Business Analytics Solutions Provider Using

Oracle EPM, BI, and Big Data Technologies

NASDAQ: EDGW

Minnesota Hyperion User Group

o
Best Practices in Preparing for and
Managing your Hyperion EPM Infrastructure Version
11.1.2.4
Scott Pold
Director, Infrastructure and Support Services

Agenda
About Ranzal
Whats Supported in v11.1.2.4

Properly Sizing the EPM v11.1.2.4 Environment

Virtual vs. Physical
Maintenance and Patching
Exalytics
Hosting, Managed Services and Support

Q&A
2

Who We Are
Edgewater Ranzal is a full-service Oracle Platinum
Consulting Partner with premier services
in North America and regional offices in the United
Kingdom
We deliver Business Analytics solutions that
include Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance
Management (EPM), Business Intelligence (BI) and Big Data technology
Our multiproduct focus offers domain expertise and technical leadership using the Oracle
Business Analytics Product Suite
We have industry expertise and specializations to help us deliver end-to-end solutions for
each clients business needs

The History of Edgewater Ranzal

Acquired
Branchbird
for Big Data

Ranzal & Associates

Founded
Essbase

1996

Acquired by Edgewater
(NASDAQ: EDGW)

2001

Planning

2004

2007

Building OBI Team

OBIEE

HPCM

2009

Acquired Vertical Pitch

HFM/FDM/DRM

2010

2011

Acquired Meridian
HSF
UK Office opened

Hyperion Tax
Provision (HTP)

2012

Exalytics

2013

Acquired M2
Dynamics
for Business
Analytics

2014

2015

Launched Oracle
Endeca Information
Discovery Practice
(OEID)
Launched Hyperion
Planning & Budgeting
Cloud Service (PBCS)
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Our Services
Business Intelligence/Big Data

Enterprise Planning & Analytics

Strategic Planning (HSF) &

Modeling
Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting
Workforce, Capital, & Project
Financial Planning
Public Sector Planning
Cloud Services

Scorecards & Dashboards; Mobile Delivery

Prepackaged Analytic Applications (OBIA)
BI Foundation (OBIEE / Essbase)
Financial & Operational Analytics
Reporting & Publishing
Big Data
Information Discovery (Endeca)
Business Intelligence Cloud Service (BICS)

Financial Close & Consolidations

Legal, Segment, & Mgmt Reporting

Financial Performance & Close
Optimization & Performance Lab
Tax Provisioning
Regulatory Requirements

Business
Intelligence/Big Data

Financial Close &

Consolidations

Enterprise
Planning &
Analytics

Costing & Profitability Management

Costing &
Profitability
Mgmt

Data Integration
Services

ERP Integration
Financial Data Management
Data Warehousing
MDM & DRM
ETL Services and Automation

Infrastructure

Hardware Sizing, Installation, & Configuration

Exalytics Benchmarking
System Monitoring, Backup, & Disaster Recovery
Upgrade & Migrations

HPCM Standard & Detail Models

Waterfall Allocations
Shared Service Charges
Activity Based Costing
Customer, Product, Segment &
LOB Profitability

Advisory Services

Data Integration Services

Infrastructure

Advisory Services

Training &
Support Services

Project/Program Management &

Process Change
EPM & BI Road Maps

Training & Support Services

Standard & Custom Training

Virtual Classroom
Multimedia and UPK
Service Level Agreements
Managed Services & Hosting
Performance Engineering

Recent Company Highlights

Acquired M2 Dynamics, an Oracle Platinum Partner, to Expand
Business Analytics Solutions consultancy services in the West
Coast and southern regions of the United States

Ranks fifth for 2nd year in a row among Floridas Top 50 WomenLed Businesses
Acquired Branchbird, an Oracle Gold Partner, to Expand Big

Data/Data Discovery Solutions to Complement EPM/BI Suite

Offerings
Released Ranzal Healthcare Analytics

Achieved Oracle Validated Integration with Oracle Healthcare

Analytics
66

Edgewater Ranzals Differentiators

Oracle Platinum Consulting Partner - 100% Focus on Oracle Business Analytics
(EPM/BI/Big Data)
200+ Full time EPM/BI/Big Data Billable Consultants throughout the US, Canada and the
United Kingdom
EPM & BI Experience & Success
2.000+ Oracle EPM, BI, & Big Data projects successfully delivered since our founding in
1996
Depth & Breadth of Service Offerings
Product Experts across:
EPM Suite - Planning, HFM, HSF, HPCM, DRM, FDMEE
Business Intelligence OBIEE, Essbase
Big Data Big Data Discovery, Endeca Information Discovery, Hadoop and EBS
Information Discovery
Visioning & Roadmaps, Full Life Cycle Implementations, Tech Review & Assessments
Additional Value Added Service Offerings
Exalytics Installation, Configuration & Benchmarking Services
Infrastructure Services Design, Configuration, Performance Tuning & Upgrades
Support Services Remote Help Desk, Lev 1 Support, Patch release Support
Training Services - Customized and Pre-Packaged EPM/BI Training Delivery
2 Ranzal Oracle ACEs Across EPM/BI Platform (Planning/BI, HFM & FDMEE)
Co-Development Efforts with Oracle Product Management
Workforce Planning
HFM
Balance Sheet Planning
Financial Close Management
Capital Planning & PFP
Disclosure Management

HPCM
HSF
FDMEE/ERPi & EPMA

Customer Advisory Boards, Beta Testing, Certification Exam Development

Audience Poll
What is everyone running today?
EPM v11.1.2.4?

EPM v11.1.2.3?
EPM v11.1.2.2?
EPM v11.1.2.1?
EPM v11.1.1.3 or earlier?

Focus

EPM v11.1.2.4

Supported Operating Systems

Windows
Windows Server 2008 with SP2+

AIX 6.1 (TL6+)

Windows Server 2008 R2 (all SP

levels included)

AIX 7.1 (TL0+)

o
o

Windows Server 2012 (all SP levels

included) / Windows Server 2012 R2

Oracle Linux
o

AIX

Oracle Linux 4 (UL7+)

Oracle Linux 5 (UL5+)

Solaris
o

Solaris 10 Update 10+

Solaris 11

Exalytics
o

Oracle Linux 6 (UL1+) with

Unbreakable Ent Kernel (UEK)

Red Hat Linux

o

Red Hat EL 4 (UL7+)

Red Hat EL 5 (UL5+)

Red Hat EL 6 (UL1+)

Oracle Ent Linux based

X2-4

X3-4

X4-4

X5-4

HFM is now
supported on
Exalytics

Oracle Solaris 11.1 based

T5-8
10

Other Supported related items

Supported RDBMS
SQL Server
o

Client Support

MS Office

Microsoft SQL Server 2012

(all SP levels included)

Office 2007 (all SP levels included)

Office 2010 (all SP levels included)

Microsoft SQL Server 2008

(all SP levels included)

Office 2013 (all SP levels included)

Office 2016

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

(all SP levels included)

Oracle
o

Oracle 10.2.0.4+

Oracle 11.1.0.7+

Oracle 11.2.0.1+

Oracle 12.1.0.1+

Smartview client v11.1.2.5.x

No Excel Add in

Browsers
o

Internet Explorer 9.x

Internet Explorer 10.x

Internet Explorer 11.x

Firefox 31+ ESR

Chrome 29+

Chrome 29+ is only certified for Planning and only with

Simplified Interface

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Considerations

Only supported on MS Windows Server

o

HFM requires Windows unless youre running it on Exalytics

Not officially supported on commodity hardware

running any flavor of Linux

Data Relationship Manager (DRM)

Hyperion Strategic Finance (HSF)

FDMEE only in v11.1.2.4

EPM Support Matrix

FDMEE is your only option in v11.1.2.4

FDM Classic goes away

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bifoundation/oracle-hyperion-epm-system-certific131801.xls

Its a rebuild, not an upgrade

Or you can Google EPM Compatibility Matrix

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How do I size my
EPM Environment

13

Sizing

How do I know how to size my environment?!?!

# of Concurrent users
# of Applications
Size and complexity of the applications

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Typical Configuration

Foundation Web Server(s)

o

All core foundation and web services

Foundation (HSS and Workspace)

Calc Manager

EPMA

BiPlus Reporting

APS

Application Web Servers(s)

o

If many concurrent users

Planning Web

HFM Web

Essbase Server(s)
o

RDBMS Server(s)
o

Essbase and Essbase Studio

RDBMS Engine/Instance

Additional Server(s)
o

DRM

HSF

OBIEE

Integration Server(s)
o

FDMEE / ODI (FDMEE)

HFM Application Server(s)

o

HFM Application Service

15

Sample Configuration

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Focus

Physical vs. Virtual

17

Virtualizing EPM
Oracles official policy on Virtualization
o

The following KB article is Oracles office stance on virtualizing the Oracle EPM Product
stack.
https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=562663.1

Additional information
https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/SearchDocDisplay?_adf.ctrlstate=1854yc0wrq_9&_afrLoop=14354592882224

In a Nut Shell

Oracle will support VMWare and Microsofts Hyper-V technologies, but they do not
certify it. What this means is that if Oracle cannot fix the issue they can refer you to
the hosting provider for further troubleshooting, or force you to physicalize the
servers and reproduce the issue. However, Oracle does certify their products
running on Oracles Virtualization Manager (OVM).

95% of
Ranzals
customer
base over
the last 2+
years have
virtualized
EPM
successfully

Virtualization Whats important to know

o

Resource Reservations or Statically allocating resources: RAM and vCPUs

Dont let the VM Host Servers manage resources on the fly

Dont over subscribe your Virtual host servers

When possible, utilize dedicated VM Host servers for Production EPM

Test, Test, Test and then Test again

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Physical vs. Virtual

What can be Virtual

Foundation and Web Servers
DRM Server
HSF Server
All servers can be virtual, really
depends on the application
o

HFM Application Server

Essbase Server

Integration Server

Physical Servers

Depending on the application, the

following servers should perform
better on Physical hardware
o

HFM application Server (Consolidations)

Essbase Server (Calculations)

Integration Server (Data Mapping and

Loads)

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Maintaining your
EPM Investment

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Maintaining your EPM investment

EPM Patch Set Updates

o

Stay up to date on the PSUs

Oracle Support Document 1400559.1

Recommend Quarterly patching

https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=1400559.1

EPM Backup
o

Make sure youre backing up your environment

Life Cycle Management

Applications

Artifacts

Security

Reports

Essbase App\Db backups

Data Extracts

Essbase Artifacts

Essbase Defrags
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Maintaining your EPM investment

Server\VM Guest level Backup

o

RDBMS
o

Proper nightly maintenance routines is recommended across all EPM Relational

schemas/databases, including;

Analyze stats

Backups

Rebuilding of indexes

Logs
o

Full server level of VM Guest level backups should be taken on a weekly basis, including the
RDBMS Instance(s)

Make sure to clean up log files

OS level patches
You should NOT need to restart services daily or weekly
o

If you find yourself doing this, troubleshoot the environment. Restarting services/servers is
just a band aid

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Exalytics

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What is Oracle Exalytics

Engineered System for Extreme Analytics

o

Four Intel Xeon processor E7-8895 v3 processors with up to 72 cores with Capacity on Demand

2 TB of memory upgradable up to 3 TB

7.2 TB of HDD storage

4.8 TB of PCIe Flash

QDR (40 Gb/second) InfiniBand connectivity to Oracle Exadata, Oracle Exalogic and Oracle SuperCluster
https://www.oracle.com/engineered-systems/exalytics/index.html

Why Exalytics
o

Big Beefy server built for EPM and BI

HFM is now supported on Exalytics

HFM and Essbase performance enhancements for Exalytics

Server consolidation

Prod on bare metal / Dev and Test in OVM partitions on single Exalytics server

Oracle RDBMS can now run on the Exalytics Server along with EPM and BI

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Hosting,
Managed Services
& Support

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Hosting and Managed Services

We work with industry leaders

o

Amazon Web Services

Microsoft Azure

Oracle Public Cloud

Dedicated EPM environments customizable to meet client needs or requirements

Integration with your on premise resources (e.g., Active Directory, DNS, etc)
Hosted environments compliant with regulatory and audit requirements
o

SSAE 16 (formerly SAS 70 Type II

PCI-DSS Level 1

HIPPA

ISO 27001

Strong emphasis on data security including encrypting all data at rest and data in transit
Ranzal will manage the hosted environments from the OS layer up

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Ranzal Cloud Managed Services

Virtual Private Cloud Hosting Benefits

Function

Description

Backups and Restoration

Nightly backups including data, metadata, and

relational backups

Disaster Recovery and Business

Continuity

Annual DR testing with customizable RPOs and RTOs

for Production environments

Event Monitoring and Notification

Proactive monitoring and alerting for each

environment through a centralized vNOC

Performance Tuning

Annual infrastructure environment reviews to ensure

optimal performance

Patch Management

Quarterly OS and EPM patching and validation

Problem and Incident Management

Around-the-clock remote remediation and escalation

for all incidents

Capacity Monitoring and Cost

Optimization

Quarterly review of environment to ensure cost

effective provisioning and utilization of all resources

Access Management

Quarterly service account and database password

changes for increased security
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Virtual Private Cloud Reference Architecture

Ranzal vNOC

Client Virtual Private Cloud

us-east-1b

Event
Monitoring

us-east-1b

us-east-1a

Local Probe

Jump Box

IPsec VPN

Production
Oracle RDBMS

Virtual
Gateway
Development
Oracle RDBMS

EPM and Relational

Backups - S3

Production
EPM 11.1.2.4

Development
EPM 11.1.2.4

VPN
Connection

Legend

Client Gateway
Security Group

Encrypted Volumes
DNS

IPsec/SSL
Active Directory

ERP

Client Data Center

https://epm.clientdomain.int:19000/workspace/index.jsp

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Ranzal Support Offering

Formal offering for 2+ years
38+ active support customers
Infrastructure and Application
Support resources
Dedicated team of support
resources
Follow SDLC Processes
Ticket and Tracking solution
Monthly bucket of hours to be used
at your discretion
Account Administration (Ticket and
hours used mgmt.)
On-Prem, Hosted or Cloud (PBCS)
http://www.ranzal.com/services/support-services

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Our Sessions Today

8:30am Infrastructure
Best Practices in Preparing for and Managing your Hyperion EPM
Infrastructure Version 11.1.2.4
Scott Pold, Practice Director Infrastructure and Support Services
1:00pm BI and Reporting
Modernize the Oracle EBS Experience with Endeca Financial
Extensions
Dan Brock, Practice Director Big Data Analytics
2:10pm Enterprise Planning
Opus Group, an Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS)
Success Story
Vatsal Gaonkar, Project Lead
Charlie Luke, Sr. Director Financial Planning & Analysis

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Stop By Our Table and Say Hello!

Meet the Team and Register to Win Prizes
Grand Prize Drawing
$100 Gift Card and Gift Bag
Table Prize Drawing
The Definitive Guide to Oracle FDMEE
Authored by Tony Scalese, Edgewater Ranzal
Integration Practice Director and Oracle ACE
Hot off the press!
Blog: www.fdmeeguru.com

Contact
Nate Gruys, Business Development Manager
Email: ngruys@ranzal.com
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Contact Information
Edgewater Ranzal
108 Corporate Park Drive, Suite 105
White Plains, NY 10604
Tel (914) 253-6600
Email: info@ranzal.com
Company Contact
Scott T. Pold Director, Infrastructure and Support Services
spold@Ranzal.com

45 Beech Street, Suite 109

London EC2Y 8AD
United Kingdom
Tel +44 (0) 2033 717 174

130 South Jefferson Street

Suite 101
Chicago, IL 60661

200 Harvard Mill Square

Suite 210
Wakefield, MA 01880
Tel (781) 246-3343
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