Tuesday 22 October 2013

...HFM Application Copy Utility

Hi all,

This is a post for one of the most useful utilities that Oracle has provided us. The Financial Management Application Copy Utility!!!

The main purpose of this utility is to copy a single HFM application to a new HFM application in the same or in a different environment. The utility will copy all the HFM tables from the source application to the target application including the tables with metadata, rules and data.

Based on my experience, I believe that the main reasons of using the application copy utility are:
  • to create an application to develop and test future changes in the DEV and QA environment.
  • to create a new application with a different name in the same or in another environment.
  • to copy an application from the old to the new environment (I still remember the first time that I used this tool to copy an application from a 9.3.1 environment to 11.1.1.3).
Based on the documentation, it is usually recommended to use the latest version of the copy application utility for any HFM version after 9.3. Additionally in version 11, the copy application utility includes command line which means that the authorised user will be able to schedule the start of the copy.

Since version 11.1.1.3, the copy application utility can also copy EPMA enabled HFM applications. There are different approaches on how to copy an EPMA application. The initial approach was to copy the HFM application as classic and then upgrade it to EPMA enabled. An alternative approach is to create an empty EPMA enabled application in the target environment and use it as target application.

A few points before running the application based on the documentation and my experience:
  • The user must create two UDL files. One for the source HFM database and one for the target HFM database
  • All the users should be logged out from the source application. Even better use a recent backup of the application
  • The target application should also be off-line
  • It is not recommended to copy an application via WAN. The best approach is to backup and restore the source database to the target environment and then run the copy application utility.
All the above points are based on my experience. So, for more detailed information regarding the nature, the requirements and the steps of the copy application utility, please read the Oracle's document Oracle® Hyperion Financial Management, Fusion Edition Financial Management Application Copy Utility (today document: Doc ID 968956.1).  

Please share your first thought in the comments below! It's free!!!

Thanks,

Thanos

13 comments:

  1. It's really good to see your posts.
    I am basically in to Essbase and Planning and just started to look in to HFM.
    I am completely from a technical background and the functional terms seems to be "Greek and Latin" to me. Would you be able to recommend a starting point as that will help me to advance in my career both as a technical and functional expert.

    Regards
    Amarnath

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Amarnath,

      Thank you for the great comments.

      I think a good approach regarding training in HFM is to prepared for the Oracle certification. After that getting in a project is the best possible way to become a functional consultant.

      (That's my opinion)

      Regards,

      Thanos

      Delete
  2. Hello Thanos,

    My understanding is that Copy application uses a lot of network bandwidth. But honestly I didnt understand the below statement:

    "The best approach is to backup and restore the source database to the target environment and then run the copy application utility."

    Do you mean a backup of source database (which can have more than one HFM application) and replace the target?

    Thanks,
    Santosh

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Santosh,

    Apologies for the late reply but the actual work is a priority...

    What I meant with "The best approach is to backup and restore the source database to the target environment and then run the copy application utility." is that you get a backup of the Production database and you restore it in the QA environment.

    This process has two positive points:
    a) You do not have to take the production application off-line in order to copy it to the QA environement.
    b) Because you are going to copy a backup of the database, you are going to move less data through the network.

    I know that there are negative points but base on my experience points a and b are enough in order to keep on following this process.

    Regards,

    Thanos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Thanos,
      We recently did an appcopy fo our production HFM app to QA and it took 16 hrs. We had 4 processes which is the default. We ar eon version 11.1.2.2.305v for HFM.
      The current databse size is 92Gb ( not sure if its too big)
      But last time when it was around 25Gbs it took just 2 hours. So few questions:
      1. How many processes can we run in parallal instead fo default 4?
      2. Is there any other quiker method to do this?
      3. Can you explain the process fo copying the databse and then running teh utility. What options do we need to select in that case?

      Please help.

      Delete
    2. Also what could have caused such a big time difference from last time and this time?

      Delete
  4. Hi Thanos,

    Thanks for the article. It was really helpful. Need help from you regarding automating copy application process. I am new to HFM and do not understand head or tail of it.

    There is a requirement in our project where we have to schedule copy application process in first 2 weeks of every month. We have to follow series of steps to do the same like bringing the services down, sending mail notification etc..

    Can you please help me how to automate the process using command line.


    Thanks in advance.

    Thanks,
    Nitu.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Nitu,

    I believe that you need to use the utility called The HFM Copy App Command Line Utility (HfmCopyAppCmd.exe or HfmCopyAppCmd_x64.exe). The utility in releases 11.1.2.3 is located in EPM_ORACLE_HOME\Products\ FinancialManagement \Utilities.

    The syntax of the utility should be similar to HfmCopyAppCmd.exe -S="" -s= -D="" -d=

    For more information, you should refer to the Copy app manual.

    Regards,

    Thanos

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi Thanos,

    Its a useful article.

    i want to know whats the difference between Migration utility, copy utility and LCM. Currently we are in the project where we are moving HFM 9.3 to HFM 11.1.2.3. Which utility do you suggest?

    ReplyDelete
  7. HI,

    Need urgent help for the same .
    Currently we are in the project where we are moving HFM 9.3.3 to HFM 11.1.2.2 and then to HFM 11.1.2.3 using maintenance patch. Which utility do you suggest?
    i want to know whats the difference between Migration utility, copy utility and LCM.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi both,

    The decision on which tool is the appropriate for your projects depends on the scope of the project.

    So, the first question that you need to answer is whether you are creating a new application by archiving the original one. This means that you have to rebuild the application and manually transfer the data.

    Second question is whether your application is EPMA or Classic.

    The third question is whether you have any 3rd party tool like EPM Maestro.

    Kind regards,

    Thanos

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Thanos,

    We recently did an appcopy fo our production HFM app to QA and it took 16 hrs. We had 4 processes which is the default. We are on version 11.1.2.2.305 for HFM and its a classic app.
    The current databse size is 92Gb ( not sure if its too big)
    But last time when it was around 25Gbs it took just 2 hours. So few questions:
    1. How many processes can we run in parallal instead of default 4?
    2. Is there any other quicker method to do this?
    3. Can you explain the process of copying the database and then running the utility. What options do we need to select in that case?
    4. What could have caused such a change in timining from 2 hrs to 16 hrs?

    Please help.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for a wonderful share. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field. Brilliant .i love it reading. Private Utility Locating Services in North Virginia

    ReplyDelete

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