finit solutions webinar troubleshooting hfm like a pro 09232011

Getting the Most out of HFM: T bl h ti HFM Lik PTroubleshooting HFM Like a Pro

September 23, 2011Angie AppleAngie [email protected]

www.finitsolutions.com

Th Fi it S l ti S iTh Fi it S l ti S i

Getting the Most out of HFM: Troubleshooting HFM Like a Pro

Finit IntroductionThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

Finit Solutions specializes in consulting services in the Oracle Hyperion Enterprise Performance Management Solutions suite of products:

Financial Consolidation– Financial Management (HFM)

Hyperion Enterprise

Planning and Business Intelligence– Planning

Essbase– Hyperion Enterprise– Financial Close Management– Disclosure Management

– Essbase– Profitability & Cost Management

(HPCM)

Integration– Financial Data Quality Management

(FDM)

Reporting Tools– Financial Reporting– Smartview( )

– Oracle Data Integrator (ODI)– Enterprise Performance

Management Architect (EPMA)

– OBIEE– Web Analysis– Essbase Excel Add‐in

www.finitsolutions.com‐ 2 ‐

– Other (ERPi, EIS, etc)



We take client service very seriously. The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

…our applications are now running better and faster which has returned some of our

There is no question that FINIT solutions have provided value to our IS staff and internal customers;

Finit has brought the in‐depth know how that would take us years to gain. They have the

personal lives to us.our IS staff and internal customers;when our staff and customers are happy, all aspects of our jobs improve. Your success was mine as my

recommendation to use Finit

y g yability to help cut through the "red‐tape“ …. saving me time and effort.

I can expect some kind of response back within the same day. We don't have the Finance

The new implementation has helped us replace so many manual systems and steps that were not only cumbersome but error prone

reflected well on my knowledge and judgment.Over the years I have learned so much from Finit such as custom have the Finance

group complaining about our Hyperion support anymore.

only cumbersome but error prone as well. This has resulted in huge saving of time and increased efficiencies.

scripting, Logic groups, switch and conditional mapping. You make me look brilliant!

The project to implement an automated constant currency calculation saved 28 working days a year and much of that time was spent working in the off hours. Having that free time in the evenings has

After spending an extended period of time with Finit, it helped me to develop my skill set with HFM, therefore

... our monthly closing is quite a bit less harried.


been a huge benefit now that we have 2 small children.

allowing my role in the company to expand.



Some Finit ClientsThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

•




About the PresenterThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

Angie Appleg pp• Co‐founder of Finit Solutions• Has been implementing

H i l i i l diHyperion solutions, including HFM, FDM, Essbase, and Enterprise since 1999

• Master’s degree in Accounting• Elsa’s mom for 11 months




How to Ask a QuestionThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series




AgendaThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Infrastructure Overview• Troubleshooting Technical Errors• Troubleshooting Technical Errors• Using the Workspace LogsT bl h ti M t d t L d• Troubleshooting Metadata Loads

• Troubleshooting Rules Loadsbl h• Troubleshooting Security Errors

• Troubleshooting Data Issues• General Troubleshooting Tips


The Finit Solutions Series

The Infrastructure of HFM




Three Tier Architecture The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

A three tier architecture relates to the way that software can be deployed. A three tier architecture separates processing functions into three tiers:W b Ti

Three Tier Architecture

• Web Tier– The web tier consists of the processes used when users interact with HFM over the web. The

web layer would be used as a user is completing web data forms. Each form launches a new web page through the navigation, and the traffic and effort to generate and display those web pages to users is performed on the web tier.

– Third party software such as IIS, Apache and WebLogic are used in the web tier to deliver web page content.

• Application Tier• Application Tier– The application tier is typically where the main application processing is performed. For

example, the main HFM application activities such as Consolidation, Translation, Data Submission, etc are performed on the application tier.

– The application tier stores the HFM cubes ‘in memory’ so that reporting queries the application tier versus always querying the database tier. This results in faster reporting.

– HFM application logs are stored at the application tier.




Three Tier Architecture The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Database Tier– The database tier relates to the relational database (SQL, Oracle) and is where the data and

calculations are computed and stored. It is also where relational logs are stored.

Three Tier Architecture

calculations are computed and stored. It is also where relational logs are stored.

• All three tiers can reside on a single server. However, a three tier architecture g ,separates different application processing activities in order to allow organizations to scale better. By separating process activities, you can have the different tiers reside and run on different servers as needed. This separation onto different servers allows for overall performance improvement, because application tasks are not fighting for resources with database tasks (which would occur if all items were installed on the same server).

• As your organization needs more power, it can scale and grow the environment by adding servers to different tiers as needed.




Should We Scale? The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• The number of servers needed is dependent upon the expected concurrency (number of users performing tasks at the same time) and the types of tasks that users will be performing

Should We Scale?

performing.– Obviously, a company with a larger user base would be expected to need more servers. The

geographic location of the users is also a factor – 100 users spread throughout the US, Europe, and Asia would have lower concurrency than 100 users located along the East coast of the US.

– A company with 100 users who only run reports would have a different server architecture than a company with 100 users loading data and running consolidations.

• Web servers can typically handle higher concurrency than the application servers. 100 users clicking around through a single web server may not be a problem but 100 usersusers clicking around through a single web server may not be a problem, but 100 users running consolidations on a single app server would definitely cause a performance drag.

• A good test of whether a single server has enough power behind it is to have just one user log in and perform tasks (e.g. consolidations.) This removes concurrency from the equation and indicates how fast the server ‘can’ run.

• Adding servers to the database tier does not help with performance. Since database clusters can only be Active / Passive (as opposed to Active / Active), HFM will only utilize one database server at a time


one database server at a time.


How to TroubleshootCommon Technical ErrorsCommon Technical Errors




Troubleshooting a Login Error The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Issue: Cannot access the workspace page

Troubleshooting a Login Error





• Troubleshooting (Can’t access workspace page):– Are you certain you have typed the url correctly?


y y yp y– Can you access other sites you typically visit? If not, you may not be

connected to a network.– If you are working remotely have you logged into your network via a VPN orIf you are working remotely, have you logged into your network via a VPN or

some other connection? If not, you are still outside your company’s firewall. HFM is nearly always ‘internally hosted’, so you will need to get inside your company’s firewall to access it.y p y

– Can you access the page from another machine? If so, this is probably a connectivity issue with your own machine.





• Issue: Invalid user name or password


• Troubleshooting:– Did your password recently change? Remember that when you reset yourDid your password recently change? Remember that when you reset your

password on your network, it will also reset for HFM. Could your account be locked?

– Are other users able to log in? If so, then this is specific to your user id.– If you are certain your account is not locked, ask IT to verify that your account is in

the external authentication domain that HFM is referencing.




Hyperion Services The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesHyperion Services• Hyperion products have services in them that are required to be running

in order for the applications to function properly.• These services need to be running on the servers where those products

are installed (i.e. Reporting services run on the Reporting application server).

• Many of these services communicate with one other as users perform tasks in the applications and are therefore dependent upon one another to function correctly.to function correctly.




Services The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesServices




Timeout Settings The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• One big complaint of HFM users is that they get ‘timed out’ too quickly. HFM will not time out as long as you are active in the

Timeout Settings

q y g yapplication, but if you are inactive for a specified period of time, it will log you out.Alth h i ll f t ti thi i d it f t• Although occasionally frustrating, this is a good security feature. If you walk away from your desk and leave your HFM session open, you would not want someone to come over and start making rogue journal entries with your id!




Timeout Settings The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Per Oracle documentation:• ‘In normal scenarios, increasing the session timeout might result

Timeout Settings

In normal scenarios, increasing the session timeout might result in performance issues; as more "dead" sessions are kept open much longer, more processing power is wasted on them. To have l i ti t i l ( ll ) id d b d tilong session timeouts is also (generally) considered bad practice from a security point of view.

• Note that these timeouts are only enforced on idle sessions, i.e. y f ,when the user will not "click anything" for that amount of time. For this reason they rarely need to be set to anything higher than 120 minutes ’120 minutes.




Timeout Settings for 9.3 ‐> 11.1.1 The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

The following instructions change the idle timeout from default 20 minutes to 30 minutes in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS). These steps should be performed on all HFM web servers:1 Go to Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet 1 Information Services (IIS) Manager

Timeout Settings for 9.3 11.1.1

1. Go to Start > All Programs > Administrative Tools > Internet 1. Information Services (IIS) Manager.2. Expand the server node <ServerName> (local computer).3. Right click on the application pool node.4. Select Properties.5. Select the Performance tab.6. Change the Idle timeout value from 20 to 30 minutes.7. Click Apply.8 Cli k OK8. Click OK.9. Expand the node Web Sites.10. Right click on the 'HFM' web site.11. Go to Properties > Home Directory tab > Configuration button > Options tab.11. Go to Properties > Home Directory tab > Configuration button > Options tab.12. Change the Enable session state > Session timeout value from 20 to 30 minutes.13. Click OK.14. Click OK.


15. Test that the timeout is now the new value.



Timeout Settings for 9.3 ‐> 11.1.1 The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesTimeout Settings for 9.3 11.1.1




Timeout Settings for 11.1.2 The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

In 11.1.2, you must change the timeout settings in the EPM Configurator. This will push the change to all web servers.

Timeout Settings for 11.1.2



Using the Workspace Logs




An Overview of the Logs The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Some of the more useful logs include:

An Overview of the Logs

• Checking the messages, timestamps, and servers can be very helpful when troubleshooting


helpful when troubleshooting.



System Messages (can filter by app) The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesSystem Messages (can filter by app)




Task Audit (shows current app) The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesTask Audit (shows current app)




Task Audit (shows current app) The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesTask Audit (shows current app)• Task Audit can be filtered by server, user, task, and date. This can be extremely

useful when troubleshooting to figure out exactly when something happened, h l h i d h i h d i i d hwhat else was happening around that same time, who was doing it, and what

server they were on.




Task Audit (shows current app) The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesTask Audit (shows current app)• If an issue is sporadic, it may be useful to pay close attention to which server

the user is on when the error occurs. Since HFM uses a ‘round robin’ approach i i i h l i h ld b i i hin assigning users to app servers as they log in, there could be an issue with just one server.

• By using the timestamps and comparing the System Messages log (which will h h ) d h T k A di l ( hi h ill h h k h dshow the error) and the Task Audit log (which will show the task, the user and the server) you should be able to pinpoint which server the user was on when the error occurred, and whether the error only occurs on that server.




Running Tasks (shows current app) The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesRunning Tasks (shows current app)• The Running Tasks log can be filtered by server, user, task, and status. This is

especially useful when the system seems to be running slow. What tasks and hi h l i f i ?which users are currently competing for processing power?




HFM Error Log Viewer The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesHFM Error Log Viewer:\\HYSL\FM\Consultant Utilities\HFMErrorLogViewer.exe:\\HYSL\FM\Server Working Folder\HsvEventLog.log



Troubleshooting Metadata LoadsLoads




Clearing Metadata – Careful! The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesClearing Metadata Careful!




Checking Integrity The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesChecking Integrity




Troubleshooting Metadata Loads The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesTroubleshooting Metadata Loads




Checking Integrity The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesChecking Integrity

• Loading without checking integrity can cause you to have g g g y ydata ‘stuck’ in invalid intersections!




Making a Base a Parent The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Creating children under a base member will generate an error upon loading metadata

Making a Base a Parent

p g




Making a Base a Parent The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

Since clearing metadata is almost never a good idea, try this instead:

Making a Base a Parent

1. Delete the original member; load as Replace

2 dd h i i l b b k i h i hild l d2. Add the original member back with its new children; load as Merge or Replace




Orphaned Members The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• A metadata file with an orphaned member (a member that has been removed from the hierarchy but not deleted from the

Orphaned Members

ydimension) will not load.




Orphaned Members The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Be sure to delete members that you do not intend to add back into the hierarchy before loading.

Orphaned Members

y g



Troubleshooting Rules Loads




Syntax Errors The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Simple syntax errors are often the easiest to troubleshoot

Syntax Errors





Case matters! If you have a scenario called ‘ACTUAL’ and your rule says ‘If HS.Scenario.Member = “Actual” then’, that condition will not

Syntax Errors

y ,get applied. You need to have:

If HS.Scenario.Member = “ACTUAL” then

OrOr

If UCASE(HS.Scenario.Member) = “Actual” thenIf UCASE(HS.Scenario.Member) Actual then





• Errors within conditional statements will not generate an error upon loading the Rules file or upon consolidation.

Syntax Errors

p g p• Errors within conditional statements will simply cause that

condition not to be applied.• For example, you can have a condition that says ‘If

HS.Scenario.Member = “MONSTERS” then’ and that Rules file will load and consolidate fine. However, the statements within that ,condition will not be applied to anything, because the condition will not be met.




Metadata Changes The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

Be mindful of metadata changes that may impact Rules. For example, if your Rules file contains this statement:

Metadata Changes

p , y

HS.Exp “A#CF_NetIncome = A#2999”

And you add children under the account CF_NetIncome, this statement in the Rules file will generate errors Your calculation orstatement in the Rules file will generate errors. Your calculation or consolidation will abort the next time you run it. Your Rules file will also generate an error the next time you load it. Note that you will not get an error when you load the metadata with the change.




Metadata Changes The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesMetadata Changes




Finding the ‘Real’ Rules Error The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesFinding the Real Rules ErrorBe wary of where HFM ‘thinks’ the Rules problem is versus where the problem ‘really’ is. In the following example, I have commented out p y g p ,the ‘End if’ statement at Line 70.




Finding the ‘Real’ Rules Error The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesFinding the Real Rules ErrorWhen I load this Rules file, HFM gives me an error at Line 1709, which is at the end of my Sub Calculate routine.

l h ‘ f ’ d ‘ d f ’ d ll dd h d ddHFM is simply counting the ‘Ifs’ and ‘End ifs’ and telling me to add one at the end. By adding an ‘End if’ at Line 1709 instead of at Line 70, I would alter the way that my conditional statements are nested.




Isolating Rules Issues The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• The trickiest Rules issues to resolve are those that load and consolidate without error but result in an incorrect value (or no

Isolating Rules Issues

(value.)

• The key to resolving these issues is to isolate the statement as h ibl ith b ti t th ti fmuch as possible, either by commenting out other sections of

the file or by deleting them entirely and pasting them back in gradually.

• Try starting with something extremely simple like HS.Exp “A#Account = 10”

and then gradually layer in the other dimensions, the conditional statements, the variables, etc.




Consolidation Aborts The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• When a consolidation aborts, it is almost always due to a Rules problem (which may have been caused by a metadata change.)

Consolidation Aborts

p ( y y g )• If you feel certain that the issue is not with Metadata or Rules,

try loading a completely blank Rules file and consolidating. Does it till b t?it still abort?

• This can also be a great way to determine the efficiency of your Rules. How much faster does the consolidation run when the Rules file is loaded as a blank?




Consolidation Aborts The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesConsolidation Aborts

Use the System Messages log to diagnose the error.



How to TroubleshootCommon Security ErrorsCommon Security Errors




Troubleshooting Security The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Process management and security are very closely related. A user may have security to a certain entity, but if that entity is not

Troubleshooting Security

y y y, yat the process management level to which the user has access, the user will not be able to perform his tasks.

For example if I am provisioned as ‘Reviewer 1’ but my entity is still in a– For example, if I am provisioned as Reviewer 1 , but my entity is still in a ‘Not Started’ review state, I will not be able to load or even view data for my entity.

R b th t th diff t l t f it Th• Remember that there are different elements of security. The Roles for which you are provisioned govern what types of tasks you can perform. The Classes to which you have access govern where you can and cannot perform those tasks.




Troubleshooting Security The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Access to specific reports is granted outside Shared Services, in the Workspace Explorer. A user, group, or role must be given access to reports.

Troubleshooting Security




Troubleshooting Security ‐ Tips The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Some tips for troubleshooting security with an end user:– Can you as the admin perform this task?

Troubleshooting Security Tips

y p– Can another user in the same security group perform the task?– Was the user previously able to perform the task?

Is the point of view correct? For example if they see ‘NOACCESS’ are– Is the point‐of‐view correct? For example, if they see NOACCESS , are they in a future period that has not been opened yet?

– Create a native user id and give it the same rights as the user who has the issue Does the native user id work as expected?issue. Does the native user id work as expected?

– If possible, set up a web conference with the end user so that you can see exactly what they are seeing. This may help determine whether there is a security issue or an end user errorsecurity issue or an end‐user error.



How to TroubleshootData IssuesData Issues




Troubleshooting Data Issues The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• Data issues are almost always a point‐of‐view problem or a security problem. This is the case for Reports, Smart View, or

Troubleshooting Data Issues

y p p , ,Grids.

• As an administrator, the first thing to do when you or another i t d t i t b ild id ith tl thusers sees incorrect data is to build a grid with exactly the same

dimension members.– Is the data in your new grid different from the data where the problem is (e.g. the report?) if

th th b bl ith th t t ith th POV hi h th tso, then there may be a problem with the report set‐up or with the POV on which the report is being run.

• When the administrator runs the report (or Smart View, or grid, etc) does the administrator see different data than the endetc), does the administrator see different data than the end user? If so, then this is a security issue. The user may not have access to that combination of dimensions.



General Troubleshooting Tips




General Troubleshooting Tips The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

• There is always a reason for the error. It is really just a matter of how deep you will have to dig to find it.

General Troubleshooting Tips

p y g• The more specific you can get, the closer you will be to solving

your problem:I thi i t t i t itt t?– Is this error consistent or intermittent?

– Can I reproduce the error? If so, under what conditions? Under what conditions does the error not occur?Do all users experience the error or only some or one user?– Do all users experience the error, or only some or one user?

– What options have I explored that have not resolved the error?• Always be sure to ‘unwind’ any unsuccessful attempts! Make sure anyone who is

helping you does the same! Don’t be in such a rush that you forget to do this or you p g y y g ydon’t push the person helping you, because you could create additional problems.

– When did (does) the error occur? Does it coincide with other events? Use the logs.




General Troubleshooting Tips The Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions SeriesGeneral Troubleshooting Tips

[email protected]



Future Webinars & Contacts




Upcoming WebinarsThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

Dates to be Announced• Troubleshooting Tips for Essbase and Planning• Introduction to Financial Close Management• HFM for the Tax Department• HFM for the Tax Department

To register, or to view past sessions, go to: www.finitsolutions.com/Insights_Webcast.html




Finit ContactsThe Finit Solutions SeriesThe Finit Solutions Series

[email protected]

Questions? ‐> Angie [email protected]

Email us for a ‐> Ed [email protected]

copy of the slides or

link to the recording

@f678.296.3611‐>Joe [email protected] to the recording. j @f919.349.5029


finit solutions webinar troubleshooting hfm like a pro 09232011

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