Update Objects

When migrating from one BusinessObjects Enterprise XI version to another you need to perform an update of the CMS repository. This step is started via the Update Objects button in Central Configuration Manager (CCM).



What does this step exactly do? Well, difficult to say, but what I know through documentation
and SAP Support is this:

• Adds properties to the objects in the CMS that the new BOE version requires.
• Updates the internal representation of the CMS if that has changed in the new BOE version.
• All the pointers to reports will be created. If any pointers are corrupted they will be
  restored.
• All server objects will be recreated and the communication is restored between servers.- The activity Universe will be loaded in the repository.
• Updates the sample reports and Universes.

Have I missed something?

Change Server Settings Live

Highly critical systems that must have the highest availability possible share one problem: when can I do adjustment in the server settings? A change in a setting for a server often requires a restart of that particular service. This type of manoeuvre is often scheduled at night or weekends, once a quarter perhaps.


But if you want to change many of the settings in the different servers you can accomplish this without restarting the service. I don't know it this is a technique that is supported from Business Objects. But I can't really see why you couldn't do it this way!

Here is how you do it:

One server scenario

1. Create another server with the correct settings.
2. Enable and start the new server.
3. Disable the old server.
4. Wait until no one is connected to the old server.
5. Shut the old server down.
6. Remove the old server.

Multiple servers scenario

1. Disable one server.
2. Wait until no one is connected to the disabled server.
3. Shut the disabled server down.
4. Change the setting for the stopped server.
5. Start the stopped server and enable it.
6. Repeat from step 1 with the next server.

Why is this working? When you disable a server it still operates with the requests it currently working with but it will not accept any new ones. When the server has served all requests and is idle it can be shut down.

One thing that could be interesting to clarify is how you determine if the server is busy or idle before shutting it down. This depends on which server to shut down. In this example I show how to determine this for Web Intelligence Report Server. For other servers it differs slightly but the base procedure is the same.

For Web Intelligence Report Server:

Goto Home > Servers > #SERVERNAME#.Web_IntelligenceReportServer > Tab Metrics. At the bottom of that page there is a value to observe, Current Requests. When this number is zero it is OK to shut the server down.

Tracing in BusinessObjects

Platform:
Windows
BusinessObjects XI, XI Release 2
Crystal Enterprise 8.5, 9, 10

Tracing to log files on the server is an effective method to get more information for a possible problem. All server trace files are located in the logging folder, for BusinessObjects XIR2 the path is \Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise 11.5\Logging\. For Crystal Enterprise the path is a bit different.

Default there are some tracing going on in the log folder but you can enable extended logging for every BusinessObjects server installed.

To enable tracing for a server, follow these steps:

1. Open Central Configuration Manager (CCM).
2. Choose the server you want to trace and stop that service.
3. Open properties for the service.
4. Add -trace as a parameter switch to the command line.
5. Start the service.
6. A new trace file with the same name as the server EXE is now located in the logging folder.

Business Objects KBase article for Unix trace instructions:
http://technicalsupport.businessobjects.com/KanisaSupportSite/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=c2016966&sliceId=&dialogID=20798617&stateId=1%200%2020800000

But wait! There is more!

There is another way to get even more trace information from the Desktop Intelligence and Web Intelligence servers. This is only valid for BusinessObjects XI and XIR2 platforms. The extra logging creates a number of XML files with extensive information about the context of the report that is being run. These files are placed in a folder specified in a INI file.

This is what you have to do:

1. Create three environment variables (the path can be different):
   BO_TRACE_CONFIGDIR = C:\Temp
   BO_TRACE_CONFIGFILE = C:\Temp\BO_Trace.ini
   BO_TRACE_LOGDIR = C:\Temp
2. Create the INI file specified above with the following content:
   active = true;
   importance = xs;
   size = 1000000;
   keep = true;
3. Restart the servers.

After you run a report there will be a number of trace files in a subfolder in the folder specified in BO_TRACE_LOGDIR. I double checked on Business Objects site about this last tracing setup, and it should work for both Web Intelligence and Desktop Intelligence. I never got it to work for Desktop Intelligence though, neither for Job or Report Server.

IMPORTANT: Remember to remove all tracing when debugging is done. All trace activities to log files requires extra resources from the server.

BusinessObjects XI 3.0 Version Numbers

This post will list version numbers for all patches that are available for BusinessObjects XI 3.0.

To determine the exact version of your installation: Open Central Configuration Manager (CCM) and choose About BusinessObjects Enterprise. In the following dialog box you will see the Product Version.

12.0.0.683 --> BOXI3.0 RTM

RTM = Release To Market (first release, without any patches).

BOXIr2 Version Numbers - Update

I have done another update on my list of version numbers for different patch levels available for BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2. Check it out here:

http://boinshort.blogspot.com/2007/05/boxir2-version-numbers.html

BOXIr2 Version Numbers - Update

Version number for SP3 has been added to the list.

http://boinshort.blogspot.com/2007/05/boxir2-version-numbers.html

Universe File Extensions

There are two different file extensions for a Universe file, .unv and .unw. What is the difference?

If we are working on a Universe named 'Order', the file name when working in Design is 'order.unv'. The unv extension is the Design extension used "locally".
As soon as you export the Universe to the Repository the file extension changes to .unw. The file is then saved in a directory named after the object id (e.g. '855263') which is placed under the Input File Repository Server (FRS) directory.
If you open CMC and look at the properties for that Universe the path could be something like
'frs://Input/a_123/012/013/855263/order.unw'.

E-mail report hyperlink

When you create a scheduled report and you want to e-mail the hyperlink of the report in BOE you can configure this in the schedule settings. You include the Viewer Hyperlink by selecting that option in the drop down below the Message box. This selection adds %SI_VIEWER_URL% to the message field which later translates to a valid URL to that report using the openDocument method.



The resulting URL in the e-mail could look something like this (ASP platform):

http://xyz/businessobjects/enterprise115/infoview/scripts/openDocument.aspx?sIDType=CUID&iDocID=BUXpQ_n_fITEsTtHIPe_oXY

The %SI_VIEWER_URL% adds the URL that was specified in CMC->Objects->Object Settings...->Processing Settings->Default viewer URL and translates it to the hyperlink above.

But what if you manually wanted to specify the URL without changing it in the Object Settings? It's easy and it's possible. Just type the URL manually specifying the JSP or ASP path and the openDocument part. Based on settings above (CR document) you would type

'http://xyz/businessobjects/enterprise115/infoview/scripts/openDocument.aspx?sIDType=CUID&iDocID=%SI_CUID%'

in the Message field. The %SI_CUID% adds the unique object id of that document.

If you want to explore the openDocument parameters in detail, look at this document. It describes both the ASP and JSP version of the openDocument syntax.

Java 1.6 and Web Intelligence

Since the release of Java 1.6 there is a known problem with prompts in Web Intelligence. The problem is that the parameter window never opens. It just opens for a tenth of a second and then closes.

If you have this issue you must uninstall the 1.6 version. This is a bug, but if you read the platforms.txt the 1.6 version is not supported. But it should be! Why is this so important you may ask? One of our customers have applications that require Java 1.6.

We will open a case with BO if this issue is not solved after the summer.