Alphablox 9.5.7.1 release notes

IBM Alphablox Version 9.5.7 Fix Pack 1 (9.5.7.1) is available. This document describes the enhancements, the latest system requirements, the fixes, and known issues in this release. This document also contains steps to install and configure Alphablox 9.5.7.1 to work with Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3.

Contents

Enhancements

Alphablox version 9.5.7.1 supports:

New format masks to display time duration in grids and charts

Two new format masks, ABXDM and ABXDS, are added in Alphablox 9.5.7.1 to display duration time in grids or charts. The ABXDM mask formats milliseconds into days, hours, minutes and seconds, and the ABXDS mask formats seconds into days, hours, minutes and seconds. For example, if you apply the ABXDM format mask to a numeric value of 61000, the format mask treats the value as 61000 milliseconds and the time duration format looks like "1m,1s". If you apply the ABXDS format mask to a numeric value of 61000, the format mask treats the value as 61000 seconds and the time duration format looks like "16 h,56 m,40s". The time duration text can be in different languages depending on the locale that is used. If you set ABXDM or ABXDS as the format mask for charts, both the axis labels and tool tips are formatted to time durations. If you want to use the time duration format mask in both the grid and chart, then you must set the format mask for both the grid and the chart. Time can be converted to duration formats in previous versions of Alphablox by using event handlers and customized code. In Alphablox 9.5.7.1, however, the time duration formatting feature is implemented in the product code for convenience. You can set the two format masks in one of the following ways.

Table 1.
Option Description
With Blox® tags Specify ABXDM or ABXDS in the GridBlox or ChartBlox tag.
  • For GridBlox, specify ABXDM or ABXDS as the value for the cellFormat attribute. For example:
    <blox:present id="presentBlox"
	     <blox:grid>
<blox:cellFormat index="1" format="ABXDS" scope=""{[DimA]:[Member1],[Member2],etc,...}"/>
</blox:grid>
</blox:present>
  • For ChartBlox, specify ABXDM or ABXDS as the value for the x1FormatMask (or y1FormatMask, or y2FormatMask) attribute. For example:
    <blox:chart y1FormatMask="ABXDS"/>
In JSP Java™ code Specify ABXDM or ABXDS as the parameter for methods for GridBlox or ChartBlox:
  • For GridBlox, specify ABXDM or ABXDS as the parameter for method setCellFormat (). For example, for GridBlox, you can add one line of code that looks like this: 
    presentBlox.getGridBlox().setCellFormat(1, "format=\"ABXDS\", scope=\"{[DimA]:[Member1],[Member2],etc,...}\");
  • For ChartBlox, specify ABXDM or ABXDS as the parameter for method setX1FormatMask() (or setY1FormatMask(), setY2FormatMask()). For example, you can add one line of code that looks like this: 
    presentBlox.getChartBlox().setY1FormatMask( "ABXDS" );
From the user interface Right-click the cells or the chart, then select Advanced > Format Mask. In the New Format Mask window, specify TimeDurationMask as the mask name, specify Custom as the mask type, and either ABXDM or ABXDS as the mask value, then click OK.

System requirements

Supported platforms

Server operating systems

Portal server

Application servers

Supported databases

Database type Databases
Multidimensional databases (32-bit versions, unless specified)
  • Hyperion Essbase 7.1.5, System 9.1.3 and 9.3.1 - 32-bit bridge interface
  • Hyperion Essbase Deployment Services (EDS) 7.1.5, System 9.1.3 and 9.3.1 - 32-bit bridge interface
  • Hyperion Essbase Integration Services (EIS) 7.1.5, System 9.1.3 and 9.3.1 - 32-bit bridge interface
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services - 32-bit bridge interface
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services - 32-bit bridge interface
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services - 32-bit
  • IBM® Cubing Services v9.7 and v9.7.1
    •
Relational databases
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.1 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.5 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.7.1 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 for z/OS 8 and 9.1
  • Oracle Database 10, 11
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2005 SP1
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 SP1
  • Informix Dynamic Server 11
  • Apache Derby 10.0
Relational databases for Alphablox repository
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.1 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.5 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • DB2 Universal Database 9.7.1 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows
  • Oracle Database 10, 11
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2005 SP1
  • Microsoft® SQL Server 2008 SP1
  • Informix Dynamic Server 11
  • Apache Derby 10.0

Server operating systems for Essbase C API bridge (32-bit JVMs only)

Integrated Development Environment

Browsers

Browser operating systems

Eclipse ATP Client supported OS

  • Windows® XP Professional SP2 (32 Bit)

    • Java™ Virtual Machines

    International Components for Unicode (ICU)

    NetCharts

    Microsoft® Excel

    Adobe Acrobat Reader

    The following platforms will no longer be supported:

    Installing IBM® Alphablox 9.5.7.1 to work with Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3

    Because the installer of Alphablox 9.5.7.1 upgrades only an existing instance of Alphablox, and Oracle WebLogic Server 10.3 is a new platform, you cannot use the Alphablox 9.5.7.1 installer that you download from the IBM® Web site to install Alphablox on WebLogic Server 10.3. You need to contact IBM® Software Support to get a special installer, then complete the following steps:

    1. Create a new WebLogic domain.
      1. Start the Oracle WebLogic Configuration Wizard.
      2. Select Create a new WebLogic domain, then click Next.
      3. Leave everything as default, and click Next.
      4. Enter the user ID and password that you used when you installed WebLogic 10.3, then click Next.
      5. Make sure that Sun SDK, instead of JRockit SDK, is selected, leave other settings as default, and click Next.
      6. Select Yes to customize options, and click Next.
      7. On the Configure RDBMS Security Store Database page, leave everything as default, and click Next.
      8. On the Configure the Administration Server page, select Localhost for Listen address option, and click Next.
      9. Use the default settings and click Next until you get to the Create WebLogic domain page.
      10. Specify a name for the domain, click Create, and click Done to complete the wizard.
    2. Run the special installer to install Alphablox on WebLogic 10.3. Be sure that on the Configure WebLogic page, select startWebLogic.cmd instead of startManagedWebLogic.cmd for the WebLogic Server Start File choice.
    3. Configure users and groups.
      1. Start Admin Server for WebLogic domain
      2. Go to http://localhost:7001/console , and log in with your user ID and password.
      3. Click Security Realms.
      4. On the Summary of Security Realms page, click myrealm to open the page of settings for myrealm.
      5. Select Users and Groups tab, then create and configure users and groups
        1. Create a group called AlphabloxAdministrator under the security of myrealm
        2. Create another group called AlphabloxUser under the security of myrealm.
        3. Create a user named admin, and add this user to the AlphabloxAdministrator and AlphabloxUser groups.
      6. Create and configure roles for applications, such as the AlphabloxPlatform application, the ApplicationStudio application, or your custom applications.
        1. In the Domain Structure panel of the home page, click Deployments to open the Summary of Deployments page.
        2. Click the application that you want to configure roles for from the list of application.
        3. On the settings page, select the Security tab, then click Roles.
        4. Click New to create two roles: AlphabloxAdministrator and AlphabloxUser.
        5. Click AlphabloxAdministrator, and add the condition that Caller is part of the group AlphabloxAdministrator, and AlphabloxUser.
        6. Click AlphabloxUser, and add the condition that Caller is part of the group AlphabloxUser.
        After you complete the installation and configuration, you can create new WebLogic applications, or import existing WebLogic 8 applications. These applications will be available after you restart the WebLogic server. WebLogic supports deployments that are either packaged as archive files in the format of ear or war, or exploded archive directories. However, the deployments that you want to import to Alphablox must be exploded archive directories.

    Fixes in the Alphablox 9.5.7.1 release

    APAR Abstract
    PJ33245 An error occurs when you load saved ReportBlox bookmarks in the Fast Forward if the database repository is used.
    PJ37022 GridCell setStyle() method is ignored when the grid contains relational data.
    PJ37021 GridBlox titles cannot be set to be displayed only for Excel rendering.
    PJ36614 Cube Manager is not able to use relational data sources that do not have a blank user name and password.
    PJ36676 Using the setChangedProperty target or targetRef attribute generates an "Introspection error accessing property" exception.
    PJ36670 The JVM parameter startCubesSerially should be available as an Alphablox server property parameter.
    PJ36520 On the Alphablox user interface selecting Advanced->Show Siblings throws an error for ragged or unbalanced hierarchies.

    Known issues

    Intermittent Essbase connection errors occur if you install Alphablox to a manager node's server that is added to a WebSphere® cluster by this manage node.
    If the WebSphere® Deployment Manager is installed with a manage node that adds a server to a WebSphere® cluster, and that cluster will be used as an Alphablox cluster, installing Alphablox to the manage node server will add the link (that is, the call) to the aassetup shell script (UNIX) or bat file (Windows) into the deployment manager profile's setUpCmdLine file, which is in the bin directory of the profile. This becomes a problem if Alphablox is configured to use Essbase, because the server that is running under the deployment manager will not be configured to run the Essbase client. An attempt from that server to access Essbase will generate an library not found error. You might see this error as an intermittent Essbase connection error when an Alphablox cluster is running. The workaround is to manually add the link (that is, the call) to the aassetup file into the bin/setUPCmdLine file of the manage node sever profile of the manager. Restart the deployment manager and manage node.
    Alphablox does not start in Rational® Application Developer 7.5.2 with EJB 3.0.
    The default adapter inbound monitor application does not have the application deployment descriptor (application.xml) generated. If you want to use the Alphablox server for dimensional analysis, before deploying your application, you need to generate the deployment descriptor by selecting the SAPInboundEAR file and clicking Java EE > Generate Deployment Descriptor Stub .

    Configuration of context root is not supported in all cases.
    You can set the context root for EAR applications such as AlphabloxPlatform.ear by modifying the application.xml in the ear files. However, customization of the context root is not supported in all cases. The details for context root support for Alphablox applications are described below.
    • For the AlphabloxAdmin application, you can configure the context root in Tomcat, WebSphere® Application Server, and WebLogic environments. If WebSphere® Application Server is used as the application server on Linux®, you need to make sure that the application server has Internet access.
    • For the AlphabloxAdmin application, you can configure the context root in Tomcat and WebSphere® Application Server environments, but the context root must be only one level. For example, a new context root /abc works, but /newRoot/abc does not.
    • For custom applications, you can configure the context root in Tomcat and WebSphere® Application Server, but not in WebLogic.

    Known issues and limitations for the current and previous releases are documented in the Support knowledge base at http://www.ibm.com/software/data/db2/alphablox/support.html.