Deployment Groups in Informatica-OBIA

A Deployment group is a global object that consist of  copy of objects from the same folder or from multiple folders.

We use deployment group to copy objects to another folder or repository. We will see how to create a deployment group 

Creating a Deployment Group

• Open the Repository Manager
• Click Tools > Deployment > Groups(This will display the existing deployment groups)
• Click New to create a  deployment group
• Enter a name for the deployment group.
• We can create either static or dynamic deployment group.
• Click OK.

Now we will see how to see the Objects in a deployment group

Viewing the Objects in a Deployment Group

• Go to the Repository Manager
• Click Tools > Deployment > Groups.
• In the Deployment Group Browser, select the deployment group that you want to view and then click View Group.

How To Change/Reset The Password Of OBIEE Repository(Rpd) / How To Open OBIEE Repository(Rpd) In Offline Mode Without Password

Hi Friends,

You can follow the below steps

• Copy the RPD which you want to open to your local system.
• Make sure that the BI Server is not running.You can check that by typing services.msc from Start-->Run.
• Navigate to the NQSConfig.ini file on your local system. It is present at “OracleBI\server\Config”
• Open the NQSConfig.ini file using notepad.
• Under the Security/Authentication section in the NQSConfig.ini file, search for the below text and uncomment it.
  “AUTHENTICATION_TYPE = BYPASS_NQS;”
• Save the file.
• Restart the BI Server services.
• Try to open the RPD in offline mode without giving any password.

NQSConfig.INI

The default Authentication type for OBIEE is NQS but when we uncomment AUTHENTICATION_TYPE=BYPASS_NQS by removing the # symbol,it bypasses the default authentication and enables the user to open the RPD without any password.It can also be used for resetting the password of the RPD or sharing your RPD with others without sharing the credentials.To revert it back, modify the NQSConfig.ini file and comment out the AUTHENTICATION_TYPE = BYPASS_NQS again. Restart the BI services.

ODI - Oracle Data Integrator Repository

Oracle Data Integrator is an ELT tool just like Informatica(ETL).The main part of the ODI Architecture is Oracle Data Integrator Repository. It stores the metadata about all project details. The repository is designed in such a way that it can exchange data between various environments like Development ,Test and Production.

The Oracle Data Integrator Repository is composed of a

1) Master repository

2) Work Repository

Objects developed in ODI are stored in one of these repository types.

Master Repository stores the following Information:

• Security information including users, profiles and rights for the ODI platform
• Topology information including technologies, server definitions, schemas, contexts, languages etc.
• Versioned and archived objects.

There may be several Work Repository  but only one Master Repository.The Work Repository is the one that contains actual developed objects. A Work Repository stores information for:

• Models, including schema definition, datastores structures and metadata, fields and columns definitions, data quality constraints, cross references, data lineage etc.
• Projects, including business rules, packages, procedures, folders, Knowledge Modules, variables etc.
• Scenario execution, including scenarios, scheduling information and logs.

How to Restart the Informatica Repository Service-OBIA

There are many ways to restart Informatica Repository Services

Go to RUN and type services.msc. Here you can see a list of services running.In that Restart the Informatica services

OR
START-->PROGRAMS-->INFORMATICA POWER CENTER-->SERVICES
First Stop Informatica services and then Start Informatica services

OR
START-->PROGRAMS-->INFORMATICA POWER CENTER-->SERVICES
-->POWER CENTER ADMINISTRATION CONSOLE (Login using Admin Passsword)

• select repository service and then click disable button and then click enable button

• select integration service and then click disable button and then click enable button

Informatica Repository-Repository Server

Repository

The PowerCenter repository resides on a relational database. The repository database tables contain the instructions required to extract, transform, and load data. PowerCenter Client applications access the repository database tables through the Repository Server.

You add metadata to the repository tables when you perform tasks in the PowerCenter Client application, such as creating users, analyzing sources, developing mappings or mapplets, or creating workflows. The PowerCenter Server reads metadata created in the Client application when you run a workflow. The PowerCenter Server also creates metadata, such as start and finish times of a session or session status.

You can develop global and local repositories to share metadata:

• Global repository. The global repository is the hub of the domain. Use the global repository to store common objects that multiple developers can use through shortcuts. These objects may include operational or Application source definitions, reusable transformations, mapplets, and mappings.
• Local repositories. A local repository is within a domain that is not the global repository. Use local repositories for development. From a local repository, you can create shortcuts to objects in shared folders in the global repository. These objects typically include source definitions, common dimensions and lookups, and enterprise standard transformations. You can also create copies of objects in non-shared folders.
• Version control. A versioned repository can store multiple copies, or versions, of an object. Each version is a separate object with unique properties. PowerCenter version control features allow you to efficiently develop, test, and deploy metadata into production.

You can connect to a repository, back up, delete, or restore repositories using pmrep, a command line program.

You can view much of the metadata in the Repository Manager. The Informatica Metadata Exchange (MX) provides a set of relational views that allow easy SQL access to the Informatica metadata repository. 

 Repository Server Administration Console:

Use the Repository Server Administration Console to administer Repository Servers and repositories. A Repository Server can manage multiple repositories. You use the Repository Server Administration Console to create and administer the repository through the Repository Server.

You can use the Administration Console to perform the following tasks:

• Add, edit, and remove repository configurations.
• Export and import repository configurations.
• Create a repository.
• Promote a local repository to a global repository.
• Copy a repository.
• Delete a repository from the database.
• Back up and restore a repository.
• Start, stop, enable, and disable repositories.
• Send repository notification messages.
• Register and unregister a repository.
• Propagate domain connection information for a repository.
• View repository connections and locks.
• Close repository connections.
• Register and remove repository plug-ins.
• Upgrade a repository.

Repository Server

The Repository Server manages repository connection requests from client applications. For each repository database registered with the Repository Server, it configures and manages a Repository Agent process. The Repository Server also monitors the status of running Repository Agents, and sends repository object notification messages to client applications.

The Repository Agent is a separate, multi-threaded process that retrieves, inserts, and updates metadata in the repository database tables. The Repository Agent ensures the consistency of metadata in the repository by employing object locking.

Repository Manager

Use the Repository Manager to administer your repositories. The Repository Manager allows you to navigate through multiple folders and repositories, and perform the following tasks:

• Manage the repository. You can perform repository management functions, such as copying, creating, starting, and shutting down repositories. You launch the Repository Server Administration Console to perform these functions.
• Implement repository security. You can create, edit, and delete repository users and user groups. You can assign and revoke repository privileges and folder permissions.
• Perform folder functions. You can create, edit, copy, and delete folders. Work you perform in the Designer and Workflow Manager is stored in folders. If you want to share metadata, you can configure a folder to be shared.
• View metadata. You can analyze sources, targets, mappings, and shortcut dependencies, search by keyword, and view the properties of repository objects.

Repository Manager Windows

The Repository Manager can display the following windows:

• Navigator. Displays all objects that you create in the Repository Manager, the Designer, and the Workflow Manager. It is organized first by repository, then by folder and folder version. Viewable objects include sources, targets, dimensions, cubes, mappings, mapplets, transformations, sessions, and workflows. You can also view folder versions and business components.
• Main. Provides properties of the object selected in the Navigator window. The columns in this window change depending on the object selected in the Navigator window.
• Dependency. Shows dependencies on sources, targets, mappings, and shortcuts for objects selected in either the Navigator or Main window.
• Output. Provides the output of tasks executed within the Repository Manager, such as creating a repository.

Repository Objects

You create repository objects using the Repository Manager, Designer, and Workflow Manager Client tools. You can view the following objects in the Navigator window of the Repository Manager:

• Source definitions. Definitions of database objects (tables, views, synonyms) or files that provide source data.
• Target definitions. Definitions of database objects or files that contain the target data.
• Multi-dimensional metadata. Target definitions that are configured as cubes and dimensions.
• Mappings. A set of source and target definitions along with transformations containing business logic that you build into the transformation. These are the instructions that the PowerCenter Server uses to transform and move data.
• Reusable transformations. Transformations that you can use in multiple mappings.
• Mapplets. A set of transformations that you can use in multiple mappings.
• Sessions and workflows. Sessions and workflows store information about how and when the PowerCenter Server moves data. A workflow is a set of instructions that describes how and when to run tasks related to extracting, transforming, and loading data. A session is a type of task that you can put in a workflow. Each session corresponds to a single mapping.

The goal of the design process is to create mappings that depict the flow of data between sources and targets, including changes made to the data before it reaches the targets. However, before you can create a mapping, you must first create or import source and target definitions. You might also want to create reusable objects, such as reusable transformations or mapplets.

Perform the following design tasks in the Designer:

1. Import source definitions. Use the Source Analyzer to connect to the sources and import the source definitions.

2. Create or import target definitions. Use the Warehouse Designer to define relational, flat file, or XML targets to receive data from sources. You can import target definitions from a relational database or a flat file, or you can manually create a target definition.

3. Create the target tables. If you add a target definition to the repository that does not exist in a relational database, you need to create target tables in your target database. You do this by generating and executing the necessary SQL code within the Warehouse Designer.

4. Design mappings. Once you have source and target definitions in the repository, you can create mappings in the Mapping Designer. A mapping is a set of source and target definitions linked by transformation objects that define the rules for data transformation. A transformation is an object that performs a specific function in a mapping, such as looking up data or performing aggregation.

5. Create mapping objects. Optionally, you can create reusable objects for use in multiple mappings. Use the Transformation Developer to create reusable transformations. Use the Mapplet Designer to create mapplets. A mapplet is a set of transformations that may contain sources and transformations.

6. Debug mappings. Use the Mapping Designer to debug a valid mapping to gain troubleshooting information about data and error conditions.

7. Import and export repository objects. You can import and export repository objects, such as sources, targets, transformations, mapplets, and mappings to archive or share metadata.

What is OBIA? Oracle BI Applications and various Components of OBIA

Oracle BI Applications

The increasing volumes and complexity of data provide a strategic opportunity for organizations to turn information into business intelligence.This has resulted in OBIA. We will see what are the important features of OBIA(Latest version is  Oracle Business Intelligence Applications, v. 7.9.6.1).

Definition:

Oracle Business Intelligence Applications is a prebuilt business intelligence solution that deliver intelligence across an organization, empowering users at all levels from front line operational users to senior management with the key information they need to maximize effectiveness.

Sources for OBIA

EBS or Oracle E-Business Suite

Oracle’s Siebel Applications

Oracle’s PeopleSoft Applications

Oracle’s JD Edwards Applications

Non-Oracle sources such as SAP Applications.

Oracle Business Intelligence Application (OBIA) is composed of : 

INFORMATICA

+

DAC

+

OBIEE

Components of OBIA

Components	Description
DAC Repository metadata files:	Content includes repository objects such as tables, subject areas, execution plans, and tasks, and is contained in XML files.The DAC client and server were included until version 7.9.5. Since then it is a separate installer.
Embedded Informatica ETL tool and repository	ETL is a third party tool which includes mappings (wrapped in workflows) to extract data from the supported source systems (various versions of standard applications such as Siebel CRM - yes it was first - , Oracle eBusiness Suite, Peoplesoft, JDEdwards and SAP (BI Apps version 7.8.4) ) and load the data into the Oracle Business Analysis Warehouse.
Prebuilt metadata content	This metadata content is contained in the Oracle BI Applications repository file  (OracleBIAnalyticsApps.rpd). It maps the source physical tables to a generic business model and includes more than 100 presentation catalogs (aka subject areas) to allow queries and segmentation using Oracle BI clients such as Answers, Dashboards and Segment Designer
Prebuilt reports and dashboard content	Contains hundreds of requests and ready-to-use dashboards which enable tight integration between the source applications and the BI infrastructure
Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse	The prebuilt data warehouse that holds data extracted, transformed, and loaded from the  transactional database
Ad-hoc Analysis	Metadata layer serves as foundation to provide flexible and intuitive ad-hoc reporting and custom dashboard designs through Oracle BI Answers and Oracle BI Dashboard tools that are part of the OBIEE toolset.
Role-Based Dashboards	Delivered role-based dashboards are easily configurable to meet specific organizational needs and practices.

Oracle BI Applications includes the following modules:

• Oracle Financial Analytics (Manage financial performance across locations, customers, products, and territories, and receive real-time alerts on events that may impact financial condition)
• Oracle Human Resources Analytics (Correlate financial measures with key workforce metrics to demonstrate HR’s strategic value in the organization)
• Oracle Procurement and Spend Analytics (Creates visibility to spending patterns for both direct and indirect spend, enabling users to identify and realize the savings opportunities, with the ability to do the spend analysis by commodities, suppliers, supplier locations, buying locations, business units, cost centers, buyers and contract usage)
• Oracle Project Analytics
• Oracle Supply Chain and Order Management Analytics
• And more….

 You can also read more about What a DAC is and Full Load in DAC.

Tables Used by OBIA

Table	Description
Aggregate tables (_A)	These tables contain summed (aggregated) data.
Dimension tables (_D)	Dimension tables with descriptive data
Staging tables for Dimension(_DS)	These tables contain the data which is to be loaded to Target
Fact tables (_F)	Tables storing facts and measures
Dimension Hierarchy tables (_DH)	Tables that store the dimension's hierarchical structure
Fact Staging tables (_FS)	Staging tables used to hold the metrics being analyzed by dimensions that have not been through the final ETL transformations.

Internal Tables in Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse

Internal tables are used primarily by ETL mappings for data transformation and for controlling ETL runs. These tables are not queried by end users and are not directly managed by the Oracle Data Warehouse Administration Console (DAC).

Name	Purpose
W_DUAL_G	Used to generate records for the Day dimension.
W_COSTLST_G	Stores cost lists.
W_EXCH_RATE_G	Stores exchange rates.