Author: jturrell

DIY Hyperion Planning – Create a Virtual Server

Some Context . . .

This is the fourth 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.

Creating a Virtual Machine

Now that VMware Workstation has been installed, the fun begins. The following steps will create a virtual server that runs on your host. In my case, the host is my laptop. Make sure you have your server operating system software available, along with any required license key.

To get started, launch VMware Workstation.

0126

Select “Create a New Virtual Machine”.

0125

Create a “Typical” VM. Select “Next”.

0124

Tell VMware where the Windows Server installation media is located. You can point to either a drive, or an ISO file. I’m using an ISO file above. Select “Next”.

0122

Select the version of Windows you are using. Enter the product key, user ID and password. This is the user ID and password that you will use to log into Windows Server 2012. Select “Next”.

 

2-13-2015 8-23-10 AM

Enter a name for the virtual machine. This is not the actual “computer name” in Windows, but rather the name of the VM within VMware Workstation. I tend to use the same name from my VM and Windows computer name.

Provide a location for the files. I recommend creating a specific directory for each VM as many files are created. Having them all in a single directory makes it easier to move them around. Select “Next”.

0028

Give your VM somewhere around 70-100GB. You can use less space if you don’t intend on loading a lot of data into Essbase.

Make sure to select the option to split the VM files into multiple files. This will simplify moving these files at a later date. Select “Next”.

2-13-2015 8-23-59 AM

Review your VM settings. Be especially aware of where you are placing the VM files as these can take significant space.

Some of these settings will be updated later. Select “Finish”.

VMware will begin installing Windows Server 2012 R2.

0025

The install takes a bit. Windows Server will eventually restart.

0023

Your server operating system is now installed on your VM, however there are some remaining configuration steps that are still required.

Changing the Server Name

After logging back into your virtual server, Server Manager should be displayed. Select the “Local Server” tab.

0021

Click on the server name (mine is “WIN-LPSIVO2KTLS” above, however yours will be different).

0020

Press the “Change” button, and provide a name for the virtual server.

2-13-2015 8-40-10 AM

Select “OK”. After being prompted to restart, select “OK”. Close the System Properties window and select “Restart Now”.

Run Windows Update (Optional)

Navigate to Control Panel.  Select “System and Security”.  Under “Windows Update”, select “Check for Updates”.

0018

Select “Install Updates”. Get some coffee . . . this takes a while.

0017

Select “Restart Now”.

Firewalls

Firewalls can complicate the installation and configuration of certain EPM products. If you use your VM’s intermittently, you may consider turning off the firewall on your VM’s operating system. Please note that this would likely not be appropriate for a “real” environment. To turn off the Windows firewall on your VM, launch the Server Manager dashboard. Select “Local Server”.

2-13-2015 8-47-59 AM

Click the “Public: On” link.

Select “Turn Windows Firewall on or off”. Turn off the firewall.

2-4-2015 6-06-42 PM

Select “OK”.

Select “Finish”.

Assign Static IP Addresses

Navigate to Control Panel.

2-16-2015 1-01-31 AM

Select “Network and Internet”.

2-16-2015 1-02-46 AM

Select “Network and Sharing Center”.

2-16-2015 5-33-45 PM

Select “Change Adapter Settings”.

2-16-2015 5-34-25 PM

Right-click on the network adapter.  Select “Properties”.

Double-click on “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)”.

2-16-2015 5-35-02 PM

Assign a “non-routable” IP address (like the one I used above).

Select “OK”, then select “OK” again.

Update the HOSTS File

Edit the hosts file located in:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

2-16-2015 5-36-00 PM

Add the line circled above, using the static IP address you assigned to your network adapter. Make sure to use the name of your server.

Disable UAC

Before installing Hyperion Planning, UAC (User Account Control) must be deactivated. To do this, open a command prompt. Press the Windows Key then “X”.

2-4-2015 7-26-43 PM

Select “Command Prompt (Admin)”.

Type “regedit” in the command prompt.

Navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\system”.

2-4-2015 7-30-58 PM

Select the “system” member above.

Right-click the DWORD “EnableLUA”. Select “Modify”.

2-4-2015 7-32-39 PM

Change the data value from 1 to 0. Select “OK”.

Restart the virtual server.

Miscellaneous VM Settings

Before going too far, now may be a good time to increase the memory and processors dedicated to the VM. I recommend 12GB of RAM for a “compact deployment” and 20GB for a regular deployment. I also start with 4 processors. These settings can be changed later on, so don’t worry too much about getting them exactly “right”.

Click on your VM’s memory under “Devices”.

2-13-2015 9-28-36 AM

Increase memory and CPU count as required.

Select “OK”.

Photo Finish

At this point, your operating system is configured! After all of this work, it’s a good idea to take a snapshot in VMware Workstation. In the event that something goes wrong later in the installation, developers can revert to a snapshot so they aren’t starting over from scratch.

The ability to revert to a snapshot is the most incredibly awesome feature of any virtualization software. It allows developers to try things, make mistakes, and then revert to an old snapshot. It’s like a free “do-over”. But it only works if you actually take the snapshot, so take snapshots often. And be aware that they do take disk space.

Right-click on the server name in VMware Workstation and select “Snapshot”, then “Take Snapshot”.

2-13-2015 9-30-48 AM

Take notes regarding the work done to date.

Select “Take Snapshot”.

Restart the VM.

In the Next Post

With the operating system installed, it’s time to install and configure the relational database. Click here for the next post in the series.

DIY Hyperion Planning – Install VMware Workstation

Some Context . . .

This is the third 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 VMware Workstation

Before we can install Hyperion Planning, we need to create our virtual server. The first step is to install our virtualization software. In this example, we will be using VMware Workstation 11. Installing VMware Workstation is a fairly straightforward process. Start by double-clicking the VMware Workstation executable.

0139

Select “Next”.

0137

Accept the license agreement.

0136

Select “Typical” installation.

0135

Select the installation location. Select “Next”.

0134

Determine whether VMware Workstation checks for updates. Select “Next”.

0133

Determine whether usage data gets sent to VMware. Select “Next”.

0132

Determine which shortcuts get created. Select “Next”.

0131

Select “Continue” to begin the installation.

0129

Installation is in progress . . .

0128

Enter the license key.

0127

Success!  Select “Finish”.

In the Next Post

With VMware Workstation installed, it’s time to create a virtual server. Click here for the next post in the series.

DIY Hyperion Planning – Ingredient List

Some Context . . .

This is the second 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. Please note that the contents of this post are not appropriate for building production environments. Please be sure to engage a qualified EPM Infrastructure consultant for any “real” environments.

Also, note that this post does not cover Oracle’s “Rapid Deployment” option for Hyperion Planning. Because the Rapid Deployment option excludes certain products and does not really teach the reader about Hyperion Planning’s infrastructure, this topic will not be addressed.

Decisions . . . Decisions . . .

Before building your very own Hyperion Planning environment, some upfront planning is required. The following key decisions will need to be made. Think of these as the main ingredients in your Hyperion Planning recipe:

  • What kind of hardware will be used?
  • What kind of virtualization software will be used?
  • What operating system will be used?
  • What relational database will be used?

There are many, many options regarding the questions above. Let’s explore these a bit.

Hardware

Because I run demos at client sites and conferences, I prefer to host my Hyperion Planning environment on my laptop. But not just any old laptop will do . . . you’ll want something that’s “workstation” quality. The two best options currently available are Lenovo’s “W” and Dell’s “Precision” lines of laptops. The following features are critical:

  • Quad-Core Processor
  • 16GB of RAM (at least . . . I prefer 32GB)
  • 500GB SSD

Could you run Hyperion Planning on something less? Maybe, but it will take a very long time to start, and it will perform poorly once it’s running. Could you use a desktop computer? Absolutely – the same hardware requirements apply, but it’s not portable. Could you use cloud infrastructure like Amazon Web Services? Yes – you’ll just be paying by the hour, and will be limited by your current location’s available bandwidth. In summary, make sure you have beefy enough hardware. Installing Hyperion Planning takes a while, and you don’t want to find out at the very end of the process that your installation was successful, but you underestimated your hardware requirements.

For this post, I’ll be using a somewhat old Lenovo W520 with a Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB Samsung 840 Evo SSD.

Virtualization Software

There are a handful of virtualization options from which to choose. Pick the one you’re most comfortable with. For the purposes of this post, we will be using VMware Workstation 11. Microsoft Hyper-V and Oracle VM VirtualBox will also get the job done.

Operating System

For Hyperion Planning 11.1.2.4, most users will either install Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 or some flavor of Linux. Just remember that several products are still not supported on Linux, including DRM, parts of EPMA and Strategic Finance. HFM is not currently supported on Linux unless you have an Exalytics box. For this post, we’ll be using Windows Server 2012 R2.

Database

I have to admit, I really like SQL Server. It’s so easy.  But because many people reading this won’t have access to the software, we will use Oracle Database 12c.

Downloading Oracle Database

The Oracle Database files can be downloaded from e-delivery here. After signing in and accepting the terms, select “Oracle Database” and “Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)”. Select “Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.1.0) Media Pack for Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)”. The following files are required:

File Contents
V38893-01 Oracle Database 12c Release 1 Client (12.1.0.1.0) for Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)
V38894-01 Part 1 of 2 Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.1.0) for Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit) (Part 1 of 2)
V38894-01 Part 2 of 2 Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1.0.1.0) for Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit) (Part 2 of 2)

Downloading Hyperion Planning

Within e-delivery, select the menu options “Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System” and “Microsoft Windows x64 (64-bit)”. The following files are required:

File Contents
V74007-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 Installation Documents and Readmes
V74025-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Part 1
V74031-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Part 2
V74011-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 Part 3
V74037-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Part 4
V74044-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Part 5
V74050-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Part 6
V74056-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Part 7
V74016-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 Client Installers for Microsoft Windows
V29856-01 Oracle WebLogic Server 11gR1 (10.3.6) Generic and Coherence
V74019-01 EPM System Release 11.1.2.4.0 for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) Oracle HTTP Server

Ready . . . Set . . . Go!

At this point, you have all of your ingredients. You have:

  • Hardware
  • Virtualization Software
  • Operating System
  • Relational Database
  • Oracle Hyperion Software

In the Next Post

With all of the hardware and software ingredients lined up, it’s time to start building. We will begin by installing VMware Workstation 11 on your host. Next, we will create a virtual server and install our operating system and relational database.  Click here for the next post in the series.