Case of the Unexplained Support Issue – Troubleshooting steps for diagnosing HFM, Workspace and FDM
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One of the many challenges to working as a Hyperion Admin is diagnosing issues. Many factors complicate troubleshooting efforts, such as the number of users, geographic location of users, varying experience levels, products in use (Hyperion and third -party), cryptic error messages, and the lack of built-in diagnostic tools. With the use of the proper tools and troubleshooting techniques, administrators can reduce the time required to handle many troubleshooting issues.
This powerpoint presentation will demonstrate how to use a variety of third-party tools to assist troubleshooting efforts. Troubleshooting techniques will be discussed and demonstrated using real world issues. Finally, the presentation walks through solving a fairly tricky technical problem.
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Case of the Unexplained Support Issue – Troubleshooting steps for diagnosing HFM, Workspace and FDM
1. #Kscope
Case of the Unexplained Support Issue
Charles Beyer
Troubleshooting steps for diagnosing HFM, Workspace, and FDM
2. #Kscope
About the Speaker
15+ years professional development
experience in various languages/technologies
(6 years w/ Hyperion products)
Significant experience reverse engineering
software
Loves to help others solve problems
Posts under beyerch2 on OTN Discussion
Boards
3. #Kscope
Before we Begin…..
To expedite session, we will use both screen
caps and live demos
‘All-in-one’ Virtual Machine created for session,
available upon request*
Feel free to ask questions
4. #Kscope
Session Goals
Discover some new tools to be used for
troubleshooting (Oracle / Third Party)
Acquire some new troubleshooting ideas
5. #Kscope
Challenges
Responsible for a large amount of products!
● Foundation Services (OHS, Weblogic, Shared Services,
Workspace, EPMA, Calc Manager, LCM)
● HFM (HFM Web, Client, Smartview), FDM
● Reporting and Analysis (FR, IR, SQLPR, WA)
● Planning, Performance Scorecard, Strategic
Finance, Probability Cost, Disclosure Management,
Financial Close Management, Data Relationship
Management, Essbase, Crystal Ball, ……..
Hyperion Kitchen Sink.
6. #Kscope
Challenges (continued)
Need to understand underlying technologies!
● OS Servers (Windows/Unix)
● Application Servers (Weblogic, Tomcat), Web Servers
(IIS, Apache, OHS)
● Authentication Options (AD, Native, Custom)
● Languages (Java, .NET, ASP Classic, JSP, VBScript)
● Communication Frameworks (DCOM, Web Services)
● Database (SQL Server, Oracle, Berkeley DB)
● Network Principles (Routing, Firewall, VPN)
7. #Kscope
Challenges (continued)
End Users!
● Quantity – Intermittent issues due to number of users
stressing system
● Internal vs. External
● Less control over environment
● More points of failure
● Remote troubleshooting more difficult
● User Experience
● New Users - More hands on, but easier problems.
● Power Users – Likes to experiment
8. #Kscope
Challenges (continued)
Internal Issues a.k.a. Politics!
● Separation of Duties
● Complicates troubleshooting efforts due to lack of access
● Delays resolution due to co-ordination efforts
● Restrictive Policies
● Could prevent/limit certain types of troubleshooting
● Network/HTTP sniffing
● No monitor programs on production
18. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Clearly Define the Problem
● Ask the right questions
● Verify Information Where Possible
Research, Prioritize, and Evaluate potential
solutions
● Use Initial Information and Resources to propose
possible causes/solutions
● Prioritize in order of likelihood
● Evaluate Potential Solutions
● Determine Final Solution or Escalate
20. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Notes
● Process Is Easier As You Learn More About The
System
● Development / Test Environment Makes This Easier
● Don’t Fear Leveraging Other Resources
● Practice, Practice, Practice
21. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Clearly Define The Problem – Answer the Who /
What / When / Where / How
● Who? (is affected)
● All Users or Select Group?
● If subset, is there commonality? (Geographic,
Hardware/Software, Data Provider)
● What ? (is happening / not happening)
● What was the attempted procedure?
● What has changed?
22. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Clearly Define The Problem – Answer the Who /
What / When / Where / How
● When? (does the issue occur)
● Consistently? Intermittently? Pattern?
● Where ? (are failures occurring)
● Client Machine(s)?
● Database Server(s)?
● Web Server(s)?
● App Server(s)?
23. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Clearly Define The Problem – Answer the Who /
What / When / Where / How
● How? (should the process work)
● Do you know how it should work?
● Important to understand expected operation to help
determine point of failure, probable cause, and solution.
● Research this if you are not sure!
24. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Research, Prioritize, and Evaluate potential
solutions
● Iterative Process
● Defined Problem + Internal Knowledge + External
Knowledge + Leveraged Resources + Tools =
Potential Solutions
● Prioritize Potential Solutions
● KISS / Occam’s Razor – Start with most likely / obvious
first!
25. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Research, Prioritize, and Evaluate potential
solutions
● Evaluate Potential Solutions
● In Test/Dev if possible
● Promote to production after verifying your fix doesn’t cause
additional problems
● If you exhaust all possible causes, escalate. Don’t spin
wheels.
● Do not discount workarounds!
26. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Strategy (continued)
Close Out The Problem
● Get Positive Confirmation That Issue Is Resolved
● Add Issue to Internal Knowledgebase For Future
Review
● SharePoint
● Track-It
● Shared Outlook Folder
● Share Information When Necessary
30. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont)
Knowledge Tools
● Product Documentation
● System 11.1.2.1 - http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E24674_01/index.htm
● System 9.3.x - http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E10530_01/welcome.html
NOTE : These move periodically! Google
‘Hyperion documentation library’ if you cannot
find what you are looking for
32. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Knowledge Tools
● Tips and Tricks from EPM System Infrastructure
Development
● Issues 1 to 72 -
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-
foundation/epm-tips-issues-1-72-427329.pdf
● Issues 73 and up -
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-
foundation/epm-tips-issues-73-up-399995.pdf
● NOTE: Constantly updating, so there will be more, etc.
39. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Data Gathering
● Remote Diagnostic Agent (RDA) – Gathers system
information about environment. [See KB ID 1304885.1]
● oPatch [System 11 Only] – Install and list installed patches
● Location - <EPM ORACLE HOME>Opatch
● List Installed products = Opatch lsinventory
● NOTE: If you get an error running about OUI Home,
make sure environment variable pointing to EPM
ORACLE HOME which is most like
OracleMiddlewareEPMSystem11R1
44. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Data Gathering
● ‘About Us’ pages – Shows currently installed programs and
specific version info. (Applies to Workspace, FDM, Shared
Service web pages, etc.)
● Click on the ‘Show Details’ button to see version info per product
● NOTE : This version info *MAY NOT* change even if you have
installed patches!
46. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Data Gathering
● Informational Web Pages
● http://hostname:port/workspace/browse/configInfo - Returns
detailed information about products installed and links to
other configuration files
47. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Data Gathering
● Informational Web Pages
● http://<shared_services_server>:28080/interop/frameowrk/g
etCSSConfigFile – Returns configuration information for
Shared Services
● System 9 – Port Number is 58080
● System 11 – You may need to administratively enable this
page for it to be visible!
49. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Data Gathering
● Informational Web Pages
● http://<hfm_web_server>:80/hfm – Returns ‘hfm’ if HFM is
running properly and integrated with workspace. (else
opens HFM Web)
50. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – Internal (cont.)
Utility Programs
● Validate.bat [System 11 Only] - Kicks off process that will test
installed components on the machine for proper operation.
Generates detailed report.
● Can be run on product by product basis or all at once
● Program - <MIDDLEWARE HOME>user_projectsepmsystem1bin
● Report - <MIDDLEWARE
HOME>user_projectsepmsystem1diagnosticsreports
● NOTE : If you are building an environment, you should be
running this after your complete install/config!
55. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – 3rd Party
Data Gathering
● WebEx / GoTo Meeting / Log Me In / VNC / Lync –
Remote Access Software. A must for remote
support.
● Windows Event Log
58. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – 3rd Party (cont.)
Advanced Connectivity Tools
● Fiddler – Web proxy that allows you to monitor (and
simulate) HTTP/HTTPS traffic.
http://fiddler2.com/fiddler2/
● Great Tool for HTTP/HTTPS traffic
● Warning : You can sniff / decode HTTPS traffic
● Warning : Some programs may send logins /
passwords in plain text.
61. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – 3rd Party (cont.)
Advanced Connectivity Tools
● Wireshark – Network traffic analyzer –
http://www.wireshark.org
● Network packet analyzer
● Monitors ALL network traffic, not just HTTP/HTTPS
● Warning : Can intercept all types of traffic such as:
● Streaming Audio / Video
● VoiP
● Types of Encrypted Data
● Plain Text User Name / Password
62. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – 3rd Party (cont.)
Advanced Connectivity Tools
● Wireshark – Network traffic analyzer –
http://www.wireshark.org
● Network packet analyzer
● Monitors ALL network traffic, not just HTTP/HTTPS
● Warning : Can intercept all types of traffic such as:
● Streaming Audio / Video
● VoiP
● Types of Encrypted Data
● Plain Text User Name / Password
64. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – 3rd Party (cont.)
Server Tools
● Service Manager (services.msc) – View services to see
which are running
● Process Monitor – Allows you to monitor processes’ file
use, registry access, memory utilization, etc.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645
65. #Kscope
Troubleshooting Tools – 3rd Party (cont.)
Server Tools
● SQL Profiler – Allows you to monitor database activity in
SQL Server – http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/ms181091.aspx
● [Oracle Enterprise Manager has similar functionality for Oracle
databases]
76. #Kscope
Migrate VM Server Error (cont)
IDEAS??
●Anyone see anything suspect so far?
●I did, and have a suspicion, but need
more information to confirm.
82. #Kscope
Migrate VM Server Error (cont)
IDEAS??
●Looks pretty reasonable that hardcode
IP addresses are breaking things since
the machine no longer has the IP
address buried in config / database!
83. #Kscope
Migrate VM Server Error (cont)
How To Fix
●Reinstall?
●Reconfigure?
●Manually Search and Replace?
87. #Kscope
Migrate VM Server Error (cont)
Lets fix config file damage
● Content.XML
● Config.XML
● GlobalContext.XML
● httpd.conf
● mod_wl_ohs.conf
● Server.xml
Warning: In some places you DO NOT want to
replace the hardcoded IP address as it is part
of a Unique Identifier. That could be bad.