ExoInsight enables you to connect Alteryx to Oracle Essbase to utilize the data and hierarchies from these cubes in your workflows. This guide will walk you through setting up and working with ExoInsight to enable integration between Oracle Essbase and Alteryx.
Prerequisites
- ExoInsight must be installed, configured, and enabled at your organization.
- You must know the name of the ExoInsight Essbase environment(s) that you would like to connect to. If you do not know the name of the ExoInsight Essbase environment name, please contact your ExoInsight admin.
- You have downloaded and added the ExoInsight Alteryx Universal Plug-In (ExoInsight Output) to your Alteryx Designer instance, and you can see it in the Connectors menu in the Alteryx toolbar. If you do not have the plug-in installed, please contact your ExoInsight admin.
- (Optional) If you would like to load data to Essbase from Alteryx, you have downloaded and added the ExoInsight Alteryx Universal Load Plug-In (ExoInsight Load) to your Alteryx Designer instance, and you can see it in the Connectors menu in the Alteryx toolbar. (Note: you will have to have the proper rights to load data back to Essbase). If you do not have the plug-in installed, please contact your ExoInsight admin.
If all the above prerequisites have been met, read on to get started.
Connecting to Essbase
You will find the ExoInsight Alteryx Plug-in for Essbase under your Connectors menu. Once you pull it to the workflow canvas, it will ask for the following parameters:
1. ExoInsight URL
The URL that references the ExoInsight instance at your organization. The format is
http(s)://ServerName:PortNumber/ExoInsight/
Your ExoInsight admin will provide you the correct ExoInsight URL to use. Please note that /ExoInsight is case-sensitive.
2. ExoInsight Data Source
Select Essbase.
3. ExoInsight Environment Name
This is a name given to the connection to your Essbase environment. This is set up in ExoInsight and will be provided to you by your ExoInsight admin. Please note that the environment name is case-sensitive and will not work properly if not inputted exactly as it’s set up in ExoInsight.
4. and 5. Essbase Username and Password
This is the same username and password that you normally use to log into Essbase, whether it’s in SmartView, Workspace, or some other tool. ExoInsight will respect the security filters that your username has been given in Essbase, so you’ll be able to see the same applications, cubes, and data as you normally do.
6. Application
Enter the name of your Essbase application. This name is case-sensitive and must match the name of your Essbase application exactly.
7. Cube
Enter the name of your Essbase cube. This name is case-sensitive and must match the name of your Essbase cube exactly.
8. POV String or Dimension Name
Enter the POV String, Saved POV query name, or dimension name. See the POV String and Query Builder Documentation - Oracle Essbase Module documentation for more information on building POV String queries.
9. Ludicrous Data Mode
By default the ExoInsight Alteryx Plug-in will allow 2GB of data to be pulled into the workflow. Check this box if more than 2GB of data needs to be pulled into the workflow with a single query. Note: Multiple queries can be run from a single workflow. Each query within a workflow has a 2GB limit unless this box is checked.
Querying for Dimension Metadata
ExoInsight makes it just as easy to pull dimension information from your Essbase cubes as it does data. To pull dimension information, enter the dimension name in the query box exactly as it appears in the outline the run the workflow:
Starting in ExoInsight version 8.4.3, generation alias columns are available. This means that generation columns will be created for each generation and include the member name and one column for each alias table, as seen below:
To pull back generation alias columns with the dimension metadata, add the following syntax to the dimension name:
DimensionName{Gen_Aliases}
Passing in Parameters
Instead of manually entering your ExoInsight URL, ExoInsight Essbase environment, username and password, etc, you can instead dynamically pass in these parameters as part of your workflow. If you choose to pass in parameters, they all must be present in the Text Input node. The required parameters are as follows:
url: The ExoInsight URL
source: Value should be Essbase
env: The ExoInsight Essbase environment (case-sensitive)
user: The Essbase user to run the query
password: The password of the Essbase user that will run the query. Note: The fields passed into the Text Input Alteryx node are in plain text, including the password. ExoInsight enables you to encrypt the password using the Password Encrypt utility on the ExoInsight homepage. This encrypted password can then be used in the Alteryx workflow.
If publishing the workflow to Alteryx Server/Gallery, or anywhere else the workflow can be viewed, it is highly recommended to lock the workflow prior to doing so. Alteryx documentation on locking the workflow can be found here: Lock Your Workflow.
application: The Essbase Application name
planType: The Essbase cube name
ludicrousMode: If your query will pull back more than 2GB of data, set to true. Otherwise set to false.
entry: Either a) a valid POV String, b) a SavedPOV name, or c) a Dimension name
Parameters that are passed in will override any parameter values manually entered into the ExoInsight Alteryx Plug-in. It is recommended that you keep the default values of the ExoInsight Alteryx Plug-in and do not manually log in since all these parameter values will be passed in instead.
Loading Data to Essbase
ExoInsight enables your Alteryx workflows to load data back into your Essbase cubes. An Essbase user with the appropriate rights to load data to Essbase is required to use this functionality.
To load data to Essbase from Alteryx, download the and install the ExoInsight Essbase Load plug-in (contact your ExoInsight admin if you do not have this plug-in available in your Connectors menu). Drag the plug-in to your Alteryx workflow to see the options:
ExoInsight URL
The URL that references the ExoInsight instance at your organization. The format is
http(s)://<ServerName>:<PortNumber>/ExoInsight/
Your ExoInsight admin will provide you the correct ExoInsight URL to use. Please note that /ExoInsight is case-sensitive.
ExoInsight Essbase Environment
This is a name given to the connection to your Essbase environment. This is set up in ExoInsight and will be provided to you by your ExoInsight admin. Please note that the environment name is case-sensitive and will not work properly if not inputted exactly as it’s set up in ExoInsight.
Essbase Username and Password
This is the same username and password that you normally use to log into Essbase, whether it’s in SmartView, Workspace, or some other tool. ExoInsight will respect the security filters that your username has been given in Essbase, so you’ll be able to see the same applications, cubes, and data as you normally do. For loading data to Essbase, you must use a user with the appropriate Essbase rights to do so.
Enter the Essbase application and cube that data will be loaded to.
Select the appropriate options.
Dry Run: No data will be loaded to Essbase. Select to test the workflow.
Stop Load if Errors Encountered: The load will stop when an error is encountered and no additional records will be loaded.
Calculation Scripts: The ExoInsight Essbase Load plug-in allows you to specify an Essbase calculation script to run before the load process starts and after the load process completes. These are optional.
The input data into the plug-in that is to be loaded to Essbase must be in the specific format of one column per non-attribute dimension and a single column called Amt that contains the data to be loaded. The ExoInsight Essbase Output macro returns data from Essbase in the same format.
The normal rules for loading Essbase apply. The data will be loaded in replace mode. For a detailed description of these rules, please refer to the Oracle Essbase Administrators Guide for your version of Essbase.
General Tips and Best Practices
- Start with small, high-level queries. Essbase works best with targeted, focused queries. Think about the data required for your particular use-case and do not attempt to pull more data than you need. Most reporting and analytic requirements can be done with less data than initially assumed.
- If large data volumes are required, please refer to the discussion on looping in the POV String Documentation - Oracle Essbase Module.
- For a detailed description of the POV String syntax, please refer to the POV String Documentation - Oracle Essbase Module guide.
- If publishing the workflow to Alteryx Server/Gallery, or anywhere else the workflow can be viewed, it is highly recommended to lock the workflow prior to doing so. Alteryx documentation on locking the workflow can be found here: Lock Your Workflow.
- For additional help, please contact the ExoInsight support contact for your organization.
Casabase Software