R12 Oracle E-Business Suite Essentials

1. Oracle Applications / Oracle e-Business Suite?

1.1 What is Oracle Applications / Oracle e-Business Suite?To facilitate big businesses, Oracle Corporation have created collection of software in the category of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) known as modules, that are integrated to talk to each other and known as Oracle Applications or E-Business Suite.Eg.Oracle Inventory deals with the items you maintain in stock, warehouse etc.Oracle Receivables and Oracle Order Management are dealing with customers like orders given by Customers and Money collected from customers.Oracle General Ledger receives information from all the different transaction modules (sub-ledgers) and summarizes them in order to create profit and loss statements, reports for paying Taxes etc. Oracle Cost Management helps to maintain the costs of items in your inventory and the immediate modules that it interacts with are Oracle Inventory, Oracle Bills of Material, Order Management

1.2 Oracle Applications Previous Releases

10.7: Oldest Release of Oracle ERP which is character, thin client based. Oracle has stopped support for this release.11 : Oracle has stopped support for this release.11i : Oracle is going to stop support for this release from Dec-10.R12 : Latest Release by Oracle In the chain of Oracle ERP Releases.2. Navigating in R12.1 Oracle Applications

2.1 Logging into and logging off from Oracle Applications

2.1.1 Logging into Oracle Applicationss

To use Oracle Applications productively, you need to understand the various components of a form, the menu paths and keystrokes necessary to access and navigate within the system to perform your various job tasks. Follow the steps described below to log into the system.

1. Run Internet Explorer.2. Choose XXXXXX from the Favorites bar.3. Type your Username and Password, click Connect or press Enter.

2.1.2 Logging Off from Oracle Applications

(M) File > Exit Oracle ApplicationsUse this method so that your username is cleared from system access.

(M) File > Exit Oracle Applications, to log off the system. It is important to exit the system in this manner, rather than any other, as this is the only way to ensure that your user name is cleared from system access. You can also close the MDI window.

2.2 Creation of UserNavigation System Administrator ->Security -> User -> DefineField NameDescription

User Name Give the username in this field.

Password Enter desired password twice in this field. You would be required to change the password when you login first time with this username.

Description Provide brief description of the user in this field.

Password Expiration Days No. of Days after which the password will expire for the user.

Accesses No. of Accesses after which the password will expire for the user.

None The password will never expire

Person You can attach employee to this user. This is used for HRMS applications

Customer To attach customer to this user.

Supplier To attach supplier to this user.

Email Provide email address for the user. Its use to send notifications to the user through oracle applications.

Fax Fax number for the user.

Effective Dates From and To dates between which the user would be active.

Responsibilities List of responsibilities assigned to the user.

2.3 Accessing Responsibilities

2.3.1 Choosing a Responsibility

Users and Responsibilities are created in oracle applications in order to control the access to the data. Users are assigned a set of responsibilities through which they can retrieve or modify certain set of data. Responsibility is a grouping of access in a logical manner. For e.g. Accounts payable responsibility would contain all the privileges to create invoices, make payments etc. All the users from the payables department would be given this responsibility. You can create users, responsibility through system administrator responsibility in oracle applications.

Click on the Main Menu tab and then choose a responsibility from the Home Page. Theseare listed under Applications as shown above. For example, you could choose General Ledger Super User Responsibility.

1.3.2 Responsibility Assignments

Each user has at least one responsibility and several users can share the same responsibility. You will be allocated appropriate responsibilities in the system.

2.4 Using forms & menus

2.4.1 The Navigator Window

Use the Navigator window to navigate to a form that lets you perform a specific business activity. The Navigator window is always present during your session of Oracle Applications and displays the name of your current responsibility in its window title.

Choose one of the following methods to expand an item to its next sublevel form:Double-click the item.Select the item and choose Open. Select the item and choose Expand. To collapse an expanded item, select the item and choose Collapse.

2.4.2 Form Terminology

Oracle Applications Release 11i works specifically in a Web-enabled environment. It is important to understand the terminology of the components within an Oracle Applications form. Common terms used in Oracle Applications forms are listed below.

Menu barUse pull-down menus from this menu bar to navigate or perform actions within a form

WindowAn area where the user interacts with an application (Many windows can be open at one time and you can access these overlapping windows to perform data entry or data search activities.)

Window titleText in the title bar that indicates the name of the window, and usually, context information pertinent to the information in that window

MDI (Multiple Documents Interface) windowA master container window that houses all windows, toolbars, and application windows

Tool tipsIconic bubble help that you can use to determine the function of a button on the Toolbar

2.4.3 Field Colors

What Field Colors IndicateEach block contains fields you use to enter, view, update, or delete information. A field prompt describes each field by telling you what kind of information appears in the field or what kind of information you should enter in the field.

Fields are color coded to indicate their type as follows:

White Fieldsallow data entry (Non-mandatory)Yellow Fieldsrequire data entry (Mandatory)Gray Fields with Black Textare display-onlyGray Fields with Grey Textare disabled fields.Blue Fieldsindicate fields to use in Query-Enter modeThe term field generally refers to a text field, an area in a window that either displays data or allows you to enter data. However, a field can also include a button, check box, option group, or poplist.

2.4.4 Using Menus and Other Areas

Oracle Applications use a Multiple Document Interface (MDI). All windows are displayed inside a single container window, with a single toolbar, menu, message line, and status line attached to that window. The message line displays pertinent information for processing your form. The status line displays status information.

The pulldown menu bar includes the following menus: File, Edit, View, Folder, Tools, Window, and Help.

Use these menus to navigate through a form, to edit or retrieve data, or to perform various other actions.

In addition to the pulldown menu, you can access the following menu items by right mouse clicking on an item: Cut, Copy, Paste, Folder Menu, and Help.

2.4.5 File Menu

Using the File Menu from the Menu BarNewCreates a new record in the active form.OpenOpens the detail screen for the current selection.SaveSaves any pending changes in the active form.Save and ProceedSaves any pending changes in the active form and advances to the next record.Next StepUpdates the Process workflow in the Navigator by advancing to the next step in the process.ExportExports information in your current form to a browser.Place on NavigatorCreates an icon in the Documents tab of the Navigator which can be used to recall the active form and its current record.Log on as a Different UserAllows you to log on to Oracle Applications again as a different user.Switch ResponsibilityAllows you to change the responsibility in effect for your current log on.

2.4.6 Edit Menu

Using the Edit Menu from the Menu Bar

Undo TypingUndoes any typing done in a field before the field is exited and returns the field to the most recent value.CutCut the current selection to the clipboard.CopyCopy the current selection to the clipboard.PastePaste the contents of the clipboard into the current field.Duplicate Record AboveCopies all values from the prior record to the current record.Duplicate Field AboveCopies the value of the current field from the prior row.Clear RecordErases the current record from the window.Clear FieldClears the data from the current field.Clear BlockErases all records from the current block.Clear FormErases any pending changes from the current form.DeleteDeletes the current record from the database.Select AllSelects all records (for blocks with multi-select).2.4.7 View Menu

Using the View Menu from the Menu BarShow NavigatorDisplays the Navigator window.ZoomInvokes custom defined zooms.FindDisplays the Find window to retrieve records.Find AllRetrieves all records.Query by Example EnterInvokes 'Enter Query' mode to enter search criteria for a query-byexample.Query by Example RunExecutes the query-by-example.Query by Example CancelCancels the query-by-example by exiting from 'Enter Query' mode.Query by Example Show Last CriteriaRecovers the search criteria used in the previous query-by-example.Query by Example Count Matching RecordsCounts the number of records that would be retrieved if you ran the current query-by-example.Record FirstMoves the cursor to the first record.Record LastMoves the cursor to the last record.2.4.8 Folder Menu

Using the Folder Menu from the Menu BarFor some forms, you can personalize the presentation of data within a form by using a folder definition. With a folder definition you can modify the width, sequence, and prompts of the fields you want to display. Additional features of a folder definition are: Displaying only those fields you are interested in viewingDisplaying a subset of records based on your specific criteriaAutomatically querying for a subset of records each time you open a specific folderKeeping your folder customizations private or making them public for others to use Making your customizations the default layout for a folder

2.4.9 Tools Menu

Using the Tools Menu from the Menu BarThe Tools menus may contain up to fifteen product-specific entries. Examples of product specific entries may include a list of commonly used Inquiry windows in the application or a commonly used window that a user may want to display for a quick reference.

In some applications, up to two additional menus may appear after the Tools menu. These menus are usually labeled Reports and Actions, but may be different depending on the products that are being used. Like the Tools menu, these menus each allow up to 15 product-specific entries.

2.4.10 Windows Menu

Using the Window Menu from the Menu BarCascadeDisplays any open windows in a "cascaded" or stair-stepped fashion.Tile HorizontallyDisplays any open windows in a horizontally "tiled" (non-overlapping) fashion.Tile VerticallyDisplays any open windows in a vertically "tiled" (non-overlapping) fashion.1 (Title of Open Window)Displays a list of open windows titles in the order in which they are stacked.

2.4.11 Help Menu

Using the Help Menu from the Menu BarWindow HelpDisplays Help for the current windowOracle Applications LibraryDisplays a window that lists all available Oracle Applications Help textKeyboard HelpDisplays the current mapping of specific functions and menu options DiagnosticsThere are multiple Diagnostics menus used for coding and debugging. This will only be highlighted if the System Administrator has provided this functionality for your responsibility.Record HistoryDisplays information about who created and updated the current record.About Oracle ApplicationsDisplays information about the current window and application. The information supplied here can be very useful when reporting problems with the forms you are using to the MIS department.

2.5 Entering Data using forms

2.5.1 Creating New Record

1.5.1.1 Creating a New RecordWhen you add a new record to the database, Oracle Applications will move the current record down and insert a new blank row. You add a new record by entering information into this blank row. In most screens you are automatically on a new record when the form is opened, so you can just start entering the information. After you finish entering the data for your new record, you must remember to click Save so that your newly added information will be written to the database. If you enter any new blank rows of information but do not click save when you are finished, none of this newly added information will be updated in the database (the system will prompt you to save before you exit).

1.5.1.2 How to Create a New Record(M) File > New. Or, click the New icon on the toolbar.You can also press the down arrow on your keyboard to insert a blank row, if you are not in a table on the form. Additionally, some application forms have a button labeled New, and clicking it will insert a blank row. Type the new information into the blank row.

1.5.1.3 Copying a data from a previous recorda. Copying a Field Value from the Previous Record1. Enter a new record or query an existing record in your form.2. (M) File > New or click the New icon to insert a new record after the existing record.3. Place your cursor in the field whose value you want to duplicate.4. (M) Edit > Duplicate Field Above, to copy the field value from the previous record into the current record or press Shift+F5 on the keyboardCopying All Field Values from the Previous Record1. Follow Steps 1, 2 above.2. (M) Edit > Duplicate Record Above, to copy all field values from the previous record into the current record or press Shift+F6 on the keyboard

2.5.2 Using List of Values (LOV)

The List of Values (LOV) feature is very useful while entering data in Oracle Applications. It provides you with a powerful, easy-to-use data entry method that increases your accuracy and productivity. Using the LOV makes data entry an easy task for novice users. Experienced users can enter correct data with a minimum number of keystrokes.

Oracle Applications notifies you when a list of acceptable input values is available for a field by displaying the List icon in the field. When you display a list, the values appear in a window with a title that describes the contents.

By using the LOV feature, you can save time and enter data quickly without having to memorize or look up valid data for each field. You can choose data from an online list of valid input choices whenever you want. Additionally, you are relying on Oracle Applications to validate your input since you will know right away if your entry does not match an option from the LOV.

2.6 Retrieving, Editing and Deleting records

2.6.1 Using the Find Window

a. (M) View > Find or click the Find icon on the toolbar.b. Enter your search criteria in the appropriate fields of the Find window.If a field does not provide a list of values for you to choose from, you can enter wildcard characters (% and -) in the search phrase. You cannot, however, use query operators (such as >, Query By Example > Enter.b. Enter your search criteria c. (M) View > Query By Example > Run.d. (M) View > Query By Example > Cancel.

2.6.3 Using Query Operators and Wild Characters

You can use any of the query operators listed in the table shown in the slide. You can also use the percent % wildcard character to represent any character or group of characters. For example, use Lice%Fe% to represent License Fees, and so on. You can also use the underline _ character to represent any single character. For example, Product_ can represent ProductA, or Product1.

2.6.4 Retrieved Records

1.6.4.1 Reviewing Your DataAfter a search, Oracle Applications retrieves any records that matched your search criteria. Always enter the most selective search criteria that you can.

1.6.4.2 How to Review Retrieved RecordsUse the scroll bar to view additional records currently not visible on the screen in a multi record block.(M) View > Record First to see the first record.(M) View > Record Last to see the last record.

Note: Scrolling through records and using the Record Last command uses significant system resources. Avoid this by entering selective search criteria.The status line will indicate for instance Record: 1/3this example indicates that the current record is one of three records in the current block. If an undetermined number of records have been retrieved, the message will appear as 1/?. Moving to the Last record will indicate the total number of records retrieved, although this can take a long time if there are many records, it is wise to use Query Count before performing such actions.

2.6.5 Deleting New Record

1.6.5.1 Deleting a Record from the Database If you want to delete a record from the database, you must first display the record on your form and then click the Delete icon .

Note: This option is not always available. For example, in Oracle Applications you cannot delete a customer once they have been entered; you can only inactivate their status. If you do not Save this new change to the database, the record is not truly deleted (the system will prompt you to save before you exit).

How to Delete a Record?(M) Edit > Delete, or click the Delete icon. (M) File > Save or click the Save icon.

Note: You must Save after you have deleted to confirm the deletion, this is the same principle as the recycle bin in Windows, if you do not save then when you exit the form your deletions will be cancelled.

2.6.6 Clearing Data

1.6.6.1 Clearing Data - Menus (M) Edit > Clear > Record(M) Edit > Clear > Field(M) Edit > Clear > Block(M) Edit > Clear > Form

1.6.6.2 Clearing Data from a FormYou can clear data from the screen at almost any time. Typically, you will use this feature when you start to enter data into a field and then change your mind. Oracle Applications will think you are in the middle of processing a record and may not proceed with your next task until you clear the field. The data you clear is simply erased from the screen and not deleted from the database.

Note: If the data is new and has never been saved to the database, it will be lost permanently when you clear it from the screen.

(M) Edit > Clear, and then choose the appropriate option, to clear a field, record, block, or form.

You can also clear some or all data from a field by highlighting the data and choosing (M) Edit > Cut or [Ctrl]+[X] or click on the icon.

2.6.7 Saving a Record

(M) File > Save(M) File > Save and Proceed

Or Click on icon

2.7 Accessing Online Help

2.7.1 Using Window/ Web Browser Help

A Web browser window appears when you use the help system. This window contains search and navigation frames on the left part of the window, and a frame that displays the help information on the right side of the window.

(M) Help > Windows Help

2.7.2 Using Oracle Support Portal

https:// support.oracle.com

2.8 Running Reports and Programs

2.8.1 Submitting a Request

How to Submit a Request and Define Parameters?

1. Navigate to the Submit a New Request window. Select Reports and then Run.E.g. (N) > Purchasing Requestor > Reports > Run2. Check the Request option to submit single requests, or choose to submit a predefined group of Requests by checking Request Set.3. Click OK.4. Use the Copy button to take advantage of previously entered request submissions. Or, select the Name of the request (report or program) that you want to run from the list of available requests. Note that the responsibility you are using determines the request group and the requests that will appear in the list.5. A Parameters window automatically appears if you select a request that requires parameter values. The prompts in the Parameters window are specific to the request that you select.6. Enter the values in the required parameter fields and click OK. The Parameters window closes and your parameter values are concatenated and displayed in the Parameters window.

2.8.2 Submission Schedule

Defining a Submission Schedule1. Click Schedule to open the Scheduling window. This window provides you with several scheduling options. You can choose to re-use a schedule you previously defined and saved, or define a new schedule. You can define your schedule to run a request as soon as possible, at a specific time, or repeatedly at specific intervals, on specific days of the week or month.2. Choose a type of schedule.3. To save your schedule, select the Save this schedule for use again later check box. You must also provide a unique name for each schedule you save, and you can provide additional information in the Description field.4. Click OK. You are returned to the Submit Requests window.

2.8.3 Upon Completion

Defining Completion Options1. In the Upon Completion region of the Submit Request window, check the Save all Output Files checkbox to write your request to a file. If you want to view your report online, you must use this check box.2. Click the Options button.Specify additional people to notify using Oracle Workflow, upon completion of this report. You can also specify a language for the person if multiple languages are installed.3. Select a print style.4. Use the LOV to select the printers and languages you want used to produce a hardcopy of your report.5. Enter the number of copies.6. Click OK.7. Click Submit Request when you are finished specifying scheduling and completion options. After your request is submitted, Oracle Applications assigns a request ID to each request submission so that you can identify the results of the request when it is complete.

2.8.4 Finding Requests

Viewing and Changing RequestsSince all reports, programs, and request sets are run as concurrent requests in Oracle Applications, you can navigate to the Request window to view the progress and output of all your concurrent requests, and you can change aspects of a requests processing options.You can use the Request window (summary and detail) to view a list of all the submitted concurrent requests, check whether your request has run, change aspects of a request's processing options, diagnose errors, or find the position of your request in the queues of available concurrent managers.

How to Use the Request Window

1. Choose (M) View > Requests2. Use the Find Requests window to specify the types of requests you want to see. You can choose to view your completed requests, your requests in progress, or all of your requests by selecting the appropriate option group.3. Enter specific criteria in the Find window that appears, or click Find to display all of your requests that you have submitted.4. Use the Order By poplist to specify the order in which you want your requests displayed.

2.8.5 Reprint

Reprinting a Report That Has Already Been Run

1. Navigate to the Requests window.2. Query your request so that it is displayed as a record in the Requests window.3. Select the specific request that you want to reprint.4. To reprint a report, select Tools > Reprint from the menu.

2.8.6 Phases and Statuses of Requests

A concurrent request has a life cycle consisting of the following phases:

Pending: The request is waiting to be run.Running: The request is running.Completed: The request has finished execution.Inactive: The request cannot yet be run.

A program in the Completed phase can be in one of the five statuses:

Normal: Program completed successfully.Warning: Program completed successfully but with warning messages.Error: Program failed to complete successfully.Terminated: A running program was terminated.Canceled: A pending or inactive program was canceled before it started.

Screen colors help you identify the status of the request.

Green: Pending, running or scheduled requestsYellow: Completed requests with a status of WarningRed: Requests that complete with a status of Error

3. Introduction to R12.1 Oracle Applications

3.1 Introduction to R12.1 Footprint

Release 12 is defined as The Global Business Release. Global is not just a geographic perspective, but also a comprehensive perspective; release 12 functionality spans across both industries and business functions.

3.2 Key Business Flows and Benefits of R12 Footprints

Oracle business flows are a collection of application components designed for end-to-end business processes. They identify the critical business processes an organization utilizes to support a complete business strategy for managing operations, customers, suppliers, partners, and employees.

Oracle business flows map business processes across multiple organizations and many applications to represent a streamlined, efficiently integrated information flow throughout business organizations and across geographies.

Note - Individual Business Flows are provided in a separate document

Eg Order to Cash Business Flow

1. Order Entry - This is first stage, When the order is entered in the system, it creates a record in order headers and Order Lines table2.Order Booking - This is next stage, when Order is booked then the Flow status changed from Entered to Booked. At this stage, these below table get affected3. Reservation - This step is required for doing reservations SCHEDULE ORDER PROGRAM runs in the background and quantities are reserved.4. Pick Release - Pick Release is the process of putting reservation on on-hand quantity available in the inventory and pick them for particular sales order5. Pick Confirm/ Move Order Transaction - Items are transferred from source sub-inventory to staging Sub-inventory. Here material transaction occurs6. Ship Confirm - Here ship confirm interface program runs in background. Data removed from wsh_new_deliveries.7.Enter Invoice - After shipping the order the order lines gets eligible to get transfered to RA_INTERFACE_LINES_ALL. Workflow background engine picks those records and post it to RA_INTERFACE_LINES_ALL. 8.Complete Line - In this stage order line level table get updated with Flow status and open flag.9. Close Order - This is last step of Order Processing. In this stage only oe_order_lines_all table get updated. These are the table get affected in this step.3.3 R12.1 E-Business Suite Architecture

Business Architecture: The R12 EBS has 5 principles that drives its business architecture:

-Modern Foundation-Complete-End to end Integration-Global-Rapid Implementation.

1. Oracle has embedded all of its new R12 development into open, scalable standards. These standards include using Java/J2EE, HTML, JavaScript (JSP), Internet-accessibility, and centralized management.

2. R12 E-Business Suite is accessible via global networks. It accommodates multiple languages and currencies; supports international features, such as flexible date formats and multiple radix support; supports data in the Unicode Character Set (UTF-8) and has accounting and business localizations built into it.

3.4 Basic Technical Architecture

PHP (Personal Home Page) or Portal becomes the gateway through which the user has rights to access all the information to which they have been granted access. Thus, R12 administrative tasks are simplified while operations costs are reduced.

- Form based: Forms-based users are typically people involved in the transactional operations of an organization.

- HTML/JSP's (Self Service): Self-service users are infrequent users who want their interface with R12 to be as simple and as quick as possible.

- Business Intelligence: Business intelligence users are senior executives and managers who want an easy-to-use interface that can be used to reveal critical business information and reports.

- Mobile: users whose jobs are likely to keep them away from a readily available, network-connected computer. Example: sales representatives, field representative. By utilizing the mobile interface, they are able to send and receive information at pointswhere it is important and convenient for them.

3.5 Overview of Oracle file system and directories Architecture

3.5.1 R12 E-Biz Directory Structure

Below Image describes the complete directory structure for complete e-biz installation i.e. DB_TOP, APPL_TOP and new INST_TOP. If you dig into the INST_TOP you will find that it only contains all the configuration files, start-stop scripts, log files, certificate files, pid files etc.., so as to make DB_TOP and APPL_TOP untouched for any instance specific changes. So you can also make DB_TOP and APPL_TOP read only.

3.5.2 Instance TopInstance home is the top-level directory for an Applications Instance which is known as Instance Home and is denoted the environment variable $INST_TOP. This contains all the config files, log files, SSL certificates etc.3.5.3 Advantages of new INSTANCE_TOP

The additional Instance Home makes the middle tier more easy to manage and organized since the data is kept separate from the config files. The Instance Home also has the ability to share the Applications and Technology stack code across multiple instances. Another advantage of the Instance Home is that the Autoconfig writes only in INST_TOP so APPL_TOP and ORACLE_HOME can also be made read only file system if required. To create a new instance that shares an existing middle-tier, just create a new instance_top with proper config files and NFS Mount the middle tier

3.6 Brief Overview/Introduction about Oracle E-Business Suite Integrated SOA Gateway

Starting 12.1 release of e-Business Suite, you not only have Native SOAP based Services available, but also you can invoke external web-services which can be consumed by existing running processes in EBS. Let us go little deeper into this.

This lab focused on Service Invocation Framework in Integrated SOA Gateway that provides ability to invoke external web services from within Oracle EBusiness Suite natively. This lab includes following tasks. Create and Deploy a BPEL process into SOA Suite middle tier (10g or 11g) and identify the BPEL process's WSDL Create a Business Event Create a Invoke Web Service subscription and consume the BPEL process's WSDL in the subscription Use Test Business Event page to raise the event that in turn invokes the BPEL process. The BPEL process's WSDL can be replaced with any standard Web Service's SOAP WSDL.

4. Fundamentals of System Administration

4.1 Application Security Overview

As organizations grow in size and complexity, their existing systems must make it possible to conduct business in the marketplace and to support internal operations in a secure manner. Oracles seamless, defense in-depth approach, providing a single infrastructure for managing all aspects of security with an enterprise, enables organizations to manage ERP and business applications securely, effectively, and efficiently.

Oracle Application Security applies to all Oracle technologies in the application space:

Oracle E-Business Suite - Oracle Applications technology provides customers with several information-driven advantages, including unparalleled embedded analytic access, by means of Daily Business Intelligence (DBI), to a comprehensive business view of your enterprise across all geographic regions.

Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise - PeopleSoft tools and technology transform the way organizations implement, use, and maintain enterprise software. Peoplesoft offer an automated, highly flexible development environment; integration and business modeling tools; world-class usability; and predictive, customer system-specific diagnostic and support tools.

Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne - JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools offer you a complete technology solution for running JD Edwards EnterpriseOne applications. Built around the concepts of flexibility and adaptability, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools enable your business to adjust to changing business conditions.

Oracle Siebel - Siebel Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions, designed to fit any size organization, empower companies to deliver seamless and superior customer experiences by extending CRM to everyone in their organizations and partner networks.

Key Benefit of Oracle Applications Security

The primary benefits of application security lie in reducing the cost and risks associated with utilizing ERP and business applications within an organization. The security of transaction-based business processes is essential to meeting regulatory compliance and driving sustainable business activities. Also, any organization that is planning or deploying an Oracle Applications based solution or has recently merged with or acquired another organization with Oracle Applications, faces significant security challenges when bringing core business technologies together.

Oracle Application Object Library security comprises two main components, Function Security and Data Security. Oracle Application Security spreads across the following areas

Oracle User Management Function Security in Oracle Application Object Library Data Security in Oracle Application Object Library User and Data Auditing Request Security Oracle Single Sign-On Integration - On Security form where they must enter a valid Oracle Applications username and password Oracle Server Security - Because Release 12 is deployed in a multi-tier configuration, the security model includes authentication of application servers to the database servers they access. When this layer of security is activated, the application server passes server IDs (similar to passwords) to the database server. If the database server recognizes the server ID, itgrants access to the database. The server IDs are created using a Java script calledAdminAppServer. Oracle Database Security - Changing passwords frequently helps ensure database security

4.2 Function Security

Function Security is the base layer of access control in Oracle Applications. Function Security restricts user access to individual menus of functions, such as forms, HTML pages, or widgets within an application. Function Security by itself restricts access to various functions, but it does not restrict access to the data a user can see or what actions a user can perform on that data. For example, an organization could use Function Security to provide its sales representatives with the required menus and menu options for querying customers. It could also control access to specific components of those pages such as a button on a sales forecasting page.

4.3 Data Security

Data Security is the next layer of access control. Building on Function Security, DataSecurity provides access control within Oracle Applications on the data a user canaccess, and the actions a user can perform on that data. Data Security restricts the access to the individual data that is shown once a user has selected a menu or menu option. For example, with Data Security you can control the set of users that a particular local security administrator can access within Oracle User Management. In conjunction with Function Security, Data Security provides additional access control on data that a user can see or actions a user can perform on that data.

4.4 Role Based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC is the next layer and builds upon Data Security and Function Security. WithRBAC, access control is defined through roles, and user access to Applications isdetermined by the roles granted to the user. Access control in Oracle Applicationsclosely follows the RBAC ANSI standard (ANSI INCITS 359-2004) originally proposed by the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), which defines a role as "a job function within the context of an organization with some associated semantics regarding the authority and responsibility conferred on the user assigned to the role."

A role can be configured to consolidate the responsibilities, permissions, functionsecurity and data security polices that users require to perform a specific function. This is accomplished with a one-time setup, in which permissions, responsibilities, and other roles are assigned to the role. Users are not required to be assigned the lower-level permissions directly, since permissions are implicitly inherited on the basis of the roles assigned to the user. This simplifies mass updates of user permissions, since an organization need only change the permissions or role inheritance hierarchy defined for a given role, and the users assigned that role will inherit the new set of permissions automatically.

Organizations can define roles that closely mirror their business situation. For example, an organization can create an "Employee" role and then assign that role to all of its employees. It can also create an "External" role and assign that role to customers and suppliers. Further examples may include specific roles such as "Support Agent", "Sales Rep", "Sales Managers". In these examples, each role contains a specific level of access privileges that restricts its assignees to the scope of their job functions. Some members of the organization will probably be assigned more than one role. A sales representative would be assigned the Employee and Sales Representative roles, and a Sales Manager would be assigned the Employee, Sales Representative, and Sales Manager roles. Roles and role assignments are stored in the workflow directory, which is interpreted by thesecurity system at runtime.

4.5 Profile Options

A profile is a set of changeable options that affect the way your application looks and behaves. As System Administrator, you control how Oracle Applications operate by setting user or system profile options to the values you want.

You can set user profile options at different levels: site, application, responsibility, user, server, and organization, depending on how the profile options are defined.

Profile HierarchyA profile option can be set at one or more levels, depending on its hierarchy type. Most profile options use the Security hierarchy type, meaning that they can potentially be set at the four levels: Site (lowest level) , Application, Responsibility, and User (highest level).

Note: A higher-level option value overrides a lower-level value.

5. Fundamentals of Flexfields

5.1 Basics of Flexfield

This chapter provides you with a conceptual overview of flexfields. You will learnabout:

the general features of flexfields flexfields terminology the benefits of flexfields the distinction between a key and descriptive flexfield the overall setup process for flexfields

A flexfield is a field made up of sub-fields, or segments. There are two types of flexfields: key flexfields and descriptive flexfields. A key flexfield appears on your form as a normal text field with an appropriate prompt. A descriptive flexfield appears on your form as a two-character-wide text field with square brackets [ ] as its prompt.

When opened, both types of flexfield appear as a pop-up window that contains a separate field and prompt for each segment. Each segment has a name and a set of valid values. The values may also have value descriptions.

We use the following terms for both key and descriptive flexfields:

Segment Value Validation Value set Structure

5.2 Define Value Sets

(Overview of Values and Value Sets)

A value set is a definition of the values approved for entry or display by a particular flexfield segment. Value sets may also contain a list of actual approved values. It allows you to control the values for a segment or report parameter.

Oracle Application Object Library uses values, value sets and validation tables asimportant components of key flexfields, descriptive flexfields, and Standard Request Submission.

You define your value sets first, either before or while you define your flexfield segment structures. You typically define your individual values only after your flexfield has been completely defined (and frozen and compiled).

Because the conditions you specify for your value sets determine what values you can use with them, you should plan both your values and your value sets at the same time.

For example, if your values are 01, 02 instead of 1, 2, you would define the value setwith Right-Justify Zero-fill set to Yes.

You can share value sets among segments in different flexfields, segments in different structures of the same flexfield, and even segments within the same flexfield structure.

You can share value sets across key and descriptive flexfields. You can also use value sets for report parameters for your reports that use the Standard Request Submission feature.

Remember that different flexfields may have different requirements and restrictions on the values you can use, so you should read information for your specific flexfield as part of your value planning process. For example, the Accounting Flexfield requires that you use certain types of value sets.

Value Set Attributes:

Name Unique value set nameDescription Free-form descriptive text.

Security TypeNo securityHierarchialNon -hierarchial

List TypeList of valuesLong list of valuesPoplist

Types of Value Set:

None - Validation is minimal. Has no set of approved values associated with it.Independent Input must exist on previously defined list of values.Dependent Input is checked against a subset of values based on a prior value.Table Input is checked against the values in an application table.Special Value set uses a flexfield itself.Pair two flexfields together specify a range of valid values.

Translatable Independent - Input must exist on previously defined list of values; translated values can be used.Translatable Dependent - Input is checked against a subset of values based on a prior value; translated values can be used.

To define a value set:

1. Navigate to the Value Sets window.

2. Enter a unique name for this value set.

3. If you are modifying an existing value set, you can, with the proper privileges, viewwhere the value set is used.

4. Specify the List Type for your value set.

Choose List of Values if your value set should not provide the LongList feature in Oracle Forms applications. A user will not see a poplist in Oracle Self-Serviceapplications.

Choose Long List of Values if your value set should provide the LongList feature in Oracle Forms Applications. The LongList feature requires a user to enter a partial segment value before the list of values retrieves all available values. You may not enable LongList for a value set that has a validation type of None. A user will not see a poplist in Oracle Self-Service applications.

Choose Poplist if your value set should not provide the LongList feature in Oracle Forms applications, but should provide a poplist in Oracle Self-Service applications.

Here are guidelines for the List Type field:

Poplist - fewer than 10 values expected List of Values - between 10 and 200 values expected Long List of Values - more than 200 values expected

5. Specify the Security Type you plan to use with any segments that use this value set. Security does not apply to value sets of validation type None, Special, or Pair.

No Security - All security is disabled for this value set.

Hierarchical Security - Hierarchical security is enabled. With hierarchical security, the features of value security and value hierarchies are combined. With this feature any security rule that applies to a parent value also applies to its child values.

Non-Hierarchical Security - Security is enabled, but the rules of hierarchical security do not apply. That is, a security rule that applies to a parent value does not "cascade down" to its child values

6. Enter the type of format you want to use for your segment values. Valid choices include: Char, Date, DateTime, Number, Standard Date, Standard DateTime, and Time.

7. Enter formatting information appropriate to your format type, including information such as whether your values should include numbers only and whether they must fall within a certain range.

8. Select your validation type: Independent, Dependent, Table, None (non-validated), Special, Pair, Translatable Independent, or Translatable Dependent.

9. If you are creating a Dependent, Translatable Dependent, Table, Special or Pair value set, choose the Edit Information button to open the appropriate window. Enter any further information required for your validation type. See: Dependent Value Set Information Window,

10. Save your changes.

Related topics

Combination Combinations Table Qualifiers Types of Key Flexfield Forms Dynamic Insertion

5.3 Define Key Flexfields

Key flexfield is a field made up of segments, where each segment has both a value and a meaning. You can think of a key flexfield as an intelligent field that your business can use to store information represented as codes.

Most organizations use codes made up of meaningful segments to identify general ledger accounts, part numbers, and other business entities. Each segment of the code can represent a characteristic of the entity. For example, consider an account number for a bank. A complete bank number may consists of various segments like the country code, area code, city code, branch code, account type, account number etc.

A key flexfield is flexible enough to let you use any code scheme you want to describe an entity. When your organization initially installs an Oracle Applications product, your organizations implementation team customizes all the key flexfields in that product to use meaningful code segments to describe each key flexfield entity. Your organization decides for each key flexfield, how many segments an entity has, what each segment means, what values each segment can have, and what each segment value means.

Key Flexfields in Oracle ApplicationsThe Oracle Applications products provide many key flexfields as integral parts of the products.

Here is a table listing all the key flexfields in Oracle Applications, ordered by the application that owns the key flexfield. Note that other applications may also use a particular flexfield

OwnerKey Flexfield NameFlexfield Code

Oracle AssetsAsset Key FlexfieldKEY#

Oracle AssetsCategory FlexfieldCAT#

Oracle AssetsLocation FlexfieldLOC#

Oracle General LedgerAccounting FlexfieldGL#

Oracle Human ResourcesGrade FlexfieldGRD

Oracle Human ResourcesJob FlexfieldJOB

Oracle Human ResourcesPersonal Analysis FlexfieldPEA

Oracle Human ResourcesPosition FlexfieldPOS

Oracle Human ResourcesSoft Coded KeyFlexfieldSCL

Oracle InventoryAccount AliasesMDSP

Oracle InventoryItem CatalogsMICG

Oracle InventoryItem CategoriesMCAT

Oracle InventorySalesOrdersRLOC

Oracle InventoryStock LocatorsMTLL

Oracle InventorySystem ItemsMSTK

Oracle PayrollBank Details KeyFlexFieldBANK

Oracle PayrollCost Allocation FlexfieldCOST

Oracle PayrollPeople Group FlexfieldGRP

Oracle ReceivablesSales Tax Location FlexfieldMKTS

Oracle ReceivablesTerritory FlexfieldCT#

Oracle ServiceOracle Service Item FlexfieldSERV

Oracle Training AdministrationTraining ResourcesRES

5.4 Define Descriptive Flexfields

Descriptive flexfields like the key flexfields provides further scope of customization in Oracle Applications.

Descriptive flexfields provide customizable expansion space on your forms. Though the fields on an Oracle Applications form are more than enough to capture all the possible information from the user perspective, but still the users can feel the need of capturing additional information. A descriptive flexfield gives you room to expand your forms for capturing such additional information.

A descriptive flexfield appears on a form as a singlecharacter, unnamed field enclosed in brackets ([ ]) as shown in figure 3 below.

Oracle Applications has provided space for descriptive flexfields on almost all the forms. Just like in a key flexfield, a popup window appears when you move your cursor into a customized descriptive flexfield. And like a key flexfield, the popup window has as many fields as your organization needs. Each field or segment in a descriptive flexfield has a prompt (figure 4), just like ordinary fields, and can have a set of valid values. The pop-up as shown in the figure 4 comes up when you click on the [ ] icon on the form in the figure3 above.

5.5 Planning Decisions

Your first step in planning your key flexfields is to determine which key flexfields your Oracle Applications product requires. You should also determine the purpose of the key flexfield, as well as the number and length of its available segment columns

You should also note whether your key flexfield allows more than one structure, and determine if you do indeed need to define more than one structure.

Those key flexfields that allow multiple structures may use different mechanisms todetermine which structure a user sees. For example, the Accounting Flexfield usesmultiple structures if you have multiple sets of books with differing charts of accounts.

Your forms determine which Accounting Flexfield structure to display by using thevalue of the GL_SET_OF_BOOKS_ID profile option associated with your currentresponsibility. Other key flexfields may have a field built into the form that allow a user to essentially choose which structure appears.

You should decide on the number, order and length of your segments for eachstructure.

When you are planning your flexfields, you should consider the following questions and their corresponding decisions:

How do you want to break down reporting on your key flexfield data? If you want to report on your data by certain criteria or sub-entities, such as account number or project or region, you may want to consider making that sub-entity a distinct segment, rather than combining it with another sub-entity, so that you can categorize and report on smaller discrete units of information.

How often does your organization change? This would affect how you set up your values.

Do you want to make a segment defined as required (a value must be entered?)

5.6 Flexfields Enhancements

Flexfield errors are handled more gracefully. Warnings are raised if an OA Framework flexfield uses incompatible features.

6. Shared Entities and Integration

6.1 Shared entities and non-key shared entities

ObjectivesAfter completing this lesson, you will be able to do the following:Recognize shared entities within the eBusiness SuiteRecognize the key business flows and integration points between products in the eBusiness Suite.What are Shared Entities?Shared entities in the 11i eBusiness Suite allow the one-time definition of an object, and the use of that object across several products. Shared entities are "owned" by a single product for table purposes only. It does not designate the primary user or decision maker.eBusiness Shared Entity ExamplesEntityDescriptionObjects

AOLApplication Object LibraryCurrencies, Site Profiles, Languages, Users, Responsibilities and Menus

LedgersAccounting information recordsCOA, Calendar, Currencies, Accounting Conventions

Unit of MeasureMethod of quantifying itemsUOM

ItemsRaw Materials, finished goods or servicesItems

SuppliersVendors we buy fromSuppliers

CustomersBuyers of the end productCustomers

Sales ForceIndividuals credited with sales revenueIndividuals credited with sales revenues

EmployeesPersonnel who perform assigned tasksEmployees

LocationsBusiness sites (addresses)Locations

OrganizationsLogical unit entitiesOrganizations

6.2 Overview of E-Business Suite business flows and integration

7. Fundamentals of Multiple-Organization and Multiple-Organization Access Control (MOAC)

7.1 Introduction to Multiple-Organization and Multiple- Organization Access control (MOAC)

Multi-Org or multiple organization access (MOAC) is basically the ability to access multiple operating units from a single application responsibility. In Release 11i, when one had to enter or process data for multiple operating units, one had to login to different responsibilities because each responsibility could only access one operating unit. If one was managing Payables for Sweden, Norway and Finland one needed to define three different responsibilities. In Release 12, one would create a Security Profile and assign as many operating units as you required. One can tie that security profile to a single responsibility using a profile option called MO: Seurity Profile

For example, you could assign the security profile to the ZZ_PAYABLES.. Responsibility to allow that responsibility to process invoices across all (specified as per user need) operating units.In Release 12, define a security profile in HR using the Security profile form or the Global Security profile form, and assign all of the operating units that one would want a responsibility to access. The one needs to run a concurrent request calledRun Security List Maintenance From HR which will make those security profiles available and allow one to assign them to a responsibility via a profile option called MO: Security Profile.One can define an operating unit using the Accounting Setup Manager in Oracle General Ledger or Organization Definition form in Oracle HRMS or Inventory. An operating unit is then attached to a default legal context (as compared to Legal Entity in Release 11i)Define a security profile using either of the two forms: Security Profile form or the Global Security Profile Form that is shown below. Both forms look almost identical where Security Profile Form allows one to select operating units from only one Business Group where as Global Security profile Form allows one to select operating units from multiple Business Groups.

Global Security Profile

One can define another profile option called MO: Default Operating Unit which is optional and allows one to specify a default operating unit that will be the default when you open different subledger application forms. For eg in payables while entering invoices we get LOV of different Operating units to chose from, as shown in demo below.

Business Reason for this change:If a task was assigned to design a Payables Invoice scanning process that had following requirements:-1. A client had 100s of legal entities and organization units2. They wanted to receive all paper payables invoices at a central location. Effectively, they would have a single Address where invoices for all the Legal Entities/Operating Units were received.3. All the invoices would be scanned at that central location.4. The scanned images were then placed in a queue that were then keyed (typed) into the system by a Team (their shared service Centre)5. This Scenario is possible if Multi Org Access Control is setup at the Specified Responsibility Level. If not, then its not feasible for the concerned team to type each invoice for various Operating unit by switching to different responsibilities.

8. Fundamentals of Oracle Workflow & Alerts

8.1 Overview of Workflow

Oracle Workflow delivers a complete workflow management system that supports business process based integration. Its technology enables modeling, automation, and continuous improvement of business processes, routing information of any type according to userdefined business rules.

Ebusiness is accelerating the demand for integration of applications within the enterprise as well as integration of a companys systems with trading partners and businesstobusiness exchanges. Oracle Workflow automates and streamlines business processes both within and beyond your enterprise; supporting traditional applications based workflow as well as ebusiness integration workflow. Oracle Workflow is unique in providing a workflow solution for both internal processes and business process coordination between applications.

8.1.1 Major Features and Definitions

Oracle Workflow BuilderOracle Workflow Builder is a graphical tool that lets workflow developers create, view, or modify a business process with simple drag and drop operations. Using the Workflow Builder, you can create and modify all workflow objects, including activities, item types, and messages.

Workflow EngineThe Workflow Engine embedded in the Oracle Database implements process definitions at runtime. The Workflow Engine monitors workflow states and coordinates the routing of activities for a process.

Business Event SystemThe Business Event System is an application service that uses the Oracle Advanced Queuing (AQ) infrastructure to communicate business events between systems. The Business Event System consists of the Event Manager, which lets you register subscriptions to significant events, and event activities, which let you model business events within workflow processes.

Workflow Definitions LoaderThe Workflow Definitions Loader is a utility program that moves workflow definitions between database and corresponding flat file representations.

Complete Programmatic ExtensibilityOracle Workflow lets developers include custom PL/SQL procedures or external functions as activities in workflows. Without modifying your application code, you can have your own program run whenever the Workflow Engine detects that your programs prerequisites are satisfied.

Electronic NotificationsOracle Workflow lets you include users in your workflows to handle activities that cannot be automated, such as approvals for requisitions or sales orders. The Notification System sends notifications to and processes responses from users in a workflow.

Electronic Mail IntegrationElectronic mail (email) users can receive notifications of outstanding work items and can respond to those notifications using their email application of choice. An email notification can include an attachment that provides another means of responding to the notification.

Electronic Mail IntegrationAny user with access to a standard Web browser can be included in a workflow. Web users can access a Notification Web page to see their outstanding work items, then navigate to additional pages to see more details or provide a response.

Monitoring and AdministrationWorkflow administrators and users can view the progress of a work item in a workflow process by connecting to the Workflow Monitor using a standard Web browser that supports Java. The Workflow Monitor displays an annotated view of the process diagram for a particular instance of a workflow process, so that users can get a graphical depiction of their work item status. The Workflow Monitoralso displays a separate status summary for the work item, the process, and each activity in the process.

8.2 Oracle Workflow Home Pages

Oracle Workflow home page, where users can centrally access all the webbased features of Oracle Workflow.

8.2.1 Accessing the Oracle Workflow Home Page

Use the Oracle Workflow home page to link to all of Oracle Workflows webbased features. This page centralizes your access to the features so you do not have to remember individual URLs.

1. To Access the Oracle Workflow Home Page - Use a web browser to connect to the URL for the home page: /wfa_html.home2. The web page identifies the current version of Oracle Workflow.3. A toolbar appears in the upper left corner of the Oracle Workflow home page, as well as on every other Oracle Workflow web page.4. Choose the Worklist link to display your list of workflow notifications.5. Choose the Find Notifications link to locate notifications that match specific criteria and act on those notifications.6. Choose the Notification Rules link to view and define your automatic notification routing rules.7. Choose the Find Processes link to query for a list of workflow process instances that match certain search criteria.8. Choose the User Preferences link to set the preferences that control how you interact with Oracle Workflow

8.2.2 Setting User PreferencesYou can control how you interact with Oracle Workflow by specifying user preferences that you can set from the User Preferences web page.

8.2.3 Accessing the Oracle Workflow SelfService Home PageThe Oracle Workflow web pages are being converted to the Oracle Applications Framework user interface format. Depending on your version of Oracle Workflow and which patches you have applied, you may see Oracle Workflow web pages in the new format as well as in the previous format.

8.3 Worklist WebPages

The Worklist web pages; Provide a list of open notifications for a particular user Let the user view notification details, including: Messages formatted in extended HTML message formats Links to URLs or Oracle E-Business Suite forms that let users research and make decisions through online inquiry Let the user respond to notifications that require a response

8.4 Workflow Monitor WebPages

The Workflow Monitor web pages:

Let you search for a workflow process instance to view Display status information for the process instance Graphical depiction of the process status in a diagram Detailed information about individual activities and about the process as a whole Let users view their own workflows Let administrators view all workflows, perform control operations, and handle errors

8.5 Overview of Alerts

Oracle Alert gives you an immediate view of the critical activity in your database. It helps you keep on top of important or unusual business events you need to know about, as they happen. Oracle Alert gives you real-time measurements of staff and organization performance, so you can zero in on potential trouble spots immediately. You can automate routine transactions with Oracle Alert, saving your valuable time for more essential tasks. And, Oracle Alert does all this online, so you do not have to contend with a pile of paperwork.

Business Need for Oracle Alerts

Oracle Alert gives you the flexibility you need to monitor your business information the way you want. An exception reporting system should:

Keep you informed of database exception conditions, as they occur. Let you specify the exception conditions you want to know about, as often as you want to know about them. Keep you informed of exception conditions through a single pointyour electronic mail. Take predefined actions when it finds exceptions in your database, without user intervention. Take the actions you specify, depending upon your response to an alert message. Perform routine database tasks automatically, according to the schedule you define. Be fully integrated with your electronic mail system. Send electronic mail messages to a distribution list you define, so you avoid typing the same set of recipients for many messages.

8.6 Difference between Workflow & Alerts

Alerts leverage the Workflow Mailer to send a notification under certain conditions. Workflow is a business process control tool which can be used to manage simple or complex business processes which may or may not involve interaction with people via the notification system.

Alerts are typically used to determine exception conditions or to report inconsistencies within the data. For example, an alert can be created so that when an employees salary is altered within Payroll, an email is sent to a human resources manager. The same process can be accomplished via a workflow process. A function could be written to query the database for any changes to the Payroll system. If the function returns a value of True, then someones record has been changed and a notification could be sent to the HR manager. If the function returns a value of False, then no notification is sent. This is a simple workflow process, but the difference between Alerts and Workflow is that the notification that is sent be can be required to be acknowledged within one day or be escalated to the HR managers supervisor by sending a notification to that supervisor as well. Alerts cant do this. This escalation feature is very popular with Oracle Service users, especially if the service agreements state that a callback will occur within two hours on any service call. Once the service call is assigned to a representative, a workflow escalation process can be designed to escalate the request if the representative hasnt responded to the notification yet. Customers will be happy, and reports can also be written to extract the data on the number of times a call isescalated and from where it was escalated. The Workflow tables are listed in the AOL technical reference manual and a tool such as Discoverer can query that data and create the report. Workflows added functionality and flexibility make it an easy alternative to Alerts. The timeout/escalation feature within one workflow process is much better than having to write multiple Alerts to accomplish the same function.

9. Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI) Applications: Overview

9.1 Oracle BI Applications: Overview

No longer a luxury item, Business Intelligence (BI) applications are required to optimize corporate profits and performance. The most valuable BI systems pull data from across the enterprise and present information to users in a meaningful way to improve decision-making.

9.2 Oracle BI Applications: Multisource Analytics

9.3 Application Integration: Security

Application Authentication Supports LDAP authentication, OID, SSO etc. Data Authorization OBIEE Server Security via Administrator Tool Access to Subject Areas Supports setting up of data security using Oracle EBS Roles/Responsibilities Supports column level security OBIEE Presentation Server Permissions Control access to Web Catalogs, Folders, Dashboards etc OBIEE Web Administrator and Catalog Manager are used for above

A user will only be able to access the OBIEE environment if this user is administered as an EBS user with the right responsibilities.

While integrating OBIEE user interface with EBS EBS security framework can be leveraged;

Integration Steps

The integration of Oracle e-Business Suite (EBS) en Oracle Business Intelligence (OBIEE) consists of the following steps:

1. Specification of OBIEE base URL in EBS - The EBS administration screen for managing profile options (Home Page > System Administrator > Profile > System) allows to specify the hostname and location of the web application to integrate with.

2. Specify the authentication part of the integration in the instanceconfig.xml - For OBIEE the authentication integration is via http cookies combined with a URL. The cookie is also used for the action link integration (drill back to EBS screen from an OBIEE request). This integration is specified in the instanceconfig.xml.

3. Modify the connection pools in the repository - Two authentication initialization blocks populating repository session variables are most important for the integration of EBS with OBIEE

4. Specify Static Repository variables - Of course the initialization block can be extended to populate other variables than the ones mentioned in this example. The connection pool uses a static user name and password to connect to the EBS OLTP database, referenced by the static repository variables, e.g.: - Static_USER_ID - Static_DSN_OLTP

9.4 Application Integration: Action Links

In the new Action Framework in OBIEE 11g, using Action Links and integrating with business processes from OBIEE was possible in version 10g, but required lots of manual coding and was somewhat limited. With the 11g release, Oracle has introduced the ability to define actions directly in the web catalog that can launch business processes and applications to take action upon the insight provided by the report or dashboard. Whether it is sending a notification, triggering a workflow, or navigating to more information - the Action Framework will enable insight to action and allow the creation of a closed loop intelligence system.

Increasingly organizations want to embed BI directly into business processes, so decision points in a process are actually determined based on analytics and intelligence. OBIEE 11gR2 includes a very useful feature called the Action Framework that allows business users to invoke business processes (BPEL) based on values of the key indicators. In a nutshell, the Action Framework allows a BI user to browse for a target report, web service, java method etc, create an action to navigate to or invoke that target, then save the action in the BI catalog so that it may be used in different areas of BI such as Answers, Dashboards, and Scorecard.

Lets look at a quick example. A user reviews the product backorders and realizes the reason is shortfall of inventory items needed for manufacturing specific brand of product Enterprise as in screenshot below. The Action Framework feature allows user to right click on the column and invoke the critical business process of Raising Purchase Order from right within the same BI framework where earlier, he would need to go to transaction screens to do the same.

Based on users credentials, he/she will be able to Raise the PO for the requisite item based on the predefined reorder levels within the transaction business system. Following screenshot comes up as confirmation window:

Once confirmed, the BPEL integration routes the PO to appropriate approval authority in the queue for final action.

Actions are available in every area of user interaction in OBIEE 11g, including Dashboard, Answers reports, Scorcards, and delivered content. Actions can be integrated into just about any transactional system including the Oracle e-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel CRM, JD Edwards and SAP. Actions can also be linked into custom applications and composite applications.9.5 Guided Navigation

Guided Navigation allows a link between two or more reports, with the navigation to reports down the link, dependent on pre-defined conditions and results of the top report.

Guided navigation is a feature of Oracle BI Interactive Dashboards that enables the content and layout of Oracle BI Interactive Dashboard to change dynamically based on changes in the information being analyzed.

Specifically, sections in a dashboard page can be set up and only appear when there is interesting information in the data.

Eg - A dashboard for a sales manager might contain a section that only appears when sales volumes for major products have declined in the current quarter, or if customer complaints have become a problem, a section showing the rise in customer complaints would appear.

Individual links in a dashboard can work the same way. For example, when sales volumes for major products decline, a link could appear with a message notifying the user of the decline. Clicking on the link would bring up an analysis (or a whole dashboard page of analyses) focusing on these products.

9.6 Deployment Options

9.6.1 Simple architecture that one can use when evaluating the Product

9.6.2 Architecture option for Development/Test

9.6.3 Architecture option for Production