Oracle EPM 11.2 - Release Postponed

Introduction

For quite some time within the EPM world we are all waiting or the new 11.2 EPM release for many reasons. Originally it was scheduled Q1 this year, then moved to October 2019. However I got word it has been delayed and Oracle is now aiming for December 2019.

Continue...

Oracle has extended the EPM 11.1.2.4 support period from mid-2021 to December 2021. However no effort will be made to enhance EPM 11.1.2.4 certification of more recent platforms and browsers. So the latest supported Windows platforms remain Windows 2012 R2 and MS SQL 2012. Latest browsers IE11 (Enterprise Mode) and Firefox ERS 45+.

VMware Workstation - [Bug] Leaking Comitted Memory

Introduction

Personally I use VMware Workstation 12 allot for building EPM environment for testing and developing reasons. Today I discovered a nasty issue, which appears to be a bug.

Issue Description

When using VMware Workstation v12.5.x on Windows 10 with the creative update installed, the virtual print driver leaks committed memory over a short period of time to a 100%. Only Windows based VM's seem to be affected.

I confirmed that e.g. Linux based VM's are not effected. From personal experience Windows Core based VM's also seems to be OK, but I cannot 100% confirm this.

Solution / Workaround

VMware is still investigating the issue, however in the mean while disabling virtual printing in VMware Workstation seems to be a valid workaround.

GeekStuff (EPM): Oracle EPM HFM 11.1.2.4 and Oracle DB 12c

Introduction

At the time of writing the latest available PSU .204 for HFM does not support Oracle Database 12c yet. Although it works well, it doesn't work out-of-the-box.

Can't wait for Oracle to officially support Oracle DB 12c? Read on!

Tools-EPM is now available for Linux/UNIX!

I am happy to announce that Tools-EPM is now available for Linux/Unix as well (previously only for Windows)!

Tools-EPM provides various command-line based utilities that simplify the daily tasks of an
technical EPM consultant/engineer.

Read all about it here.

Geek Stuff (EPM) - Undocumented Parameters EPM Diagnostics Utility

Introduction

Since Oracle EPM 11.1.2.0 Oracle has introduced EPM Diagnostic Utility (validate.bat). For the newbies, the EPM diagnostic utility is a java based tool with the purpose to technically validate an EPM instance. Executing this utility results in two things: A full HTML diagnostics report, and a ZIP file containing all log files from the instance it was executed from. The Oracle EPM documentation related to this utility can be found here.

Since Oracle EPM 11.1.2.3, the EPM diagnostic utility is a good start when validating a installation or troubleshooting issues. However there are some minor downsides: It always performs all tests, always creates a ZIP file after completion and there is not option to selectively test... at least so I thought.

For an automation project, this default behavior was a problem. As such, I examined the java code related to the EPM diagnostic Execution and discovered that it excepts various command line parameters borrowed from the EPM installation utility wizard.

Tools-EPM Released!

I am happy to announce that Tools-EPM has been released!

Tools-EPM provides various command-line based utilities that simplify the daily tasks of an
technical EPM consultant/engineer.

Read all about it here.

How to configure CPU options in the UEFI (BIOS) for maximum Essbase calculation speeds

Introduction

Personally I never paid attention to specific UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) settings when installing and configuring EPM. It was always on factory default values. During a project however, I was triggered to have a look at these setting due to an issue I could not explain.

What I discovered, came as a big surprise to me!

Planning Tutorial: How to deploy Planning Utilities Standalone!

Introduction

If you ever had to publish Planning utilities for administrators in e.g. Terminal Server or Citrix, you experienced the difficulties of doing that. Planning utilities can only be executed on the server where Planning is installed. Solutions to provide access to these utilities range from full administrative (RDP) access on the Planning server to PowerShell scripts using remote execution. In my experience non of these solutions are ideal and at best cumbersome to maintain.

Already for a few years I though: "There must be another way".

... and now there is!

Geekstuff (EPMA) - ZAP! that orphaned EPMA application!

Introduction

Probably most of you who worked with EPM Architect before faced the situation where an application in EPMA is in a corrupted deployment state and cannot be deleted properly from EPMA the usual way, or EPMA complains that the application already exists while attempting to recreate the EPMA application you deleted.

In most cases running diagnostic against the application would get you back on-track. If not, as a last resort you can drop all tables from the EPMA database by re-configuring the EPMA data source. However in most cases this is not an option.

If you have manually removed all references of the application in all EPM components (how is out-of-scope of this post) and still you cannot re-create the application in EPMA, consider using my SQL script below to ZAP! that orphaned application from the EPMA database.

Geek Stuff (FR) - Let's not press a zillion times on "Yes" during FR import through Workspace, right?

Introduction

For those who migrated Financial Report objects using Workspace, will recognize the frustration of having to click "Yes" a zillion times during import.

For those who got spared so far: When LCM is not an option to migrate Financial Reporting objects, you have to use Workspace to export from the source and import in to the target environment. Sadly Oracle still didn't builtin a "Yes to all" option for some of the import activities, resulting in many manual clicks on "Yes" for sometimes over an hour.

Below you will find a solution to automatically click "Yes" when needed.

EPM Maestro Tutorial: How to install Standalone

Introduction

As you might know, the latest version (v15) of EPM Maestro by AMOSCA uses a Java Web service to expose the new HFM Java based API to EPM Maestro. As a prerequisite, EPM Maestro Java web service must be installed on a EPM server, HFM Web seems to be recommended by the vendor.

However, for various reasons, you might what to keep EPM and third-party products like EPM Maestro strictly separated.

Never used it? Request a 30 day trial here.

What will you learn

After completing this tutorial you will know how to install EPM Maestro standalone successfully. In addition you will get some best practice guidelines. This tutorial doesn't replace the official installation and configuration manual.

FDM EE Tutorial: How to change the ODI SUPERVISOR password

Introduction

As part of installing and configuring FDM EE, securing EPM is typically forgotten. As you might know, FDM EE is built on top of ODI 11g. Sadly ODI is configured with the factory default credentials, which imposes a security risk. The more because ODI is not only accessible through the ODI Studio (which is per default not installed), but also through the web based ODI Console.

What will you learn?

During this tutorial you will learn how to enhance ODI security by changing the "SUPERVISOR" password without breaking FDM EE.

Applying Oracle CPU's on Oracle EPM, is that a good thing?

Introduction

CPU's are Critical Patch Updates which have the soul goal of solving known vulnerabilities. For EPM Oracle releases Patch Sets (PS), Patch Set Updates (PSU) and Patch Set Exceptions (PSE). These patches only address functional, technical and/or security issues for EPM software components. Thus Oracle Middleware used by EPM e.g. Weblogic and OHS remain untouched. For these products CPU's are released to address known vulnerabilities.

More and more clients are now performing security audits and penetration tests on Oracle EPM environments, with the consequence I get request to install Oracle CPU's on Oracle EPM environments.

During this post  I will go in to more detail why CPU's can be important, what the result is and how to apply them.

Note: Not familiar with the concept of EPM patches? Checkout my following post Clarifying Oracle EPM Versioning.

Tutorial: Dell Warranty Status Monitoring for PRTG

Introduction

A while back I published my PSDellAsset PowerShell module. Although this module can be universally used within PowerShell, it was written with the intention to enable Dell warranty status monitoring using PRTG which is a Window based monitoring solution. This post will explain how to configure PRTG to enable Dell warranty status monitoring using the PSDellAsset module. Feel free to make adjustments to match your environment and requirements.

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

Introduction

During Part I we discussed the general steps. In this post I will go into commonly faced issues and how to address them. Although these issues where experienced by myself, it could very well be others / you will experience different issues.

Do-It-Your-Self Demo - PSKeePass

​Introduction

This post will provide a do-it-your-self demo in order to understand the basics and potential of the PSKeePass PowerShell module. Completion time is about 10 minutes.

What will you learn?

After completing the demo you will have a basic understanding on how to use the module and how it can be applied.

Geek Stuff (Linux) - Show Chmod Numerical Permissions

During Linux installations of EPM, setting and validating the correct security on folders and files can be a challenge. The chmod command is used to set security access, while chown sets the ownership's. As you might now chmod has two modes of reading and applying security access: Symbolic and Octal mode.

Wrong Essbase ARBORPATH?

Today I accidentally created a new EPM 11.1.2.4 Essbase instance with the wrong ARBORPATH. Strangely enough I discovered that the EPM Configuration Tool doesn't allow to change the ARBORPATH. This seems to be the default behavior since EPM 11.1.2.3.

Clarifying Oracle EPM Versioning

Introduction

Even for EPM insiders, Oracle's versioning scheme for Oracle EPM can be confusing. With this post I attempt to shed some light on this matter. This post will assume the latest version of EPM available at the time of writing, which is 11.1.2.4.x. The rumour is that this is the last EPM 11.x version, in 2017 version 12.x is expected. Essbase v12.x has recently been released embedded in the latest version of OBIEE.

Identification of Landscapes Through Workspace Title Bar

Introduction

Most clients have two or more Oracle EPM landscapes. Landscape is e.g. development or production. In some cases clients have 5 landscapes: development, staging, acceptance, production and a disaster recovery environment. During certain processes it is common that administrators have Workspace open from different landscapes. In those cases it might be practical to be able to easily identify on which landscape you are working.