BI Publisher Overview

Muhammad Rafi Aamiri Madani on Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher is a reporting and publishing

application that enables you to extract data from multiple data sources,
create a template to lay out the data in a report, and publish the report to
numerous output formats. BI Publisher also enables you to schedule reports
and deliver the reports to any delivery channel required by your business.
Administering BI Publisher requires setting up and maintaining the following
system components:
BI0020Publishersecurity

Data

Integrations
with

Report

Runtime

BI
Publisher
System maintenance options

source
other
Oracle
delivery
configuration
Scheduler

connections
products
options
settings
configurations

Integration
Oracle BI Publisher enables you to integrate with the following products:
Oracle BI Presentation Services - This integration enables you to use
Oracle BI Answers requests as data sources for your reports.
Oracle BI Discoverer - This integration enables you to use Oracle BI
Discoverer Worksheets as data sources for your reports.
Hyperion Workspace and Shared Services - This integration enables you to
access BI Publisher from within the Oracle Enterprise Performance
Management Workspace.
Oracle Smart Space Client - This integration enables you to set up a link to
the Oracle Smart Space download page. This will enable all BI Publisher
users to easily access the Oracle Smart Space client download page from
their BI Publisher session.
Oracle E-Business Suite This integration can be done by uploading a DBC
file to recognize your Oracle E-Business Suite users.
Oracle BI Server This can be integrated by setting up the BI Publisher

roles in your BI Server Administration tool then configure BI Publisher to

integrate with it.
Integrating with Oracle E-Business Suite
1. In the Oracle E-Business Suite, log in as a System Administrator and
create the following responsibilities to correspond to the BI Publisher
functional roles:
XMLP_ADMIN this is the administrator role for the BI Publisher server.
XMLP_DEVELOPER allows users to build reports in the system.
XMLP_SCHEDULER allows users to schedule reports.
XMLP_ANALYZER_EXCEL allows users to use the Excel analysis feature.
XMLP_ANALYZER_ONLINE allows users to use the online analysis
feature.
XMLP_TEMPLATE_DESIGNER - allows users to connect to the BI Publisher
server from the Template Builder and to upload and download templates.
2. Add the new BI Publisher responsibilities to the appropriate Users.
3. Log in to BI Publisher Enterprise. From the Admin tab, select Security
Configuration.
4. In the Security Model section of the page, select Oracle E-Business Suite
from the list.
5. Load your dbc file from the E-Business Suite instance. This is typically
located under the $FND_SECURE directory. If you do not have access to this
file, contact your E-Business Suite system administrator. This file specifies
how BI Publisher should access the E-Business Suite instance.
6. It is recommended that you create a local super user for the system to
allow you to access the Administrator pages once the changes take effect.
Select the Enable Local Superuser check box and enter a username and
password for the user under the Local Superuser section of the Security
Configuration tab.
7. Restart the BI Publisher server for the security changes to take effect.
Once you restart the system, all your E-Business Suite responsibilities will be
visible as roles in the BI Publisher security center. Add folders to the EBusiness Suite roles.
Integrating with Oracle BI Server Security
This is done by defining BI Publisher functional roles within the Oracle BI

Server Administration tool, assign users to these groups, and then specify
Oracle BI Security as your security model in the BI Publisher Admin
interface.
1. In the BI Server Administration tool, create the following groups to
correspond to the BI Publisher functional roles:
XMLP_ADMIN this is the administrator role for the BI Publisher server.
XMLP_DEVELOPER allows users to build reports in the system.
XMLP_SCHEDULER allows users to schedule reports.
XMLP_ANALYZER_EXCEL allows users to use the Excel analysis feature.
XMLP_ANALYZER_ONLINE allows users to use the online analysis
feature.
XMLP_TEMPLATE_DESIGNER - allows users to connect to the BI Publisher
server from the Template Builder and to upload and download templates.
2. Add the appropriate users to the BI Publisher groups in the BI Server
Administration tool.
3. In the BI Publisher Enterprise application, log in with Administration
privileges. From the Admin tab select Security Configuration.
4. In the Security Model section of the page, select Oracle BI Server from
the list. Provide the following connection information for the BI Server:
JDBC Connection String - example: jdbc:oraclebi://host:port/
Administrator Username and Administrator Password
Database Driver Class - example: oracle.bi.jdbc.AnaJdbcDriver
5. It is recommended that you create a local super user for the system to
allow you to access the Administrator pages once the changes take effect.
Select the Enable Local Superuser check box and enter a username and
password for the user under the Local Superuser section of the Security
Configuration tab.
6. Restart the BI Publisher server for the security changes to take effect.
Logging into Business Intelligence Publisher
1. Navigate to the URL provided by your system administrator. The URL is of
the format http://hostname:port/xmlpserver/
2. Select the language you prefer for the user interface.
3. Enter your credentials to log in to BI Publisher.
4. Select Accessibility Mode if you wish to render the Reports home page in
an accessible tree structure.

5. Select Sign In.

Oracle Applications with a focus on HRMS

Saturday, 1 March 2014

OBIEE vs. BI Publisher vs. Polaris Reporting

Workbench
I was recently asked - how can you explain to a user about the difference between OBIEE, BI Publisher
and Polaris Reporting Workbench to a business user in simple terms. More specifically, how would you
assess the business situation of a client and suggest one of the three reporting tools mentioned below.
I asked a few people around about their opinion, did some research (a.k.a. Google Search) and tried to
put down some key features which I hope will highlight the key differences between what these products
can offer.
Read on ... and I will be happy to hear your feedback via comments:

Feature

OBIEE

BI Publisher

In brief?

Dynamic and interactive ad-hoc reporting

capabilities; dashboard type reporting.

Meant for operational reporting, not analytical

reporting. Mainly for creation of pixel perfect
operational reports (where (say) the space between
each line has to be specific, the colors, the fond and
layouts among all the fields have to be arranged in
specific ways.)

Se
O
E
p

Audience

Upper management and middle

management

Line Managers and operational staff

A
st
d

Main Features

1. Hierarchy Drilling
2. Graphical Reporting (Charts, Pivots,
Gauges, etc)

1. Pixel perfect reports (e.g. Payment Summary,

Invoice, etc.)

1
B
E

3. Ad Hoc Analysis
4. Actionable framework

2. Scheduled Report Generation

3. Once the underlying data extraction logic is ready,
the output can be produced in a variety of formats .pdf, excel, word, etc.
4. Document bursting available

2
a
Su

5
a
b
th
(F

re
re
re
su

User Interactivity

Interactivity underpins OBIEE. Allows users

to dynamically change queries on the
dashboard as well as interacting with other
areas on the dashboard through action
links.

There is no concept of real user interactivity

A
D

Real-time
information

Time-delayed, depending on refresh

frequency. Not suited where real-time
reports are needed

Real-time (if used as part of EBS)

Integration with
EBS

Can be designed to pull data from a variety

of sources, including EBS

BI Publisher is a part of OBIEE as well as EBS

Benefits

1. Once the underlying data model is

designed, the rich user interface makes
this a very able tool for end users to
present data

Format pixel perfect output in specific ways, provide

support for multiple outputs, allows output bursting.
However, it does not have the ability to drill down.

1
b
h

2
th
O
a

2. Reduces time to produce reports,

enabling more time to analyse the results
3. Provides Actionable Insight i.e. it
Highlights where action is required
4. Enterprise grade reporting tool, which
can consume data from various sources
and enable a Single Version of the Truth
across the enterprise

3
se
d

Technology

The framework for OBIEE comes from the

erstwhile best-of-breed Siebel Analytics
product.

BI Publisher was originally a different application,

which is now part of OBIEE. The best way to put it is, BI
Publisher is another technology that has been
integrated with OBIEE, so now the two are both parts
of Oracle Business Intelligence. BI Publisher is also
available in EBS.

B
co

Implementation
Tips

A full-fledged OBIEE implementation

requires careful thought and planning and

Unlike OBIEE, which imposes a Kimball methodology in

modeling its central model, BI Publisher will let you use

P
th

cross department co-ordination. Unless

there is clearly defined reporting outcome,
undertaking a full-fledged OBIEE
implementation project rarely yields the
business benefits to justify the investment.

any old SQL as the basis for a data model. In the

hands of non-technical users, this is a recipe for
disaster in terms of maintenance costs and overall
durability of those reports over time.

In such cases, an incremental approach is

recommended.
1. Run a small POC
2. Identify the benefits to your
organisation, but dont boil the ocean
Keep work packages small enough to get
regular delivery
3. Use OBIEE experienced Business
Analysts
4. Work with the end users in an Agile /
RAD way
In short, OBIEE implementation is a full
scale project.

So then the question: Which component should I use for my work?

OBIEE
Q. Send a daily report in
a fixed format to senior
management, updated
with the latest data?
Q. Give teams a set of
standard reports that
highlight issues on KPIs

Reporting Workbench

Schedule report and send

by email

Schedule report and

send by email

Create a standard set of

reports (using Answers)
and place these on
Team dashboards.

Q. Create Pixel perfect

documents?

Q. Improve Data
Quality?

BI Publisher

Publish a dashboard
using a standard set of
reports.

Use BI Publisher (using EBS)

to produce reports

1. Expose as much data

as possible in the
dashboards. Do not hide

XML output allows

creation of such
reports

p
in

odd data.
2. Make sure that all
senior management
reports come from the
OBIEE system.(This will
also aid user adoption)

Q. Run a daily Invoice

run

1. Use BI Publisher on the

latest financial data

Q. Store Reports for

Audit Purposes

1. Use Delivers to email a

copy of a report or
dashboard to a storage
account
2. Use Briefing Books to
store data
3. Save a report in PDF or
HTML format and save in a
share drive

Q: Show Trending
information

No

Define Delivery
Channel to schedule
report output to be
send via email in a
variety of formats

No

Integrating Oracle eBS Responsibility Profiles and Oracle BI 11g

Application Roles
22/May/2013 by Daan Bakboord 1 Comment
I have been blogging earlier about the integration between Oracle eBS R12 and Oracle BI 11g as
well as inheriting the Oracle eBS Security in Oracle BI. Instead of making a Oracle BI
Application Role for each Oracle eBS Responsibility you would like to use in Oracle BI, make
use of an Oracle eBS Profile Option. You could define an Oracle eBS Profile Option
(e.g. XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE Oracle BI Security Profile) and apply this to an Oracle
eBS Responsibility. This makes it easier to maintain the Security Inheritance. When you add a
new Responsibility to Oracle eBS, you do not have add this Responsibility to Oracle BI. Just
make sure the Oracle eBS Responsibility gets the Oracle eBS Profile Option applied or define
the Oracle BI Security Profile on Site Level as a default.
The Oracle BI Security Configuration for Oracle BI basically looks like this;

So instead of matching the Oracle eBS Responsibility to a Oracle BI Application Role, match an
Oracle eBS Profile Option (assigned to an Oracle eBS Responsibility or on Site Level) to
a Oracle BI Application Role.
You have to follow a few steps in Oracle eBS.
Lookup Type
Navigate to Application Developer Application, Lookups, Common to add a lookup type with
the different values for the Oracle BI Security Profile.
You can check the values via the following query:

1
2

select t.lookup_type
, t.meaning

, a.application_name

, t.description

from applsys.fnd_lookup_types_tl t

, applsys.fnd_lookup_types b

, applsys.fnd_application_tl a

where b.lookup_type = t.lookup_type

and b.security_group_id = t.security_group_id

10 and b.view_application_id = t.view_application_id

11
12
13

and a.application_id = b.application_id

and b.lookup_type = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'
and t.language = '&LANGUAGE'
and a.language = '&LANGUAGE'

14

15
1
2

select flv.lookup_code
, flv.meaning

3 , flv.description
4 from applsys.fnd_lookup_values flv
5 where lookup_type = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'
6 and flv.language = '&LANGUAGE'
7 and trunc(sysdate) >= trunc(flv.start_date_active)
8
9

and trunc(sysdate) < nvl(trunc(flv.end_date_active), trunc(sysdate) +1)

;

Oracle BI Security Profile

Navigate to Application Developer Profile to add a Oracle BI Security Profile
You can check the values via the following query:

1
2
3
4

select fpo.profile_option_name
, a.application_name
, fpotl.user_profile_option_name
, fpotl.description

5 from applsys.fnd_profile_options fpo

6

, applsys.fnd_profile_options_tl fpotl

, applsys.fnd_application_tl a

8 where fpotl.profile_option_name = fpo.profile_option_name

and a.application_id = fpo.application_id

9
10
11

and a.language = fpotl.language

and fpo.profile_option_name = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'
and fpotl.language = '&LANGUAGE'

12

13

Add the following code as SQL Validation

******
SQL=SELECT MEANING \BI Security Profile\, LOOKUP_CODE
into :visible_option_value,
:profile_option_value
from applsys.fnd_lookup_values fl
where fl.lookup_type = Enter Lookup Type here
and fl.language = Enter Language here
and trunc(sysdate) >= trunc(fl.start_date_active)
and trunc(sysdate) <nvl(trunc(fl.end_date_active), trunc(sysdate) + 1)
COLUMN=\BI Security Profile\(10)
******
Assign Oracle BI Security Profile to Oracle eBS Responsibility
Navigate to System Administrator Profile, System to assign the Oracle BI Security Profile to
the Oracle eBS Responsibility
You can check the values via the following query:
Site Level (Default)

1
select fpov.profile_option_value bi_type_gebruiker_site_level

from apps.fnd_profile_options_vl fpovl

, applsys.fnd_profile_option_values fpov

, applsys.fnd_profile_options fpo

, applsys.fnd_profile_options_tl fpotl

where fpov.profile_option_id = fpovl.profile_option_id

and fpo.profile_option_id = fpov.profile_option_id

and fpotl.profile_option_name = fpo.profile_option_name

and fpov.level_id = 10001 -- Site

9
10

and fpotl.user_profile_option_name = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'

and fpotl.language = '&LANGUAGE'

11

12

Responsibility Level (Specific)

1
2

select fr.responsibility_id

3
4

, fr.responsibility_name
, fpov.profile_option_value bi_type_gebruiker_resp_level
from apps.fnd_responsibility_vl fr

, applsys.fnd_profile_option_values fpov

, applsys.fnd_profile_options fpo

, applsys.fnd_profile_options_tl fpotl

where fpov.level_value = fr.responsibility_id

9
10
11
12
13

and fpo.profile_option_id = fpov.profile_option_id

and fpotl.profile_option_name = fpo.profile_option_name
and fpov.level_id = 10003 -- Responsibility
and fpotl.user_profile_option_name = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'
and fpotl.language = '&LANGUAGE'

The remainder of the setup in the Oracle Enterprise Manager and the actual match via an
Initialization Block is described here. The following query could be used to retrieve the Oracle
eBS Profile Option and assign it to the ROLES-session variable
Oracle BI Initialization Block: GetApplicationRoles
1

select NVL ( rl.bi_security_profile_resp_level

, sl.bi_security_profile_site_level ) bi_type_gebruiker

from ( select fpov.profile_option_id

, fpotl.language

, fpov.profile_option_value

6
7
8
9
10

bi_type_gebruiker_resp_level
from applsys.fnd_responsibility fr
, applsys.fnd_profile_option_values fpov
, applsys.fnd_profile_options fpo
, applsys.fnd_profile_options_tl fpotl
where fpov.level_value = fr.responsibility_id

11 and fpo.profile_option_id = fpov.profile_option_id

12 and fpotl.profile_option_name = fpo.profile_option_name
13 and fpov.level_id = 10003
14 and fpo.profile_option_name = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'
15 and fpotl.language = '&LANGUAGE'
16
17
18
19

and fr.responsibility_id = fnd_global.resp_id

and fr.application_id = fnd_global.resp_appl_id
) rl
, ( select fpov.profile_option_id
, fpotl.language

20 , fpov.profile_option_value
21 bi_type_gebruiker_site_level
22 from applsys.fnd_profile_option_values fpov
23 , applsys.fnd_profile_options fpo
24 , applsys.fnd_profile_options_tl fpotl
25

where fpo.profile_option_id = fpov.profile_option_id

26 and fpotl.profile_option_name = fpo.profile_option_name

27 and fpov.level_id = 10001
28
29

and fpo.profile_option_name = '&XXBI_SECURITY_PROFILE'

and fpotl.language = '&LANGUAGE' ) sl
where sl.language = rl.language(+)

30

and sl.profile_option_id = rl.profile_option_id(+)

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Feel free to comment.