How to migrate EPMA enabled Planning applications from 11.1.2.1 to 11.1.2.4 - Part I

One of the most recent challenges I faced is migrating EPM Architect enabled Planning applications from 11.1.2.1 to 11.1.2.4. Personally I find it hard to get an official approach from Oracle. The only official path seems to be a in-place upgrade. However this is rarely an option, it is unlikely a customer would agree to this for various reasons. Maybe a subject for a different post.

So, what to do? Personally I like to recommend a "test migration" using the customers most critical application. During these test migrations you will have the opportunity to determine the best method to migrate their application(s). In addition this allows you to discover any customer and product issues which you can than resolve and document. When you perform the final migration, you simply follow your own manual and you should be good to go.This will shorten you final migration run time significantly!



Now, the interesting stuff... below the high-level steps I discovered that worked for me. In your specific case, additional steps may be required. Depending on you specific situation you might need a whole different approach, so be warned!

The high-level steps assume first time migration. The steps in Italic must/can be skipped for the next  applications inline to be migrated:

1.  On the source, using LCM (Life-cycle Management Utility) migrate in any order: 
• Shared Services (HSS): users, groups and roles
• HSS: assigned roles specific to the application
• Calculation Manager (CALC): globally used artifacts
• CALC: application specific artifacts
• EPM Architect (EPMA): globally used artifacts
• EPMA: application specific artifacts
• Planning application specific artifacts
2. On the source system using EAS, create a archive of each database 
3. Make note of the database properties of each database e.g. volumes and cache settings
4. Make note of the essbase.cfg settings
5. Copy the folders to the target system
6. Modify files in the export where needed (later more on this)
7. Set the essbase.cfg values in the target environment using your notes created earlier
8. Import in this specific order:
•  Shared Services (HSS): users, groups and roles
•  EPM Architect (EPMA): globally used artifacts
•  Calculation Manager (CALC): globally used artifacts
•  EPMA: application specific artifacts
•  CALC: application specific artifacts
•  HSS: assigned roles specific to the application 
• Do NOT import Planning artifacts at this point
9.  Validate application in EPMA. At this point you might get one or two errors. Later more on this.
10. Deploy the application from EPMA. Again one or two errors is to be expected due to missing dependencies at this point. In most cases this is due to missing substitution variables.
11. Import the substitution variables using LCM located in the planning export under global artifacts.
12. Redeploy the application from EPMA hopefully without errors this time
13. Refresh databases within Planning towards Essbase (select only databases at this point).
14. Using LCM import the Planning artifact in the following specific order:
• All Plan Types
• Global Artifacts
• Relational Data
• Security
15. Now once again refresh databases within Planning towards Essbase with all options selected
16. Using EAS, restore the Essbase database archive(s). In case the disk mappings are different between source and target use you notes to set the disk mappings under advanced options in the restore archive wizard
17. Using EAS, set the properties for each database.
18. In order to defragment de Essbase databases you might want to export all data, re-import and force a restructure of the data
19. You are done!

In my case the source was 11.1.2.1, so I suffered from the following known bug:
Hyperion Planning Deployment Error "Member 'D-T-D' in the period dimension has no value for the period type" (Doc ID 1511120.1)

In part II  I will go into more details and discuss possible solutions to issues might experience.

Part II