OBIA 11.1.1.7.1/ OBIA 11.1.1.8.1 or OBIA 7.9.6.4 – Trimming Out of Box Repository

Oracle BI Applications release 11.1.1.7.1/8.1/7.9.6.4 delivers a full RPD file with number of projects for all BI Applications modules and number of operational applications. By default installation full RPD is deployed to the BI Server which has modules which are not relevant to your reporting application. One can trim the RPD so that it includes only projects that are relevant to customer deployment. It is optional. The trimming of RPD makes the BI Server consume less RAM, startup process faster and also makes patching quicker.

In short it is a no brainer, RPD trimming would help the development team and operational team to concentrate and focus on specific deployed contents rather than full repository shipped with application.

This blog is an attempt to list down the options and tasks for trimming RPD. There are two different ways to trim repository based on type of deployment. If RPD is not customized then extract project would do, but if RPD is customized then one has to perform a merge repository.  

For Non Customized Repository

Extract the projects for products organization purchased for is a simple option to trim RPD for non-customized repository or Greenfield project of BI Apps.

There is use to be an option to extract project from another repository via UI but I believe it is been removed from the UI. It was a good option and very useful for migration from one repository to another repository based on project definitions.

The command line utilities for extracting project(s) are listed down.

Open a Command window on the computer where the BI Administration Tool is installed

Run bi-init.cmd to launch a command prompt , utility exists at <MiddlewareHome>\instances\instance<n>\bifoundation\OracleBIApplication\coreapplication\setup

Go to <Oracle BIHome>\oraclebi\orahome\bifoundation\server\bin

For extracting a single project

ExtractProjects -B input_rpd -O output_rpd -I "project_name"

For extracting multiple projects

ExtractProjects -B input_rpd -O output_rpd -I "project_name1" -I "project_name2"-I "project_name3" (and so on)

Where – Input_rpd – 11.1.1.7.1 repository while output_rpd is new repository to hold extracted project or projects. project_name – name of the projects to be extracted

Save and rename trimmed repository

List of Projects includes - Financial Analytics Fusion Edition, Human Resources Analytics Fusion Edition, Marketing Analytics Fusion Edition, Partner Analytics Fusion Edition, Project Analytics Fusion Edition, Sales Analytics Fusion Edition, Supply Chain and Order Management Analytics Fusion Edition, Student Information Analytics, Service Analytics, Price Analytics, Manufacturing Analytics, Operational Planning, DataLineage_Project

For Customized Repository

If the RPD has been customized for deployment then first step is to extract the applicable projects from the full (delivered) RPD for release 11.1.1.7.1 and additionally, merge that RPD with customized repository. In short it is twofold process one is to extract projects and follow merging RPD process with the existing development repository.

Please refer my earlier blog which explained the detail around merging repository processes.

http://bidirect.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/obiee-11g-repository-and-webcat_30.html

The highlights of merging process are explained below.

In the Oracle BI Administration Tool, open in offline mode the trimmed Oracle BI RPD

On the menu bar, click File, and then click Merge.

In the Select Original Repository dialog box, select the repository OracleBIApps.rpd, which is the full RPD; enter the password for the original repository and then click OK.

Click Select for the Modified Repository field. The Select Modified Repository dialog box opens. The Select Modified Repository dialog opens.

Select the repository that contains the customizations you made to the RPD file, for example, OracleBIAppsCustom.rpd.

Click Open, and enter the password for the previously customized RPD file, and then click OK.

In the Decision drop-down list, select the action you want to take regarding the repository change, or accept the default action.

To locate subsequent rows with empty Decision fields, click the Decision header cell. After all rows have a value in the Decision field, the Merge button becomes enabled.

Click Merge.A message appears after the merge concludes successfully.

On the menu bar, click File, and then click Save As. Save the current repository using a new name, such as OracleBIAppsFinal.rpd.

I believe this summarized information is useful.