Force EPM Web Language To English

Long time, no blog posts... Unfortunately I have been too busy at work to give much thought to my blog but here comes a small and useful trick I have been using quite a lot lately.

Many companies use EPM/Hyperion products throughout their world-wide organization. Latest EPM versions have been translated into a large number of languages which is naturally a good thing for all the end-users wanting to view the web interface in their own language. Supporting software that allows the language to be chosen by users (or by the web browser in this case) can be  challenging though - it may not be easy to deal with error reports shown in Chinese or Finnish for example.

Infratects Top Gun 2013 Event Announced

If you work with EPM/Hyperion products and are interested in the technical aspects of the products in any way - these are the dates you should already book in your calendar! The second annual Infratects EPM Infrastructure Top Gun Event will be held on March 15th and 16th in Barcelona, Spain. Watch this space and the Infratects website for more detailed information soon.

Download Old EPM/Hyperion Binaries While You Still Can

Just thought I'd post a quick note about the following statement that was posted on the Oracle EPM Proactive Support blog today:

The following media packs will be removed from E-Delivery this week, as of the above reason.

• Hyperion 9.3.1
• Hyperion 9.2.1
• Hyperion Pre-system 9
• EPM 11.1.1.3
• EPM 11.1.1.4

If you are still using one of these versions it might be a good idea to grab the installation packages  - just in case you need to reinstall any components in the future. Access to the removed media packs can be arranged later by contacting Oracle Support and asking to receive the archived software but it is a lot easier to have a local copy of the files in any case.

Link: eDelivery (Delivery Cloud) Housekeeping - removal of obsolete EPM products

Update on October 4th:

Looks like the original statement was not an empty threat. The only pre-EPM 11.1.2 packages remaining on eDelivery (and on the Oracle Technology site) are the latest Hyperion Enterprise media files:

If you still need to install EPM 9.3.x or 11.1.1.3 (for a staging server for example) you need to dig into your own stash of media files or follow the steps detailed in this Support document to request a separate download:

Requesting Physical Shipment or Download URL for Software Media [ID 1071023.1]

PSU 600 Brings IE9 Support To EPM 11.1.2.1

The following Patch Set Updates have been made available on Oracle Support with the primary purpose of adding support for Internet Explorer 9 into Oracle EPM System Release 11.1.2.1.

• Patch Set Update: 11.1.2.1.600 for EPM Architect (patch ID 14224664)
• Patch Set Update: 11.1.2.1.600 for Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) (patch ID 14354419)
• Patch Set Update: 11.1.2.1.600 for Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management (patch ID 14548006)
• Patch Set Update: 11.1.2.1.600 Hyperion Planning (patch ID 14464109)
• Patch Set Update: 11.1.2.1.600 Shared Services 11.1.2.1 (patch ID 14142678)
• Patch Set Update: 11.1.2.1.600 Workspace 11.1.2.1 (patch ID 14119724)

You should apply the PSUs for Shared Services and Workspace in all environments and include the other specific updates depending on what products are installed. Take time to study the readme files carefully as some of the updates (especially the one for Planning) includes quite a few prerequisites and also instructions to work around known issues.

I'm not sure if these will be the only products to receive (or to require) the IE9 treatment but this information will hopefully be added to the EPM certification matrix document soon. It's also worth noting that the readme file for the Planning PSU mentions that even with these updates applied, Internet Explorer 9 is still supported in compatibility view mode only.

Maximum Number of Custom Dimensions In HFM 11.1.2.2

Note: I have now updated the post with some additional research. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see my later findings.

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"Unlimited" number of custom dimensions is one of the biggest changes introduced in HFM 11.1.2.2. The actual amount of dimensions is not unlimited though - and it is pretty hard to find solid information about the real limits at the moment. So far the best resource explaining how to use the expanded dimensionality seems to be this post on the Oracle OBI/EPM PAE (Product  Assurance Engineering) blog:

• Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) Configurable Dimensions FAQ

A Ton Of Updates For EPM 11.1.2.2

I just noticed that the long awaited Patch Set Update for HFM has been released yesterday. And Financial Management is not the only product to get the PSU .300 treatment - read below for a full list of recently released updates for EPM 11.1.2.2.0:

Summer Vacation And Career Update

I'm currently trying to steer away from all things EPM as I started my summer vacation on Monday, 2nd of July. I will return to work on July the 30th - and the interesting part is that after the holiday I'm starting in my new position at Infratects. The Netherlands-based company specializing in EPM/Hyperion infrastructure services and hosting business is expanding and I will start in their newly opened office in Espoo, Finland. I'm looking forward to seeing what EPM consulting work feels like when seen outside the vendor's safe walls...

Have a nice summer and be sure to check back in early August!

EPM 11.1.2.2 Advanced Team Training Material

The material from the Advanced Team Training that was held for Oracle Consulting Services and other internal audiences earlier this year has been published on the Oracle EPM/BI Whitepaper website. The zip bundle contains the following Powerpoint slidesets targeted to EPM infrastructure consultants and other parties interested in learning more about the technical changes in the latest EPM release:

• Configuring OWSM - A tutorial describing the steps required to deploy Oracle Web Services Manager (required by Financial Close Management and Profitability and Cost Management)
• Deployment Report - A short description of the contents of the deployment report that's included in EPM 11.1.2.2
• Deployment Trouble Shooting Process - Tips for troubleshooting different phases of the EPM deployment (installation, configuration, startup etc.)
• Infrastructure and Architectural Changes - Standard Deployment Guide, Compact Deployment, Shared Services/LCM improvements explained. Also worth noting: Exalytics support for Planning and Essbase.
• Installation and Configuration Changes - An in-depth look at the changes in the EPM 11.1.2.2 installation and configuration tools
• Lifecycle Management and Security Changes - A presentation about the new simplified LCM user interface
• Managing EPM Using FMW Control - A short overview about the capabilities of the Fusion Middleware Control application bundled with the latest EPM release.

Get the training material on the EPM/BI Whitepaper website.

HFM 11.1.2.1 PSU 104

Here's a quick heads-up note for HFM customers: HFM 11.1.2.1 has received another update in the form of Patch Set Update 104. The update includes one new feature - logging capability for the Task Automation module which helps in troubleshooting taskflow issues. The PSU is cumulative so it includes all previous HFM Patch Set Updates and also a lenghty list of new fixes.

Review the readme file and download the package for HFM 11.1.2.1 PSU 104 on Oracle Support.

HFM 11.1.2.2 User Interface

In this post I will show you what the HFM web interface looks like in the new EPM 11.1.2.2 release. There are quite a few changes - partly because the technical foundation has been changed and partly for the reason that HFM applications now support virtually unlimited number of custom dimensions.

EPM 11.1.2.2 Installation and Configuration - First Impressions Part 2

I know many of you have been waiting to see more details about the EPM 11.1.2.2 release. I have been really busy at work as my calendar is pretty much full of EPM upgrade projects... But here's the update I promised with details about:

• EPM Deployment Report
• Enterprise Manager
• The new HFM web interface and more

EPM 11.1.2.2 Installation and Configuration - First Impressions Part 1

Yesterday I did an installation of some basic Oracle EPM 11.1.2.2 modules (HFM, Planning, Essbase) on a virtual machine running Server 2008 R2. Here are my thoughts about the installation and configuration process concentrating mainly on what's different compared to previous versions. If you want to install a sandbox environment on your own VM you should see the Rapid Deployment guides available on the EPM 11.1.2.2 Documentation Library site (there's one available for HFM, Planning and Essbase each).

EPM 11.1.2.2 is out!

The latest release of the Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System is now available on the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud (the Oracle Press Release was already published on April 4th). I'm downloading the packages while typing this so be sure to come back later to read my comments about the installation and configuration process! And also remember to read the friendly Readme files before starting to install as they may save you some headaches.

EPM 11.1.2.2 media on eDelivery

Updated certification document: EPM 11.1.2.x System Requirements and Supported Platforms

Update (April 12th): The EPM Documentation section on Oracle Technology Network has been updated with a complete EPM 11.1.2.2 Documentation Library.


New Features in this Release
(Note: From the installation and configuration point of view - pretty much straight out of  epm_1112200_readme.pdf. Consult the product-specific readme files in the EPM Documentation Library for product specific changes.)

• IBM WebSphere 7.0.0.19+ (AS, ND) is now supported as an application server.
• FireFox 10.x+ and Internet Explorer 9 are now supported Web browsers.
• Microsoft Office 2010 64 bit is now supported.
• After completing an EPM System deployment, you can generate a deployment report that provides information about configured Web applications, Web servers, databases, and data directories used by EPM System. This report can help you troubleshoot issues that might arise in your deployment.
• The Oracle Enterprise Manager “Fusion Middleware Control” is now installed and deployed with EPM System. You can use this tool to manage the WebLogic domain and all Java Web applications in EPM System out of the box.
• The EPM System Media pack on Oracle Software Delivery Cloud has been simplified. Software downloads have been merged together. See the Media Pack Readme for a list of downloads needed for your domain/product.
• Installation of Oracle HTTP Server is now optional. If you choose not to install Oracle HTTP Server, for example in a development environment, Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System Installer installs an embedded WebLogic HTTP Server as part of Oracle Hyperion Foundation Services that acts as a proxy server. In a production environment, Oracle recommends that you install Oracle HTTP Server for use with Oracle WebLogic Server or IBM HTTP Server for use with WebSphere. You can also install and manually configure Apache HTTP Server with WebLogic Server.
• Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) Client Installers are now provided for Oracle Essbase Client, Oracle Essbase Administration Services Console, Oracle Essbase Studio Console, and Oracle Hyperion Financial Management Client.
• Three new “rapid deployment” documents provide step-by-step instructions for building a typical Oracle Hyperion Planning, Financial Management, or Essbase development environment on a single server running Microsoft Windows. These documents are available on the Deployment tab of the EPM System Documentation Library (http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/epm.html). [NOTE: The EPM Documentation Library has not been updated yet (as of April 10th). The rapid deployment guides are included in the Installation Documents package available on eDelivery though.]
• A new Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System Standard Deployment Guide outlines the best-practice approach for deploying EPM System products. This approach is based on creating a base deployment of the products and then scaling out the services to handle the needed capacity.
• A new “Account Reconciliation” Web application has been added to the Oracle Hyperion Financial Close Management managed server. See the Financial Close Management documentation for information about using the functionality provided by this new Web application.
• A new “ADF” Web application has been added for Financial Management.
• You can now manage Financial Management clusters from one machine. Cluster information is now stored in Oracle Hyperion Shared Services Registry rather than in the Windows registry. Other usability enhancements have also been made for Financial Management configuration.
• The Oracle Hyperion Financial Reporting Print Server is now part of the Financial Reporting Web application. You no longer have to install the Print Server as part of the Financial Reporting Studio installation, and you no longer need Microsoft Office on the Print Server.
• You can now deploy EPM System Web applications to a single managed server (compact server) in Development, Test, and Production environments. This reduces the overall memory requirement of EPM System and reduces startup time.
• The Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System High Availability and Disaster Recovery Guide has been merged into the Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System Installation and Configuration Guide.
• Online Help content for EPM System products is served from a central Oracle download location, which reduces the download and installation time for EPM System. You can also install and configure online Help to run locally. For more information, see the Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System Installation and Configuration Guide.

Index Of Current Patch Set Updates For EPM Products

"Patch Set Update" or PSU is the Oracle equivalent for update packages that used to be called Service Packs in the Hyperion times. An article which lists the currently available PSUs for the following EPM products has recently been published on Support.

• Financial Management (HFM)
• Reporting and Analysis
• Financial Reporting
• Interactive Reporting
• Planning
• Essbase
• Financial Data Quality Management (FDQM)
• Enterprise Performance Management Architect (EPMA)
• Calculation Manager

Bookmark the article or add it to your Favorites list on Oracle Support so you can easily go back and check the latest recommended updates for the products installed in your EPM/Hyperion environment.

Oracle Support: Available Patch Sets and Patch Set Updates for Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management Products [ID 1400559.1]

Updated Tuning Guides For EPM 9.3.1, 11.1.1 and 11.1.2

Ahmed Awan kindly notified us on the EPM/BI Product Assurance Engineering blog that the EPM tuning guides have been updated and are publicly downloadable via the blog. Get the contents via these posts:

• EPM 11.1.1 - EPM Infrastructure Tuning Guide v11.1.1.3
• EPM 11.1.2 - EPM Infrastructure Tuning Guide v11.1.2.1

The section called Top Tuning Recommendations is a good starting point to make sure that the most important performance related settings are correct in your environment.

Browser Version Detection (OHS Customization Part 2)

One of my customers running EPM 11.1.2.1 faced issues last week when some of their end users had received new laptops with Internet Explorer 9 installed. It took some time for the IT department and EPM admins to figure out that the random problems that were being reported were actually caused by the unsupported browser version instead of other technical issues. We discussed how to work around the problem of unwanted browser versions - the most important method being centralized control over browser installations of course - but this gave me an idea of giving EPM end users a warning in case they were using an unsupported web browser.

Update About EPM 11.1.2.2

Eric Helmer has blogged about the changes and new features in Enterprise Performance Management System release 11.1.2.2. The usual disclaimer applies of course (things might change as it's an upcoming release) - but even if some features might not make it into the final version it's still an interesting read.

• The I.T. Side - Update on 11.1.2.2 – What you need to know!

WebLogic Proxy Troubleshooting Tips for OHS and IIS

Marc Schumacher has written handy instructions for troubleshooting issues occuring with the WebLogic proxy plugin configured into OHS (Oracle HTTP Server) or IIS web servers. Head on to the Oracle EPM/OBI - Product Assurance Engineering blog to check them out.

Tidy Up WebLogic Server After EPM System Installation

Here are two recommended tasks for WebLogic Server you can perform to make your fresh EPM installation more production-ready:

• Remove the Demo CA certificate that is installed with WebLogic for development and testing purposes
• Specify the Listen Address so WebLogic will only bind to the production network interface (instead of all interfaces including backup and management networks which is the default behavior) 

Read on to see how to carry out these changes.

Must-Have Patch for Load-Balanced HFM Environments

If you're planning to install an EPM 11.1.2.1 environment where HFM web components are running on two web servers you should definitely pick up the following patch from Oracle Support:

• Shared Services 11.1.2.1.000 Patch Set Exception (PSE): 13240594

The patch fixes (among a few other things) an issue with the clustered OHS (Oracle HTTP Server) ProxyPass configuration which is automatically created by EPM System Configurator. The incorrect configuration caused me quite a few head-scratching moments before I found out about the HSS patch as it messes up cookie handling for LCM and potentially also for some other web applications. So be sure to apply this and follow the instructions in the readme file carefully!

Copying HFM Applications On The Command Line

The command line version of the HfmCopyApplication utility - called HfmCopyAppCmd - is a useful but often overlooked tool. Some potential uses for HfmCopyAppCmd include:

• Scheduled copies of HFM applications - for example monthly synchronization between Production and Development environments
• Scheduling long-running copy processes to get them performed during the night time
• Creating a batch file to copy several HFM applications in a sequence - useful for migrations

Customize the OHS Home Page

If your EPM 11.1.2.x configuration uses Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) as the front-end web server you have probably seen the page shown below. This is the Fusion Middleware welcome page that OHS is configured to display as its home page by default.

The OHS welcome page

The welcome page may be confusing to end users as it talks about Fusion Middleware but doesn not mention EPM or Hyperion at all so you might want to customize it to include some more appropriate content. Here are four easy steps to accomplish this:

EPM System Standard Deployment Guide

EPM System Standard Deployment Guide is a recently published Oracle document that describes the Standard Deployment Topology for the EPM products. To put it simply the guide shows you an Oracle-approved and tested way to install the main EPM modules (HFM, Planning, Essbase) in a multi-server environment and also how to scale out (or to cluster) different parts of the system when needed. The standard environment is based on EPM 11.1.2.1 installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system and Oracle 11g database but the installation and configuration process can be adjusted to suit any supported operating system.

Oracle EPM Standard Deployment Topology

Get More Out Of Oracle Support - Part 1

The Oracle Support HOT Topics Email

In my first post I promised to concentrate on technical things but I have noticed that a lot of people working with EPM/Hyperion products do not know about this useful feature available on the Oracle Support site. The HOT Topics Email allows you to receive notifications about new and modified Knowledge Base articles concerning products you subscribe to on your profile page. The topics for these articles vary from bugfixes to general hints and tips and they might provide a solution to that small annoying problem you have been suffering from but have not bothered to create a Support Request about yet.

Welcome!

Hi,

My name is Henri Vilminko. I work as an EPM Infrastructure consultant for Oracle Finland where I have been installing, troubleshooting and designing server environments for EPM/Hyperion products for four years. Being the type of person who likes to share and discuss I decided to create this blog so I could get my findings and ideas out to the EPM community. As I work with the infrastructure or "the server side" of the products I will mainly concentrate on technical tips and tricks but I will try and keep it at a level that should be useful and interesting to customers and fellow consultants alike. Feel free to add comments and ideas about what kind of content you would like to see in the future!

Best Regards,
Henri