Taking 11.1.2.4 for a spin in the cloud

Giving thanks

As most of you know, or should know by now, yr. obt. svt. is a complete, full, and unreserved infrastructure idiot.  As most of you also know, or should know by now, that the 11.1.2.4 EPM suite has just been released.  And with this, I am faced with a conundrum:  I need (well, I want) to play with the latest release, but I will need about a month (yes, really, if I do it after hours) to get the !@#$ thing to install on my VM.  So here I am, between trapped between Scylla and Charybdis.  What to do, what to do, what to do?  I want to do a test drive, but I’ll get to it done in time for the first patch.  Ugh.

Metavero to the rescue in the cloud

John Booth has solved the problem – he has created another of his EPM Amazon Web Services AMIs (Amazon Machine Instance).  Get an AWS account and fire up John’s AMI  (see Tim German’s post on how to go through the steps on this), and off you go to EPM 11.1.2.4-land.

This blog post is not going to be much about connecting to the cloud as Tim German will be covering the mechanics (and quite a bit more) over on his blog; I’ll just note the highlights and the some of my stupid mistakes intrepid adventures in the new AMI.  This post will also cover an interesting thing I discovered about Planning 11.1.2.4 and Hybrid.

As an aside about the cloud – as you know, Oracle is making a huge push into that area with many of their products.  There’s Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service which has been a runaway success, surprising many in its popularity, and I expect there will be many more like services.  What is somewhat amusing is that John and I presented on EPM in the cloud at Kaleidoscope (as it was called then) 2010.  And we had…about 30 people in the room.  It’s not often I get to lead the market, but apparently when I do, no one cares.  :)  They do now.

Running the new Metavero image

What it looks like

OMG, it is Windows 2012.  I cannot (well, I can and am) tell you how much I hate this interface.  And no, it is not because it is unfamiliar, it is because it sucks.  Hey, why not break 20-odd years of interface so a server can look like a tablet?  Sounds like an excellent idea.  Only not really.  Okay, rant out of the way and I’ll show you how John mitigated this less than stellar approach.  Here’s hoping that Microsoft update the UI to match the rumored not-completely-awful Windows 10.  Fingers crossed on this one.

Again, the whine is over and here it is:

As you may note, John has put the most important icons onto the desktop so you can get going as quickly as possible.  If you hit what-passes-for-the-Start-menu on the 2012 instance, you will see all of the detailed shortcuts you need.  You have heard my rant about this subject so I willl spare you any more of my vitriol.

Actually running EPM

The AMI does not automatically start up the “compact” EPM service.  You must do so by clicking on the helpfully numbered 1. Start Test Drive icon.

That will bring up a dialog box asking if you want to run some who-knows-what-but-I-don’t-care (I am an Essbase/Planning guy, not a bean counter – no offence intended towards those with a green eye shade) portion of the EPM 11.1.2.4 suite.

You will then see a cool graphic John created to let you know that the instance is Working, Working, Working.  It will not be overly fast, alas, but that’s hardly his fault..

Creating a new database for Planning

While that is slowly starting up, let’s create a new Oracle database (note that SQL Server is gone, gone, gone) user instance.  Navigate over to EM Express Login either on the desktop (I went to this because when the starting image is showing the desktop icon is blocked).

Lauch that, log in as sys using the common epmtestdrive123 password making sure you tick the

“as sysdba” box:

Go to Security:

Click on the HYPPLANAPP2 user name (for us SQL Server types, this equates to, sort of, a database) and then click on Create Like.

Name your user and give it a password.  For sanity’s sake, I used the epmtestdrive123 password.

Follow the dialog box, taking the defaults each time.

Again, the defaults:

Ta da, you have just created a new user in Oracle.

Hello, Workspace and Essbase

And now that you’ve done that, EPM 11.1.2.4 should be ready to go.  Go ahead and log in as epm_admin/epmtestdrive123.

If you want to be wild and crazy, go ahead and launch EAS off the web as well:

Don’t do this

Do not use epmtestdrive, ‘coz that:

Will lead to this:

Oh agony.

Do this

Instead, use epm_admin/epmtestdrive123:

Success!  Boil in bag!

Back to Planning

Creating a Planning data source is no different than in 11.1.2.3.x.  I’m not going to bore you with any of it save the Oracle settings for us SQL Server types as it is a bit different:

Make sure that you don’t use the default 1521 or you will spend a long time cursing and whining and moaning.  Not that I could possibly tell you what that is like from personal experience.

Once you have created the sample Planning application, go on and log into Workspace.  It looks pretty much the same as does the Vision app from 11.1.2.3.x:

Playing in the Cloud, or at least looking like it

Of course, if you want to pretend you are on PBCS, simply go to http://metavero/HyperionPlanning and see the lovely new UI:

I couldn’t seem to view the Vision sample application, so I deleted it through the pretty UI and then created it again:

Where in the world…

And…I couldn’t see any forms:

Nor could I see any Dashboards (I have to admit, I’m not totally sure what that equates to in Workspace):

But I could see Tasks:

And Rules:

No Approvals:

But Reports:

And the Console:

And Settings:

And Academy:

And Navigator:

So what happens when I go back into Workspace?

I see Forms:

And Approvals:

So that’s a weird one that I am putting down to some kind of bug or some kind of idiocy on my part.

The good news

Hybrid aggregations?  They’re there both in the web UI and Smart View:

Here’s my starting number.

And a change in Product X’s Units to 999 from 451.

Do a submit and the Computer Equipment total is changed.

So what happens if I do it in Essbase?  Same change of data.

And…nothing.  Bummer.

And what gets more interesting is that the Essbase.cfg does not have the ASODYNAMICINBSO setting for the Vision application.

I can only surmise that this is because of the requirements of the cloud which do not allow manipulation of the Essbase.cfg.  I believe this means that all 11.1.2.4 Planning applications are Hybrid without any choice.  I have to read the documentation a bit to see if this is a correct guess or not.

Stop the World – I Want to Get Off

John tells me that it’s a really good idea to stop the Oracle database in a graceful manner.  Happily, there is an icon – 2. Stop Test Drive….  Go ahead and click on it.

That will automatically shut down Windows:

Thankfully this takes care of Shut Down, as I couldn’t find the !@$%ing Shut Down link.  See, I am sparing you (most of) my Windows 8 and Windows 2012 Server rant.  You’re welcome.

Make sure you have no running instances in AWS:

You will still get billed for storage, but not for running costs.  

NB – This instance shuts down at 3 am automatically.

The end for now

I strongly urge you to get your feet wet on John’s AMI.  There’s lots of stuff that I’ve just barely scratched the surface, especially as the whole Financial Close product suite is really terra incognita to me.

Personally, I will be installing 11.1.2.4 on a VM both to save costs and because I like wearing a cilice as penance for some kind of technological sin that I am not actually aware of.  I’m sure I’m guilty of whatever it is.

Putting aside my manifold neuroses and insecurities, John has give the EPM community round the globe something to really spend time on, and in, as we learn the intricacies of how 11.1.2.4 really and truly works.

Thanks again, John, for making this available.

Be seeing you.

Kickoff to Kscope15

Starting off with an apology

I have an old smart phone.  Like five years old.  And it’s breaking apart, piece by piece.  Droid2s are no longer thick on the ground, and once you see the fairly horrible pictures of a really nice hotel and convention center, you’ll understand what I mean.  

Where oh where oh where are you?

I’m glad you asked as I am at one of the two ODTUG board of directors in-person meetings.  ODTUG does this twice a year – once in January and again before Kscope.  

At the January meeting, we get to see for the first time (unless a director is on the conference location committee) where the upcoming Kscope will be held.

Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida

This place is, in a word, spectacular.  I don’t believe Kscope has ever been in such a nice place.  

Unfortunately, what you are about to see really, really, really doesn’t do the place justice.

Here’s the lobby.  Take the almost-impressionist snapshot and multiple it’s awesomeness by 1000%.

Mary Cassatt, eat your heart out.

Continuing the o-m-g what is theme, here’s the gym.  They like blue.  It is pretty amazing looking.

And lastly, something that is actually relevant to you, oh potential Kscope attendee – a breakout room.  They’re really nicely laid out.  Hopefully not so laid out that you stare at the walls or ceiling in an architecturally induced stupor of delight.  That’s what the speaker is supposed to do with his presentation.

South Florida meetup/ODTUG kickoff

The South Florida meetup, led by Kris Callabro and Jessica Cordova, combined their second meetup with our kickoff to Kscope15.  Thank you all for coming.

From the left, you see Natalie Delemar as moderator, yr. obt. svt., Tim Tow, ODTUG President Monty Latiolas, Mike Riley, and Mia Urman.  David Schleis is not visible but he too moderated.

I think we answered some questions right.  Maybe.

The end and a question

It really is a spectacular resort and it will be a really spectacular conference.  I hope to see you there.

And now a question:  given that I own a smartphone old enough to be powered by coal and steam driven, what kind of phone would you recommend.  My only qualification is that it must be available for purchase in the States.

Be seeing you.

This was the year that was, 2014

And what a year it was

It’s really all a bit amazing – you, Gentle Reader, saw fit to read this blog almost 80,000 times in 2014, and viewed over 100,000 pages.  I never, ever, ever thought when I started this blog way back in 2008 that I’d ever attract this many people.  Really, I had no idea what to expect other than I hoped someone would read it.  I guess there must be value here, somewhere, for these numbers.  Perhaps it’s me hitting the F5 key again and again and again or perhaps it’s every evil robot spambot trawling the site?  I prefer to think that it really does come down to you find this blog useful.  Thank you.

And now, thanks to the pretty awesome Google Analytics dashboard, let’s dissect what those numbers mean.

Jeepers creepers, where’d you get those peepers?

Good grief, there were a lot of you, and the numbers got higher through the year before they took their inevitable plunge over the Christmas holidays.

And look at the growth over last year – traffic basically doubled.  

Where oh where oh where did you come from?

Where you came from in the US of A

And where did you come from, last year?

The distribution isn’t all that different – I am chuffed that I managed to hit every state.  I can’t believe there are many Essbase hackers in Wyoming, but there must be at least one.

California continues to be the number one state for readers.  Given its size, population, and tech industry focus, this is hardly surprising.  

The skew towards Pensylvania is probably me writing this blog.  Okay, maybe not all of it, but a good deal of it.

Is there really more to the world than the States?  Yes.

The US is the largest site but that’s not a huge surprise given our population.  The distribution doesn’t change much.  I still have the goal of reaching Greenland if it’s broken out separately from Denmark.

The largest percentage change is Germany, followed by India, and then Brazil.  That’s three continents.  I should note that I don’t speak German, any of the dialects and languages of India, or Portuguese.

I have been to Germany on holiday, and when I was a young child I lived in South America (Guyana, and no, not as a member of a cult but when my father was on a USAID project to design and build bridges).

Origins

No, not the origin of man (way too controversial and besides you don’t read this blog to get my take on this), nor the origin of Cameron – ask my parents how that happened ‘cos I’m pretty sure it was either a stork or the cabbage patch, but where you come from.

If you discount service providers, the number one reader of this blog is Oracle.  Personally, I think they read it for a chuckle as they spot the mistakes in my wild surmises and guesses but perhaps they really do find value in it.  Or humor.

What is your lingua franca?

Although American is your first language, the second place winner is the British Empire (yes, I wanted to be a history professor, and yes, it would have been on labor in the British Empire, and yes, I find imperial history, particularly South Africa, Rhodesia, and South West Africa, “The Cape to Cairo”, Cecil Rhodes, Joe Chamberlin, Victoria Falls, Spion Kop (Boer War battleground, I’ve been there and it’s absolutely haunting), and any number of other places in southern Africa to be fascinating, and yes, I had a fellowship for a doctorate and ran away from it, and yes, I used the imperial names, and no, I have no idea why this interests me other than I had relatives there).  Whew, that’s way more than you wanted to know about me, isn’t it?  I expect Commonwealth countries to now boycott this blog.

It’s the 21st century, so you’re mobile.  Not that I am.

It looks like the iPad is the winner.  One of these days I have to spend more than 5 minutes with one.   It still seems like a crippleware version of a laptop.  I may be in the minority with this opinion.

Browsing the web

Alas and alack, my Very Favorite Browser in the Whole Wide World, Firefox, is in number three.  I just can’t warm up to Chrome and I only use IE when I absolutely have to.

Who referred me?

Google but a huge margin.  I guess Googling “Cameron + Essbase” really works.

Celvin Kattookaran is right after the premier search engine.  Celvin is my younger brother from different parents that I love to torture, although I have a sneaking suspicion that he’s smarter and more talented than I.

I find it interesting that Edward Roske, my former employer, is still in the top ten given that it’s mostly a moribund site.  Edward, I’m looking at you – you could beat Google if you posted more often.  Personally, I miss your industry insider comments.

What interests you?

Data export, Calculation Manager, death, death, death to Load Rules, How Cameron is the Worst Infrastructure Consultant in the World, Financial Reports, block creation, backups, and Hybrid Essbase.

If I ever finish my Special Project That I Have Only Hinted About, I have posts on Calc Manager, yet another Stupid Load Rule rant, and block creation all queued up, at least in my mind.  Someday, and hopefully soon.

Going strong, and still going

Would you believe that I broke the 200 mark for posts?  I find that amazing.  Perhaps it reflects my stubbornness, or my big fat mouth, or my desire to share my limited knowledge, or hubris, or maybe something else that I haven’t quite figured out.

What does matter, to me at least, is that you find this blog valuable as evinced by the numbers above.  I wouldn’t bother writing this all down if I didn’t think there was an audience.  And there, somewhat to my continuing surprise, is.

Thank you for putting up with my sometimes completely out there (c’mon, I’ll bet very, very, very few have ever heard the slogan “Cape to Cairo” and even less of you care) references and what is hopefully somewhat relevant Essbase and EPM content.

Thank you again for believing in me.  I’ll do my best in 2015 to keep the good stuff coming.

Be seeing you.