To take advantage of the aggregation power of Essbase, Oracle BI EE allows users to deploy Essbase cubes from the Oracle BI EE Essbase Cube Generation module.
The Oracle BI EE interface may be used to define and deploy Essbase cubes. In Oracle BI EE, users define measures, dimensions, and attributes, and then specify cube building options to deploy an Essbase cube. Essbase Studio serves as a web service to help Oracle BI EE deploy Essbase cubes. During the cube deployment process, Oracle BI EE sends an XML file which defines data source information and the cube schema with expected Essbase artifacts, along with deployment options to Essbase Studio. Essbase Studio then deploys the Essbase cube and returns the deployment results back to Oracle BI EE.
When an Essbase cube is deployed from Oracle BI EE, the metadata elements derived from the Oracle BI EE data source are stored in the Metadata Navigator of the Essbase Studio Console.
When the first deployment from Oracle BI EE occurs, a folder is automatically created under Root in the Metadata Navigator in the format:
OBIEE_<server>_<rpdFileName>_<timestamp>
<server>—the machine name of the Essbase Server.
<rpdFileName>—the Oracle BI EE RPD file name.
<timestamp>—the generated timestamp for the operation in the time format:
MM-dd-yy_HH-mm-ss
For each redeployment, a new folder is created, differentiated by the <timestamp> in the Metadata Navigator.
The folder contains the dimension elements, hierarchies, cube schema, Essbase model, and Essbase application and database that were created during the deployment.
Work with the metadata elements in the folder as you would with any other metadata elements that you create from other Oracle BI EE Business Model data sources. For example, customize and optimize elements to create new cube schemas and Essbase models, then deploy those models to create new Essbase cubes.
See also Working with the Data Source Connections of an Essbase Cube Deployed by Oracle BI EE.