When working with Essbase clusters to achieve high availability of servers, it is customary to use network file systems for sharing the Essbase application files across systems.

On Windows, you can use Universal/Uniform Naming Convention (UNC) to describe the location of a network resource, such as a shared directory. Syntax:

\\ComputerName\SharedFolder\Resource

For Essbase running on Windows, UNC paths are supported to specify network shared paths for the following Essbase Server application artifacts:

@IRREX: Calculates the Internal Rate of Return on a cash flow that must contain at least one investment (negative) and one income (positive) value. Includes functionality to configure the initial guess and the number of iterations the algorithm can make.

The @IRREX calculation function is an extension of the @IRR calculation function, in which the initial guess of 0.07 cannot be changed.

SSBULKGRIDPROCESSING: Optimizes asymmetric Grid API queries for XOLAP.

On aggregate storage databases only, the NonEmptyCount MDX function is optimized so that the calculation of the distinct count for all cells can be performed by scanning the database only once. Without this optimization, the database is scanned as many times as the number of cells corresponding to the distinct count. The NonEmptyCount optimization is triggered when an outline member formula has the following syntax:

NONEMPTYCOUNT(set, measure, exclude_missing)

The exclude_missing parameter supports the NonEmptyCount optimization on aggregate databases by improving the performance of a query that queries metrics that perform a distinct count calculation.

In an outline that is enabled for duplicate member names, all member names, including shared members, are distinguishable by using a qualified member name syntax. However, in a unique member name outline (where duplicate members are not enabled), a member and its shared member are both identified by the same simple member name.

In previous releases, any reference in an MDX query to such a shared member was assumed to be a reference to the original member, not the shared member. With this release, you can get a unique name for shared members by using the MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME property in an MDX query.

For example, in the Sample Basic database, the member [100-20] is an original member under parent [100], and has a shared member associated with it under parent [Diet]. The shared member [100-20] can be referred to explicitly, using the unique name [Diet].[100-20], as shown in the following query:

SELECT
 {Sales} 
ON COLUMNS,
 {[[Diet]].[100-20]]]} PROPERTIES MEMBER_UNIQUE_NAME
ON ROWS
FROM Sample.Basic; 

For rules on the syntax and escape characters required to uniquely reference shared members in a unique member name outline, see the topic entitled “MDX Syntax for Specifying Duplicate Member Names and Aliases” in the Oracle Essbase Technical Reference.

You can change Essbase log levels at the server and application level in Administration Services Console. See “Changing Log Levels” in the Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online Help.

In addition to querying for intrinsic and custom properties of a particular member, you can also query for properties of related members, using the PROPERTY_EXPR function within the DIMENSION PROPERTIES section of the query axis.

See the MDX Property Expressions topic and the CurrentAxisMember topic in the Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Each allotted server thread for an application may create child threads for tasks such as parallel calculation, parallel data load or export, and parallel restructuring. However, if the total number of running threads is too high, threads may lose efficiency while contending for server resources. To control the issue of thread contention, you can use the MAXTOTALACTIVETRANSACTIONS and MAXACTIVEUPDATETRANSACTIONS essbase.cfg settings.

The maximum number of threads that can be made available for parallel calculation has been increased:

Essbase supports the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol for all client-to-server and server-to-server communication. SSL allows Essbase to communicate unilaterally across a network with Essbase clients, including Oracle Hyperion Provider Services, Oracle Essbase Administration Services, and Essbase Studio, while preventing eavesdropping and tampering. End-point authentication and communications occur confidentiality over the Internet using CipherSuite cryptography.

These configuration settings supply parameters that enable SSL communication:

For information on using SSL with Essbase, see the Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management System Security Administration Guide.

Essbase cluster logical names can be used for login, in the form <name>:<secure>. The name is resolved by communication with the Provider Services servers specified in configuration files:

You can specify the host name to which Essbase binds by using the ESSBASESERVERHOSTNAME configuration setting in essbase.cfg. If no host name is specified, Essbase uses a system API to get the host name. Using host names enables you to partition network traffic on all the network interfaces of a computer. This is useful on computers with single network cards and those with multiple NIC cards.

The essbase.cfg settings QRYGOVEXECBLK and QRYGOVEXECTIME can now also control long-running MDX queries.

Allocations are used in the budgeting process to distribute revenues or costs.

The allocations feature allows you to allocate a given source amount to a target range of cells in an aggregate storage database. The source amount can be allocated to the target proportionately, based on a given basis, or the source amount can be spread evenly to the target.

You can perform aggregate storage allocations using the MaxL statement execute allocation. Using the Essbase API, use the EssPerformAllocationAso function and provide the information about the allocation in the ESS_PERF_ALLOC_T API structure.

Custom calculations extend the analytical capabilities of Essbase by enabling the execution of recurring calculations on aggregate storage databases.

You can write custom calculations for aggregate storage databases that update target level-0 cells. Custom calculation scripts are expressed in MDX.

Custom calculations on aggregate storage databases can be useful when the database is used for general ledger reporting, where double-entry accounting is in effect. Debit items, such as assets and expenses, must balance with credit items, such as equity and revenue.

You can perform custom calculations on an aggregate storage database using the MaxL statement execute calculation (aggregate storage version). Using the Essbase API, use EssPerformCustomCalcASO to perform or verify a custom calculation. Provide the information for the custom calculation in the ESS_PERF_CUSTCALC_T structure.

Using the @XWRITE calculation function, Essbase can write to blocks other than the ones being calculated. The write can occur in the same database or on a remote database. @XWRITE, like @XREF, uses a location alias.

Applications developed to work with Essbase send numerous requests to Essbase upon startup or as a response to a user action. To improve response times when users query for member information, you can have the application send multiple similar queries as one, using these new API functions:

Essbase supports these limits for user, group, and filter names:

In addition to supporting the conversion of non-Unicode block storage outlines to non-Unicode aggregate storage outlines, Essbase supports these conversion scenarios:

Essbase supports the IPv6 internet protocol on Microsoft Windows 2008 and all UNIX platforms.

Essbase supports connecting to Oracle databases using the Oracle Call Interface (OCI). You can load data from Oracle databases using Data Prep Editor in Administration Services Console by specifying an OCI connect identifier. Additionally, you can specify an OCI connect identifier when deploying a cube using the MaxL deploy statement. For information on Oracle Essbase Studio support for OCI, see Oracle Essbase Studio New Features.

Previously, data loads and dimension builds were always synchronized processes, meaning that Essbase has to wait for them to finish before making modifications.

If you use asynchronous data loads and dimension builds, during the process you can query for this information:

These C Main API functions are added to handle asynchronous data loads and dimension builds:

Essbase offers improved dataload error messages for debugging purposes, and records causing errors are included in the log files.

These C Main API functions are added to improve debugging of dataload failures:

Essbase supports MDX queries that exceed the 2³² query limit. Essbase sends 64-bit values representing cell offsets to the client. The Java MDX API now handles 64-bit offsets.

User names can contain any characters defined within the code page referenced by the ESSLANG variable.

The MaxL Shell IfError command can detect syntactical errors, nested script errors, and lack-of-permission errors. The MaxL Shell Exit command can accept a non-zero argument to return an exit status to the parent shell.

Essbase can exit calculations immediately under specified logical conditions. You can use the IF... ELSEIF calculation command block to specify the logical error conditions, and use the new @RETURN function to exit the calculation with customized error messages and levels.

You can extract metadata, either from the active database outline or an input outline file, to an XML file. Comparing versions of XML files enables you to view and track changes made to the outline over time.

The MaxL statement export outline is added to support exporting the metadata.

Essbase supports clustering of Essbase servers to provide active-passive failover with write-back capability. Active-passive Essbase failover clusters use the service failover functionality of the Oracle Process Manager and Notification (OPMN) Server. Essbase agent and server processes use leases to ensure that at any given point-in-time there is one and only one owner for a given shared resource. These processes acquire a lease against a particular shared resource upon startup, continue to renew the lease during their lifetime, and surrender the lease upon termination.

These configuration settings supply tuning parameters that support Essbase failover clustering:

If you migrate Essbase Server and any existing users and groups to Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System security mode, you can change the name of the global application and application project in Oracle Hyperion Shared Services by using the alter system MaxL statement with the rename global registration name grammar.

Essbase clients developed in Java can execute MaxL statements to facilitate Oracle Essbase administrative tasks.

These calculation functions and command are added to improve calculation of databases that use varying attributes:

@WITHATTR is enhanced to allow varying attributes to be specified in the function argument.

@WITHATTR is enhanced to allow varying attributes to be specified in the function argument.

SET SCAPERSPECTIVE