4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

(http://www.rittmanmead.com/)
MENU

Blog (http://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/)

Connecting Oracle Data Visualization Desktop to OBIEE

18 JULY 2016 on Technical (/blog/tag/technical/), Business Insights (/blog/tag/business-insights/), obiee (/blog/tag/obiee/), Oracle (/blog/tag/oracle/),
analytics (/blog/tag/analytics/), 12c (/blog/tag/12c/), oracle data visualization desktop (/blog/tag/oracle-data-visualization-desktop/), Data Visualization
Desktop (/blog/tag/data-visualization-desktop/), ODVD (/blog/tag/odvd/)

Recently at Rittman Mead we have been asked a lot of questions surrounding Oracles new Data Visualization Desktop tool and
how it integrates with OBIEE. Rather than referring people to the Oracle docs on DVD, I decided to share with you my experience
connecting to an OBIEE 12c instance and take you through some of the things I learned through the process.
In a previous blog (http://www.rittmanmead.com/2016/05/oracle-data-visualization-desktop/), I went though database
connections with Data Visualization Desktop and how to create reports using data pulled directly from the database.
Connecting to DVD to OBIEE is largely the same process, but allows the user to pull in data at pre-existing report level.I decided
to use our 12c ChitChat (http://www.rittmanmead.com/chitchat/) demo server as the OBIEE source and created some sample
reports in answers to test out with DVD.
From the DVD Data Sources page, clicking "Create New Data Source" brings up a selection pane with the option to select From
Oracle Applications.

SUBSCRIBE (HTTP://WWW.RITTMANMEAD.COM/BLOG/SUBSCRIBE/)

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 1/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

Clicking this option brings up a connection screen with options to enter a connection name, URL (location of the reports you
want to pull in as a source), username, and password respectively. This seems like a pretty straightforward process. Reading the
Oracle docs (http://docs.oracle.com/middleware/bidv1221/desktop/index.html) on connectivity to OBIEE with DVD say to
navigate to the web catalog, select the folder containing the analysis you want to use as a source, and then copy and paste the
URL from your browser into the URL connection in DVD. However, using this method will cause the connection to fail.

To get Data Visualization Desktop to connect properly, you have to use the URL that you would normally use to log into OBIEE
analytics with the proper username and password.

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 2/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

Once connected, the web catalog folders are displayed.

From here, you can navigate to the analyses you want to use for data sources.

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 3/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

Selecting the analysis you want to use as your data source is the same process as selecting schemas and tables from a database
source.Once the selection is made, a new screen is displayed with all of the tables and columns that were used for the analysis
within OBIEE.

From here you can specify each column as an attribute or measure column and change the aggregation for your measures to
something other than what was imported with the analysis.
Clicking "Add to Project" loads all the data into DVD under Data Elements and is displayed on the right hand side just like
subject area contents in OBIEE.

The objective of pulling data in from existing analyses is described by Oracle as revisualization. Keep in mind that Data
Visualization Desktop is meant to be a discovery tool and not so much a day-to-day report generator.

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 4/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

The original report was a pivot table with Revenue and Order information for geographical, product and time series dimensions.
Lets say that I just wanted to look at the revenue for all cities located in the Americas by a specific brand for the year 2012.
Dragging in the appropriate columns and adding filters took seconds and the data loaded almost instantaneously. I changed the
view to horizontal bar and added a desc sort to Revenue and this was my result:

Notice how the revenue for San Fransisco is much higher than any of the other states. Lets say I want to get a closer look at all
the other states without seeing the revenue data for San Fransisco. I could create a new filter for City and exclude San Fransisco
from the list or I could just create a filter range for Revenue. Choosing the latter gave me the option of moving a slider to change
my revenue value distribution and showed me the results in real time. Pretty cool, right?

Taking one report and loading it in can open up a wide range of data discovery opportunities but what if there are multiple
reports I want to pull data from? You can do this and combine the data together in DVD as long as the two reports contain
columns to join the two together.
Going back to my OBIEE connection, there are two reports I created on the demo server that both contain customer data.

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 5/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

By pulling in both the Customer Information and Number of Customer Orders Per Year report, Data Visualization Desktop
creates two separate data sources which show up under Data Elements.

Inspecting one of the data sources shows the matchbetween the two is made on both Customer Number and Customer Name
columns.

Note: It is possible to make your own column matches manually using the Add Another Match feature.
By using two data sets from two di$erent reports, you can blend the data together to discover trends, show outliers and view
the data together without touching the database or having to create new reports within OBIEE.

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 6/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

The ability to connect directly to OBIEE with Data Visualization Desktop and pull in data from individual analyses is a very
powerful feature that makes DVDs that much greater. Combining data from multiple analyses blend them together internally
creates some exciting data discovery possibilities for users with existing OBIEE implementations.

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 7/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE

4Comments RittmanMead
1 Login

Recommend 1 Share SortbyNewest

Jointhediscussion

ashishjain7monthsago
Hello,Thanksfortheinformation!

IamstrugglingtoseeanyoftheexistingSubjectareasinourOBIEEenvthroughmyDVD.NowthroughwebifIgototheVAsiteofourOBIEEsetup,Ican
seealltheexistingsubjectareas.ButifItrytoseethesamesubjectareathroughtheDVDinstalledonmydesktop,Iamnotabletoseethem.Thereisonly
optiontoconnecttoananalysis.

IamusingthelatestDVDwhichisVersion12.2.1.2.020160618222253.Pleasehelp.

Thanks!

Ashish
Reply Share

MatthewWalding>ashishjain7monthsago
HiAshish,
SoDVDisabitdifferentthanVAregardingSA's.VAleveragestheRPDwhichiswhyyoucanseeyourexistingSA'sjustlikeinOBIEE.DVDdoes
not.ThereisnowayforittoseetheSA'ssetupinyourRPD.ItcanuseanalysesfromOBIEEanalyticsandconnectdirectlytoyourdatabase.Ifyou
wantedtosetupsomethinglikeanSAinDVD,youwouldhavetowriteaSQLquerythatpullsinexactlywhatyouwantandyouhavetoexplicitly
writethejoinsbetweenyourfactsanddimensions.Hopethishelps!
Reply Share

Uday8monthsago
Thankyoufortheinformation.Itisveryhelpfultopic.
DoesithaveabilitytouploadtheVAprojectbacktoOBIEEinstance?LikeTableauhasServerandDesktopeditionwhichallowsdownloadsanduploadsof
Worksheets/ReportstoDesktopversion.
Reply Share

MatthewWalding>Uday8monthsago
CurrentlythereisnowaytopushaVAprojectbackintoOBIEE.Remember,youareonlyusinganOBIEEanalysisasadatasourcesoDVDisnot
actuallyopeningthereport"asis"fromOBIEE.ItdoesnotimporttheviewtypesyouusedintheOBIEEanalysis.Whatyouaretalkingaboutwith
TableauwouldmostlikelybeafeatureimplementedbetweenVAandDVD.
Reply Share

ALSOONRITTMANMEAD

FinancialReportswhichtooltouse?Part1 OBIEE12C:Upgradingfrom12.2.1.0to12.2.1.1
4comments2monthsago 1comment6monthsago
ScottPowellHiSilvia,Idon'tdisagreeatall.IFyouhavecontrolofthe StewartBrysonTechnically,every12cupgraderequiresanew
backendandcanworkthemagicwedid,Iprefertogothatroute.Addinga installation.They'veremovedtheconceptoftheINSTANCEin12c,moving
columntothe"account"dimensiontoallowformattingusuallyisn'ta mostofthattotheDOMAINentity.Thiseliminatesthecominglingofthe
problem,butbaking DOMAINwiththe
WebBasedRPDUploadandDownloadforOBIEE12c StreamingdatafromOracleusingOracleGoldenGateandKafka
1comment3monthsago Connect
GauravMisraSuperbArticle... 3comments6monthsago
rmoffYes,thereisthatoption.I'dstillgenerallyadvocatetheuseof
Kafkaasitopensupthedataforuseelsewhere,ratherthanonlyinthe
target.Alldependsontherequirements:)

Subscribe d AddDisqustoyoursiteAddDisqusAdd Privacy

Subscribe to Rittman Mead

Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox.

Subscribe
https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 8/9
4/1/2017 ConnectingOracleDataVisualizationDesktoptoOBIEE
Subscribe
Your email address

or subscribe via RSS (http://cloud.feedly.com/#subscription/feed/http://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/rss/) with Feedly!

Matthew Walding (/blog/author/matthew-walding/)

(/blog/author/matthew-
walding/) Read more posts (/blog/author/matthew-walding/) by this author.
Atlanta, Ga http://www.rittmanmead.com (http://www.rittmanmead.com)

Share this Post

(https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?
text=Connecting%20Oracle%20Data%20Visualization%20Desktop%20to%20OBIEE&url=http://www.rittmanm
oracle-data-visualization-desktop-obiee/) (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?
u=http://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connecting-oracle-data-visualization-desktop-obiee/)
(https://plus.google.com/share?url=http://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connecting-
oracle-data-visualization-desktop-obiee/)

T E C H N I C A L I N S I G H T S ( / B LO G / TA G / T E C H N I C A L )

B U S I N E S S I N S I G H T S ( / B LO G / TA G / B U S I N E S S - I N S I G H T S )

R I T T M A N M E A D L I F E ( / B LO G / TA G / R I T T M A N - M E A D - L I F E )

Search the Blog

CustomSearch

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

email address

SUBSCRIBE

Recent Posts
Real World OBIEE: Demystification of Variables Pt. 3 (/blog/2017/03/real-world-obiee-demystification-of-variables-pt-3/)
Real World OBIEE: Demystification of Variables Pt. 2 (/blog/2017/03/real-world-obiee-demystification-of-variables-pt-2/)
A Performance Analytics Application Case Study: Challenges and Successes (/blog/2017/03/a-performance-analytics-application-case-study-challenges-
and-successes/)
Property Graph in Oracle 12.2 (/blog/2017/03/property-graph-in-oracle-12-2/)
Accelerating Your ODI Implementation, Rittman Mead Style (/blog/2017/03/accelerating-your-odi-implementation-rittmanmead-style/)

(/blog/2016/07/system- (/blog/2016/07/using-
metrics-collectors/) r-jupyter-notebooks-
big-data-discovery/)

https://www.rittmanmead.com/blog/2016/07/connectingoracledatavisualizationdesktopobiee/ 9/9