Oracle’s Business Intelligence Challenge to Go:

To set the stage, think of the BIC2G:EE Image as just a black-box server. It runs in it’s own world. The access is just like any other server: over the network. This server can run ‘remotely’ with respect to one or more clients that may want to access it and is useful for multi-user development and proof of concepts. The details of such multi-user configurations are discussed in the “Advanced Topics” section.

In most cases, the requirement is for a single user. The client machine should have the following resources to run the server as follows.

Hardware

The specific details of what kind of hardware and required versions of Microsoft Windows or Linux can be found in the product section of the VMware web site. What follows is general guidelines for the hardware and specific RAM and Hard Disk Drive (HDD) requirements for the BIC2G:EE.

Server

The HDD space requirements for the uncompressed BIC2G:EE VMware image is 16 GB. 1.5 GB of RAM is required for running just the BIC2G:EE, making the total requirement for RAM at least 2GB. See the requirements for the VMware product you are loading, but it generally requires a processor at least 500 MHz.

Client

The Windows client applications generally take up relatively little space. 200 MB of HDD space should more than take care of this requirement.

BIC2G:EE

In order to keep the lawyers happy, the BIC2G:EE is distributed outside Oracle in a boxed kit of 3 DVDs with break-the-seal-to-agree-to-the-license-agreement stickers. One DVD contains the Windows Client Software, sealed with a reminder of the OTN license agreement. The other two DVDs contain the compressed VMware image files:

· Disc 1: Contains the Open Source Red Hat 4 Operating System and VMware system files, sealed with a reminder of the Red Hat license agreement.

· Disc 2: Contains the non-open source Oracle software, sealed with a reminder of the OTN license agreement.

Obtaining Image

If you are an Oracle employee, you can either:

1. Request the BIC2G:EE DVD Kit (Part #C15798) using Oracle Internal Orders E-Mail Order Form (Global), or

2. Download the:

· VMware Image from the Technology Business Unit’s Fusion Factory.

· Windows OBI:EE Client (v10.1.3.2) from SAC (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3) or OTN (Click Here).

· Windows AWM Client (v10.2.0.3.0) from OTN (Click here).

· Windows OWB Client (v10.2.0.1) from OTN. (Click here).

If you are not an Oracle employee, contact your Oracle Representative.

Installing Image

This is really just a matter of uncompressing the files into a single directory. If you have the DVDs, start with Disc 1 and run the .exe file:

Accept the reminder of the License Agreement. Browse to a new folder location that has 16 GB of free disk space and click Install.

Repeat the procedure for Disc 2, choosing the same Destination folder as you used for Disc 1.

VMware

Any of the VMware 5.x and higher products will support the BIC2:EE image. Since VMware Player & VMware Server are free and VMware Workstation is pretty common, we’ll include the installation and launching instructions for those three here. After you decide which VMware product will suit your needs, download and install it as you would any other application using the links above.

VPN and VMware

This section is primarily for Oracle Employees who use Cisco VPN. There is a known issue with using Cisco VPN v4.8 while running the free VMware products (Player and Server). To avoid this issue, use either:

· Cisco VPN v4.6 or

· VMware Workstation

Launching & Shutting Down BIC2G:EE with VMware Player

Run VMware Player by either using a shortcut or navigating: Start >> Programs >> VMware >> VMware Player. Navigate to the folder with the BIC2G:EE Image, select the .vmx file and click Open.

This will immediately boot the BIC2G:EE. Note: To insure this image will run on any machine, with or without network connectivity, it defaults to both “single processor mode” and “network address translation (NAT) mode.” If you using a dual-core or other multi-processor system, or need to access the image from another physical machine, see the “Multi-core/processor Support” part of the “Advanced Topics” section.

When finished booting, READ the console screen carefully and note the URL with the IP address:

Note: The above screen may go blank due to a screensaver. To restore the image, simply click twice in the window. At that point, the cursor will be ‘captured’ in the DOS window. To release it, hold the Ctrl and Alt keys down.

When the console screen looks like the above picture and you’ve copied down the URL with the IP address, minimize this window and continue on with “Client Access to the BIC2G:EE Server” below.

IMPORTANT: when you are ready to shutdown the BIC2G:EE Image, DO NOT USE the ‘X’ in the upper right corner of the window. Instead, login with the username: shutdown and password: shutdown. You’ll see the processes turning off, in sequence, in the console window. Note: In the “Running the Image” section, you’ll learn of another way to shut down the image. When the Image is no longer running, VMware Player will automatically exit.

Launching & Shutting Down BIC2G:EE with VMware Server

Run VMware Server by either using a shortcut or navigating: Start >> Programs >> VMware >> VMware Server >> VMware Server Console. Accept the license agreement. When the “Connect to Host” dialog box appears, leave the default of “Local host” selected and click OK.

Click “Open an Existing VM” and navigating to the directory where you uncompressed the image. Select the .vmx file and click Open.

Feel free to look around this interface, then push either “Play” button to start the virtual machine. Note: To insure this image will run on any machine, with or without network connectivity, it defaults to both “single processor mode” and “network address translation (NAT) mode.” If you using a dual-core or other multi-processor system, or need to access the image from another physical machine, see the “Multi-core/processor Support” part of the “Advanced Topics” section.

When finished booting, READ the console screen carefully and note the URL with the IP address:

When the console screen looks like the above picture and you’ve copied down the URL with the IP address, minimize this window and continue on with “Client Access to the BIC2G:EE Server” below.

IMPORTANT: When you are ready to shutdown the BIC2G:EE Image, DO NOT USE the ‘X’ in the upper right corner of the window. Instead, login with the username: shutdown and password: shutdown. You’ll see the processes turning off, in sequence, in the console window. Note: In the “Running the Image” section, you’ll learn of another way to shut down the image. Only when the white background screen with the VMware image details returns should you shut down VMware Server.

Launching & Shutting Down BIC2G:EE with VMware Workstation

Run VMware Server by either using a shortcut or navigating: Start >> Programs >> VMware >> VMware Workstation. After accepting the license agreement, click “Open an Existing VM” and navigating to the directory where you uncompressed the image. Select the .vmx file and click Open.

When finished booting, READ the console screen carefully and note the URL with the IP address:

When the console screen looks like the above picture and you’ve copied down the URL with the IP address, minimize this window and continue on with “Client Access to the BIC2G:EE Server” below.

Browser Client Access to BIC2G:EE Server

The BIC2G:EE Server has a Mozilla Firefox browser already installed. However, many folks feel more comfortable operating from their Windows desktop. (Also, the OBI:EE Administrator is only available as a Windows Client.)

Note: The steps below assume the BIC2G:EE Server is running and has announced its URL with the IP address as described in the “VMware” section above.

Since each BIC2G:EE VMware image starts out as an identical clone, it has the same name as every other BIC2G:EE Image that might be on the network. In order avoid network conflicts and to make sure each client get access to the correct BIC2G:EE instance, the following client procedure is followed:

1. If proxies are used on the network, the proxy setting on the browser is temporarily disabled.

2. The server is reached by putting the URL with the IP address into the browser.

3. Recognizing it’s been accessed by IP address vs. its name, the BIC2G:EE server returns a page that:

a. Allows the user to download and run a customized batch file that associates the name ‘oracle2go.us.oracle.com’ to the BIC2G:EE Server’s current IP address for browser and all other client applications.

b. Instructs the user, if proxies are used, how to turn manual proxies on, with the exception of ‘oracle2g.us.oracle.com.’

c. Gives the user the opportunity to map a Windows network drive to the root directory of the Linux server. This “Samba share” makes it easy to update the Linux OBI:EE configuration files from the Windows environment.

d. Lets the user test the above by linking them to the BIC2G:EE Launchpad.

If the client needs to access a new BIC2G:EE server, or its IP Address changes, the above steps will need to be repeated. The specific instructions for the above steps for Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox are below.

Internet Explorer

If you are using Internet Explorer as your browser, the above client access procedure is followed:

1. If proxies are not used on your network, skip this step. Otherwise, temporarily disable proxies by:

a. Select Tools >> Internet Options… >> Connections (tab) >> LAN Settings… (button)

b. Uncheck all the boxes on the page (noting the current settings)

c. Click the OK button

d. Click the OK button

2. Navigate to the URL with your BIC2G:EE Server’s IP address

3. From the BIC2G Setup page

a. Step 1: Click the red “here” link and be ‘agreeable’.

which results in this:

b. ERRATA ALERT! Do STEP 3 BEFORE STEP 2. Step 3: If you wish to Map a Windows drive to the root directory of the BIC2G:EE Server, choose the desired drive letter, click the MAP button and be ‘agreeable.’

c. ERRATA ALERT! Do STEP 2 AFTER STEP 3. Step 2: If proxies are not used on your network, skip this step. Otherwise, navigate back to the browser’s proxy settings (Tools >> Internet Options >> Connections tab >> LAN Settings...)

i. Check “Use a proxy server…” in the Proxy Server box, leaving all automatic configuration options unchecked.

ii. Configure manual proxy. (For example, on the Oracle campus in the USA, the proxy address is www-proxy.us.oracle.com and the port is 80)

iii. Click the Advanced… button and prepend oracle2go.us.oracle.com; at the beginnnig of the proxy exception list. Note the semicolon separator.

iv. Save all settings by clicking OK three times.

d. Click on the http://oracle2go.us.oracle.com link. You may find bookmarking this URL is helpful later on.

If you plan on using clients other than just Internet Explorer, please continue on to the sections on getting started with Mozilla Firefox, OBI:EE Administrator, OLAP Option: Analytic Workspace Manager (AWM) and Oracle Warehouse Builder (OWB).

Mozilla Firefox

If you are using Mozilla Firefox as your browser, the above client access procedure is followed:

1. If proxies are not used on your network, skip this step. Otherwise, temporarily disable proxies by:

a. Select Tools >> Options… >> Connections Settings… (button)

b. Select the radio button for “Direct Connection to the Internet” (noting the original setting)

c. Click the OK button

d. Click the OK button

2. Navigate to the URL with your BIC2G:EE Server’s IP address

3. From the BIC2G Setup page

e. Step 1: Click the red “here” link, click OK to “Save to Disk” and put it on the desktop.

Open the bic2g.bat file, accept the warning, note/dismiss the DOS window and remove the downloaded file:

f. ERRATA ALERT! Do STEP 3 BEFORE STEP 2. Step 3: If you wish to Map a Windows drive to the root directory of the BIC2G:EE Server, choose the desired drive letter, click the MAP button, click OK to “Save to Disk”, and put it on the Desktop.

Open the mapdrive.bat file, accept the warning, note/dismiss the DOS window and remove the downloaded file:

g. ERRATA ALERT! Do STEP 2 AFTER STEP 3. Step 2: If proxies are not used on your network, skip this step. Otherwise, navigate back to the browser’s proxy settings: Tools >> Options… >> Connections Settings… (button)

i. Select the :Manual proxy configuraton” radio button.

ii. Configure http: proxy. (For example, on the Oracle campus in the USA, the proxy address is www-proxy.us.oracle.com and the port is 80)

iii. Prepend oracle2go.us.oracle.com, at the beginnnig of the “No Proxy for” list. Note the comma separator.

iv. Save all settings by clicking OK two times.

h. Click on the http://oracle2go.us.oracle.com link. You may find bookmarking this URL is helpful later on.

If you plan on using clients other than just Mozilla Firefox, please continue on to the sections on getting started with OBI:EE Administrator, OLAP Option: Analytic Workspace Manager (AWM) and Oracle Warehouse Builder (OWB).

Windows Client Access to BIC2G:EE Server

The BIC2G:EE DVD Kit contains a Disc labeled Windows Client Software. It has all the version compatible Windows client software for the BIC2G:EE Server Image.

OBI:EE Administrator

Pre-requisite: OBI:EE Administrator requires a Java Development Kit (JDK) to be installed on the machine. If you aren’t sure if you have it already installed, check in C:\Program Files\Java and look for a directory that begins with jdk… If you don’t have one, get the Sun JDK 6u1 by doing a Windows Platform Installation from http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp.

Since there was plenty of room on the DVD, both the compressed ZIP files and the uncompressed version of the installation files were provided. Run the Setup.exe program located at \BIEE-10.1.3.2\Server\Oracle_Business_Intelligence on the DVD.

· Confirm the space requirements. Click Next.

· Review the DEP instructions and take actions accordingly. Click Next.

· Choose the Installation Location and Data Location. If you are just installing the OBI:EE Administrator, the default Installation Type at Basic is just fine. Click Next.

· Again, if your intent is to only to load the OBI:EE Administrator, select the radio button for “Oracle Business Intelligence Client Tools.” Click Next.

· Enter the path to your Java Development Kit (JDK). (For example, C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_01). Click Next.

· Choose your favorite Error Message Language and click Next.

· Read the summary information and click Next.

· After the InstallShield Wizard announces success, note the Welcome Page URL, and click Next.

· Choose a re-start option and click Finish.

The Installation of BI EE is now complete. Please follow the next steps to configure the access to BI Server and Oracle Database in the VMWare.

Configuration of BI EE OBDC driver

As part of the standard installation an ODBC driver to access the BI Server has been created but is pointing to the local machine (your “Host”). These setting have to be changed to access the BI Server in the VMWare instead.

Steps to change the ODBC driver:

Open the MS ODBC Driver Administrator (located at “Start” – “Control Panel” – “Administrative Tools” – “Data Sources (ODBC)”:

Change to “System DSN”: you will find a new data source (potentially amongst others) for the Oracle BI Server

Click “Configure” to change the settings. Overwrite the Server address with “oracle2go.us.oracle.com” and click “Next”

Leave all fields as they are and click “Next”

Leave all field as they are and click “Next”

Click “Finish”

After this, a connection to the VMWare, using the BI Administration Tool is possible.

Installation Oracle ODBC Driver

On many machines a local Oracle Client may have been installed already. Please skip this topic if you do have an Oracle ODBC Driver on your “Host”

If you need an ODBC Driver for Oracle, you can choose different ways in getting a local Oracle Client. In this case, the “Instant Client” has been used.

Downloading “Instant Client”

For installing ODBC, you need to files from OTN: the basic instant client and the ODBC libraries
Go to the Oracle Technology Network Instant Client Homepage: http://otn.oracle.com/tech/oci/instantclient/instantclient.html
Click on “Downloads”:

Select Windows:

Accept the Licensing Questions and Download the “Basic” and “ODBC” package:

Extract both files to the same local directory

Run “odbc_install.exe”
Add this directory to the local Windows “PATH” variable
Add a new System Variable “TNS_ADMIN” and set the value to the same directory path
Create a new local file called “tnsnames.ora in the same directory with the following contents. (This file contains the connection information to the Oracle database in the BIC2G:EE.)

ORCL =

(DESCRIPTION =

(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST=oracle2g.us.oracle.com)(PORT = 1521))

(CONNECT_DATA =

(SERVER = DEDICATED)

(SERVICE_NAME = orcl.us.oracle.com)

)

Your Oracle ODBC connection is now configured.

OLAP Option: Analytic Workspace Manager (AWM)

Oracle Warehouse Builder (OWB)

Once you are finished with the above steps, you can start “Running the BIC2G:EE”

Back to BIC2G:EE Home Page.

Back to BIC2G Home Page.