Insight of OBIEE Architecture:

Insight of OBIEE Architecture-1

Insight of OBIEE Architecture-II
Insight of OBIEE Architecture-III
Insight of OBIEE Architecture-IV

Insight of OBIEE Architecture-1

Hi Frens,

I am sorry that I engrossed myself in posting some complex stuff and left the Basics in between,
so, here I am again with the Basics of OBIEE. In our previous posts we have covered Data
Modelling, Basics, Connection Pool, Joins etc. So, lets start to build more on that and lets go
through the Architecture of OBIEE.

The below diagram shows the basic architecture of OBIEE and its components:

Now, first of all lets understand the flow in which a request flows from Client to Data Source.
If a client runs a report, the request first goes to the Presentation Server and then it gets routed
to the BI Server and then it gets further routed to the underlying Database or the data source.

Client -> Presentation Server -> BI Server -> Data source

Now, the request is routed back through the similar route to the client. Which means, the data
is fetched from the Data source and it gets routed to Presentation server through BI server and
then to the client.

Client <- Presentation Server <- BI Server <- Data Source

The above flows provide a very basic idea of how the data is fetched and showed in a report in
OBIEE.
Now, lets understand it more properly by dividing the above diag. into segments and then :
1) Client and User Interface
2) Presentation Server & Presentation Catalog
3) BI Server & Admin Tool
4) Datasource

Client & User Interface: This level has the UI of OBIEE which is accessible to the clients and
users. The OBIEE UI has several components like OBIEE Answers, Interactive Dashboards
etc.

Oracle BI Answers is a powerful, ad hoc query and analysis tool that works against a logical
view of information from multiple data sources in a pure Web environment.

Oracle BI Interactive Dashboards are interactive Web pages that display personalized, role-
based information to guide users to precise and effective decisions.

BI Delivers is an alerting engine which gives users flexibility to schedule their reports and get
them delivered to their handheld devices or interactive dashboards or any other delivery
profile and helps in making quick business decisions.

In simpler terms we can say that, this is a web application which is accessible to the users for
preparing their reports/dashboards and do Ad-Hoc reporting to cater the business needs.

Insight of OBIEE Architecture-II

In the previous post we were studying the architecture of OBIEE, so, lets continue with it. We
have divided OBIEE Architecture in 4 segments to better understand it.
1) Client and User Interface
2) Presentation Server & Presentation Catalog
3) BI Server & Admin Tool
4) Datasource

We have covered the first segment in the previous post. So, lets understand the second segment.
Presentation Server & Presentation Catalog:

The BI Presentation server is basically a web server on which the OBIEE web application
runs. It processes the client requests and routes it to the BI Server and vice versa. It can be
deployed on any of the following IIS or Oc4j. It makes use of the Presentation catalog which
contains the aspects of the application.

The Presentation catalog stores the application dashboards, reports, folders and filters. It also
contains information regarding the permissions of dashboards & reports created by users. It is
created when the Presentation server starts and can be administered using the tool
called Catalog Manager.
In other words we can say that the Presentation server and the Presentation Catalog are
together responsible for providing the clients with a web server on which the web application
runs and also administers the look and feel of the User Interface.
This post covers basics of the Presentation server & catalog.

Insight of OBIEE Architecture-III

Previously, in the second segment we have discussed the Presentation Server and the
Presentation catalog. So, lets continue with the third segment where we will see what is the role
of the BI Server in the OBIEE Architecture.

BI SERVER AND ADMIN TOOL

BI Server is a highly scalable query and analysis server. It is the heart of the entire
architecture. It efficiently integrates data from multiple relational, unstructured, OLAP
application sources, both Oracle and non-Oracle.

It interacts with the Presentation server over TCP/IP and takes the reporting request from the
presentation server. Then the BI server processes the request and form logical and physical
queries(in case of database as data source) and this physical query is sent to the underlying data
source from which the data is processed. The BI Server interacts with the underlying database
using ODBC. Hence, the entire processing of request is done by the BI server.

In the above paragraph I have mentioned that the BI server creates a logical and physical
query. But how will the BI server generate this query?? How will the BI Server know what all
joins need to be used?? I guess all these questions must be coming to your mind. So, lets
understand the underlying process..

The BI server makes use of the BI Repository for converting the user request into logical and
physical queries. The BI Repository is the metadata using which the server gets the information
of the joins and the filters to be used in the query. It is the backbone of the architecture.

Now, this is the place where all the modelling is done and the role of OBIEE developers come
into picture . The BI Repository is created using the Administration Tool. The repository
contains three layers: Physical, BMM and Presentation Layer.
Physical Layer: Contains the tables imported from the underlying DB with appropriate joins
between them.

BMM Layer: This is the Business Model layer and hence all the Business logics are
implemented on this layer eg: Calculation of %age Sales, Revenue etc.

Presentation Layer: As the names specifies this layer is used for Presentation of required tables
and columns to the users. The columns pulled in this layer are directly visible to the users.

Where BI Server and Admin Tool come in picture???

Now, when the users log into the BI Answers i.e the user interface, they see all the columns that
are pulled on the Presentation Layer in the Repository. They choose the desired columns from
there and click results button to view the report. After that the request is sent to the BI Server
through the Presentation server, the BI server makes use of the BI Repository to formulate a
query out of the requested report based on the joins and tables specified in the repository. This
query is sent to the underlying DB and hence results are fetched.

I hope this post will clear some more concepts of yours regarding the BI Architecture.

Insight of OBIEE Architecture-IV

We have been discussing the OBIEE Architecture and we have covered 3 segments. So, here I
am with the 4th segment Data Sources.

This is a rather simple one as we all know till now that OBIEE is a reporting tool and works on
data from underlying Databases, so here Data Sources are the underlying Databases with
which the OBIEE server interacts. OBIEE is a very smart tool and it has got the capability of
reporting on multiple Databases and also multiple types of Databases like XML, Oracle, SQL
Server etc.
Now, in the previous posts you have seen what is an OBIEE Repository and what is the
Physical Layer and what are connection pools. I am reminding you of these things because our
current segment is based on this and we will see how.

Now, when we design the OBIEE Metadata or repository for reporting, we import the tables
on which we need to perform reporting into the physical layer from the respective DBs. And
then we apply appropriate joins between the tables and further pull them to BMM and then to
Presentation Layer for reporting.

The question that comes out here is “How does the BI Server interacts with the underlying DBs
for showing the reports???”

The answer to this question lies in the Connection Pools. If we open the Connection Pool we can
see that we need to select the Call Interface, give the name of the DSN, give
a Username and password. These things help up to connect to the Database.
Call Interface – There is a drop down from where we can select the appropriate Call Interface.
Some examples are ODBC, OCI etc. Both ODBC and OCI can be used for Oracle. The main
difference between using them is, In ODBC we need to create a DSN in the system where the
server is installed but OCI is a native DSN and we can use it directly without creating the DSN
in the system.

DSN- This is the name of the DSN which OBIEE uses to connect to the underlying DB.
Username- The user with which OBIEE connects the DB. Generally the user used for reporting
should only have the read priviledges on the DB.

Password- Password of the user with which OBIEE connects to the DB.
Now, when a user runs the report in Answers the OBIEE server accesses the DB using the
connection pool with the specified Call Interface and username and returns the data.

The next question is “How does the BI server takes care of a report formed using columns and
tables from multiple DBs???”

As I have told you earlier also that BI server is very intellegent and is built in such a way that it
can process request formed from multiple DBs. When the user generates a report involving
multiple DBs, the request navigates to the Navigator section in the BI Server which checks the
underlying DBs with which OBIEE needs to interact to. Then the BI server generates separate
queries for the DBs and fire them on the respective DBs. Then it fetches the data from the
underlying DBs and combines the result set in its own memory and displays the result in the
report.

With this post we have covered the 4 segments of the OBIEE Architecture. I hope this will help
you alot in understanding the BI Architecture and also in understanding the OBIEE
behaviour. In the upcoming posts I will also try to go into the details and throw some more light
on the BI Server components.
Differences Between Siebel Analytics & OBIEE

Oracle BI Answers-Based Metadata Dictionary Feature

This feature enables administrators to analyze metadata repository statistics in Oracle BI Answers.
The OBIEE server can generate metadata dictionary which describes the metrics contained in
a rep and the attribs of rep objects. Its an XML doc.

In OBIEE this can be accessed directly from BI Answers selection pane where specific
metadata information will be shown to guide report construction. Once this BI Answers based
functionality is been enabled an icon will appear next to each Subject Area, Table name, and
Column shown in the selection pane for that Subject Area. Clicking on the icon will open up a
specific Metadata Dictionary page to show information for that element and links to related
repository information

Multi-Select Dashboard Prompts Feature

This feature enables users to analyze data more easily with an easier to use method. Prior to
this, a multi-select dashboard prompt with a large number of values could become difficult to
work with.

A new search feature adds the ability to better navigate and select values from a multi-select
prompt when there are many values. Modifications to the existing multi-select dashboard
prompt now allow the user to search through the available values using four matching
schemes: begins with, ends with, contains, and is Like (Pattern Match). Wildcards like % can also
be used in the query. A more sophisticated paging mechanism is also now present which allows
the user to page ahead according to a configured search set size as needed. Some other features
are also added in multiselect prompts like copy paste of values and selection of multiple value
susing shift key.

Integration with BI Dashboard Feature

2 new Interactive Dashboard features have been added to provide additional interactivity with
Microsoft Office.

1) Download to PowerPoint

This new link is found within the “Report Links” Download menu and will download a static
version of that report to PowerPoint. The Oracle BI Office Add-in does not need to be installed
to use this functionality.

2) Paste reports directly into MS Office applications

This functionality is also made available along with the other Dashboard Report Links
configured using the Dashboard Editor. A new “Copy” link can be added to a report that will
copy the XML definition of the current report to the Windows clipboard. Pasting this link
using the Paste function found in the Oracle BI menu will convert the copied XML into an
Office version of that report. This functionality will only work where the Oracle BI Office Add-
in has been installed. Once pasted, this Dashboard report will then be translated into native
Office objects that can be subsequently refreshed with live data at any point.

Import Oracle Catalog Feature

Enables Admins to import Database objects through a native Oracle OCI connection.
The OBI Admin Tool supports importing of physical Database objects through a native Oracle
OCI connection and reuses the same OCI connection for queries. This feature mitigates the
need to setup an ODBC connection to an Oracle Database purely for importing metadata
objects into the Admin Tool.

Embedded Database Functions Feature

Enables users & Admins to create more powerful reports by directly calling Database functions
from either Oracle BI Answers or by using a Logical column (in the Logical Table source) within
the Metadata (repository). Eg: Evaluate function etc.

Presentation Variable

A new variable has been introduced which help accepting the dynamic values from the user in
Oracle BI Answers. presentation variable must be declared in a dashboard prompt (using the
Set Variable field), and its name and value are determined by the user.
Components:

Oracle BI Presentation Services:

Oracle BI Answers
BI Dashboards
BI Delivers
Oracle BI Answers:

Oracle BI Answers is used for building or submitting requests.This provides answers to

business questions. Users will permissions can build and modify reports or requests. Users can
also interact with the information and present and visualize the infomation in the form of
charts,pivot tables and reports.The results from BI Answers can be formatted ,saved,organized
and also be shared with others.

BI Dashboards:

Interactive Dashboards provide points of access for analytics information. When an end user
accesses Oracle BI, the user’s default dashboard is typically the first page that appears.
Dashboards are typically used to display reports(requested by BI Answers) that contain
content specific to the needs of individual users or groups.Users with the appropriate
permissions can place results from Oracle BI Answers into dashboards for use by end users.

BI Delivers:

Oracle BI Delivers is the interface used to create Oracle Business Intelligence Alerts based on
analytics results. Specific results can be detected within reports and the appropriate people
notified immediately through Web,
wireless, and mobile communications channels.

Basic Flow of Processing the Request:

1.The user views a dashboard or submits a request via Oracle Answers.

2.Oracle BI Presentation Services makes a request to Oracle BI Server to retrieve the
requested data by the user.
3.Using the repository file, Oracle BI Server optimizes functions to request the data from the
data sources.
4.Oracle BI Server receives the data from the data sources and processes.
5.Oracle BI Server passes the data to Oracle BI Presentation Services.
6.Oracle BI Presentation Services formats the data and
sends it to the client or user