Author: jturrell

Some Context . . .

This is the seventh post in a multi-part blog educating readers on how to build a personal “sandbox” environment for Hyperion Planning. Click here to see all nine posts in the series.

So far . . . so good . . .

In the previous posts, we laid the foundation for our Hyperion Planning environment. We completed the following steps:

• Downloaded the Relevant Files
• Created a Virtual Server
• Installed and Configured the Server Operating System
• Installed and Configured the Oracle RDBMS
• Created our RDBMS Users and Schemas

Now would be a good time to take a snapshot of your virtual machine.

Installation Time

To begin the Hyperion Planning installation, navigate to the zipped files previously downloaded from e-delivery. Unzip all of the downloaded files. I recommend 7zip. Unzip these files from the host computer.

You may receive warnings about the location of your unzipped files already having certain files in place. This is because Oracle sometimes packages the same file in multiple zip files, and should not cause concern.

Simply select “Yes to All” when prompted. After unzipping, your folder structure will look something like this:

Login to your VM. Navigate to the unzipped files (on your shared folder) and locate the file “installTool.cmd”. Right click on this file and select “Run as Administrator”.

Select a language.

Select “OK”.

The EPM System Installer will open.

Make sure that the prerequisite checks all pass. If any of the four lines above do not have a check box, you must stop the installation, as something is wrong.

Assuming all four lines have a check next to them, select “Next”.

Select a Middleware Home.

Select “Next”.

Choose the install type (only one option will be available).

Select “Next”.

Select the software to install.  Note that we are not really installing Financial Management above.  There is a required component under this product.

Select “Next”.

A .NET warning will appear.

Select “OK”.

Confirm the components to be installed.

Select “Next” and the installation will begin. This portion will take some time.

Ensure that everything was installed successfully. Select “Finish”. Take a snapshot before configuring the software.

In the Next Post

With Hyperion Planning installed, it’s time to move on to the configuration. Click here for the next post in this series.

Some Context . . .

This is the sixth post in a multi-part blog educating readers on how to build a personal “sandbox” environment for Hyperion Planning. Click here to see all nine posts in the series.

Configure Repositories

Most products in the EPM stack require a relational repository. In the steps below, we will create blank schemas in our Oracle 12c database. Later, these schemas will be populated automatically during product configuration. But for now, all we need are blank schemas, user ID’s and some general settings.

To get started, make sure your VM is up and running.

Within your VM, open SQL Plus.

Enter the user ID “system”. Use the password entered during the Oracle 12c installation . . . this is the administrative password.

Paste the following commands into SQL Plus:

The table below includes a summary of the repositories created in the SQL above.

The following screenshot illustrates the creation of the EPMA repository and user:

In the Next Post

Now that the application schemas and user ID’s have been created, we are finally ready to install Hyperion Planning and the related EPM products!!! Click here for the next post in the series.

Some Context . . .

This is the fifth post in a multi-part blog educating readers on how to build a personal “sandbox” environment for Hyperion Planning. Click here to see all nine posts in the series.

Installing the Oracle Database

Although Hyperion Planning stores the majority of its data in Essbase, most of the products in the EPM stack have relational repositories. For this reason, a relational database is required. In this example, we will use Oracle’s 12c database.

Shared Folders

Before we can install any software on our VM, we need to ensure that our server can see files stored on our host (because we downloaded all of the software on our host and there’s no point in storing these files on the VM as well). VMware Workstation has the ability to create “Shared” folders that show up as mapped drives on the VM. This makes it easy to access files on the host from the VM.

From VMware Workstation, right click on the server.

Select “Settings”, then select the “Options” tab.

Select the “Shared Folders” setting.

Select the “Always Enabled” radio button. Check the box to map as a network drive.

Select “Add”. The following wizard will be displayed:

Select “Next”.

Browse to a directory. Make sure this directory contains the software downloaded from the second post in this series. (Note – you can map an entire drive if you want.) Provide a name for the shared folder.

Select “Next”.

Select the check box to enable the share. Select “Finish”.

Select “OK”.

If your virtual server isn’t already running, start it.  Check to ensure you can access your host from the virtual machine in File Explorer.

Install Oracle 12c

In the second post in this series, we downloaded the following files from edelivery:

Unzip these files into a single directory on your host.

Make sure these files are available under the directory you shared in the steps above.

After logging into your virtual server, open File Explorer. Browse to the shared folder in “Network locations”.

Make sure you can access the Oracle 12c software that was previously unzipped on your host.

Open the “database” folder.

Right-click on “setup” and select “Run as administrator”. The Oracle Universal Installer will open.

Enter your Oracle support contact information if desired. This is not required. Select “Next”.

Enter Oracle Support credentials to download software or updates, or skip software updates.

Select “Next”.

Select “Create and configure a database”. Select “Next”.

Select “Desktop class”. Select “Next”.

Select “Create New Windows User”. Enter a user ID and password. Write these down.

Accept the default file locations.

Select the database edition.

Use the “AL32UTF8” Character set.

Enter an admin password.

DO NOT CREATE AS A CONTAINER DATABASE!!!  Please make sure this check box is not selected.

Select “Next”. Installation will begin.

The installer will check prerequisites and then present a summary of selected options.

Select “Install”.  This part takes a while.  Eventually the screen below will be displayed.

Select “OK”, then “Close”.

Update Oracle Networking Files

There are three key files that must be updated, called “tnsnames.ora”, “listener.ora” and “sqlnet.ora”.  These files are located in the following directory:

C:\app\Oracle_sa\product\12.1.0\dbhome_1\NETWORK\ADMIN

Edit the “listener.ora” file.  Update the HOST with the static IP address you assigned to the network adapter.

Save the “listener.ora” file.

Edit the “tnsnames.ora” file.  Update the HOST with the static IP address you assigned to the network adapter.

Note that the IP address is updated in two locations above.

Save the “tnsnames.ora” file.

Edit the “sqlnet.ora” file.  Add the line circled below.

Save the “sqlnet.ora” file.

Shut down your VM and take a snapshot.

In the Next Post

With the relational database installed, it’s time to create the application repositories. Click here for the next post in the series.