OBIEE Interview Questions and Answers

Define pipeline. Did you use it in your projects?

o Yes, pipelines are the stages in a particular transaction. assessment, finance etc.
How do you create filter on repository?
o Where condition on content tab.
How do you work in a multi user environment? !at are t!e steps?
o Create a shared directory on the network for Multi-user Development M!D".
o #pen the rpd to use in M!D. $rom %ools-&#ptions, setup the M!D directory to point to the
above directory.
o Define pro'ects within the rpd to allow multiple users to develop within their sub'ect area or
$acts.
o (ave and move the rpd to the shared directory setup in point ).
o When users work in the M!D mode, they open the admin tool and start with
o M!D -&Checkout to checkout the pro'ect they need to work on not use the $ile open as you
would usually do".
o *fter completely the development, user checkin the changes back to the network and merge the
changes.
!ere are passwords for userid? "dap#e$ternal ta%le aut!entication stored respectively?
o passwords for userid are in siebel analytics server repository +dap authentication in +dap
server e,ternal database in a table in e,ternal database
&an you %ypass sie%el analytics server security ?if so !ow?
o yes you can by-pass by setting authententication type in -.(C#-$/0 file in the security
section as1authentication2type3bypass2n4s.instanceconfig.,ml and n4sconfig.ini are the 5 places
Where can you add new groups and set permissions6
o you can add groups by going to manage&security&add new groups& You can give permissions
to a group for 4uery limitation and filter conditions.
w!at are t!e t!in's you can do in t!e B(( layer?
o *ggrigation navigation,level base matrics,time series wi7ard,create new logical column,comle,
'oin.
w!at is )a''ed !ierarc!y? and !ow do u mana'e it
o 8agged 9ierarchy is one of the different kinds of hierarchy.
o * hierarchy in which each level has a consistent meaning, but the branches have inconsistent
depths because at least one member attribute in a branch level is unpopulated. * ragged hierarchy
can represent a geographic hierarchy in which the meaning of each level such as city or country
is used consistently, but the depth of the hierarchy varies.
o $or e,ample, a geographic hierarchy that has Continent, Country, :rovince;(tate, and City
levels defined. #ne branch has -orth *merica as the Continent, !nited (tates as the Country,
California as the :rovince or (tate, and (an $rancisco as the City. 9owever, the hierarchy
becomes ragged when one member does not have an entry at all of the levels. $or e,ample,
another branch has <urope as the Continent, 0reece as the Country, and *thens as the City, but
has no entry for the :rovince or (tate level because this level is not applicable to 0reece for the
business model in this e,ample. /n this e,ample, the 0reece and !nited (tates branches descend
to different depths, creating a ragged hierarchy.
!at is t!e difference %etween *in'le "o'ical +a%le *ource and (ultiple "o'ical +a%le
*ources?
o /f a logical table in =MM layer has only one %able as the source table then it is (ingle +%(.
o /f the logical table in =MM layer has more than one table as the sources to it then it is called
Multiple +%(.
o <,1 !sually $act table has Multiple +%(>, for which sources will be coming from different
:hysical tables.
Can you let me know how many aggregate tables you have in your pro'ect6 #n what basis have
you created them6
o *s per resume 'ustification document
How do you %rin',relate t!e a''re'ate ta%les into t!e *ie%el analytics "o'ical layer?
o #ne way of bringing the *ggregate %ables into the =MM layer is by bringing them as +ogical
%able sources for the corresponding $act table.
o %his is done by dragging and dropping the aggregate table into the corresponding fact table.
*fter doing that establish the column mappings and the set the aggregation levels.
How do you know w!ic! report is !ittin' w!ic! ta%le# eit!er t!e fact ta%le or t!e a''re'ate
ta%le?
o *fter running the report, go to *dministration tab and go to click on Manage (essions. %here
you can find the 4ueries that are run and in the ?iew +og option in the (ession Management you
can find which report is hitting which table.
*uppose I !ave report w!ic! is runnin' for a%out - minutes typically. !at is t!e first step
you take to improve t!e performance of t!e .uery?
o $ind the s4l 4uery of the report in *dmin-&manage (ession-& run the s4l 4uery on toad -&read
the e,plain plan output -&modify the (.+ based on the e,plain plan output
*uppose you !ave a report w!ic! !as t!e option of runnin' on a''re'ate ta%le. How does
t!e tool know to !it t!e A''re'ate ta%le and for t!at w!at t!e steps you follow to confi'ure
t!em?
o <,plain the process of *ggregate navigation
9ave you heard of /mplicit $acts6 /f, so what are they6
o *n implicit fact column is a column that will be added to a 4uery when it contains columns
from two or more dimension tables and no measures. You will not see the column in the results.
/t is used to specify a default 'oin path between dimension tables when there are several possible
alternatives.
o $or e,ample, there might be many star schemas in the database that have the Campaign
dimension and the Customer dimension, such as the following stars1
Campaign 9istory star. (tores customers targeted in campaign.
Campaign 8esponse star. (tores customer responses to a campaign.
#rder star. (tores customers who placed orders as a result of a campaign.
/n this e,ample, because Campaign and Customer information might appear in many
segmentation catalogs, users selecting to count customers from the targeted campaigns catalog
would be e,pecting to count customers that have been targeted in specific campaigns.
%o make sure that the 'oin relationship between Customers and Campaigns is through the
campaign history fact table, a campaign history implicit fact needs to be specified in Campaign
9istory segmentation catalog. %he following guidelines should be followed in creating
segmentation catalogs1
<ach segmentation catalog should be created so that all columns come from only one physical
star.
=ecause the Marketing module user interface has special features that allow users to specify their
aggregations, level-based measures typically should not be e,posed to segmentation users in a
segmentation catalog.
!at is a''re'ate navi'ation? How do you confi'ure t!e A''re'ate ta%les in *ie%el
Analytics?
o *ggregate tables store precomputed results, which are measures that have been aggregated
typically summed" over a set of dimensional attributes. !sing aggregate tables is a very popular
techni4ue for speeding up 4uery response times in decision support systems.
o /f you are writing (.+ 4ueries or using a tool that only understands what physical tables e,ist
and not their meaning", taking advantage of aggregate tables and putting them to good use
becomes more difficult as the number of aggregate tables increases. %he aggregate navigation
capability of the (iebel *nalytics (erver, however, allows 4ueries to use the information stored
in aggregate tables automatically, without 4uery authors or 4uery tools having to specify
aggregate tables in their 4ueries. %he (iebel *nalytics (erver allows you to concentrate on asking
the right business 4uestion@ the server decides which tables provide the fastest answers.
/Assume you are in B(( layer0 e !ave 1 dimension ta%les# in t!at# 2 ta%les need to !ave
!ierarc!y# t!en in suc! a case is it mandatory to create !ierarc!ies for all t!e dimension
ta%les?
o -o, its not mandatory to define hierarchies to other Dimension tables.
&an you !ave multiple data sources in *ie%el Analytics?
o Yes.
How do you deal wit! case statement and e$pressions in sie%el analytics?
o use e,pression builder to create case whenAthen.. end statement
Do you know a%out Initiali3ation Blocks? &an you 'ive me an e$ample w!ere you used
t!em?
o /nit blocks are used for instantiating a session when a user logs in.
o %o create dynamic variable you have to create /= to write s4l statement.
w!at is .uery repository tool?
o /t is utility of (eibel;#=/<< *dmin tool
o allows you to e,amine the repository metadata tool
o for e,ample1 search for ob'ects based on name,type.
o <,amine relationship between metadata ob'ects like which column in the presentation layer
maps to which table in physical layer
w!at is 4D5 and w!y do we need it?
o Bava Development Cit BDC", * software package that contains the minimal set of tools needed
to write, compile, debug, and run Bava applets.
Oracle doesn6t recommend Opa.ue 7iews %ecause of performance considerations# so
w!y,w!en do we use t!em?
o an opa4ue view is a physical layer table that consists of select statement. an opa4ue view
should be used only if there is no other solution.
&an you mi'rate t!e presentation layer to a different server.
o -o we have to migrate the whole web D rpd files
How do you identify w!at are t!e dimension ta%les and !ow do you decide t!em durin' t!e
Business,Data modelin'?
o Dimension tables contain descriptions that data analysts use as they 4uery the database. $or
e,ample, the (tore table contains store names and addresses@ the :roduct table contains product
packaging information@ and the :eriod table contains month, 4uarter, and year values. <very
table contains a primary key that consists of one or more columns@ each row in a table is
uni4uely identified by its primary-key value or values
!y do we !ave multiple "+* in B(( layer?!at is t!e purpose?
o to improve the performance and 4uery response time.
w!at is t!e full form of rpd?
o there is no full form for rpd as such, it is 'ust a repository file 8apidfile Database"
!ow do i disa%le cac!e for only 2 particular ta%les?
o in the physical layer, right click on the table there we will have the option which says
cacheable
How do you split a ta%le in t!e rpd 'iven t!e condition. / t!e condition 'iven was Broker
and customer in t!e same ta%le0 *plit Broker and customer.
o we need to make an alias table in the physical layer.
!at type of protocol did you use in *A*?
o %C:;/:
Did you create any new lo'ical column in B(( layer# !ow?
o Yes. We can create new logical column in =MM layer.
o <,ample1 8ight click on fact table -new lgical column-give name for new logical column like
%otal cost.
o -ow in fact table source,we have one option column mapping, in that we can do all calculation
for that new column.
&an you use p!ysical join in B(( layer?
o yes we can use physical 'oin in =MM layer.when there is (CD type 5 we need comple, 'oin in
=MM layer.
&an you use outer join in B(( layer?
o yes we can.When we are doing comple, 'oin in =MM layer ,there is one option type,outer 'oin
is there.
!at are ot!er ways of improvin' summary .uery reports ot!er t!an A''re'ate
8avi'ation and &ac!e (ana'ement
/nde,es
Boin algorithm
Mat;view 4uery rewrite
Web proper report design its optimal by making sure that it is not getting any addition column or
rows
!at is level9%ase matrics?
o +eval-base matrics means, having a measure pinned at a certain level of the dimension. $or
<,ample, if you have a measure called Dollars, you can create a +evel =ased Measure called
Yearly Dollars which you guessed it" is Dollars for a Year. %his measure will always return the
value for the year even if you drill down to a lower level like 4uarter, monthA etc. %o create a
level based measure, create a new logical column based on the original measure like Dollars in
the e,ample above". Drag and drop the new logical column to the appropriate level in the
Dimension hierarchy in the above e,ample you will drag and drop it to Year in %ime Dim
o * +=M is a metric that is defined for a specific level or intersection of levels.
o Monthly %otal (ales or .uarterly (ales are the e,amples.
o You can compare monthly sales with 4uarterly sales. You can compare customer orders this
4uarter to orders this year
OBIEE Interview Questions and Answers
Define pipeline. Did you use it in your projects?
o Yes, pipelines are the stages in a particular transaction. assessment, finance etc.
How do you create filter on repository?
o Where condition on content tab.
How do you work in a multi user environment? !at are t!e steps?
o Create a shared directory on the network for Multi-user Development M!D".
o #pen the rpd to use in M!D. $rom %ools-&#ptions, setup the M!D directory to point to the
above directory.
o Define pro'ects within the rpd to allow multiple users to develop within their sub'ect area or
$acts.
o (ave and move the rpd to the shared directory setup in point ).
o When users work in the M!D mode, they open the admin tool and start with
o M!D -&Checkout to checkout the pro'ect they need to work on not use the $ile open as you
would usually do".
o *fter completely the development, user checkin the changes back to the network and merge the
changes.
!ere are passwords for userid? "dap#e$ternal ta%le aut!entication stored respectively?
o passwords for userid are in siebel analytics server repository +dap authentication in +dap
server e,ternal database in a table in e,ternal database
&an you %ypass sie%el analytics server security ?if so !ow?
o yes you can by-pass by setting authententication type in -.(C#-$/0 file in the security
section as1authentication2type3bypass2n4s.instanceconfig.,ml and n4sconfig.ini are the 5 places
Where can you add new groups and set permissions6
o you can add groups by going to manage&security&add new groups& You can give permissions
to a group for 4uery limitation and filter conditions.
w!at are t!e t!in's you can do in t!e B(( layer?
o *ggrigation navigation,level base matrics,time series wi7ard,create new logical column,comle,
'oin.
w!at is )a''ed !ierarc!y? and !ow do u mana'e it
o 8agged 9ierarchy is one of the different kinds of hierarchy.
o * hierarchy in which each level has a consistent meaning, but the branches have inconsistent
depths because at least one member attribute in a branch level is unpopulated. * ragged hierarchy
can represent a geographic hierarchy in which the meaning of each level such as city or country
is used consistently, but the depth of the hierarchy varies.
o $or e,ample, a geographic hierarchy that has Continent, Country, :rovince;(tate, and City
levels defined. #ne branch has -orth *merica as the Continent, !nited (tates as the Country,
California as the :rovince or (tate, and (an $rancisco as the City. 9owever, the hierarchy
becomes ragged when one member does not have an entry at all of the levels. $or e,ample,
another branch has <urope as the Continent, 0reece as the Country, and *thens as the City, but
has no entry for the :rovince or (tate level because this level is not applicable to 0reece for the
business model in this e,ample. /n this e,ample, the 0reece and !nited (tates branches descend
to different depths, creating a ragged hierarchy.
!at is t!e difference %etween *in'le "o'ical +a%le *ource and (ultiple "o'ical +a%le
*ources?
o /f a logical table in =MM layer has only one %able as the source table then it is (ingle +%(.
o /f the logical table in =MM layer has more than one table as the sources to it then it is called
Multiple +%(.
o <,1 !sually $act table has Multiple +%(>, for which sources will be coming from different
:hysical tables.
Can you let me know how many aggregate tables you have in your pro'ect6 #n what basis have
you created them6
o *s per resume 'ustification document
How do you %rin',relate t!e a''re'ate ta%les into t!e *ie%el analytics "o'ical layer?
o #ne way of bringing the *ggregate %ables into the =MM layer is by bringing them as +ogical
%able sources for the corresponding $act table.
o %his is done by dragging and dropping the aggregate table into the corresponding fact table.
*fter doing that establish the column mappings and the set the aggregation levels.
How do you know w!ic! report is !ittin' w!ic! ta%le# eit!er t!e fact ta%le or t!e a''re'ate
ta%le?
o *fter running the report, go to *dministration tab and go to click on Manage (essions. %here
you can find the 4ueries that are run and in the ?iew +og option in the (ession Management you
can find which report is hitting which table.
*uppose I !ave report w!ic! is runnin' for a%out - minutes typically. !at is t!e first step
you take to improve t!e performance of t!e .uery?
o $ind the s4l 4uery of the report in *dmin-&manage (ession-& run the s4l 4uery on toad -&read
the e,plain plan output -&modify the (.+ based on the e,plain plan output
*uppose you !ave a report w!ic! !as t!e option of runnin' on a''re'ate ta%le. How does
t!e tool know to !it t!e A''re'ate ta%le and for t!at w!at t!e steps you follow to confi'ure
t!em?
o <,plain the process of *ggregate navigation
9ave you heard of /mplicit $acts6 /f, so what are they6
o *n implicit fact column is a column that will be added to a 4uery when it contains columns
from two or more dimension tables and no measures. You will not see the column in the results.
/t is used to specify a default 'oin path between dimension tables when there are several possible
alternatives.
o $or e,ample, there might be many star schemas in the database that have the Campaign
dimension and the Customer dimension, such as the following stars1
Campaign 9istory star. (tores customers targeted in campaign.
Campaign 8esponse star. (tores customer responses to a campaign.
#rder star. (tores customers who placed orders as a result of a campaign.
/n this e,ample, because Campaign and Customer information might appear in many
segmentation catalogs, users selecting to count customers from the targeted campaigns catalog
would be e,pecting to count customers that have been targeted in specific campaigns.
%o make sure that the 'oin relationship between Customers and Campaigns is through the
campaign history fact table, a campaign history implicit fact needs to be specified in Campaign
9istory segmentation catalog. %he following guidelines should be followed in creating
segmentation catalogs1
<ach segmentation catalog should be created so that all columns come from only one physical
star.
=ecause the Marketing module user interface has special features that allow users to specify their
aggregations, level-based measures typically should not be e,posed to segmentation users in a
segmentation catalog.
!at is a''re'ate navi'ation? How do you confi'ure t!e A''re'ate ta%les in *ie%el
Analytics?
o *ggregate tables store precomputed results, which are measures that have been aggregated
typically summed" over a set of dimensional attributes. !sing aggregate tables is a very popular
techni4ue for speeding up 4uery response times in decision support systems.
o /f you are writing (.+ 4ueries or using a tool that only understands what physical tables e,ist
and not their meaning", taking advantage of aggregate tables and putting them to good use
becomes more difficult as the number of aggregate tables increases. %he aggregate navigation
capability of the (iebel *nalytics (erver, however, allows 4ueries to use the information stored
in aggregate tables automatically, without 4uery authors or 4uery tools having to specify
aggregate tables in their 4ueries. %he (iebel *nalytics (erver allows you to concentrate on asking
the right business 4uestion@ the server decides which tables provide the fastest answers.
/Assume you are in B(( layer0 e !ave 1 dimension ta%les# in t!at# 2 ta%les need to !ave
!ierarc!y# t!en in suc! a case is it mandatory to create !ierarc!ies for all t!e dimension
ta%les?
o -o, its not mandatory to define hierarchies to other Dimension tables.
&an you !ave multiple data sources in *ie%el Analytics?
o Yes.
How do you deal wit! case statement and e$pressions in sie%el analytics?
o use e,pression builder to create case whenAthen.. end statement
Do you know a%out Initiali3ation Blocks? &an you 'ive me an e$ample w!ere you used
t!em?
o /nit blocks are used for instantiating a session when a user logs in.
o %o create dynamic variable you have to create /= to write s4l statement.
w!at is .uery repository tool?
o /t is utility of (eibel;#=/<< *dmin tool
o allows you to e,amine the repository metadata tool
o for e,ample1 search for ob'ects based on name,type.
o <,amine relationship between metadata ob'ects like which column in the presentation layer
maps to which table in physical layer
w!at is 4D5 and w!y do we need it?
o Bava Development Cit BDC", * software package that contains the minimal set of tools needed
to write, compile, debug, and run Bava applets.
Oracle doesn6t recommend Opa.ue 7iews %ecause of performance considerations# so
w!y,w!en do we use t!em?
o an opa4ue view is a physical layer table that consists of select statement. an opa4ue view
should be used only if there is no other solution.
&an you mi'rate t!e presentation layer to a different server.
o -o we have to migrate the whole web D rpd files
How do you identify w!at are t!e dimension ta%les and !ow do you decide t!em durin' t!e
Business,Data modelin'?
o Dimension tables contain descriptions that data analysts use as they 4uery the database. $or
e,ample, the (tore table contains store names and addresses@ the :roduct table contains product
packaging information@ and the :eriod table contains month, 4uarter, and year values. <very
table contains a primary key that consists of one or more columns@ each row in a table is
uni4uely identified by its primary-key value or values
!y do we !ave multiple "+* in B(( layer?!at is t!e purpose?
o to improve the performance and 4uery response time.
w!at is t!e full form of rpd?
o there is no full form for rpd as such, it is 'ust a repository file 8apidfile Database"
!ow do i disa%le cac!e for only 2 particular ta%les?
o in the physical layer, right click on the table there we will have the option which says
cacheable
How do you split a ta%le in t!e rpd 'iven t!e condition. / t!e condition 'iven was Broker
and customer in t!e same ta%le0 *plit Broker and customer.
o we need to make an alias table in the physical layer.
!at type of protocol did you use in *A*?
o %C:;/:
Did you create any new lo'ical column in B(( layer# !ow?
o Yes. We can create new logical column in =MM layer.
o <,ample1 8ight click on fact table -new lgical column-give name for new logical column like
%otal cost.
o -ow in fact table source,we have one option column mapping, in that we can do all calculation
for that new column.
&an you use p!ysical join in B(( layer?
o yes we can use physical 'oin in =MM layer.when there is (CD type 5 we need comple, 'oin in
=MM layer.
&an you use outer join in B(( layer?
o yes we can.When we are doing comple, 'oin in =MM layer ,there is one option type,outer 'oin
is there.
!at are ot!er ways of improvin' summary .uery reports ot!er t!an A''re'ate
8avi'ation and &ac!e (ana'ement
/nde,es
Boin algorithm
Mat;view 4uery rewrite
Web proper report design its optimal by making sure that it is not getting any addition column or
rows
!at is level9%ase matrics?
o +eval-base matrics means, having a measure pinned at a certain level of the dimension. $or
<,ample, if you have a measure called Dollars, you can create a +evel =ased Measure called
Yearly Dollars which you guessed it" is Dollars for a Year. %his measure will always return the
value for the year even if you drill down to a lower level like 4uarter, monthA etc. %o create a
level based measure, create a new logical column based on the original measure like Dollars in
the e,ample above". Drag and drop the new logical column to the appropriate level in the
Dimension hierarchy in the above e,ample you will drag and drop it to Year in %ime Dim
o * +=M is a metric that is defined for a specific level or intersection of levels.
o Monthly %otal (ales or .uarterly (ales are the e,amples.
o You can compare monthly sales with 4uarterly sales. You can compare customer orders this
4uarter to orders this year