Copy HFM Applications Using The Import Application Feature

In this post I document the steps required to configure the Import Application feature introduced in HFM 11.1.2.4.200. I recommend reading my earlier post about the Patch Set Update if you haven't done that already. Note that the configuration is database vendor specific and I used MS SQL Server – if you need guidance for setting things up with an Oracle database you can see Larry Lapp's recent blog post about the same topic.

Prerequisites

• HFM with Patch Set Update 11.1.2.4.200 (patch number 21225611) installed 
• Access to SQL Server Management Studio with sysadmin privileges
• SYSADMIN role granted to the SQL login used by HFM (Yes – the almighty sysadmin role. This requirement is documented as known issue #21032270 in the PSU .200 readme)

Quick Review Of HFM Patch Set Update 11.1.2.4.200

Oracle has released another big PSU to HFM 11.1.2.4. This one has been in the works for a long time so I was eager to test the update ASAP even though I'm still jet-lagged after returning from a two-week vacation in the Far East.

Version number reads "Oracle Hyperion Financial Management, Fusion Edition - 11.1.2.4.200.5149"

New Features

Let's start with the most interesting bits. The list of new features included in the readme file is long but slightly misleading... Most of the "new" functions have already been included in PSU .100 and just listed again as this is a cumulative patch. Read on to find out what actually is new in this Patch Set Update.

Copy Application Utility For HFM 11.1.2.4 - Well, sort of...

Oracle has just released a new patch for Financial Management 11.1.2.3. The patch delivers what many (if not all) customers who have adopted the latest HFM release have been asking for: a version of the Copy Application utility that works with HFM 11.1.2.4. The following actions are possible using the updated utility:

• Copy HFM applications between different 11.1.2.4 environments (both need to have minimum patch level of 11.1.2.4.100)
• Copy HFM applications from older release (11.1.2.x) to 11.1.2.4. The Upgrade Applications taks must be performed in EPM System Configurator afterwards.

HFM 11.1.2.4 PSU 100 - Fixes And New Features

EPM version 11.1.2.4 was released in February and as you probably already know it brought a lot of changes to Hyperion Financial Management. Application performance is promised to be better and the new simplified HFM architecture has other benefits as well. Still it's common for many customers to be careful after major changes like this and to wait for at least one Patch Set Update to become available before picking up the new version. After a long wait, HFM PSU 11.1.2.4.100 was released on Friday last week. You can download PSU .100 (patch nr. 20455650) on Oracle Support. Let's have a look at the list of changes in this update.

New Features

The following new features are introduced in the PSU.

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