Oniqua Analytics Solution- Support Platforms 6.4 SP2

Answer

Background 

The purpose of this paper is to provide general guidance on the software compatibility requirements of the Oniqua Analytics Solution product.  

These requirements are current for Version 6.4 SP2 of the Oniqua Analytics Solution. 

The target audience for this document is anyone needing to know the general requirements and deployment options particularly for implementation planning. 

The Oniqua Analytics Solution is an enterprise level analytical application with its own data mart. The Solution covers Maintenance, Inventory and Procurement functional domains and has been designed specifically for Asset Intensive industry.   

The product loads large amounts of transaction data from the ERP systems or data warehouse into a data mart, transforms and enriches the data in order to facilitate analysis. The analysis is used to determine optimal policy parameters which drive business outcomes across inventory, procurement and maintenance. 

The Analytics Solution is delivered pre-configured with a high level of domain content such as business rules, calculations, standard reports and metric definitions. The Solution is provided with a comprehensive implementation methodology ready for rapid deployment and benefits realization.  

Supported Platforms and Technology 

The platform and technologies documented as ‘supported’ by IBM means that the Oniqua Analytics Solution (OAS) software has undergone testing and is certified to function with the specified technology. If compatibility issues are found against certified technology they will be fixed with priority through the IBM product release strategy accordingly to criticality. 

Platforms and technology not mentioned herein and older than those listed are not supported. For example, Microsoft Windows 95 is unsupported as it is not mentioned and older than the operating systems listed.  

Platforms and technology not mentioned herein and newer than those listed are likely to be supported by IBM in future product releases. IBM support is not required to support platforms or technologies not listed in this document. IBM support will however accept support enquiries and indicate any known compatibility workarounds or respond with an expected compatibility date if known.  

If in doubt, the client should contact IBM support about supported platforms and/or planned infrastructure changes involving new technologies. The client is responsible for ensuring OAS runs on suitable hardware and software. Running OAS on an unsupported platform or technology may void the product warranty and entitlements to IBM support.  

Note: Support additions introduced in this release have been marked in red throughout this document. 

High-level Support Matrix  

The following key platforms and technologies are supported in this version of OAS. This is a quick reference table only and should not be used in isolation when determining compatibility or deciding on technology components. The remainder of this document provides a comprehensive guide on what technologies can be utilized under various scenarios and which exact service packs and editions are supported. 

** See Voyager support notes 

Client Tier 

1. Supported Desktop Operating System 

• Windows 7 SP1 (32/64-bit) 

• Windows 8 

2. Supported Browser 

• Internet Explorer 7 

• Internet Explorer 8 

• Internet Explorer 9 

• Internet Explorer 10 

• Internet Explorer 11 

3. Flash 

The client must have Adobe Flash Player installed: 

• Adobe Flash Player 10.1+  

4. Supported Reporting tools 

• Crystal Reports 

• OLAP Reporting (Voyager) (1) 

• OAS User Dashboards (2) 

• SAP Dashboard (Xcelsius) 

• Web Intelligence (Webi) 

1. OLAP is not deployed as part of a standard installation. OLAP is deployed as required and to support selected IBM Value Map Elements as selected by the client. 

2. Replacement for the OAS Metrics ViewerPage Break 

5. Supported Crystal Reports 

Report authors may use the following version of Crystal Reports: 

• Crystal Reports 2008 (1) 

• Crystal Reports 2011 (2) 

1. Reports authored using 2008 can be run client-side or server-side. 

2. Reports authored using 2011 can only be run server-side.  

6. Supported olap reporting tools 

Report authors may use the following version of OLAP reports authoring tools: 

• Voyager XI 4.0 SP4 (1) 

Voyager & OLAP is not deployed as part of a standard installation. OLAP is deployed as required and to support selected IBM Value Map Elements as selected by the client. 

7. Supported Data Access Clients 

Some OAS or associated tools require data access components (DAC) to connect to SQL or OLAP data sources. Supported DAC are: 

• Microsoft ODBC MDAC 2.8 (1) (2) 

• Microsoft OLEDB MDAC 2.8 (1) 

• JDBC SQL Server 2008 (3) 

1. Required for Crystal Report authoring. 

2. Business Objects products use the 32-bit ODBC registry on all versions of Windows. To administer 32-bit ODBC DSNs on 64-bit versions of Windows, run the 32-bit ODBC Administrator, located at \Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe 

3. Available only for Crystal Reports embedded into the Workbench. 

8. Supported semantic layers 

OAS offers pre-built semantic layers to assist with report authoring. The following semantic layer technologies are supported: 

• Universes XI 4.0 SP4 

9. Languages Capabilities 

OAS is capable of displaying the following languages: 

• English (1) 

• French (2) 

• Korean (2)(3) 

• Spanish (2) 

• Portuguese (Brazilian) (2) 

1. OLAP functionality only supports English Australian and US. 

2. OAS provides the functionality to support these languages however IBM only provides sample language text. The client is responsible for ensuring correct language text however IBM can provide translation services upon request. Additional languages can also be added to OAS upon request. Additional maintenance changes may apply. 

3. Not supported for Citrix. 

     10. Supported Citrix and terminal platforms 

• Remote Desktop Services (2) 

• Citrix XenApp 6.5 (1) 

1. Citrix is not supported for Korean. 

2. Terminal Services is supported for supported server operating systems only. 

Server Tier 

1. Supported Web Server 

• Apache Tomcat 6.0.20 with JDK 1.6.0_xx (1) 

1. Included with Business Objects Enterprise XI 4.0 SP4 

2. Supported Operating Systems 

• Windows Server 2008 SP2 (1) 

• Windows Server 2008 R2  

• Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 

• Windows Server 2012 

1. 32-bit and 64-bit 

Supported Corporate Authentication 

The following technologies are supported to allow corporate authentication and single sign-on: 

• Microsoft Active Directory 2008 (2)(3) 

• Microsoft Active Directory 2008 R2 (2)(3) 

2. Multiple domains are supported however the active AD user account, Active Directory group, user PC must reside on the same domain. 

3. Single sign-on supported. 

Supported Reporting platforms 

• Business Objects Enterprise XI 4.0 SP4 (1) 

1. Edge Standard licensing required. 

Supported Virtualized platforms

IBM supports the use of virtualization however caution its use in production environments. IBM have tested on Virtual Server environments and have several clients running this type of deployment. Our general recommendation is to use virtual servers for test and development purposes and physical hardware for production purposes. This is mainly out of concern for performance however final decision rests with the client.  

IBM testing showed 15-20% performance degradation on virtual hardware, particular when the SQL Server is virtualized, when compared with pure physical hardware of similar specification. As an example, a Periodic Update (a monthly ETL process) which runs in 7hrs on physical hardware would increase to approximately 8.5hrs when virtualized.  

The following virtualization platforms are supported: 

• VMware ESXi Version 4 

• Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 

 Database Tier 

1. Supported Database Servers 

• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP3 (1) 

• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 (1) 

• Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (1) 

1. Compatibility mode 90 only 

2. Supported OLAP Server 

OLAP is not deployed in a standard OAS install but is a supported add-on package. 

• Microsoft Analysis Services 2008 SP3 

• Microsoft Analysis Services 2008 R2 SP2 

• Microsoft Analysis Services 2012 R2 SP2 

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems 

The Oniqua Analytics Solution (OAS) is ERP agnostic meaning it can interface with any system that provides the mandatory data required by OAS. As part of your implementation, IBM can provide standard connectors for the ERP systems below.  

Connectors are delivered ‘as is’ and customization, enhances, and support responsibilities of the connectors rests with the client after delivery.  

IBM can also be engaged to assist with connector support as IBM provides connector development services for a range of ERP vendors and technologies. IBM can also provide pre-built connectors for other ERPs not listed below (e.g. Ellipse and Oracle) as a good starting point for a new project.  

1. SAP 

• 4.7 

• ECC5 

• ECC6 (1) 

1. Unicode 

Platform and Technology Changes 

1. Future Planned Support 

The following platform and technologies are planned for future support. These dates are expected compatibility dates however significant issues may cause deviations from plans: 

2. Depreciated Warnings 

The following technologies have been depreciated meaning their retirement has been scheduled. Clients should start planning upgrades to other supported platforms or future platforms. Under some circumstances, IBM may be forced to end support earlier than the scheduled date when the underlying technology vendor ceases support. 

3. Recently Retired Technologies 

The following technologies are no longer supported by IBM for use with the Oniqua Analytics Solution: