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OBIEE Caching Configuration

Posted by Raj Prashant Guthikonda on August 28, 2009

OBIEE Caching Best Practices

One of my recent discussions with a colleague on the caching
strategy for OBIEE resulted in the following Best practices,
Oracle BI Server is an Intelligent Query Engine that stores
database hits in a cache file, This cache file is stored on the BI
server.
OBIEE Architectural Best Practice feature is to implement the
caching mechanism by using the following methodology where
in the configuration tags can be set in optimal fashion as
follows:
Enable: turns caching on/off
Data_Storage_Paths: defines location to store result

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Data_Storage_Paths: defines location to store result

files
Metadata_File: defines location for cache metadata
file
Replace_Algorithm: for discarding entries if cache full
Buffer_Pool_Size: buffer for caching metadata file
Max_Rows_Per_Cache_Entry: upper limit on rows in
result
Max_Cache_Entry_Size: upper limit on size
(#rows*#bytes/row)
Max_Cache_Entries: upper limit on #of cached queries

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The Following is an in detail Architectural configuration

changes that can be implemented for OBIEE Caching
1.

Parameter: Enable
Turns caching on/off

Best Practice
Set to YES if you want caching
1.

Parameter: Data_Storage_Paths
Defines the directory or directories to store cached
result files
Provide location and capacity
DATA_STORAGE_PATHS =
d:\OracleBIData\nQSCache 500 MB
Least-recently-used cache is purged if full capacity

Best practice
use dedicated drive(s): performance and
reliability
use local disk (not a file share). (Not enforced)
capacity should be significantly larger than value

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capacity should be significantly larger than value

of Max_Cache_Entry_Size
Caveats to be kept in mind
Disk space must exist (or bad things will
happen)
Capacity of each location must not exceed 4 GB
(2 GB before 7.7)
1.

Parameter: Replace_Algorithm

Algorithm used to purge cache entries when the cache is full

Full is either:
1.

1.
2.

Max_Cache_Entries have been created

Less than Max_Cache_Entry_Size space is
available

Removes cache entry that has not been accessed for longest
time not necessarily the oldest created cache item
Only choice is LRU (least-recently-used)
1.

Parameter: Buffer_Pool_Size
Defines the amount of memory for caching the cache
metadata file.
Parameter does not affect correctness/behavior of
cache purely a performance setting

Best practice
Dont change the default value. No/limited
performance gains possible.
1.

Parameter: Max_Rows_Per_Cache_Entry
Defines upper bound on number of rows in a cached
result set

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result set
Prevent large or runaway queries from consuming
too much cache
Query will run to completion, but if limit exceeded
result will not be added to cache event is not logged
Set value to 0 if no limit is desired
Very large cache files are inefficient
stored in single file on disk
No indexes full sequential scan to access
Best practice
Define a non-zero value (less than 1,000,000 if
possible)
Max_Cache_Entry_Size is best place to define
space limit
1.

Parameter: Max_Cache_Entry_Size
Defines limit on size (#of bytes) of a cache entry
Used to prevent large cache entries from being
created. Query will not be cached if exceeds this limit.
No logging of exceeding limit.
Size: #of rows times #of bytes/row
#of bytes per row calculation:
Unicode expansion (2x or 4x multiplier for char
and varchar columns)
Column alignment overheads
Null value representation overhead
Cache is purged until Max_Cache_Entry_Size bytes
are available

Best practice
Set value to at most 10% of cache capacity (of
smallest cache directory)
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smallest cache directory)

More effective limit than
Max_Rows_Per_Cache_Entry or
Max_Cache_Entries
Caveats
Default value (1 MB) is fairly small. Many
queries will hit this limit.
Posted in OBIEE Best Practices, OBIEE Cache Management,
OBIEE Caching, OBIEE Configuration, OBIEE Instance
Config Tags | Tagged: Configuring OBIEE Cache, OBI
Architecture, OBIEE Architecture, OBIEE Cache, OBIEE
Cache Architecture, Oracle BI | Leave a Comment

How to Secure Oracle BI Adhoc

Analytics / Answers
Posted by Raj Prashant Guthikonda on August 26, 2009

This Question pops up on the OTN forum on how to

secure Oracle BI Adhoc Analytics & Answers functionality,
My recent project was an integration warehouse effort
and had more of adhoc analytics application approach.
This was my approach on this
C reate an OBI web catalog group named All Functional
Area Request Developers using Manage Presentation
C atalog Groups and Users. This role will only exist in
Presentation Services and be used as a way to
consolidate all the individual roles for each functional
area.

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This name has spaces and is mixed case so that it is

distinguishable from the roles that are synchronized with
the warehouse, similar to the Presentation Server
Administrators group.
C reate a role web catalog group for each functional area.
The role should be named
BI_REQUEST_DEVELOPER_XXXXXX_RL where XXXXXX
should be descriptive of the group using answers. The
descriptive part (XXXXXX) may be less than six
characters, but not more.
Each of the functional area roles must now be added to
the All Functional Area Request Developers web catalog
group using Manage Presentation C atalog Groups and
Users.
Remove privilege from Subject Area for Everyone. Grant
read access to each Subject Area in Answers to the
appropriate functional area roles. Dashboard viewers do
not need access to the Subject Area.
Grant Answers privilege to the All Functional Area
Request Developers web catalog group.
C reate a folder:/shared/Functional Area Requests
1.

1. Permissions on this folder:All Functional Area

Request Developers Traverse or Read?,
Dashboard Developers Read, Presentation
Server Administrators Full C ontrol

2. C reate sub-folder for each functional area named:

XXXXXX Requests
1. Permissions on this folder:

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BI_REQUEST_DEVELOPER_XXXXXX_RL
C reate/Modify, Dashboard Developers Read,
Presentation Server Administrators Full C ontro
In addition to this we can also come up with an idea to
create a role based connection pool to the database to
suffice this Business requirement.
Posted in OBIEE Best Practices, Securing OBIEE Answers
Adhoc Analytics | Leave a Comment

Apt Properties for Oracle BI Dataase

Posted by Raj Prashant Guthikonda on August 25, 2009
This is an excellent link that gives us the apt properties for the
Oracle data base for an OBIEE implementation

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12104_01/books/AnyInstAdm/AnyInstAdmPreInstal
Posted in OBIEE Best Practices | Leave a Comment

OBIEE Datawarehouse Design

Process Iterations
Posted by Raj Prashant Guthikonda on August 9, 2009
OBIEE Data-warehousing Design Process Inception Phase
Designing the Data Warehouse effort:
The Best practice iterations to design a Data warehouse can be
as follows
1. C onfiguring an Oracle or DB2 or MS Sql Server database
for use as a data warehouse

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2. Designing the Warehouse if the Warehouse supports

more than one LOB the Data Modeler can come up with a
Physical warehouse design based on C onformed Bus
Architecture with conformed dimensions & C onformed
facts which allow the IT to reuse the Data sets across the
Business.
3. Managing Schema objects such as Tables, C oncurrent
programs, Sequences, Schema, Disks, Views, Indexes &
Materialized Views
4. Managing & Maintaining the User authentication its a DBA
responsibility
5. Developing routines, Streams, ETL Process using an ETL
tool or a Push Pull concurrent program code to Leverage
operational data resemblance
6. Managing change data capture using tools like C A -7 or
Siebel DAC & more
7. C reating Metadata repository, BMM Layer Meta data
repository, User Authentication & Authorization Strategy
through OBIEE or LDAP or Data base authentication.
8. Backing up the data base & Performing recovery &
leveraging fault tolerance
9. Monitoring data-warehouses performance using OBIEE
tool caching & performance tuning strategies
Posted in OBIEE Best Practices, OBIEE Datawarehouse
Design, OBIEE SDLC | Tagged: OBIEE Design, OBIEE
Design Analysis, OBIEE Inception Phase, Oracle
Datawarehouse Design Steps | Leave a Comment

Datawarehouse Design, Best

Practices & Pragmatic approach
Posted by Raj Prashant Guthikonda on July 20, 2009

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Datawarehouse Design, A Tool Independent

Pragmatic Approach

I always asked myself during my consulting career what would

be the best steps to Design a Datawarehouse & after musing
for a while I came up with this couple a years ago which I had in
my personal diary which am going to digitize today.
I always ask myself what can BAs & Power users gain from a
data warehouse ?
Firstly it can enhance business productivity as we can see
the organizations information quickly & efficiently using a
unified repository tool.
It may provide us information to win over competitors by
adjusting our prices & improving our performance.
The data warehouse improves the C RM because it
consistently provides business information across all
business group hierarchies, departments & domains to
make informed decisions possible.
Implementing a decision support system is like building a
magnificent skyscraper which requires strategies of an Architect,
Owner & Implementer / contractor.
Anonymous
To build an efficient data warehouse following 4
strategic perception should be combined together
Datawarehouse Strategy Its a process of identifying
the fact tables, Dimension tables & ETL push-pull
strategy, It represents the aggregates to be calculated

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during the ETL, database indexing strategy, database

partition, DW refresh strategy & more.
The Power User Strategy This is a view from the eyes
of the BA, Power users & C ustomers on what information
should be included in the warehouse for the current &
future business requirements
Sourcing the Data This is a strategic view of the Data
Modeler he decides on how to gather & model te silos of
data using specific data modeling techniques & tools like
OBIEE, C ognos & Microstrategy
The End User Perspective is to view & relate the data
to business query
So the Datawarehouse design can be attained by a top down
approach a bottom up approach or a combo,].
In the Top down approach the technology or DW tool is
mature in the market and this approach starts with an over all
Inception analysis & planning phase where problem definition is
apt.
In the Bottom up approach starts out with POC s &
experiments
In the Combo approach we can use the strategic planning of
the top down approach with the rapid implementation technique
of bottom up to increase ROI.
Datawarehouse Design Process:
The first decision is to choose a Subject Area or a
business process to model, This Subject area is a
functionally related Dimensions & Facts together
examples are Orders, Invoices, Shipments, Inventory,
LOB Performance & more.
The second decision is to choose a Fact Table
Granularity because te DW front end testing is done in

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at the lowest granular level for example transactional

details of a C ustomer on a monthly snpshot or a
quarterly snapshot.
The third step is to Choose functionally related
Dimensions that would eventually become a part of the
Fact.
Te fourth Step is to Choose the Meters & Metrics, A
meter can be defined as a collection of functionally
dependent metrics.
Implementation Steps for a DW / DSS:
Inception Analysis & Problem Definition.
Requirements Study.
DSS / Warehouse Design which comprises of Data
Modeling, Database Modeling, Meta Data Repository
Modeling, ETL Strategy & more.
Integrating the Data & Regression Testing.
Deployment, Training & Maintenance.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=obiee+best+practices&aq=0&oq=obiee+best+&aqi=g3&f
Posted in Datawarehouse Design, OBIEE Best Practices,
OBIEE SDLC | Leave a Comment

Oracle Business Intelligence

Application Development Lifecycle
Posted by Raj Prashant Guthikonda on July 19, 2009
Business Intelligence Software Development Lifecycle

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Posted in OBIEE Best Practices, OBIEE SDLC | Tagged:

OBIEE Best Practices, SDLC | Leave a Comment

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