“Validation”

In installment #3 of this series we installed and configured the 11.1.x software.  In this installment we will discuss what Infrastructure Architect will do before the environment is turned over to the development or migration teams.

It is quite frustrating to the developers if the environment is not fully functional when they start using the system.  Additionally, it is very frustrating for the installation architect to have users in the environment as debugging of issues is occurring.  Each installation and configuration project plan should include at least a day or two to review an environment, restart it a few times, check out the logs, and then test the functionality of all installed components.  The number of items to validate depends on the products used and licensed by the client but it should start with the following and adjust as necessary.

• Shared Services
• Essbase
• EAS and Business Rules
• Planning
• Financial Reporting
• Web Analysis
• Interactive Reporting
• SQR
• Workspace
• Smart View and Provider Services
• Financial Management
• Financial Data Quality Management
• Oracle Data Integrator
• Data Relationship Management
• Strategic Finance

The Installation Architect will test the use functionality of each of the installed product to ensure there are no errors.  This activity takes a combination of functional and technical ability.  The installation architect must know how the application works from the interface as well as understanding what any potential errors mean and how they may be corrected.  I’m not suggesting the infrastructure engineer know how to create a P&L report or design a Planning application, but the ability to navigate the user interfaces and test functionality eliminates the problems of encountering them after development has begun.

Early in my exposure to these applications, I’d spend a lot of time with a developer or functional user of the applications to show me how to test the system.  I’d ask them to tell me the first thing they try to do when they get a new environment.  It is always useful to know more about how the applications are used.

Some of the common problems that occur include the following.
EPMA dimension server does not resolve in Workspace
Shared Services doesn’t find users in Active Directory
Cannot create Planning Application
Cannot create FDM Database
ODI repositories are not available
Common Essbase commands do not work

The solutions to some of these problems may range anywhere from Database Access Permissions, Windows Security Rights, DCOM Settings, or incorrect Active Directory Setup.  Over the past few years working on dozens of installation, I’ve seen all of these.  From encountering many of these, the pre-installation requirements covered in installment #2 have been improved.  Some of these problems don’t arise until functionality is tested.  It’s important to test each installation and environment.  I’ve had situations where the development environment will test out fine and the QA Environment will have issues.  Each installation is usually different from each prior installation because of server settings, security policies, database settings, firewalls, or some other nuance.

If there are problems with the functionality there are a number of resources available to assist in troubleshooting.  I find the Oracle Technology Network Forum to be very useful.  I recommend anyone looking to work in this space, get an ID, and get involved.  You may also find some real useful things on blogs like this or a number of other very experienced bloggers.  There is a wealth of information at Oracle Support in the knowledge base.  In addition, if you have a support agreement with Oracle, register here and you can get support from Oracle.

Assuming everything is functioning as expected, the environment is turned over to the appropriate support person, or maybe support falls on the same individual that did the installation.  Either way, there is a lot of information that needs to be collected.  In the next installment, we’ll look at the information that should be compiled to capture the state of the environment as it was at the end of the installation as well as information that is useful to those that will be using the system.

“Installation and Configuration”

In installment #1 and #2 of this guide, we reviewed the architecture considerations and pre-installation requirements.  If you haven’t read the two previous post or haven’t read the Hyperion “Installation Start Here” guide, you’ll want to be sure to do that.

With this installment I’ll review the Installation and Configuration activities necessary for a Hyperion 11.x environment.  The installation and configuration are separate items.  The installation can takes place first and it only lays out the files to run the system.  The configuration ties everything together, creates repositories, deploys applications, and creates services.  This will cover both including the following items:

• Hyperion Fusion Installer and How it Works
• Preparing the Fusion Installer
• Using the Fusion Installer
• Hyperion Configuration Utility

The companion Hyperion Documentation for this post is either of the following documents found in the Oracle Documentation Library:
Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System Installation and Configuration Guide Release 11.1.1.x
Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System Manual Deployment Guide Release 11.1.1.x

You probably are not going to read them in their entirety since they are rather lengthy but they are very useful in fully understanding what is going on and priceless for complex environment or when things don’t go well.

Hyperion Fusion Installer and How it works.

So let’s get started on this installation already.  One of the great features of Release 11.x Fusion Edition is the Fusion Installer.  It is a nice application for guiding you through the installation.  The first thing to do is download the Fusion Installer and copy it to each server in your architecture.  The Fusion Installer is only the shell for the rest of the installation.  Under the Fusion Installer create a folder called “assemblies”.

Preparing the Fusion Installer

You’ll next need to download the remaining Foundation Services as well as any other applications you are using.  For our example we are going to assume the client is using Foundation, Planning, and HFM.  You are probably looking at something in the neighborhood of 4GB to download.  Each download, when unzipped contains a group of folders looking something like this:

Each server will need the appropriate assemblies copied to its own \<FusionInstaller>\assmblies directory.  This way, whenthe Fusion Installer starts, it knows what is available to install.  Some of the common components are needed on each server.  If you are missing something, the Fusion Installer will let you know in the status window at the bottom application.  For details on which assemblies are required for each application, refer to the Installation and Configuration Guide.

Using the Fusion Installer

As you start the Fusion Installer you will see something like this:

I like to choose “Choose Components Individually” since it feels like I have a little more granularity.  At this point I’ll select all of the components I want to install on each server.  Once again, this is run on every server in the architecture.  The Fusion Installer only lays out the application files; it doesn’t need any information so the sequence of installation can occur in any order.  It seems to work pretty well when all the components on a server are chosen together.

The last thing to do is to review all the install logs for any errors.  It is much easier to catch them now than after the configuration is started before anything is written specific is written to registries and relational databases.  Once the configuration starts, you are committed.

Configuration

The first thing to do is to configure Shared Services.  After the installation is complete, each server will have a Configuration Application.  It can be launched on a Windows Server from Start >Oracle EPM Applications > Foundation Services > EPM System Configurator.  This application will guide you through the configuration with such things as creating and distributing Java applications, creating relational repositories, and building the Windows Services.  The EPM System Configurator displays the installed components and then you can select which components to configure.  It looks something like this

The first thing to do is configure Shared Services.  This needs to be done by itself and before any other components are configured.  As soon as this is complete, launch Shared Services and verify that it is working appropriately.  If it isn’t, it’s will be a long day.  If you are able to log in to Shared Services, it is also probably best to go ahead and configure any external authentication provider at this time.

When Shared Services is complete and verified, you can move from server to server configuring all the components.  The documentation says that you can configure all the components at once but this will attempt to configure all the selected products in the same relation schema/table.  The documentation also says that some of the repositories need to be separate.  I prefer to do it one at a time to be certain I can keep all the relational repositories separate and I can validate each component as it is competed.  I usually start with all the Foundation Services and then make sure Workspace functions before moving on to the EPM application like Planning and Financial Management.  The last thing to do is to redeploy Workspace so it is configured to proxy all the remaining Web Applications.

You will want to be careful with each screen to make certain every component is configured as you planned.  It is easy to keep hitting ‘NEXT’ only to find out you mixed your Calculation Manager Repository in with your Shared Services repository.

As with the installation, I like to review all the configuration logs on each server very carefully.  Better to catch an error now than later.  When I’m comfortable with the configuration, I shut everything down and bring it back up.  The start order is quite finicky.  The Oracle Installation and Configuration Guide has specifics regarding the start order but I usually do something like this:
1.    Shared Services OpenLDAP
2.    Shared Services Application Server
3.    Hyperion Annotation Service
4.    EPM Workspace Agent (CMC Agent)
5.    EPM Workspace UI (CMC UI)
6.    EPM Workspace Web Server
7.    EPM Workspace Application Server
8.    Hyperion RMI Registry
9.    Performance Management Architect Services

Process Manager automatically starts the following services:

•   Hyperion EPM Architect – Engine Manager
• Hyperion EPM Architect – Event Manager
• Hyperion EPM Architect – Job Manager
• Hyperion EPM Architect – .NET JNI Bridge

10.    Performance Management Architect Web Services
11.    Essbase Server
12.    Administration Services Application Server
13.    Smart Search Application Server
14.    Essbase Studio Server
15.    Provider Services Application Server
16.    Hyperion Financial Reporting – Java RMI Registry
17.    Hyperion Financial Reporting – Print Server
18.    Hyperion Financial Reporting – Report Server
19.    Hyperion Financial Reporting – Scheduler Server
20.    Web Analysis Application Server
21.    Performance Management Architect Application Server
22.    Performance Management Architect Data Synchronizer Application Server
23.    Financial Reporting – Web Application
24.    Calculation Manager
25.    Planning Application Server
26.    Financial Management
27.    Hyperion Financial Management DME Listener
28.    Hyperion Financial Management Web Service Manager
29.    Hyperion Financial Data Quality Management – Task Manager

Assuming everything starts, we’ll discuss validation in the next part.

“Pre-Installation Requirements”

In installment #1 of this guide, we reviewed the architecture considerations and defined a simplistic architecture to use as a reference moving forward.  I recommend you read the previous post before you pick up this one.  I also recommend reading

“Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System Installation Start Here Release 11.1.1.2.pdf (128 pages)” from the Oracle Documentation Library.

To reiterate our general approach, the Hyperion architecture establishment and installation activities in our organization cover the following five areas.

1. Defining an Architecture – Work with the client to define the hardware, software, and the distribution of Hyperion components
2. Provide Pre-Installation Requirements – Provide the client with a detailed list of activities prior to the installation
3. Installation – Running the installation and configuration utilities
4. Validation – Perform all functional activities necessary to validate the environment readiness
5. Documentation – Provide the client with all the details of the environment as it is configured.

In this post, I will go through step 2 that the Hyperion architect, should deliver.  Steps 3-5 will be available in the coming weeks.  For the sake of simplicity I will be using the example of a common installation, primarily Hyperion Planning, Hyperion Financial Management (HFM), and the core BI applications.

As part of any installation, some items need to take place before the Fusion Installer is started.  I like to create a checklist of things that need to be done.  Often times these things are out of my control and I will rely on Database Administrator, Network Administrators, and other System Administrators.  This checklist contains the following elements.

• Web Application Server Specifications
• Relational Repository Information
• General System Administration
• Network Information
• Additional Components
• DCOM Configuration
• IIS and .NET Configuration

I’ll start with the Web Application Server Specification.  Once the web application server platform is chosen from the table below, the installation and configuration often falls on System Administrators.  Items such as clustering, system account management, and JVM setting are managed outside of the Hyperion installation.  Other times, I’ll get admin access and manage it myself.  The first item to do is to validate the application server is certified.  This is directly from Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System – Supported Platforms Matrices “Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System, Fusion Edition Release 11.1.1.2)” in the Oracle document library.  I recommend reviewing this document.  It can change from release to release.

I request the URL and authentication information since this will be needed during the deployment.  If I am doing a manual deployment, I will request contact information from the web application server administrator and work in collaboration on the deployment.

The next item on my checklist is to get the Relational Repositories Information set up.  This is mostly straightforward.  In general, I like to create a tablespace/database for each component ((Hyperion Foundation, Essbase Admin Services / Business Rules, EPMA, Planning, Financial Management, etc).  A distinct tablespace/database for each component makes it easier to manage in my opinion.  Although it may not be strictly necessary, the documentation does not seem to be clear on the matter.  I say ‘better safe than sorry’.  For the installation and deployment, I’ll need credentials for each table.  Based upon some Q&A, I’ll make initial size recommendations.

The target installation servers have a General System Administration checklist containing the information that I’ll need to execute the installation.  This is made of the following items.

• Operating Systems version/build
• Account on each server to run the Hyperion services and account requirements
• External Authentication information (MSAD, LDAP, or OID if applicable)
• Drive/Volume information identified for installation of the Hyperion software.
• DCOM and .NET account information if HFM or FDM are to be installed

Next, I identify the Network Information necessities for appropriate communication between servers.  This includes IP addresses, DNS information, validation of name resolution, trace between servers, subnet configuration, etc.  This is vital so the components can communicate via Fully Qualified Domain Name, Short Name, and IP address.  Some components use different variations of name resolution probably because the components were developed separately and have not been fully standardized.

In addition to the Hyperion Software, Web Application Servers, and Relational Repositories there are a few Additional Components that need to be installed.  A PDF writer is needed for Reports Server to render .pdf reports in Workspace.  This can be GhostScript or Acrobat distiller.  I suggest referring to the “Start Here” documentation to see what is currently supported but we often go with GhostScript due to its cost.

For the Windows Administration, we provide the DCOM Configuration information needed to support FDM, EPMA, and FDM.  This includes the DCOM account information, permissions, and authentication information.  Although this is spelled out in detail in the “Start Here” manual, I like to provide step-by-step information with screen shots since DCOM is often confusing…well it is to me at least.

The last thing we review is the IIS and .NET Configuration.  IIS is often not installed as part of a standard OS build.  We make sure this requirement is specified, ensuring .NET is installed, and validate it is the appropriate version.

As with any installation, I recommend the Installation Architect read, and re-read, the Hyperion Manuals on there own rather than relying on this information or intuition.  It can always change and your installation may have some caveats that I have not covered.  For our purposes, with all the above activities completed and validated, we should be ready to start laying out the binaries and start the Hyperion Installation.  We will review the Fusion Installer and Hyperion Configuration Utility in our next installment.