OBIEE - Automatically Generate Repository Documentation

I have strived to close the loop with automating all of the internal reporting on OBIEE.

So far we have automated the capture of what reports, filters and prompts are on our dashboards.

We have in place an automatic system for recording the performance of the reports on the current dashboards. This we run every night and the results uploaded to the database.

We have the option of running an 'after' script which compares the output from dashboards (logical sql, row counts and timings) when we upload a new repository, this gives us impact analysis.

What we lacked was a way to automate the generation of the repository documentation. This was the manual step that was sometimes skipped.

Having a report on the repository, from physical to presentation and then joining this data to what's on the dashboards gives us a view of what's being used where and where the data is sourced from.

Now I must admit, this seems like a 'hack' and I wouldn't use it on any environment where I couldn't freely break things without causing damage. Oh, and it is windows only - there is no AdminTool for Linux/Solaris - sigh.

The Repository Command Script

So what do we have to do?

We are going to use the /command switch of the AdminTool to run a script of, you guessed it, .... commands.

The command script we've called report_rep.build and put in the following few lines, replacing MWHOMW with your own settings, repository with your own and the repository password with your own.

OpenOffline <MWHOME>\instances\instance1\bifoundation\OracleBIServerComponennt\coreapplication_obis1\repository\repository.rpd <repository password>
DescribeRepository D:\scriptoutput\repository_report.csv UTF-8
Close
Exit

The next part involves creating a script to run the AdminTool and pass in the script file. Just to be safe it may be worth setting the environment using some of the bits from the bi-init.cmd as follows:

@echo off
set ORACLE_HOME=<MWHOME>\Oracle_BI
set ORACLE_INSTANCE=<MWHOME>\instances\instance1
set ORACLE_BI_APPLICATION=coreapplication
set JAVA_HOME=<MWHOME>\Oracle_BI1\jdk
set ESSBASEPATH=%ORACLE_HOME%\clients\epm\Essbase\EssbaseRTC
call %ORACLE_INSTANCE%\bifoundation\OracleBIApplication\%ORACLE_BI_APPLICATION%\setup\user.cmd
set PATH=%ORACLE_HOME%\common\ODBC\Merant\5.3\Drivers;%ORACLE_HOME%\bifoundation\server\bin;%ORACLE_HOME%\bifoundation\web\bin;%ESSBASEPATH%\bin;%ORACLE_HOME%\bin;%PATH%
<MWHOME>\Oracle_BI1\bifoundation\server\bin\AdminTool.exe /command d:\scripts\report_rep.build

Before running the above script we copy the latest repository to one side and call it repository.rpd. Not very imaginative I know but that way we don't muck around with the actual repository and, in theory, if we script it right, this will always be a copy of the latest and most up to date RPD.

You should be left with a CSV report of your repository (all being well).

Upload to your favourite database and analysis tool.

OBIEE - Sample Administration Documentation

As I mentioned in Part 1 of a previous article here, you really need to have documentation around your OBIEE environment.


Not the most glamerous of suggestions surely, but your boss and sysadmin will love you. Start by documenting where to find stuff middleware home, logfiles, config files (instanceconfig.xml etc.), the URLs used for administration.

Then move on to documenting the config changes made after the install, what settings were changed and if known what the default values were before and what they are now. What are the connection details for your RCU schemas (BIPLATFORM and MDS). Capture things like server names and directory structures.

Now comes the living documents which you can generate periodically and version. Run off a repository report and catalog reports. This will give you (and your colleagues) a better understanding of what the repository looks like and also what in the catalog is where on the dashboards.

As an added benefit you can now work backwards from the catalog reports through the repository reports to see where data comes from to fill reports, and vice-versa, from a physical column work your way through the repository to the catalog report to see where the data is used.

Remember, having no documentation means a risk to your business.

And keep it up to date, mark your calendar for a monthly review, most times , no change, but there will be that month.......

Here's a suggestion of some topics to get you started!

General Info about your OBIEE Install

Server
URL
DNS Shortcut
WebLogic Console
Enterprise Manager
Repository Name
Catalog Path

Install Type Information

Type
OS
Install Dir

OBIEE Configuration

writeback
EVALUATE_SUPPORT_LEVEL
Usage Tracking
Repository Monitoring

Users/Passwords

Schema Prefix
BIPLATFORM
MDS
weblogic
Repository

Custom Deployments

password_change.ear

Maps