21 Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved. Enabling Usage Tracking

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Objectives After completing this lesson, you should be able to: Identify the need for usage tracking Set up and administer Oracle BI usage tracking

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Business Challenges When deployed first, Oracle BI may not be optimized for the querying that actually occurs: –End-user queries may not match what is expected, so cache is not seeded with appropriate queries. –Additional aggregate tables may need to be created to speed up query processing. Your company may need to track database usage on a user or departmental level: –Users may be charged for database use. –Regulatory requirements may require usage tracking.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Business Solution: Oracle BI Usage Tracking Tracks and stores Oracle BI Server usage at the detailed query level Supports the accumulation of usage tracking statistics that can be used in a variety of ways, such as: –Database performance optimization –Aggregation strategies –Billing users or departments based on the resources they consume Provides ability to analyze usage results using Oracle BI Answers or other reporting tools

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Oracle BI Usage Tracking Methods There are two methods for enabling usage tracking: Direct insertion (recommended approach) –Oracle BI Server inserts statistics for every query directly into a relational database table. Log file –Oracle BI Server inserts statistics for every query into a log file.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved ABC Example Set up Oracle BI usage tracking to track and store usage statistics at the detailed query level. UsernameStart date and timeLogical SQLRow countQuery run time

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Steps to Enable Usage Tracking 1.Create the usage tracking table. 2.Import the table. 3.Build a business model. 4.Enable usage tracking. 5.Enable direct insertion. 6.Set the physical table parameter. 7.Set the connection pool parameter. 8.Set additional parameters. 9.Test the results.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Create the Usage Tracking Table Navigate to..\OracleBI\server\Schema. Use the provided SAACCT..sql script to create the S_NQ_ACCT usage tracking table. –This table stores the usage tracking data when queries are run against Oracle BI Server.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Import the Table Import the usage tracking table to the Physical layer.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Build a Business Model Use S_NQ_ACCT to build a usage tracking business model.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Enable Usage Tracking a.Navigate to..\OracleBI\server\Config and open NQSConfig.ini. b.Scroll to Usage Tracking Section. c.Set ENABLE = YES;.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Enable Direct Insertion Set the DIRECT_INSERT parameter to YES to specify that statistics are inserted directly into a database table.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Set the Physical Table Parameter Set the PHYSICAL_TABLE_NAME parameter to specify the table into which to insert records corresponding to the query statistics. The table name is the fully qualified name as it appears in the Physical layer of the Server Administration Tool. The general structure of this parameter depends on the type of database being used: –For Oracle: PHYSICAL_TABLE_NAME = " "." "." " ;

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Set the Connection Pool Parameter Set the CONNECTION_POOL parameter to specify the connection pool to use for inserting records into the usage tracking table. This is the fully qualified name as it appears in the Physical layer of the Server Administration Tool. Example: CONNECTION_POOL = "ABC Usage Tracking "."ABC Usage Tracking Connection Pool“ ;.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Set Additional Parameters BUFFER_SIZE –Amount of memory used to store insert statements temporarily BUFFER_TIME_LIMIT_SECONDS –Maximum amount of time that an insert statement remains in the buffer before it is issued to the usage tracking table NUM_INSERT_THREADS –Number of threads that remove insert statements from the buffer and issue them to the usage tracking table MAX_INSERTS_PER_TRANSACTION –Number of records to group together as a single transaction when inserting into the usage tracking table

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Test the Results Use usage tracking subject area to build and run queries: Check the log file and verify that the S_NQ_ACCT table is accessed:

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Analyzing Usage Tracking Data Watch for long-running queries (typically ad hoc): –End user may need training. –May need to assign query blocking/restrictions on how long queries can run or on number of records returned –Database may require additional indexes or tuning. Perform usage audits for: –Regulatory compliance –Security Determine whether a query should be used to seed the cache or be removed from the cache-seeding queries. Identify aggregation strategies. Bill users or departments based on the resources that they consume.

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Usage Tracking Sample The /server/Sample/Usage Tracking directory contains the following to help you understand and use usage tracking features: SQL_Server_Time: Scripts for populating sample tables Usage Tracking: Sample presentation catalog UsageTracking.rpd: Sample repository

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Summary In this lesson, you should have learned how to: Identify the need for usage tracking Set up and administer Oracle BI usage tracking

Copyright © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved Practice 21-1 Overview: Enabling Usage Tracking This practice covers the following topics: Setting up Oracle BI to support usage tracking Building a usage tracking business model Using usage tracking to monitor queries