Usage Tracking in OBIEE

How to enable usage tracking in OBIEE ?
How to perfrom usage audit in OBIEE ?
How to set you Direct Insertion to Collect Information for Usage Tracking ?

Introduction

Oracle BI server supports collection of usage statistics which can use in a variety of ways such as who is running what and when ? database optimization, aggregation strategies, figuring out most used reports, billing departments as per their usage etc etc.

Goal

We want to achieve a reporting for usage in OBIEE. One such sample report is attached. Lots of analysis similar to this can be achieved using the Usage Tacking.

Usage Tracking Report

How it works?

When we enable usage tracking, statistics for every query are inserted into a database table or are written to a usage tracking log file. If you use direct insertion, the Oracle BI Server directly inserts the usage tracking data into a relational database table.

There are two ways to achieve Administration of usage tracking.

• Setting Up Direct Insertion to Collect Information for Usage Tracking
• Setting Up a Log File to Collect Information for Usage Tracking

Oracle Recommendation: Use direct insertion to write statistics to a database table.And I am going to discuss that method here.

Steps to Set Up Direct Insertion to Collect Information for Usage Tracking:

Set 1 : Create a necessary tables to collect usage tracking information.

A. Click here to download SAACCT.Oracle.sql or

Go to \\OracleBI\server\Schema and run the script  SAACCT.Oracle.sql to create table S_NQ_ACCT. This table will hold all the usage tracking information.

B. Go to \\OracleBI\server\Sample\usagetracking

This folder has necessary time series table creation script  and build in repository for usage tracking.

Create a tables using scripts:

Oracle_create_nQ_Clock.sql and Oracle_create_nQ_Calendar.sql

Load data in above tale using  Oracle_nQ_Clock.sql and Oracle_nQ_Calendar.sql script.

Step 2 Import  S_NQ_ACCT into the repository.

Please note: in order for Usage tacking to work properly , one must have to include this table in physical layer.

Step 3  Creating a business and presentation layer.

We will use a repository provided at C:\OracleBI\server\Sample\usagetracking\UsageTracking.rpd So that we want have to create a repositoy from ground zero.

Click  UsageTracking.rpd to down load the usage tracking repository.

Step 4 Change configuration file.

This is most important step in setting up usage tracking.

Go to \\OracleBI\server\Config and open NQSConfig.INI.

We have to make the change in [ USAGE_TRACKING ] portion of the config file.

Change DIRECT_INSERT                  = YES;
Along with this we have change the connection properties as well.
–PHYSICAL_TABLE_NAME
–CONNECTION_POOL

Change below parameter for better insertion performance and insertion control

–BUFFER_SIZE
–BUFFER_TIME_LIMIT_SECONDS
–NUM_INSERT_THREADS
–MAX_INSERTS_PER_TRANSACTION

Please refer below screen shot for more detail.
Note : Any typo will hold server from starting.

NQSConfig DIRECT_INSERT

Step 5 Check results to see every things is working.

Copy repository UsageTracking.rpd to OracleBI\server\Repository\
make Star = UsageTracking.rpd, DEFAULT; in NQSconfig file.

Restart BI server. If server fails to start check possible typo in NQSConfig

Check the Answers to see various analysis available for Usage Tracking.

Once should be able to see the reporting as shown below.

Usage Tracking Report