks to the Essbase service using TCP/IP and a web-based server. The servers recommended by Oracle are Tomcat, WebLogic, WebSphere, and Oracle Application Server. To simplify matters, Oracle includes a small Tomcat server with the installation package of the EAS service. In our example, we will be installing Tomcat as our administration server on the client with the EAS installation:
Note
It is extremely important that the installation of all components of a system be installed using the same country selection. The primary benefits being the assurance of accuracy of the calculations and the ease of possible future root cause analysis.
For our example, we are using the United States. Select the country of your choice and click Next.
This step asks you to read and agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA). Read it carefully, and if you agree and wish to continue, click Next.This step will ask you to accept or select the location for the Hyperion home directory (folder). Even though this software is being installed on a different physical machine than the Essbase analytics, ideally, it is a good idea to always install to consistent locations across the individual machines involved in the construction of the system.Tip
Whenever possible, accept and install in the default recommended paths and directories across all hardware components involved in the system. This will greatly simplify maintenance and support.
Make your selection and click Next.
Here, you are asked to select your path for EAS. As suggested in previous steps, make your selection and then click Next.Here again, it will be best to accept the Typical installation to get you started. If you realize there is some feature missing that you must have, you can always reinstall the software at a later date and select the Custom option.For the most part, the difference between the Typical and the Custom installation is the ability to select sample scripts. The actual Essbase administrative functionality is the same.
Just like Step 9 of the Essbase analytics installation, this requires you to select ESSLANG. The ESSLANG variable defines the locale of the computer. For example, for US English it is ENGLISH (LATIN1). This is to ensure proper communication with other applications and is the Unicode setting.This step summarizes the current installation. Check the information carefully to confirm you have the locations correct as well as the selected Hyperion components. If there are any corrections to be made, use the Back button to go back and fix what is needed. This is your last chance before the wizard begins the actual installation.This step basically tells you that the EAS installation is in progress. Take a break, read the installations notes as they flash on the screen. Seems like Déjà vu.Now, here's another one we've seen before. In this case, there is no need for the configuration tool, since you are only installing the EAS tool. Do not check the box on the screen labeled Launch Configuration Tool. Simply click Finish.Your EAS is now installed and ready for use. The next few steps briefly describe how to start the EAS and login for the first time.
Starting the EAS
Your EAS tool requires the use of a web server to communicate with the Essbase agent on the analytic server. You can install EAS on a bona fide web server, but in this example, we will use the small web admin server included with the Essbase set up package. This small web server allows you to install the EAS directly on your client.
The starting of the Tomcat administration server and the EAS tool is a two step process:
When the EAS console opens, you will see the following screen. Initially you will need to supply the server name (network name of client), the default ID of admin, and the default password of password. It is highly recommended you immediately use the User Setup Wizard to create a supervisor account for yourself.
Following the documentation, connect to the Essbase server to test the installation. Using your mouse, right-click on Add Essbase Server. In the text boxes of the login screen, enter the Essbase server name as it is known on the network, the initial user ID (in our case Hypuser) and the initial password (ours is password, all lower case).
Note
This is the password that you have provided to the Essbase server upon the completion of the installation (Please refer to Step 14 of the Essbase Installation steps).
If your connection is successful, you will see the Essbase server listed in the left pane. You should be able to expand the server to see many options that are available.
We now have the Essbase analytic server software installed on the analytic server. We also have the EAS tool that is needed to create, maintain, and support Essbase databases installed on the desktop PC. On top of that, they are able to talk to each other.
There is only one tool left to install!
In the next series of steps, we will install the much heralded Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel to complete the toolbox. Once that is accomplished, we will be ready to begin building and programming in Essbase.
Installing the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel
We have installed Essbase analytic server and EAS and we are left only with the reporting tool. It's well known that most financial analysts are also Microsoft Excel experts (or believe they are). When you tell them the reporting tool they will be using is Microsoft Excel-based, you are almost certain to get your budget approved.
Tip
STATUTORY WARNING:
Too much coffee drinking is injurious to health!
When the installation wizard finishes installing the software, the Next button will be enabled. Please click >Next to continue.
This step tells you that the Essbase client installation is completed. Click Next when you are ready.Now, open Microsoft Excel. As it loads you should briefly see a HYPERION ESSBASE SPREADSHEET ADD-IN splash screen (shown below). Once Microsoft Excel has finished loading, you should see a brand new menu pick named Essbase that is usually located between the Window pick and the Help pick. This tells you that the Essbase client is successfully installed.A typical network setup
In the following diagram, we show you a high-level image of the Essbase installation you have just completed. This is a very typical set up for most operations.
To help you understand and recognize your creation, the network diagram is divided into four sections which are explained below:
Summary
You did it! You've made it this far and haven't run away. While the individual installations have probably seemed routine or even mundane at times, we wanted to give you the benefit of our experience. This should have helped you avoid small mistakes now that can cause big problems later.
What we have created is a very capable basic Essbase installation. Very basic in Oracle Essbase terms means a very powerful set up. Of course, there are many optional configuration settings and tweaks that can make your Essbase system virtually limitless. All this and more, will be discussed in future chapters.
