Administration & Service Console¶

Last updated: 2026-04-27 Tags: administration, service console, snapshots, scaling, caching, performance, diagnostics, usage tracking

📖 Full Oracle Documentation: Administering OAC · Configuring OAC

Summary¶

OAC administration is performed through the Service Console (OCI console → Analytics Cloud → your instance) and the OAC Administration page (within the OAC UI). Admins manage backups/snapshots, scaling, system configuration, caching, diagnostics, and user management.

Accessing the Admin Areas¶

OCI Console (Provisioning & Infrastructure)¶

OCI Console → Analytics & AI → Analytics Cloud → select your instance

Scale OCPUs up/down
Start/stop the service
Create/restore snapshots
Private Access Channel management
Manage IDCS/IAM integration

OAC Administration Page (In-App)¶

OAC Home → Navigator (hamburger) → Console (or Administration)

System configuration
Semantic model management
Usage tracking
Cache management
Manage connections
Security settings
Mail server setup

Snapshots (Backup & Restore)¶

Snapshots capture the complete OAC state: catalog, data models, connections, system settings.

Creating a Snapshot¶

OCI Console → Analytics Cloud → instance → Snapshots → Create Snapshot: - Snapshot includes: full catalog, RPD/Semantic Model, connections, BI Publisher catalog - Does not include: data in datasets (must be re-loaded), user passwords

Restoring a Snapshot¶

Restore to the same instance (overwrite)
Restore to a new instance (migration)

⚠️ Warning: Restoring a snapshot overwrites all existing content. Always take a new snapshot before restoring.

Scheduled Snapshots¶

Oracle does NOT automatically schedule snapshots. Best practice:

Create a weekly snapshot via OCI Console or API
Store externally (download to Object Storage) for DR

Scaling¶

Vertical Scaling (OCPUs)¶

OAC is licensed and sized by OCPUs:

Scale up: increase OCPUs for better query performance / more concurrent users
Scale down: reduce costs during off-peak

Steps: OCI Console → Analytics Cloud → instance → Scale - Choose new OCPU count - Takes ~5-10 minutes; service briefly restarts

Auto-Scaling (Not Native)¶

OAC does not auto-scale. Manual scaling or scripted scaling via OCI APIs:

# OCI CLI example
oci analytics analytics-instance scale \
  --analytics-instance-id <ocid> \
  --capacity-type OLPU_COUNT \
  --capacity-value 4

Caching¶

BI Server Cache (Query Cache)¶

Caches Logical SQL query results:

Enabled by default
Cache entries keyed by exact Logical SQL + parameters
TTL configurable per Subject Area or globally
Seed cache: pre-populate after data refresh

Configuration: Administration → Cache Management - Enable/disable cache globally - Set maximum cache entries (default 1000) - Set maximum row count per entry

Purge Cache: - Purge all: Administration → Cache Management → Purge All - Purge specific Subject Area: selective purge - Event-based purge: trigger via ODBC/API after ETL completes

Dataset Cache¶

Datasets loaded into OAC in-memory engine:

Set dataset refresh schedule or manual refresh
Administration → Dataset Cache → view cached datasets

System Configuration¶

General Settings¶

Default home page
Session timeout
Max rows returned per query (default 65,000 for analysis)
Performance settings

Map Settings¶

Configure map background layers (Oracle Maps Cloud, custom tile servers)
Load custom GeoJSON map layers

Mail Server¶

Configure SMTP for:

Agent deliveries (scheduled reports/alerts)
BI Publisher report distribution
KPI alert notifications

Administration → Manage Email → provide SMTP host, port, TLS settings, sender address

Usage Tracking¶

Records every query executed against OAC Subject Areas.

Enable Usage Tracking¶

Administration → Usage Tracking:

Enable Usage Tracking
Specify target connection (Oracle DB recommended)
Specify schema / table prefix
OAC creates S_NQ_ACCT table for query logs, S_NQ_DB_ACCT for physical queries

Usage Tracking Tables¶

Table	Contents
`S_NQ_ACCT`	One row per Logical query: user, subject area, time, rows, duration
`S_NQ_DB_ACCT`	One row per Physical query generated
`S_NQ_SUMMARY`	Aggregated summary

💡 Tip: Build an OAC Subject Area on top of the usage tracking tables to analyze performance, popular reports, and slow queries.

Diagnostics & Logs¶

Log Files (Service Console → Diagnostics)¶

Log	Contents
`nqquery.log`	BI Server query log (Logical and Physical SQL)
`nqserver.log`	BI Server startup, errors, warnings
`obips_diagnostic.log`	Presentation Services errors
`xmlp_server.log`	BI Publisher log

Enable Query Logging per User¶

For debugging a specific user's queries:

Administration → Manage Sessions → select user → set Log Level (1-5)
Level 1: basic query info; Level 5: full query trace

Performance Analyzer (Workbooks)¶

Enable via browser URL parameter: ?enablePerformanceDashboard=true Shows render time, query time, and data fetch time per visualization.

Managing the Semantic Model¶

Upload RPD (Classic)¶

Service Console → Semantic Model → Upload:

Upload .rpd file
Set RPD password
Activate (takes 1-2 minutes)

Download RPD¶

Service Console → Semantic Model → Download

Semantic Modeler (Browser)¶

Access via OAC Home → Navigate → Semantic Model

User & Session Management¶

View Active Sessions¶

Administration → Manage Sessions:

See all active user sessions
Kill a session
See what query a user is running

Impersonate User¶

Administration → Security → Test User:

Log in as another user to test their security context