Skip to content

OAC Overview & Architecture

Last updated: 2026-04-27 Tags: architecture, overview, platform, editions, components

📖 Full Oracle Documentation: Getting Started with OAC · OAC Documentation Hub

Summary

Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC) is Oracle's cloud-native business intelligence and analytics platform. It delivers self-service data visualization, enterprise reporting, augmented analytics (AI/ML), and semantic modeling in a fully managed SaaS/PaaS service on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).

Editions

Edition Target Key Capabilities
Enterprise Large organizations Full semantic model, Classic Dashboards, BI Publisher, ML, 4 OCPUs+
Professional Departmental / SMB Self-service only, Workbooks & Datasets, no RPD modeling, no Publisher
OAC Free (OAF) Learning / Dev Limited OCPUs, full Enterprise features, not for production

💡 Tip: Enterprise edition is required if you need Classic Dashboards, BI Publisher reports, or the full Semantic Model (RPD).

Core Components

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  OAC Service (OCI)                       │
│                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐  ┌────────────────┐  │
│  │  Presentation│  │  BI Server   │  │ BI Publisher   │  │
│  │  Services   │  │ (Query Eng.) │  │ (Reports)      │  │
│  └──────┬──────┘  └──────┬───────┘  └───────┬────────┘  │
│         │                │                   │           │
│  ┌──────▼──────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │              Semantic Model (RPD)                │    │
│  │   Physical Layer → Business Model → Presentation│    │
│  └──────────────────────────┬───────────────────────┘    │
│                             │                            │
│  ┌──────────────────────────▼───────────────────────┐    │
│  │        Data Sources (DB, Files, Cloud, XSA)      │    │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Presentation Services

  • Web-based UI (browser)
  • Hosts Workbooks (self-service), Classic Dashboards, Analyses
  • Manages catalog (folders, permissions, favorites)
  • Handles user sessions, authentication, and page rendering

BI Server (Query Engine)

  • Core analytical engine
  • Translates Logical SQL → physical SQL for any data source
  • Manages the Semantic Model (RPD)
  • Cache manager, usage tracking, aggregate navigation
  • Federated queries across multiple data sources

BI Publisher (Reporting Engine)

  • Pixel-perfect report generation
  • Template-based: RTF, XPT, Excel, PDF templates
  • Bursting: split reports and deliver by recipient
  • Scheduler: time-based and event-based delivery

Oracle Analytics Data Server

  • Columnar in-memory engine
  • Accelerates dataset queries (Workbook-style)
  • Backs Extended Subject Areas (XSA)

Deployment Architecture

Fully Managed (Default)

OAC runs entirely on OCI. Oracle manages:

  • Patching, upgrades, backups
  • High availability and disaster recovery
  • Scaling (vertical: OCPU scaling)

Private Access Channel (PAC)

Connects OAC to private/on-premise data sources without exposing them to the internet.

Remote Data Gateway (RDG)

Agent installed on-premise to relay data queries:

  • Supports relational databases, files
  • Used when PAC is not sufficient or for legacy connectivity

User Roles & Access Layers

Layer Who Tool
Self-Service Analytics Business Users Workbooks, Datasets
Enterprise Reporting Power Users / Analysts Classic Dashboards, Analyses, Publisher
Data Modeling Data Engineers / Admins Semantic Model (RPD via Model Administration Tool)
Administration Admins Service Console, Security Console

OAC URL Structure

https://<instance-name>-<tenant>.analytics.ocp.oraclecloud.com/ui/

Key paths:

  • /ui/ — Main analytics UI
  • /analytics/ — Alternate path (same destination)
  • /xmlpserver/ — BI Publisher direct access
  • /bi/ — Classic catalog and Answers

Versioning & Updates

  • OAC follows a monthly release cadence
  • Updates are applied by Oracle; customers can defer one release cycle
  • Release notes published at docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/analytics-cloud/