Is it possible to index a column on OBIEE ?

Question

Hello everyone,

I appreciate your time in answering my question in advance.

I am currently using the Oracle BI Administration Tool version 12.2.1.4.0 to upload databases to my Oracle Analytics Server.

My question is: I already know that every key is sent with the table to the OBIEE RPD when importing it, but do the indexes go along as well? If not, is there a way I can hint my table to force it to use an index, or perhaps create indexation in the RPD?

If not, are there any tips on how to make the analysis run faster on my server? Options like "ignore cache"?

gregg.rm · Answer

Thank you so much Gianni, i will be working around this.

Gianni Ceresa · Answer

Hi,

There isn't a concept of "index" in the RPD because it doesn't have any impact in the modelling of your data. The keys are there with different meanings in the physical and business layer.

The BI Server will generate queries based on how you model things in your RPD. You can influence the query produced by changing the model.

But there are limits… If your data is stored in a shape that has no connection at all with the business usage, queries will not be nice, and therefore perform poorly.

I personally always disable cache (it's a checkbox in your physical objects), because cache is a workaround to ignore performance issues.

If you can't chance your models in the RPD to get queries using your existing indexes, maybe you should consider adding new indexes based on the queries the BI Server generates. Because you have limited influence on the queries produced, but have a lot more freedom in adding an index in your database.