7.9.6.x OBI Apps/DAC Support Patch 8760212 – Just Do It!

The latest version of the Oracle BI Applications, 7.9.6 and 7.9.6.1 has not been out for that long.  That goes as well for the newest version of the DAC clearly. And, perhaps it is that this release is so new and there are just enough changes that several bugs still got out in this release.  Although these bugs are subtle and minor, they will pop-up on you in the damnedest of places, just when you thought you were sailing along swimmingly.

Now, if you read the systems requirements documentation word-for-word upon each and every OBI Apps release, no matter how minor the release, you may not need this information.  But, if you are human, you may have missed the tiny section on page 12 of the related release document, http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E14847_01/bia.796/e14221.pdf. This page briefly highlights the fact that a DAC patch, 8760212, is required for this release of OBI Apps. It’s a DAC patch.

What Exactly Does that Section of the Doc Say?

Oracle Business Intelligence Applications 7.9.6 and 7.9.6.1 support Oracle Business Intelligence Data Warehouse Administration Console (DAC) platform version 10.1.3.4.1. with Patch 8760212. Patch 8760212 is available for download on the Patches and Updates tab on My Oracle Support at http://support.oracle.com.

For information on the system requirements and supported platforms for the Oracle Business Intelligence DAC Client and Server, see Systems Requirements and Supported Platforms Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Data Warehouse Administration Console. This guide is included in the Documentation Library for Oracle Business Intelligence Data Warehouse Administration Console on
Oracle Technology Network.

What Does the Patch Do?

The patch is actually really simple.  There is no installer even.  It is basically a JAR file (the core DAC Jar file) that you will swap out.  I suggest, as always, to make a backup of the original file, DAWSystem.jar before replacing it.  I just renamed mine to DAWSystem_old.jar.  It also comes with a infa_command.xml file which actually shows those non-expert DAC users just how DAC communicates with Informatica by accessing this command-line properties configuration file. Swapping out the infa_Command.xml file with the one from the patch is not necessary but I went ahead and did it for the full patch effect.

The patch will also upgrade your version of DAC to the latest version since it assumes you are installing the patch because you are using the latest version of the OBI Apps.  Don’t touch the patch if you don’t want to upgrade the DAC.

When Did it First Bite Me?

I was working on a really cool Human Resource Analytics project when boom out of now where a strange error would not resolve itself due to a parameter in a command failing to properly be resolved (Fix #5 below).  I’ll try to blog on that error later on.  And, yes, this patch did resolve my problem.

What Issues Does the Patch Fix?

1.  Unique constraint (W_ETL_SYSPROP_U1) violated when importing DAC metadata in incremental way without truncate flag (8723317)

2.  Can’t override DAC Email notification port, always uses port 25. SSL support added. (8570833)

3.  DAC Server couldn’t start on 64-bit AIX. (8584709)

4.  DAC Server hanging at the end of ETL process (8743856)

5. Allowing DAC parameters in commands for full and incremental mode (8760212)

6. Index creation in DAC reported as noticeably longer then on database

7. DAC doesn’t connect to SQL Server 2008 properly (9179169)

8. Various problems importing column definitions from database

9. DAC Server intermittent hang/crash (9015527)

10. DAC Task Group ‘Execute Serially’ option not working as desired (9252632)

Is it Safe to Go Near the DAC Again?

Yes, but continue your dubious disposition when discussing the DAC’s daunting developmental digressions and discomforts directly doubling your distress.  Makeup and continue to play nice.

Cheers,

Christian