Using Diagnostics to Monitor Performance

This chapter describes the Hyperion Essbase OLAP Server diagnostic tools available to you and tells where to find log files that can help you analyze and solve problems. Use this section not only when problems occur but also when you want to check or analyze Hyperion Essbase configuration or performance.

Overview of Diagnostic Tools

Hyperion Essbase application, server, and database information dialog boxes in Hyperion Essbase Application Manager are useful when you are preparing to migrate data, add users, analyze performance problems, or perform other administrative tasks. These dialog boxes are available from the Server, Application, and Database menus in Hyperion Essbase Application Manager. For details about accessing specific information in dialog boxes and a review of the pages that dialog boxes contain, see Table 48-1.

Viewing Application Information

The Application Information dialog box as shown in Figure 48-1, provides information about an application and its databases.

Use the Application Information dialog box to verify which databases are running in the application and to check access, security, and start-up information.

You can also display the Database Information dialog box (see Viewing Database Information) from the Application Information dialog box by selecting a database in the list box and clicking the Database Information button.

The settings and other information in the Application Information dialog box are for information only. If you want to customize your application, you can change the settings in the Application Settings dialog box, as described in Managing Security at Global and User Levels

Viewing Server Information

The Server Information dialog box provides information, grouped by tabs, on server license, configuration, operating system, disk drives, and applications.

Hyperion Essbase displays information on a snapshot basis; to see the latest information, click the Refresh button for a new snapshot. The Refresh button refreshes every page in the dialog box, not just the current page.

The settings and other information in the Server Information dialog box are for information only and reflect activity on the server. You cannot use the dialog box to change settings; the purpose of the dialog box is to help you identify activities or operations that may be affecting performance.

Viewing License Information

Use the License Info page to see information about the Hyperion Essbase installation; for example, you can verify whether Hyperion Essbase is correctly installed and determine which options are installed.

Viewing Configuration Information

Use the Essbase Config page to see information about Hyperion Essbase status and configuration. The page reflects the ESSBASE.CFG server file settings, if you have created an ESSBASE.CFG file; if you have not, the Global ESSBASE.CFG Settings list box is blank. See the online Technical Reference in the DOCS directory for information on how to create an ESSBASE.CFG file.

Figure 48-3: Hyperion Essbase Config Page of the Server Information Dialog Box

The Environment Variables list box displays operating system environment variables, as defined during installation. You can use this list box to verify path information.

Viewing System Information

Use the System Info page to review information about the operating system and about resource usage. You use this page to determine whether machine or operating system constraints are impacting Hyperion Essbase performance.

For example, suppose Hyperion Essbase is running too slowly. Check the Memory and Disk Swapping groups to see how much free space is available. Assume that the Free space value in Disk Swapping is very low.

Viewing Disk Drive Information

The Disk Drives page contains information about disk drive types, disk drive usage, and file system types. Use this information to determine whether lack of disk space or incompatibility of file system types is impacting Hyperion Essbase performance.

For example, if information on the System Info page indicates that swap space is low, you can use the Disk Drives page to see which drives have space available.

You can also use the Disk Drives page to see which drives have space available when you want to allocate space on another drive. See Specifying Disk Volumes for information about disk spanning using the Disk Volumes setting.

Viewing Application Status Information

Viewing Database Information

The Database Information dialog box provides information, grouped by tabs, such as database storage, database statistics, and lock contention. To see the Database Information dialog box, select a database and then select Database > Information from Hyperion Application Manager.

The server name, application name, and database name are displayed on every page. Hyperion Essbase displays information on a snapshot basis; to see the latest information, click the Refresh button for a new snapshot. The Refresh button refreshes every page in the dialog box, not just the current page.

The settings and other information in the Database Information dialog box are for information only and reflect activity on the server. You cannot use the dialog box to change settings; the purpose of the dialog box is to help you identify activities or operations that may be affecting performance.

Viewing General Database Information

Viewing Database Storage Information

Use the Storage page to check data storage information, including cache sizes and the data compression setting.

Viewing Currency Database Information

Use the Currency page to examine the configuration of the currency database associated with the current database, if the current database is linked to a currency database.

Viewing Database Statistics

Use the Statistics page for dimension information and to see characteristics of data blocks in your database.

To check on block density and usage, in the Blocks list box, scroll down to see the "Block density" and "Percentage of maximum blocks existing" fields.

"Block density" is the average percentage of cells containing data in a datablock; "Percentage of maximum blocks existing" is a comparison between existing blocks and potential blocks, expressed as a percentage.

If you have a low block density and a high percentage of maximum blocks, you may want to increase the number of dense dimensions. See Basic Architectural Elements for background information on dimension types.

To check block size, look at the "Block size in bytes" field. This field reports the size of the expanded block, whether or not you have data compression enabled. Ideally, this value should be between eight kilobytes and 64 kilobytes. To alter block size, you need to change your dense or sparse configuration.

If the database is not started when you choose the Statistics tab, Hyperion Essbase prompts you to start the database.

Viewing Run-Time Information

The Run-time page displays run-time information such as lock contention, insufficient cache size (buffer shortage), hit ratio on index searches (percentage of searches that did not involve retrieving from disk), and the number of read and write operations.

For example, suppose you want to know if your index cache size is large enough. One indicator to check is the "Hit ratio on index cache" field (you need to scroll down in the Parameters list box to see it). This value indicates the success rate of Hyperion Essbase in locating index data in memory without having to retrieve it from the disk. Ideally, this value should be near 100 percent. If the number of hits is very low, the index cache (buffer) is too small. For information on setting the index cache size, see Using Hyperion Essbase Application Manager for Database Settings.

If the database is not started when you choose the Run-time tab, Hyperion Essbase prompts you to start the database.

Viewing Database File Information

The Files page lists the index and data (.PAG) files associated with the current application and database.

Use this page to see where index and data (.PAG) files are stored and to see whether the files span multiple volumes.

Viewing a Record of Database Modifications

Use the Modifications page to see information about the last successful data load, about calculation, and about outline update operations for the current application.

Quick Reference to Diagnostic Tools

Table 48-1 provides detailed procedures for accessing the correct dialog boxes to perform common server, database, and application maintenance tasks. Use this table to look up the proper menu commands and dialog box pages to choose when you want to view specific information that is displayed in the Server Information or Database Information dialog boxes.

Table 48-1: Quick Reference to Diagnostic Tools

To do this...

Open this dialog box and page

To see a list of the servers you are currently connected to

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the License Info page to view the Server list box.

To view the version of Hyperion Essbase that is currently running on the server

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the License Info page to view the Essbase Version item.

To check the license number of your copy of Hyperion Essbase

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the License Info page to view the License number item.

To see the total number of ports that can connect to the server

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the License Info page to view the Number of ports item.

To see a list of all features in place when Hyperion Essbase was installed

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the License Info page to view the features list under Installed Options.

To see a list of the system files currently in the server memory, as well as their locations and version numbers

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the License Info page to view the Hyperion Essbase System Files list box.

To see elapsed time since Hyperion Essbase started

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Hyperion Essbase Config page to view the Elapsed time since Essbase started item.

To check the type of network protocol the server is using

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Essbase Config page to see the Network protocol.

To view environment variables, including source path information

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Essbase Config page to see the Environment Variables list box.

To view the version of the operating system on which Hyperion Essbase is running

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Operating System item.

To see the time that has elapsed since the operating system was started or rebooted (in hours:minutes:seconds format)

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Elapsed time since OS started item.

To see the time and date the Server Information was retrieved, according to the server

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Current time item.

To see the number and type of CPUs in the system on which the server is operating

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the CPU group.

To see the amount of available memory on the operating system

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Memory group.

To see the disk swap path

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Path item in the Disk Swapping group.

To check if disk swapping is enabled

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Status item in the Disk Swapping group.

To see the total swap space

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view Total Space in the Disk Swapping group.

To see the swap file size

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view the Used space in the Disk Swapping group.

To see available swap space

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the System Info page to view Free space in the Disk Swapping group.

To view the drive type (Fixed, Removable, RAM, Remote, or Unknown)

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Disk Drives page and select the drive in the Drives list box. The Drive type item displays the drive type.

To view the file system used by a drive (FAT, HPFS, NTFS, etc.)

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Disk Drives page and select the drive in the Drives list box. The File System item displays the type of file system used by the drive.

To view the total amount of space on a drive

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Disk Drives page and select the drive in the Drives list box. The Total disk space item displays the total disk space.

To view the amount of space being used on a drive

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Disk Drives page and select the drive in the Drives list box. The Used disk space item displays the amount of space currently being used by the selected drive.

To view the amount of space available on a drive

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Disk Drives page and select the drive in the Drives list box. The Free disk space item displays the amount of space currently available on the selected drive.

To see which applications and databases are loaded

Select Server > Information to display the Server Information dialog box. Select the Applications page. The Application list box displays the following information:

A list of the applications that you are authorized to use
The status of the listed applications (Loaded, Not Loaded, Loading, and Unloading)
A list of available databases
The status of each database (Loaded, Not Loaded, Loading, and Unloading)

To view your database connections

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The server, application, and database currently loaded are displayed in the Connection group.

To view your database type

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. Database Type is displayed in the Settings group.

To view the number of dimensions in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The Number of Dimensions is displayed in the Settings group.

To view the status of a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. Status (for example, Stopped) is displayed in the Settings group.

To view the default access level to a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The Default Access Level is displayed in the Settings group.

To see whether users may start the database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The Allow Database to Start status is displayed in the Settings group.

To see if your database aggregates missing values

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The Aggregate Missing Values status is displayed in the Settings group.

To see if your database creates blocks on equations

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The Create Blocks on Equations status is displayed in the Settings group.

To see if a database is set to start automatically when an application is started

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the General page. The Start When App Starts status is displayed in the Settings group

To view the data file cache size of a database (in kilobytes)

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Storage page. The Setting and Current Value of the data file cache are displayed in the Size group.

To view the data cache size of a database (in kilobytes)

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Storage page. The Setting and Current value of the data cache are displayed in the Size group.

To view the index cache size of a database (in kilobytes)

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Storage page. The Setting and Current value of the index cache are displayed in the Size group.

To see if the cache memory locking option is enabled in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Storage page. The Cache Memory Locking status is displayed.

To view the index page size of a database (in kilobytes)

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Storage page. The Setting and Current value of the index pages are displayed in the Size group.

To see if the compression option is enabled in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Storage page. The Data Compression status is displayed.

To see if you are connected to a currency database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Currency Database in the Currency group.

To see if the currency conversion option is on in a currency database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Conversion option in the Currency group.

To see if a dimension is set to a specific country in a currency database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Country Dimension in the Currency group.

To view the time dimension setting in a currency database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Time Dimension in the Currency group.

To view the category dimension setting in a currency database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Category Dimension in the Currency group.

To view the dimension setting of the currency partition

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Currency Partition Dimension in the Currency group.

To see the default type of currency that a member is set to in a currency database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Currency page. See Default Currency Type Mbr in the Currency group.

To view the number of dimensions in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. See Number of dimensions in the Dimensions group.

To view a list of the dimensions in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. All of the dimensions in the database are listed in the list box in the Dimensions group.

To see if a dimension is designated as sparse or dense

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. Select the specific dimension from the list box in the Dimensions group. The Dimension type (either Sparse or Dense) is displayed.

To see the number of members in a dimension

To see the number of stored members in a dimension

To view the number of existing blocks in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Number of existing blocks from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

To view the block size in bytes

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Block size in bytes from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

Note: Block size varies widely from block to block.

To view the potential number of blocks in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Potential number of blocks from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

To view the number of existing level-0 blocks in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Existing level-0 blocks from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

To view the number of existing upper-level blocks in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Existing upper-level blocks from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

To view block density in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Block density from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

Note:

Density varies widely from block to block.

To view a comparison between the number of existing blocks and the maximum number of possible blocks in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Percentage of maximum blocks existing from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

To view the compression ratio of blocks in a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Statistics page. In the Blocks group, select Compression Ratio from the list box beneath the Parameters heading.

To view the run-time that has elapsed since the database was started, according to the server (in hours:minutes: seconds format).

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Run-time page. See Elapsed time in the Run-time Statistics group.

To view the number of users connected to the database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Run-time page. See the Number of connects in the Run-time Statistics group.

To view the hit ratio on the data file, data, and index caches (the success rate of Hyperion Essbase in locating data in the appropriate cache, without having to retrieve the data from disk) and the number of index page and data block read and writes (the number of times Hyperion Essbase read index page or data block information from disk or wrote index page or data block information to disk).

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Run-time page. Select the appropriate option from the Parameters list box.

To view the size and status of a data (page) file or an index file

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Files page. In the Page and Index Files group, the file type (page or index) is displayed under the Type heading; the size of the file is displayed under Size; the status of the file (open or closed) is displayed under Status; and the name of the file is displayed under Name.

To view details about modifications to a database

Select Database > Information to display the Database Information dialog box. Select the Modifications page. The Operation (type of modification), the User, the Start Time and the End Time are all displayed in the list box in the Modifications group.

Exception Error Handling

The Hyperion Essbase Exception Handler gathers information that can help the technical support department of your software provider to pinpoint where and why an error has occurred. Hyperion Essbase maintains two exception error logs, one for the application and one for the server. For additional information, see the following:

When an exception occurs, Hyperion Essbase displays an error message on the server console. The message states "Exception occurred," followed by information about the name and location of the appropriate exception error log. The Process Type field in the log header indicates whether the exception occurred in the application or on the server.

Error Log Information

The exception error log provides the following information. The information in the application log is the same as in the server log except where noted:

Error Log Names and Locations

The Hyperion Essbase Exception Handler writes information into the exception error log on the local disk in an ASCII file as follows:

The exception error log filename is normally log00001.XCP. The ExceptionLogOverwrite parameter in the ESSBASE.CFG file (see the online Technical Reference in the DOCS directory) controls whether Hyperion Essbase overwrites the log file as follows:

Application Event Log File

Hyperion Essbase records all application-related activity, including calculations and database restructuring, in a log file on the server. The log file resides in the application directory; for example,\ESSBASE\APP\application_name. It is called application_name.LOG, where application_name is the name of the current application.

Viewing the Application Event Log File

Hyperion Essbase Application Manager provides a facility to view application events in a log file.

Deleting the Application Event Log File

This log file uses disk space on the server. As additional activities are recorded, the log file grows. Occasionally, you may need to delete a log file before the log file grows too large.

To have Hyperion Essbase automatically clear out the log file whenever a message is written to it, enter CLEARLOGFILE TRUE in the ESSBASE.CFG server file. When CLEARLOGFILE is FALSE (the default setting), Hyperion Essbase appends new messages without overwriting existing messages. For information about the ESSBASE.CFG file and the syntax to use for this setting, see the online Technical Reference in the DOCS directory.

You may want to back up the log file before deleting it. You can store the log file on any disk, diskette, or tape that has sufficient available storage space. You must back up the log file from the Server console.

The View Event Log and the Delete Event Log menu commands are available only if you have at least application designer privileges for the application.

Considering Performance

Because the application log file grows as activities are recorded, you may want to control which activities are logged in the file.

For example, you can use the TIMINGMESSAGES parameter in the ESSBASE.CFG file to control whether Hyperion Essbase logs the duration of each spreadsheet and report query in the application log file. If this parameter is disabled, Hyperion Essbase does not log query duration times in the log file. In addition to controlling the size of the application log file, setting TIMINGMESSAGES to FALSE prevents Hyperion Essbase from having to communicate with the operating system to obtain query start and finish times. As a result, query execution time may improve in environments with many concurrent users. For information about other.CFG parameters that may affect performance or log file size, see the online Technical Reference in the DOCS directory.

Server Event Log File

All server-related activity is recorded in a log file on the server. The log file resides in the ARBORPATH directory and is called ESSBASE.LOG. This log file records information pertaining to all applications in the server.

Viewing the Server Event Log File

Hyperion Essbase Application Manager provides a facility to view server events in a log file.

Deleting the Server Event Log File

Log files use disk space on the server. As additional activities are recorded, a log file grows. Occasionally, you may need to delete a log file before it grows too large.

Creation of a Directory for Trace Files

On rare occasions, an internal Hyperion Essbase diagnostic utility may generate a trace (.TRC) file. When this file is generated, Hyperion Essbase creates an entry in the application event log file. The entry contains the trace file name and location and indicates an error number that identifies the exception. To capture trace files, you need to identify a directory for Hyperion Essbase to store the trace files in.

Defining an ARBORDUMPPATH Environment Variable

To define the ARBORDUMPPATH environment variable, decide where you want to store the trace files, such as D:\TRACE. Then use your operating system to define the variable as follows:

Be sure that the Hyperion Essbase server has appropriate access to write files into the directory.

Defining a DUMP Directory

If you do not create an ARBORDUMPPATH environment variable, you need to create an\ARBORPATH\DUMP directory on your main Hyperion Essbase server machine.

Trace File Notification

When an internal Hyperion Essbase diagnostic utility generates a trace (.TRC) file, the application event log file indicates that the file was created and identifies its location (see Error Log Names and Locations).

If you have an ARBORDUMPPATH environment variable or an\ARBORPATH\DUMP directory, Hyperion Essbase creates a trace file that is named with a long string of numbers. The numbers are separated by underscores and end with.TRC.

If you have no ARBORDUMPPATH or\ARBORPATH\DUMP directory, no trace files are created. You can still benefit by reporting the error number from the application log file to the technical support department of your software provider.

Outline Change Log File

You can set Hyperion Essbase to provide an outline change log that saves detailed modification information to an ASCII text file. You can review the outline change log at any time to see a history of all the changes that have been made to an outline since the time it was originally created. This information can be useful to you in the event you ever need to roll back an outline to a previous version. To activate the outline change log, add the following to your ESSBASE.CFG file:

Each Hyperion Essbase database contains a separate outline change log file. The file and the database occupy the same location. Hyperion Essbase names the log file with the name of the corresponding database followed by the extension.OLG (database_name.OLG). The file is stored in the database directory on the server.

Outline Change Detail That is Displayed in the Log

When a user makes and saves changes to an outline, Hyperion Essbase logs modification information into the outline change log as an individual record. Each change record begins and ends with the identifying information shown in Figure 48-18:

*Figure 48-18: Sample Outline Change Log*
[Begin Outline Change for app0/Db1, Thu Sep 19 11:29:54, 1999, By User1] Added new dimension "Overseas" dimension type - sparse dimension tag - (none) Left sibling - None Status - Store Data Level Number - 0 Generation Number - 1 [End Outline Change for app0/Dbl, Thu Sep 18 19:00:25, 1999, by User1] [Begin Outline Change for app0/Dbl, Fri Sep 19 11:29:54, 1999, By User1] Number of member changes for the dimension "Year" : 2 Added new member "day1" to "Jan" : Left sibling - None Unary calc Symbol - Add Level Number - 0 Generation Number - 4 Added new member "day2" to "Jan" : Left sibling - "day1" Status - Store Data Unary calc Symbol - Add Level Number - 0 Generation Number - 4 [End Outline Change for app0/Db1, Fri Sep 19 11:29:56, 1999, By User1]

Figure 48-18: Sample Outline Change Log

[Begin Outline Change for app0/Db1, Thu Sep 19 11:29:54, 1999, By User1]


Added new dimension "Overseas"
dimension type - sparse
dimension tag - (none)
Left sibling - None
Status - Store Data
Level Number - 0
Generation Number - 1

[End Outline Change for app0/Dbl, Thu Sep 18 19:00:25, 1999, by User1]
[Begin Outline Change for app0/Dbl, Fri Sep 19 11:29:54, 1999, By User1] 

Number of member changes for the dimension "Year" : 2

Added new member "day1" to "Jan" :
Left sibling - None
Unary calc Symbol - Add
Level Number - 0
Generation Number - 4

Added new member "day2" to "Jan" :
Left sibling - "day1"
Status - Store Data
Unary calc Symbol - Add
Level Number - 0
Generation Number - 4

[End Outline Change for app0/Db1, Fri Sep 19 11:29:56, 1999, By User1]

The nature of the detailed change information that the outline change log provides depends on the type of change the user makes to the outline, as detailed in Table 48-2. See Impact of Common Outline Changes for information on the restructuring impact of each type of outline change.

*Table 48-2: Outline Change Log Contents*
Type of Change	Information Included
Add a dimension	Name of dimension Type of dimension (dense or sparse) Dimension tag (if any) Name of left sibling¹ of dimension Level number of dimension Generation number of dimension
Delete a dimension	Name of dimension
Update a dimension	Name of dimension Dimension tag Type of dimension (dense or sparse) Level name changes (if applicable) Generation name changes (if applicable)
Rename a dimension	Old name of dimension New name of dimension
Move a dimension to a new position	Name of dimension Old location, including left sibling¹of dimension New location, including left sibling¹of dimension
Add a member to a dimension	Name of new member or members Unary calc symbol for member Level number of member Generation number of member Status of member (Store, Share) Member alias (if applicable) Account type of member User-defined attributes of member (if applicable) Calc formula for member
Update a member of a dimension	Name of member updated Member properties that were updated
Rename a member of a dimension	Old name of member New name of member
Move a member of a dimension to a new position	Name of member moved New location Names of parent and left sibling¹ in new location

Outline Change Log On and Off Function

To activate the outline change log function, you need to make the following entry in the ESSBASE.CFG file:

After you have turned the function on, Hyperion Essbase updates the outline change log automatically each time a user makes changes to a Hyperion Essbase database outline.

If you want to disable changes from being made to the outline change log file or to remove the log from the ESSBASE.CFG file, change the setting in the ESSBASE.CFG file to the following:

Setting for the Outline Change Log File Size

The default file size assigned for the outline change log is 64,000 bytes. When the file reaches this size, Hyperion Essbase copies the contents of the file to a backup file. The name of the backup file is the same as the outline change log file, but with an.OLB extension (database_name.OLB). The outline change log is cleared, and any additional log entries are written to the outline change log file. Each time the outline change log file reaches its maximum file size, Hyperion Essbase replaces the backup file with a backup of the current outline change log. This cycle repeats as Hyperion Essbase continues to add log entries to the outline change log.

If you want to set the outline change log file size larger than the default of 64,000 bytes, you need to make the following entry in the ESSBASE.CFG file:

In the syntax above, n is a number interpreted in bytes. For example, entering 20000 sets the file size to 20,000 bytes; entering 9216 sets the file size to 9 kilobytes. The minimum file size is 8,092 bytes; the maximum is 2 megabytes. The default, minimum, and maximum file sizes for the backup file are the same as the defaults specified for the outline change log file. For example, if you use the OUTLINECHANGELOGFILESIZE setting to change the maximum size of the outline change log file to 2 megabytes, you automatically set the.OLB backup file to the same maximum size.

Object Locks

Hyperion Essbase uses a check-out facility for server-based objects to ensure that no more than one user attempts to modify an object at one time. By default, whenever a user opens a server-based object, Hyperion Essbase locks the object. If a second user attempts to open the same object, a message is displayed. The message indicates that the object is already locked and notes who has locked it.

Overriding a File Lock

You can override the lock error by unchecking Lock file in the Application Desktop window before attempting to open an object. This action essentially opens the file in read-only mode and you cannot save any changes you make.

Unlocking Objects

Application Monitoring

Each application that is loaded is an open task or process in the operating system. On Windows platforms, the application is displayed in a Hyperion Essbase server window. On UNIX platforms, the application server is often a background process. When the application starts, ESSBASE.EXE (ESSBASE on UNIX systems) starts the ESSSVR process.

The application server records its activities, such as writing data to an application log file, appname.LOG, in the \ESSBASE\APP\appname directory. You can open and view this text file when you need to troubleshoot problems or view application activity. On Windows platforms, you can also view application activities as they occur in the Hyperion Essbase server window. On UNIX, you can route all messages to a file with the tail -f logfile command, where logfile is the name of a file that you specify.

On Windows platforms, when the Agent starts an application, a new icon is displayed in the Taskbar.You can double-click the icon to view the server window.

Server Error Message Categories

Table 48-3 provides error message categories for each error number range that is shown in the first column. When you receive an error message, use this table to look up the Hyperion Essbase component to which the error is related.

Error Message Number Range	Hyperion Essbase Component That Generated Error
1001000-1001999	Report Writer Extractor
1002000-1002999	General server
1003000-1003999	Hyperion Essbase kernel
1004000-1004999	Not currently used
1005000-1005999	Backup, export, or validate
1006000-1006999	Data cache
1007000-1007999	Member structure
1008000-1008999	System calls, portable layer, ASD, or Agent
1009000-1009999	Restoring ASCII data
1010000-1010999	Internal (block numbering)
1011000-1011999	Internal (utilities)
1012000-1012999	Calculator
1013000-1013999	Requestor
1014000-1014999	Lock Manager
1015000-1015999	Alias Table
1016000-1016999	Report Writer
1017000-1017999	Currency
1018000-1018999	Message database
1019000-1019999	Database objects
1020000-102999	Spreadsheet Extractor
1021000-1021999	SQL Interface
1022000-1022999	Security
1023000-1023999	Partitioning
1024000-1024999	Query Extractor
1030000-1030999	Application Programming Interface (API)
1040000-1040999	Network
1041000-1041999	Network--Named Pipes
1042000-1042999	Network--TCP
1050000-1059999	Agent
1060000-1069999	Outline API
1070000-1079999	Index cache
1080000-1089999	Transaction manager
1090000-1099999	Rules file processing
1100000-1109999	Grid API
1110000-1119999	Hyperion Web Gateway (HWG)
1140000-1149999	Linked Reporting Objects
1150000-1169999	Outline operations
1170000-1179999	Attributes
1180000-1189999	Showcase
1190000-1199999	Hyperion Integration Server (HIS)
1200000-1120999	Calculator framework

	You can also use display application in MaxL or the GETAPPSTATE command in ESSCMD to view application-settings information. For more information, see the online Technical Reference in the `DOCS` directory.
	You can check a variety of application performance statiscs using the GETPERFSTATS command in ESSCMD. For more information, see the online Technical Reference in the `DOCS` directory.