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Migration, Snapshots & Lifecycle

Last updated: 2026-04-27 Tags: migration, snapshot, bundle, promotion, OBIEE, OAS, lifecycle, deployment, environments

📖 Full Oracle Documentation: Migrating to OAC · Administering OAC — Snapshots

Summary

OAC lifecycle management covers: taking snapshots (full backup/restore), promoting content between environments (dev→test→prod), migrating from on-premise OBIEE/OAS to OAC, and managing the Semantic Model RPD through environments. These processes are critical for enterprise deployments with multiple environments and change management requirements.

Snapshots

What a Snapshot Contains

Included Not Included
Full catalog (analyses, dashboards, workbooks, reports) Dataset data (must re-load)
Semantic Model (RPD / Semantic Modeler) User passwords
Connections (metadata only, not credentials) Usage tracking data
BI Publisher catalog Active sessions
System configuration Credentials/wallet files
Application roles and permissions

Creating a Snapshot

OCI Console → Analytics Cloud → your instance → Snapshots → Create: - Name: e.g., PROD_2026-04-27_pre-release - Snapshot completes in 5-30 minutes depending on catalog size

Via OAC REST API: 

POST /api/20210901/snapshots
{
  "name": "PROD_2026-04-27",
  "description": "Pre-release backup"
}

Restoring a Snapshot

OCI Console → Snapshots → select snapshot → Restore: - Restores to the same instance (all current content is overwritten) - Or restore to a new OAC instance (used for cloning / migration)

⚠️ Warning: Restore is destructive. Always take a fresh snapshot of the target instance before restoring.

Downloading a Snapshot

  • Download to local .bar file or OCI Object Storage
  • Provides off-instance backup for DR

Content Promotion (Dev → Test → Prod)

Method 1: Catalog Manager (Classic Tool)

Desktop tool for bulk catalog operations:

  • Archive/unarchive catalog sections
  • Compare catalogs between environments
  • Move selected items with permission preservation

Method 2: REST API Bundles

Export specific catalog objects and import to another instance:

# Export specific objects
POST /api/20210901/export
{
  "items": [
    { "objectPath": "/shared/Finance/Revenue Dashboard" },
    { "objectPath": "/shared/Finance/Revenue Analysis" }
  ],
  "targetFolder": "/shared/Finance"
}
# Returns .catalog bundle file

# Import to target instance
POST /api/20210901/import
# Multipart form: bundle file + options

Method 3: Snapshot Promotion

Take a full snapshot from DEV → restore to TEST → restore to PROD:

  • Simple but promotes everything (not selective)
  • Good for initial environment setup

Semantic Model Promotion

The RPD must be promoted separately from the catalog:

  1. Download RPD from DEV: Service Console → Semantic Model → Download
  2. Open in Model Administration Tool, make any environment-specific changes (connection pool passwords, server names)
  3. Upload RPD to TEST/PROD: Service Console → Semantic Model → Upload

For Semantic Modeler (browser-based): export the model file and import to target.

Migrating from OBIEE / OAS to OAC

Supported Migration Paths

Source Target Method
OBIEE 11g OAC RPD migration + catalog migration
OBIEE 12c OAC RPD upload + catalog archiving
OAS (Oracle Analytics Server) OAC Snapshot or catalog migration

OBIEE 11g → OAC Steps

  1. Upgrade RPD: Use OBIEE 12c upgrade tools to upgrade 11g RPD → 12c format
  2. Test RPD on OAS/12c: Validate queries work
  3. Upload RPD to OAC: Service Console → Semantic Model
  4. Catalog Migration:
  5. Archive OBIEE 11g catalog to .catalog file
  6. Import to OAC using Catalog Manager or REST API
  7. Fix compatibility issues:
  8. Prompts, actions, and URLs may need updating
  9. Inline HTML/JavaScript in analyses may be blocked by security
  10. Custom skins/styles need recreation

OBIEE 12c / OAS → OAC Steps

  1. Take OAS snapshot (full .bar file)
  2. Create new OAC instance
  3. Restore OAS snapshot to OAC (OCI Console → Restore Snapshot)
  4. Update connection pool credentials
  5. Validate analyses and dashboards

⚠️ Warning: OAC uses HTTPS and stricter Content Security Policy (CSP). Custom JavaScript in analyses/dashboards that worked in OBIEE may be blocked. Review and fix.

Migration Checker Tool

Oracle provides a migration assessment tool:

  • Scans OBIEE catalog for compatibility issues
  • Reports items needing manual remediation
  • Available on Oracle support (My Oracle Support)

Semantic Model Migration Tool (RPD → Semantic Modeler)

Oracle provides a migration tool to convert classic .rpd format to the new Semantic Modeler browser format:

OAC → Semantic Model → Migrate from RPD: 1. Upload .rpd file 2. Tool converts to Semantic Modeler format 3. Review and fix any unsupported features (e.g., complex initialization blocks)

⚠️ Warning: Not all RPD features are supported in Semantic Modeler yet (e.g., complex derived physical tables, some variable types). Check the migration report for unsupported items.

Environment Strategy Best Practices

DEV ──→ TEST ──→ PROD
  (develop)  (validate)  (production)
Environment Purpose Data
DEV Development and testing by analysts/modelers Sample/anonymized
TEST UAT, performance testing Production-like
PROD Live production users Full production

Change Management Checklist

  • [ ] Take snapshot of target before promoting
  • [ ] Promote RPD separately from catalog
  • [ ] Update connection pool credentials in target environment
  • [ ] Test key dashboards and reports after promotion
  • [ ] Verify row-level security works with target users
  • [ ] Clear BI Server cache after promotion
  • [ ] Monitor query log for errors post-promotion

OAC Version Updates

Oracle releases monthly updates to OAC:

  • Applied by Oracle (no customer action for patches)
  • Customers can defer one release cycle
  • Review What's New in Oracle docs before each update
  • Test in DEV after update before PROD cutover