BusinessObjects Monitoring and Housekeeping activities
Hi Techies,
I got a chance to summarize the monitoring and housekeeping activities performed by businessobjects Administrators and am sharing the same here.Below activities needs to be performed at regular intervals as specified below to keep the BusinessObjects platform optimum, error free and stable.
Daily:
· Monitoring BO servers running with optimal performance
· Monitoring all the related CMS, Audit and Reporting Database services
· Verifying Web applications (CMC, Infoview, Custom Applications) availability
· Monitoring day to day scheduled report jobs from Instance Manager
· Supporting issues for Business users
· Monitoring the size of the below Business objects Installation Folders
o Logging
o Data
o FileStore
· Managing BusinessObjects backup preferably Cold backup during off business hours.
|
Backup Type |
Backup Contents |
Applicability |
|
Full Content backup |
Central Management Server (CMS) System Tables |
Used for Full Content recovery |
|
Auditing Tables |
||
|
File Repository Server (FRS) |
||
|
Local audit log files |
||
|
Custom SDK applications/code |
||
|
Database Connections (ODBC DSNs) |
||
|
Any Application/Server specific configuration document |
||
|
BIAR Backup |
.BIAR Backup |
Used for selective content recovery |
Weekly:
1. Scan / Repair and Compact all repository errors
2. Delete the contents under the Local host folder in order to clear Tomcat Cache
3. Delete contents under the Data Folder in order to clear Web Intelligence Cache
4. Delete contents under the Logging Folder to clear log files generated
5. Delete empty folders within File Store Using RDT (Repository Diagnostic Tool)
Fortnightly
1. Testing the availability of all Universe connections to respective Databases
2. Regular BO repository Maintenance like Cleaning Orphaned Connection/Universe/Documents
3. Running Integrity Checks on Universes to ensure parsing (Syntax/Semantic Checking)
4. Discuss performance issues with DBA identified from auditing reports
Monthly:
1. Monitoring BO Licenses and managing license from named to Concurrent and Vice versa (If applicable).
2. Restart Web Application Server
3. Restart Server Intelligent Agent (SIA)
Feel free to add some more valid points if any, so that everyone will get benefit out of it.
Thanks for Reading!
Mani,
On the weekly activities;
1. what do u mean by local host folder that contains the tomcat cache...? did u mean the webapps folder?
2. Do u mean delete all contents under the Data folder and the Logging folder? including the subfolders???? Will they be automatically recreated?
Overall, excellent post.
Emmanuel,
For your queries.
1. Its Tomcat work directory. i.e $TOMCAT_HOME/work/Catalina/localhost/mywarname/
As its name suggests, is where Tomcat writes any files that it needs during run time.
2. You need to delete the files alone may be that are aged more than a month not the default directories. You will be in trouble if you do so.You can do the cleanup using OS level scripting.
Regards,
Mani
Hi
this is Stan from Taiwan.
we are facing the orphaned Connection issue , and the only way that restart BO server,
May you share your strategy and how to clear it?
thanks
Stan
stan.lin@radiant.com.tw
Hi Mani
thanks your fast response .... i miss the message....
when we check BO sessions ,we find many inactive sessions keep living in our BO application server ,
there were not cleaned by self when BO webi close.
may you help me to find out how to clean it without restart BO server.
pls reference the link https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14477774/1.jpg
Stan
Have you ever got chance to check this
http://service.sap.com/sap/support/notes/1834664
Hi Mani
i got the note , let me check it ...
thanks your response so fast ....
Stan
Hi Mani
i put it and open our link http://kh-bodev.radiant.com.tw:8080/Kill_Sessions/DeleteUserSessions.jsp
i got a error ...
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14477774/ApacheTomcat_6.pdf
Stan
Hi Mani
i reference Note 1886165 , and it's work and fine now.
we can kill sessions now.
thanks
Stan
Hi
Would like to clarify few things.
How to scan or repair errors do we have any tool for scanning this
In local host folder we can find number of files like Admin ,analytic balancer,Businssproces bi,,cmcAPP…………….) You mean to say all this folder files has to be deleted…Please clarify on this
(D:\BOXI31\Business Objects\Tomcat55\work\Catalina\localhost)
In data folder (D:\BOXI31\Business Objects\BusinessObjects Enterprise 12.0\Data) we found number of folders in webi which folder we have to select and delete
We do not have RDT in the our BO system. Can you please suggest where it will actually present.Or do I need to separately install..
I can able see only Diagonistic tool but not RDT.
Thanks
Mani - I think u really need to clarify things a bit because it appears different BO versions would have different folders.
I am on BO 4.0 FP3 version 14.0.4.738. I dont see any folder named mywarname??
The same goes for all the other folders - please tell us specifically the folders and file types to delete.
And how do u implement OS level scripting. Please complete your blog to get excellent reviews.
Mohammed - the RDT scan can be found in the reposcan folder.
Thanks.
Emmanuel,
You cant find mywarname anywhere in BO installation folders. Its a generic term which I used to refer all the BO Application war files Such as CmcApp,InfoViewApp in (BO 3.x) and BOE in (BO 4.0).
regarding OS Level scripting you can go for either VBScript(Windows) or Shell (Unix) to move/archive files.
Hope am clear.
Regards,
Mani
Hello Mani,
Do i need to move/archive the aged out files on regular intervals? Is there any provision by which i can tell the system that on each 25th day of a month, archive the old log files or can i get an alert notifying "log files are about to cross say for example 250 MB. Take the necessary action!"?
Seeking to hear from you..
Thanks
Avani
Avani,
This is required to manage the disk where businessobjects installed.
Have a look here.
http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-40837
Regards
Mani
Hello Mani,
First of all thanks for the reply. I am trying to figure out the solution by following the steps. I would like to know something about "admin.xml" file. Is it anyhow useful in log file management?
Please advice
Thanks in advance..
Avani
Excellent post
Hi Mani,
Question on one of the items -
1. Monitoring BO Licenses and managing license from named to Concurrent and Vice versa (If applicable).
Is swapping Named licences to Concurrent licences just a switch of number in CMC (OR) should something be traded back with the vendor?
In trying to understand the current activity of Names vs Concurrent users in our system (BOXI 4.0), I ran an audit report using the activity universe during the last 1 month. Objects I used - Event Status (Named User Logon Succeede, Concurrent Logon Succeeded); Event Date, Total Event Count. Filters: Event Year & Event Month as applicable, and Event Status as described above.
The report gives me unusual values for Total Event Count (Named User logon events). Could you please share some inputs on how to interpret the logon events? Many thanks.
Hello Sirisha,
As long as your licence utilization is within the procured licence count you can always switch between Named and Concurrent licences based on User's usage pattern.
For your auditing related issue, Have you properly deployed and configured the As-Is sample of universe and reports. Please refer here for the process of enabling Audit and deployment.
http://scn.sap.com/community/bi-platform/blog/2013/06/03/businessobjects-auditing--considerations-enablement
http://scn.sap.com/community/bi-platform/blog/2013/01/07/sap-businessobjects-40-auditor-configuration-deployment-end-to-end
If you still facing the Issue, try firing the below query against the Audit database to get the consolidated User sessions altogether.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SELECT
rank() over (order by count(ADS_EVENT.EVENT_ID) desc) as user_rank,
count(ADS_EVENT.EVENT_ID),
ADS_EVENT.USER_NAME
FROM
ADS_EVENT
where
event_type_id=1014
group by
ADS_EVENT.USER_NAME
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regards,
Mani
Hi Mani,
Thanks for your inputs once again. We've done everything as in you mentioned. A few things I missed to mention earlier -
- All our licences are configured to be Named users and it makes sense that the audit reports I ran returned only usage against "Named User logon" events.
- We still have trouble getting the sample crystal audit reports to work. Got Crystal for Enterprise & have set up the universe and connection as you described.. The reports work when opened directly from the Crystal designer application, however unable to save the reports to the server. Logged the issue with SAP to resolve it.
- As a workaround to this, the webi report designed to give the Total Event count where Event_Type = "Named User Logon Succeeded", returns event count to be a few thousand logons on any day. I dug in a little bit against different objects and see that most of the logons are tied to "Logon without Client ID" under Client Application Type compared to other client app types. What does this mean? Any ideas will help..
Hello Mani
We have a batch script which has been scheduled to run daily to restart the Tomcat & SIA services [BO environment ver 3.1] will that not clear the Tomcat Cache ?
Thanks
- Leo
Clearing Tomcat cache is required to avoid the inconsistencies in your Web Application deployment. This will ensure the deployed application in WebApps folder is inline with the one in Tomcat cache.
Why do we have to :
Restart Web Application Server
Restart Server Intelligent Agent (SIA)
monthly? Is that really necessary? Why? What happens if I decide not to restart both of them every month?
I used the code you mentioned earlier to clean up logging folder using VB script. Instead of moving to other folder, i am planning to delete the files older than x days permanently. I am trying to the VB script on BO server using command prompt, i could not delete the files. See the attached screenshot. But i can manually delete the files in that folder. What might be the cause?
Dim SOURCE
Dim fso, SourceObj, TargetObj, fileObj
SOURCE = "BO Logging folder path"
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set SourceObj = fso.GetFolder(SOURCE)
For Each fileObj in SourceObj.Files
If DateDiff("d", fileObj.DateLastModified, Now) > 90 Then
fileObj.delete true
End If
Next
I was able to delete files older than 180 days in my logging directory with the following forfiles command...
forfiles /p "E:\Apps\SAP BusinessObjects\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0\logging" /m *.* /c "cmd /c del @file" /d -180
I schedule this command to run weekly using the Task Scheduler built into Windows.
One odd thing I have found is that I have some files in the logging directory whose names are too long to be deleted. Not sure what I am going to do about those.
Noel
Hi Mani,
Could you please let me know ways to do the below given clean up and the best practices around it?
2. Regular BO repository Maintenance like Cleaning Orphaned Connection/Universe/Documents
Thanks,
Kivi
Have you got any chance to check this http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-43081
Is the above documentation current for BOBJ 4.1?
Thanks!
Excellent Post !
Hi Mani,
Excellent Post !!
One query, is it safe to delete all content from data folder ?
Thanks.
Hi,
While doing the weekly data clearing jobs..
I have experienced below mentioned issues:
Requesting your help. Thanks in advance.
Hi Baiju,
"Once we try to stop, Server Intelligence Agent stops after a long time (more than 1 hour)" - Usually this happens if servers associated with SIA are not stopping then SIA will go in hung state. Example : java.exe process for Processing server etc.
To stop the SIA is one go :
This will stop the SIA.
Meanwhile do check why these processes are hanging so that it should automatically stop . Check with Windows team too for same that it is not releasing the processes.
Regards,
Mahak
thank you