7 - OBIEE 11g Scaleout and Clustering

T : +44 (0) 8446 697 995 or (888) 631 1410 (USA) E : [email protected] W: www.rittmanmead.com

Rittman Mead Training - Cognizant Technology Solutions

7: OBIEE 11g Scaleout & Clustering

Thursday 7 October 2010

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.rittmanmead.com



What this Session Will Answer

• How does it all fit together?• How and why does it use WebLogic Server?• What are the key architectural differences between OBIEE 10g and 11g• How does it use Fusion Middleware Control to unify management across the

platform?• What are typical topologies for desktop, deparmental and enterprise

deployments?







OBIEE 11g Single-Node Architecture

• Overall stack is an Oracle BI Domain

• Made up of three areas‣ WLS Admin Server +

FMW Control (EM)‣ System Components‣ WLS Managed Server with

Java Components• Initial (11.1.1.3) version only

supports WLS 11g (10.3)• Same fundamental components

as 10g, but now integrated with FMW WLS stack







OBIEE 11g System Components, Java Components and OPMN

• OBIEE components divided into System and Java components• System components are still C/C++ executables, are controlled by OPMN,

and are managed by Fusion Middleware Control• Java Components are JEE applications, are installed in the managed server,

and are controlled byFMW Control







Administration and Management

• WLS Admin Server used for controlling WLS platform‣ Startup, shutdown, security, non-OBIEE specific tasks

• Fusion Middleware Control (EM) used for managing OBIEE• OPMN used for starting, stopping system components• Node Manager used for

starting, stoppingmanaged servers







11g Architecture Compared to 10g Architecture

• Main difference is wrapping components in WLS platform and EM management• Individual servers, components are still the same (BI Server, Presentation Server,

BI Publisher J2EE application etc)• Some reworking has taken place in 11gR1 (unified logging, management of

config files using EM etc)• Basic concepts, plus clustering (OBIEE), scheduling etc are the same as in 10g

Web Server (IIS, Tomcat, Websphere, iPlanet)

Oracle BI ServerOracle BI Server

Intelligent Request GenerationIntelligent Request Generation

Data Source AdaptersData Source Adapters

NavigatorNavigator

Logical Request GenerationLogical Request Generation

AggregateNavigator

FragmentationOptimization

Multi-Pass /Sub-Request Logic

Optimized Query RewritesOptimized Query Rewrites

Session ManagementSession Management

Met

adat

a In

ter c

h an g

eM

e ta d

ata

I nte

rch a

n ge

Logical SQL ODBC/JDBC (Logical Business Model)Logical SQL ODBC/JDBC (Logical Business Model)

CacheCacheServicesServices

Oracle BI AdministrationOracle BI Administration

Analytical and Operational Data Sources

Metadata Documentation ServicesMetadata Documentation Services

Metadata Management ServicesMetadata Management Services

Multi-User Development ServicesMulti-User Development Services

Server Management ServicesServer Management Services

ODBC over TCP/IP (SSL)

Sys

tem

/ S

yste

m /

Per

fP

e rf

Mo n

itorin

g M

onit o

r ing

ODBC, CLI, OCI, XML, MDX

Oracle BI Presentation ServicesOracle BI Presentation ServicesSOAP Web Services, XML and URL InterfaceSOAP Web Services, XML and URL Interface

Cache Services (Web) & Connection Cache Services (Web) & Connection MngmtMngmt

XMLXMLFrameworkFramework

WebWebCatalogCatalogServiceService

User Profiling, Security and Session User Profiling, Security and Session MngmtMngmt

Oracle InteractiveOracle InteractiveDashboardsDashboards

Oracle AnswersOracle Answers

Load BalancerLoad Balancer

Security S

ervic esS

e cur i ty Se r vi ce s

Que ry G

ove rn .Q

u er y Go ver n.

TCP/IP(SSL)

Javascriptfor Usability & Interactivity

Web BrowserXML, HTML,

XLS, PDF, TXTover

HTTP/HTTPS

External Applications and Portals

HTML, SOAPover

HTTP/HTTPS

Execution EngineExecution Engine

SAW Bridge (J2EE/ISAPI)SAW Bridge (J2EE/ISAPI)

TCP/IP (SSL)Oracle BI PublisherOracle BI PublisherDelivery ServerDelivery Server

Layout InterfacesLayout Interfaces

Data LogicData LogicXSL

Externalized Authentication

LDAP

DB Authentication

Custom Authenticator

Oracle BIOracle BICluster ControllerCluster Controller

Oracle Delivers ServerOracle Delivers ServerScheduling/Event ServicesScheduling/Event Services

Agent Execution LogicAgent Execution Logic

Device Adaptive ContentDevice Adaptive Content

vs.







The Role of Fusion Middleware Control (EM)

• Unified, system-wide management of all nodes across BI domain• Performance monitoring and tuning• 1-click scale-out and online clustering• Management of RPDs,

web catalogs etc• Patching & upgrades• Replaces (in part, initially)

hand-editing of configfiles (NQSConfig.INI etc)







Default Use of Clustering

• During installation, Cluster Controller is automatically installed and configuredto create a default 1-node cluster

• Makes it easier to add cluster nodes after install‣ Vertical clustering and horizontal clustering







What Hasn’t Changed Since OBIEE 10g

• All configuration data is still held in text files (NQSConfig.INI, instanceconfig.xml)• System components still need restart after config change• Still single default RPD per BI Server• Clustering, caching still the same basic technology• RPD is still held in a binary file• Web Catalog still a filesystem directory• Logging still to files (though now centralized to diagnostics directory)







OBIEE 11g Default Filesystem Layout

• Binaries in the BI Oracle Home• Configuration files (RPD,

config files, diagnostics,WebCat) in the BI Instance Home

• WLS binaries in the WL Home

• WLS domain filesin Domain Home

• Separation of binariesfrom configuration/instance files







Leveraging Oracle Fusion Middleware Technologies

• OBIEE 11g leverages many Fusion Middleware 11g technologies‣ WLS (WebLogic Server)‣ OPMN (Oracle Process Manager and Notification Server)‣ OPSS (Oracle Platform Security Services)‣ DMS (Dynamic Monitoring System)‣ ODL (Oracle Diagnostic Logging)‣ JPS (Java Platform Security)‣ CSF (Credential Store Framework)‣ OPATCH / OPACK‣ UA (Upgrade Assistant)‣ RCU (Repository Creation Assistant)







OPMN

• Used for distributed process start/stop/restart

• Process recovery (optional), process “ping”

• Managed via EM, or from command line

• Can also be used for performance collection (DMS)

• Required on every OBIEE server

• Standard FMW process control tool

C:\Middleware\Oracle_BI1\opmn\bin>opmnctl status

Processes in Instance: instance1---------------------------------+--------------------+---------+---------ias-component | process-type | pid | status---------------------------------+--------------------+---------+---------coreapplication_obiccs1 | OracleBIClusterCo~ | 3364 | Alivecoreapplication_obisch1 | OracleBIScheduler~ | 1012 | Alivecoreapplication_obijh1 | OracleBIJavaHostC~ | 4400 | Alivecoreapplication_obips1 | OracleBIPresentat~ | 2092 | Alivecoreapplication_obis1 | OracleBIServerCom~ | 5040 | Alive







DMS and Oracle Diagnostic Logging

• Most logs now searchable from Fusion Middleware Control• Those that do now include an ECID (Execution Context ID) that ties together

entries across logs relating to a single transaction• DMS (Dynamic Monitoring System) records performance data across system

(similar to Perfmon, JMX Counters)







Three Sample Deployments

1. Desktop / Laptop Install• Quick installation, smallest footprint• No contingency for HA, Failover, Resilence etc

2. Departmental Install with Horizonal Scaleout• Production installation, needs element of resilience / scalability• not overcomplicated installation, simple maintenance• Ability to create DEV, TEST etc environments

3. Enterprise Install (optional Vertical/Horizontal Scaleout)• As with Departmental install, plus...• Highly secure - use of firewalls, DMZ etc• Highly resilient, failover for all components• Failover extends to RDBMS level• Suitable for enterprise-wide deployment of OBIEE 11g







Deployment Topology 1 : Desktop / Laptop







Desktop / Laptop Deployment Considerations

• Can be installed using either the Simple or Enterprise install options• Requires a machine with (minimum) 3-4Gb or (recommended) 8GB RAM• 20Gb disk space for OBIEE 11g files, 500MB for supporting schemas• Currently Windows or Linux, 32/64 bit (Linux also requires Windows for BI

Administration tool)• Browser must be Firefox 3+ or IE7+ (Safari not yet certified)







Deployment Topology 2 : Departmental w/Horizonal Scaleout







Definition: Domains and Instances

• Oracle BI Domain : The overall OBIEE system• WebLogic Domain : Admin Server, plus Managed Server(s), across n hosts‣ Java components, optionally scaled out across nodes (managed servers)

• BI Instance : BI Servers, Presentation Servers etc, across n hosts‣ System components, optionally scaled up and out across nodes

• Each Oracle BI Domain (in 11.1.1.3) has a single WebLogic Domain andBI Instance‣ Logical containers, can span n physical hosts







Departmental Deployment Considerations

• Database separated out into its own host• Scale-out option has been used, to add an additional managed server‣ Mainly addresses capacity, but some availability benefits

• HTTP server runs from within BIHOST• System components are clustered across BIHOST1 and BIHOST2• Typical system for team of developers, and departmental deployment‣ Reasonable capacity, some redundancy, simple to adminster

• Note: current version (11.1.1.3) does not have ability to do client-only install, so will need to perform full (Simple) install for developers and disable services







Vertical Scaleout of System Components

• Spare capacity on an individual host can be used by adding additionalsystem components

• Can add additional BI Servers, Presentation Servers and Java Hosts• Useful for resilience, and usage of spare capacity‣ Doesn’t protect against the whole server failing though







Vertical Clustering Step 1 : View Scalout Recommendations

• View Potential Points of Failure report on Capacity Management > Availability• Recommends scaling-out BI Server, BI Presentation Server and BI JavaHost







Vertical Clustering Step 2 : Add New System Components

• Use Capacity Management > Scalability to add additional BI Servers, Presentation Servers and Java Hosts

• Set Port Range From (usually can leave at default)







Vertical Clustering Step 3 : Check Components Provisioned

• View System Components Availability from Capacity Management > Availability

• Components should be provisioned, but not started up• Press Restart All to

proceed







Vertical Clustering Step 4 : Start New System Components

• Check Capacity Management > Availability to check all components running• Clustering will now ensure that if one fails, the other will take over

(active-active clustering)

Text














Horizonal Scaleout of System Components

• Used for adding additional managed servers (Java components) andsystem components to an existing cluster

• Used for scalability and failover• Set up via the Universal Installer > Scale Out BI System option• Automatic process, no need to edit configuration files

1. Create shared area for RPD, catalog, cache2. Install OBIEE on to new node, select Enterprise Install > Scale Out3. Provide details for WLS Admin Server4. Node is configured to be new managed server within cluster5. Use EM to add system components to the new server6. Designate secondary controllers for scheduler, cluster controler7. New server is now available, and part of the cluster







Horizontal Clustering Step 1 : Create Shared Areas

• Create folders on network share for RPD, Web Catalog and Global Cache• Share needs to be accessible to all hosts• Copy the web catalog across manually, the others will be populated automatically







Horizontal Clustering Step 2 : Prepare Installation

• Start the Oracle Universal Installer on the new host, selectEnterprise Install > Scale Out BI System option

• Enter connection details to the WLS Admin Server







Horizontal Clustering Step 3 : Install and Configure

• Allow installation to complete, and then post-install configuration steps• This should then complete the scale-out of the managed server and

java components







Horizontal Clustering Step 4 : Add New System Components

• Add new BI Servers, Presentation Servers and JavaHosts on new host• Once provisioned, Capacity Management > Scalability > Start Selected

to make them available for use







Horizontal Clustering Step 5 : Define Secondary Controllers

• Final step is to define secondary BI Cluster Controllers + BI Schedulers• Capacity Management > Availability > Primary / Secondary Configuration• Use in active/passive failover situation







Horizontal Clustering Step 6 : Check Failover Recommendations

• Fusion Middleware Control should now report that all system componentshave active/active, and active/passive backups

• No remaining Single Points of Failure







Use of Hardware Load Balancer

• Load balancer required to route incoming requests to WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2 virtual host names

• Load balancer needs to be able to perform following functions‣ Ability to route to virtual host names in a pool‣ Perform port number translation‣ Monitor ports on the servers in the pool to determine availability‣ Ability to detect node failures, and reroute traffic away from failed node‣ Sticky-routing capability‣ SSL Acceleration (convert SSL requests to non-SSL)

• List of validated load balances available on OTN‣ http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/hi_av/

Tested_LBR_FW_SSLAccel.html






http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/hi_av/Tested_LBR_FW_SSLAccel.html





Managing Failover and Failback

• In a clustered OBIEE 11g environment, failover is possible• BI Server, BI Presentation Server and JavaHost are active/active‣ For BI Server, if one fails and session is active, query will fail but browser

refresh will re-run the analysis‣ For BI Presentation server, if one fails and session is active, user will

need to log in again (start new session)‣ For JavaHost, if one fails, refresh of browser will use alternative‣ Automatic failback once component is online again

• BI Cluster Controller and BI Scheduler are active/passive‣ For both components, if one fails, clients will detect primary component

unavailability and connect to secondary component instead‣ Automatic failback to primary component once online again







Creating Additional TEST and PROD Environments

• OBIEE 11g supports multiple, separate, standalone installations (BI Domains) on a single host ‣ Does not yet support multiple instances within a BI Domain

• RCU supports creating multiple BIPLATFORM schemas onone database (DEV_BIPLATFORM, PROD_BIPLATFORM etc)

• It is therefore possible in OBIEE 11g to install multiple DEV, PROD, TEST etc environments on one host, as long as each installation is standalone

• Or install onto separate hosts, if full isolation is required







Deployment Topology 3 : Enterprise







Enterprise Deployment Considerations

• WebLogic clustering, with WLS + OBIEE software installed on two redundant hosts (APPHOST1, APPHOST2)

• HTTP Servers moved to seperate WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2 hosts• WLS and OBIEE binaries installed onto two volumes on shared storage‣ Protects against corruptions in one of the volumes

• Admin Server accessed through VIP and ADMINHVN‣ Provides manual/automatic failover for Admin Server

• RAC + Dataguard used for repository database‣ Resilience and HA for database

• Firewall zones used to separate out web + application tiers from database• Still open to horizontal and vertical OBIEE clustering• Documented in the Oracle® Fusion Middleware Enterprise Deployment Guide for

Oracle Business Intelligence 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)







Separation of HTTP Servers into DMZ

• Recommended for security, as moves public-facing servers into public DMZ• Two hosts, WEBHOST1 and WEBHOST2, running Oracle HTTP Server,

Oracle WebGate and mod_wl_ohs‣ Oracle WebGate used when implementing Oracle Access Manager‣ mod_wl_ohs proxies Oracle HTTP Server requests to WLS

• External hardware load balancer is the public-facing component‣ Sends requests on port 80 to WEBHOST VIPs using port 443







Duplication of Application Servers

• WLS Admin Server is a singleton application, so needs secondary locationfor active/passive failover

• WLS and OBIEE 11gR1 software is installed twice, on two hosts, for redundancy‣ Manual or automatic failover in the event of first host failing‣ Admin server reached through virtual host ADMINHVN







Use of Shared Storage for FMW Files

• WLS and OBIEE software (WL_HOME, ORACLE_HOME) are installed onto shared disk using SAN or NAS‣ Ideally install into separate volumes (VOL1, VOL2) and use same

install directory (ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw)‣ If not, install into separate directories (ORACLE_BASE/product/fmw1|2)

• Protects binaries from corruption• Installs use alternate volumes/directories on round-robin basis







Recommended Directory Structure for Enterprise Deployment

• In addition, separate domain directoryfor the Admin Server and ManagedServer(s)‣ Symmetric configuration

for managed servers‣ Isolates the failover of the

Admin Server‣ Admin Server domain

directory should beon shared storage

‣ Managed servers canbe shared or localstorage







RAC / DataGuard for DB Resilience

• For full resilience, database holding BIPLATFORM schema should be protected as well

• For Oracle RDBMS, RAC (Real Application Clusters) and DataGuard recommended‣ RAC supports multiple nodes, used for scaleout and (some) resilience‣ DataGuard replicates data to standby (failover) database







Horizontal and Vertical Scaleout of Enterprise Deployment

• Deployment can be vertically or horizontally scaled out as normal• ADMINVHN used as hostname for Admin Server







SSO and SSL

• OBIEE can be configured to work with multiple Single Sign-On (SSO) providers• Can also be configured to communicate securely (SSL)• SSO enabled through coreapplication Fusion Middleware Control pages• SSL enabled through MBeans screens







Rittman Mead Training - Cognizant Technology Solutions







Documents

7 - OBIEE 11g Scaleout and Clustering