B: The Aggregate Persistence Wizard automates the creation and initial population of aggregates, persists them in a back-end database and configures the BI Server metadata layer so that they’re used when appropriate.
C: The wizard then shows me a preview of the script it’s going to generate, and asks me if I want to create any more summaries. Here’s how the preview script looks – note that it’s not SQL, it’s a script language that the BI Server understands and uses as the specification for an aggregation job, which it then turns into separate CREATE TABLE, INSERT … SELECT and so on SQL statements, “optimized” for the particular back-end database platform.
Script example:
“ag_Items”
for “Seminar – Complete”.”Items”(“Quantity”)
at levels (“Seminar – Complete”.”Customerdim”.”State”, “Seminar –
Complete”.”Productdim”.”Category”, “Seminar – Complete”.”Timedim”.”Year”)
using connection pool “custdw”.”CUSTDW_Pool”
in “custdw”..”CUSTDW”;

Query environment can be managed by setting query limits (governors) in the Repository (RPD) for particular Application Roles. You should always set query limits for particular application roles rather than for individual users.
Steps:
1. Login to Repository using OBIEE Admin Tool
2. Navigate to Manage > Identity
3. Go to Application Role tab, choose the role and double click on it to open.

4. Click on Permissions tab

5. Set the Query Limits. You can limit queries by the number of rows received, by maximum run time, and by restricting to particular time periods. You can also allow or disallow direct database requests or the Populate privilege.

All metadata for cubes and dimensions is stored in the Oracle database and revealed in the data dictionary views, so that you can query the entire business model in SQL.

Explanation
All metadata for cubes and dimensions is stored in the Oracle database and revealed in the data dictionary views, so that you can query the entire business model in SQL.

Before you can run Oracle Business Intelligence 11g Installer, you must first create required Oracle Business Intelligence schemas in an unhardened database. You use a tool called the Repository Creation Utility (RCU) to create these schemas with the appropriate permissions and data.
Reference: Installation Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence, Additional Oracle Business Intelligence 11g Installer Requirements

Explanation/Reference:
Note 1: A level-based measure is a column whose values are always calculated to a specific level of aggregation.
The calculation of this measure is independent of the query grain and used always the aggregation grain of the logical column.
Level-based measures allow :
* to return data at multiple levels of aggregation (the query grain and the level-based column grain) with one single query
* to create share measures (percentage), that are calculated by taking some measure and dividing it by a level-based measure. For example, you can divide salesperson revenue by regional revenue to calculate the share of the regional revenue each salesperson generates.
Note 2: To create a level based measure as the amount sold by region, you can:
* make a copy of the Amount Sold logical column
* and then
/drag the logical column into its hierarchy level
/or set the aggregation grain in the level tab of the logical column property.

A: Much of the configuration of OBI that used to be done in the NQSConfig.ini files can now be done using this front end console, which in turns updates the NQSConfig.ini file. Things in the NQSConfig.ini file that are set by EM are noted in the file with ‘# This Configuration setting is managed by Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Manager’. Some things that needs to be setup manually in the NQSConfig.ini file are:
1. Usage Tracking
2. Dynamic Libraries
3. Query Optimization Flags
4. MDX Member Name Cache Section (SAP BW)
5. More specific General Settings where EM doesn’t contain the level of detail required D: Cache Management Techniques include
* Inspecting the cache reports
* Configuring the cache parameters
* Setting caching and cache persistence for tables
* Using the Cache Manager
* Inspecting SQL for cache entries
* Modifying the Cache Manager column display
* Purging the cache entries manually using the Cache Manager
* Purging the cache entries automatically
* Using event polling tables
* Seeding the cache

Explanation
The Oracle BI repository development process adheres to the classic Software Configuration Management (SCM)process, which utilizes a three-way merge to manage concurrent development.
The merge process involves three repositories:
* The (Original|Received|Master|Parent) repository. The repository that you received before changed. You must keep it preciously unchanged.
* The Modified repository. The repository that contains the customizations you made to the original repository.
* The Current repository. Generally, the repository that is in production and where some customisations could have been performed by other people.
In a multiuser environment (MUDE), Developers check out the file and make changes locally. Then, these changes are automatically reconciled and merged into the master repository.

Explanation/Reference:
Note 1: OBIEE offers two calculation types for measure in the repository:
logical
physical
You can define calculations in either of the following ways:
* Before the aggregation, in the logical table source.
* After the aggregation, in a logical column derived from two other logical columns. For example: sum(col A) * sum(col B)
Note 2: A measure column is a column unlike the baseline column that has a default aggregation rule defined in the Aggregation tab of the Logical Column dialog in the repository.
Measure columns always calculate the aggregation with which they are defined.
Measures need to be defined in a logical fact. Any column with an aggregation rule is a measure.

Explanation/Reference:
After creating your base metrics, try using the Calculation Wizard to automate the process of creating time- series metrics or comparison metrics such as: Change, Percent Change, Index, and Percent. The Wizard may save you many hours of time and frustration, especially if you have to create more than a handful of these metrics. In addition, the Wizard allows you to include customized logic to handle nulls in the base metrics. You may refer to the Oracle documentation for further detail.

Explanation
A measure column is a column unlike the baseline column that has a default aggregation rule defined in the Aggregation tab of the Logical Column dialog in the repository.
Measure columns always calculate the aggregation with which they are defined.
Measures need to be defined in a logical fact. Any column with an aggregation rule is a measure.
http://gerardnico.com/wiki/_media/dat/obiee/bi_server/design/obiee_measure_column.jpg

Explanation
Enterprise Install: This installation type assumes some familiarity with Oracle Business Intelligence. All software components are downloaded onto one computer. You can accept the default configuration settings or use your own. You use this installation type when you have an established Oracle WebLogic domain, and you want to extend it to the Oracle Business Intelligence application. This install option is typically used for more advanced deployments with multiple users, such as to scale out a deployment on additional computers.

Explanation/Reference:
The Oracle BI Presentation Services Administration page provides the Manage Map Data link. This link displays the Manage Map Data page, where you can manage the logical and display versions of the data from various physical data sources. This defines the layers that content designers use when creating map views.
The data that is available for managing maps and data is stored in Oracle Database as part of MapViewer.
Using this page, you provide:
* (A) Logical names to prevent any existing BI column mappings and map analyses from breaking because of changes to the physical data or to the data source.
* Display names so that the geographic data is meaningful to end users.
Note: Administering Maps Using Administration Pages
For (C) -layers, see 3-7 below.
For (D) -import images, see 11-12 below.
To administer maps using Administration pages:
1. Sign in to Oracle Business Intelligence.
2. In the global header, click Administration.
3. Click the Manage Map Data link to display the Manage Map Data page.
4. Click the Layers tab.
5. Click the Import Layers button to display the Import Layers dialog.
6. In the dialog, select the connection and the layers that are needed for zooming and drilling. (This tab is not prepopulated by other selections on the Administration pages. You can use any layers or images with any map.) Click OK when you have finished selecting layers that are appropriate for the subject area with which you are working.
7. Back on the Layers tab, select a layer, then click the Edit Layer button to display the Edit Layer dialog in which you associate layers with attribute columns so that you can display BI data in the map view.
Click OK when you have finished editing the layer.
You use this tab to associate layers with BI data. If you use the City column in multiple subject areas, then you must associate it with a layer for each subject area.
8. Click the Background Maps tab, then click the Import Background Maps button to display the Import Background Maps dialog.
9. In the dialog, select the connection and the main maps to use.
The connection that you select for the main map can be different from the connection for the layers or images.
Click OK when you have finished selecting main maps.
10.Back on the Background Maps tab, select a map, then click the Edit Background Map button to display the Edit Background Map dialog in which you name the map and specify the order of layers and their zoom levels.
Click OK when you have finished editing the map.
11.Optionally, click the Images tab, then click the Import Images button to display the Import Images dialog.
You can import images if you plan to use them as a format on maps.
12.In the dialog, select the connection and the images to use.
Click OK when you have finished selecting images.
13.Click Back when you have finished working with the Administration page. Your changes are saved automatically.
Reference: Oracle Fusion Middleware System Administrator’s Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, Configuring Mapping and Spatial Information

Dimensional Modeling – Slowly Changing Dimensions
* Type 1 – Overwrite Original Value
A change does not require tracking
* Type 2 – Add a new record
With Type II SCD, a new version of the dimension record (row) is created, and the existing version is marked as history.
Each row does not correspond to a different instance of an entity but a different “state”, a “snapshot” of the instance at a point in time.
Note: Tracking changes in dimension is referred in datawarehousing as slowly changing dimensions.
In the source system a lot of changes are daily made :
new customers are added,
addresses are modified,
new regional hierarchies are implemented,
or simply the product descriptions and packaging change.
These sorts of changes need to be reflected in the dimension tables and in several cases, the history of the changes also needs to be tracked.
By remembering history, we are then able to look at historical data and compare it to their current situation.

Query Limits. You can limit queries by the number of rows received, by maximum run time, and by restricting to particular time periods. You can also allow or disallow direct database requests or the Populate privilege.
See figure below.

http://123obi.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/25-04-2011-10-26-45.png

Explanation
Oracle Business Intelligence Office Plug-In is a Windows application that is an optional feature under the Oracle Business Intelligence Presentation Services. The Plug-In provides a way to browse the Analytics catalog, select a report, and then drop that report into Microsoft Word or Excel.

NQSConfig.ini is the main configuration file of Bi Server and contains a lot of parameters.
The parameters in the Query Result Cache Section provide configuration information for Oracle BI Server caching. The query cache is enabled by default. After deciding on a strategy for flushing outdated entries, you should configure the cache storage parameters in Fusion Middleware Control and in the NQSConfig.INI file.

Screenshot below.

http://gerardnico.com/wiki/_media/dat/obiee/obiee_11g_servers_status.jpg?w=800