Hyperion Interview Questions and Answers

If you’re looking for Hyperion Interview Questions for Experienced or Freshers, you are at right place. There are lot of opportunities from many reputed companies in the world. According to research Hyperion has a market share of about 8.8%. So, You still have opportunity to move ahead in your career in Hyperion Development. Mindmajix offers Advanced Hyperion Interview Questions 2019 that helps you in cracking your interview & acquire dream career as Hyperion Developer.

1.What are the different types of LOG Files?

Ans:

So many log files are there in ess base, but the important log files are:

• Application log
• Essbase.log
• Configtool.log
• eas_install.log
• essbaseserver-install.log

2.What are attributes?

Ans:

A classification of a member in a dimension. You can select and group members based on their associated attributes. You can also specify an attribute when you perform calculations and use calculation functions. Eg: The database in Sample Basic which has product dimension has some attributes like size, package type, and flavor. We can add these attributes to the dimensions where we can retrieve the data like for example to retrieve “coke with 8 Oz with bottles”, this is useful for generating reports.

3.Why do objects get locked and when does this happen?

Ans:

Objects gets locked to prevent users to make simultaneous and conflicting changes to Essbase database objects. By default whenever an object is accessed through the Administrative services console or Excel spreadsheet add-in, it gets locked.

4.What is the difference between UDA and Attribute dimensions?

Ans:

Attribute dimensions provide more flexibility than UDA’s. Attribute calculations dimensions which include five members with the default names sum, count, min, max and avg are automatically created for the attribute dimensions and are calculated dynamically.

5.How does Attribute dimensions and UDA’s impact batch calculation performance?

Ans:

• UDA’s: No Impact as they do not perform any inherent calculations.
• Attribute dim: No Impact as they perform only dynamic calculations.

6.What are different types of attributes?

Ans:

Ess base supports two different types of attributes:

• User-Defined attributes
• Simple attributes
• User-Defined attributes: The attributes that are defined by the user.
• Simple attributes: Essbase supports some attributes, they are: Boolean, date, number, and string.

7.What are filters?

Ans:

A method of controlling access to database cells in essbase. A filter is the most detailed level of security, allowing you to define varying access levels different users can have to individual database values.

8.What is TB First and TB Last?

Ans:

• TB First: In the Sample.Basic database, the accounts member Opening Inventory is tagged as TB First. Opening Inventory consolidates the value of the first month in each uarter and uses that value for that month’s parent. For example, the value for tr1 is the same as the value for Jan.
• TB Last: In the Sample.Basic database, the accounts member Ending Inventory is tagged as TB Last. Ending Inventory consolidates the value for the last month in each uarter and uses that value for that month’s parent. For example, the value for tr1 is the same as the value for Mar.

9.How can we display UDA’s in reports? How do they impact report report performance?

Ans:

UDA’s values are never displayed in the reports and hence do not impact report performance.

10.How does Attribute dim impact report performance?

Ans:

They highly impact the report performance as the attributes are calculated dynamically when referenced in the report. For the very large number of att dim displayed in the report, the performance could drastically reduce.

11.While loading the data, you have applied both the selection criteria as well as rejection criteria to a same record. What will be the outcome?

Ans:

The record will be rejected.

12.How is data stored in the Essbase database?

Ans:

Essbase is a file based database where the data is stored in PAG files of 2 GB each and grows sequentially.

13.Can we have multiple meta outlines based on one OLAP model in Integration services?

Ans:

Yes

14.What are LRO’s( Linked Reporting Objects)?

Ans:

They are specific objects like files, cell notes or URLs associated with specific data cells of the Essbase database. You can link multiple objects to a single data cell. These linked objects are stored in the server. These LRO’s can be exported or imported with the database for backup and migration activities.

15.What are the three primary build methods for building dimensions?

Ans:

• Generation references
• Level references
• Parent-Child references

16.How does UDA’s impact database size?

Ans:

There will be no impact on the database as the UDA’s doesn’t store data in the database.

17.Can we create UDA’s and apply it to Dense as well as Sparse dimensions?

Ans:

Yes

18.Types of Partitions available in Essbase?

Ans:

Three types of partitions are there.

• Transparent partition: A form of shared partition that provides the ability to access and manipulate remote data transparently as though it is part of your local database. The remote data is retrieved from the data source each time you reuest it. Any updates made to the data are written back to the data source and become immediately accessible to both local data target users and transparent data source users

• Replicated Partition
• Linked Partition

19.What is hybrid analysis?

Ans:

Lower level members and associated data remains in the relational database whereas upper level members and associated data resides in the Essbase database.

20.Why top-down calculation less efficient than a bottom-up calculation?Being less efficient, why do we use them?

Ans:

In the process it calculates more blocks than is necessary. Sometimes it is necessary to perform top-down calculation to get the correct calculation results.

21.On what basis will you decide to invoke a serial or parallel calculation method?

Ans:

If we have a single processor, we will use serial calculation but if we have multiple processors we can break the task into threads and make them run on different processors.

22.What are the specified roles other than Administrator to view sessions, disconnect sessions or kill users reuests for a particular application?

Ans:

You should have the role of Application manager for the specified application.

• Hyperion Essbase Training

23.What is a block locking system?

Ans:

Analytic services(or Essbase Services) locks the block and all other blocks which contain the childs of that block while calculating this block is a block locking system.

24.What are the three options specified in Username and Password management under the security tab in Essbase server properties?

Ans:

• Login attempts allowed before username is disabled.
• Number of inactive days before username is disabled.
• Number of days before the user must change password.

25.Can we have multiple databases in one single application?

Ans:

Yes.

• But only one database per application is recommended.
• Depend on which database that you are going to create.
• For Example: If you are creating ASO then we can’t create more that 1 db per application. If you are creating BSO then you can create more than 1 db per application

26.We have created an application as unicode mode. Can we change it later to non-unicode mode?

Ans:

No

27.Dynamic calc decreases the retrieval time and increases batch database calculation time. How true is the statement?

Ans:

The statement should be just opposite. As dynamic calc members are calculated when reuested, the retrieval time should increase.

28.What is the role of provider services?

Ans:

To communicate between Essbase and Microsoft office tools.

29.A customer wants to run two instances of an Essbase server on the same machine to have both a test environment and Development environment on the same server. Can he do that?

Ans:

Yes. We can have multiple instances of an Essbase server on a single machine and there will be different sets of windows services for all these instances.

30.In a Planning application it is possible to select several currencies per entity member?

Ans:

FALSE

31.When creating a multi-currency application, which dimensions are automatically created in Essbase?

Ans:

• Currencies
• HSP_Rates

32.When you convert currencies in a webform, converted values are?

Ans:

Read-Only

33.It is possible to select the application’s default currency as a triangulation currency?

Ans:

False

34.Exchange rates are set up from?

Ans:

VThe Planning Desktop

35.If you change an exchange rate, you must?

Ans:

Refresh the application selecting the option “Currency Conversion Calc Script” and run the HspCRtb or HspCRtt script

36.How many currencies can you select per Entity member?

Ans:

• The HSP_RATES Dimension includes the following members?
• HSP_InputValue
• HSP_InputCurrency
• HSP_Rate_XXX (where XXX is a currency, i.e USD)

37.What exchange rate types are available in for the Accounts Dimension?

Ans:

• None
• Average
• Ending
• Historical

38.What are the 5 options in the Currency Calculation Script section on the Planning Desktop?

Ans:

• Calc Script Name
• Version Type
• Currencies
• Scenarios
• Versions

39.What are the ways to improve performance during data loads? 

Ans:

There are several ways to optimize load:

• Grouping of Sparse member combinations
• Making the data source as small as possible
• Making source fields as small as possible
• Positioning the data in the same order as the outline
• Loading from Essbase Server
• Managing parallel data load processing

40.What are the design considerations for calculation optimization? 

Ans:

You can configure a database to optimize calculation performance. The best configuration for the site depends on the nature and size of the database.

• Block Size(8Kb to 100Kb) and Block Density
• Order of Sparse Dimensions
• Incremental Data Loading
• Database Outlines with Two or More Flat Dimensions
• Formulas and Calculation Scripts

41.How can you prevent and remove fragmentation? 

Ans:

You can prevent and remove fragmentation:

To prevent fragmentation, optimize data loads by sorting load records based upon sparse dimension members. For a comprehensive discussion of optimizing data load by grouping sparse members.

To remove fragmentation, perform an export of the database, delete all data in the database with CLEARDATA, and reload the export file.

To remove fragmentation, force a dense restructure of the database.

42.Why is database restructuring? 

Ans:

As your business changes, you change the Essbase database outline to capture new product lines, provide information on new scenarios, reflect new time periods, etc. Some changes to a database outline affect the data storage arrangement, forcing Essbase to restructure the database.

43.What are the types of database restructuring? 

Ans:

The two ways by which a database restructure is triggered:

• Implicit Restructures
• Dense restructure
• Sparse restructure
• Outline-only restructure
• Explicit Restructures

44.What are the conditions affecting Database restructuring? 

Ans:

Intelligent Calculation, name changes, and formula changes affect database restructuring:

If you use Intelligent Calculation in the database, all restructured blocks are marked as dirty whenever data blocks are restructured. Marking the blocks as dirty forces the next default Intelligent Calculation to be a full calculation.

If you change a name or a formula, Essbase does not mark the affected blocks as dirty. Therefore, you must use a method other than full calculation to recalculate the member or the database.

45.What are the files used during Restructuring? 

Ans:

When Essbase restructures both the data blocks and the index, it uses the files described

• essxxxxx.pag Essbase data file
• essxxxxx.ind Essbase index file
• dbname.esm Essbase kernel file that contains control information used for db recovery
• dbname.tct Transaction control table
• dbname.ind Free fragment file for data and index free fragments
• dbname.otl Outline file in which is defined all metadata for a database and how data is stored

46.Which restructure operations are faster? 

Ans:

These types of restructure operations are listed from fastest to slowest:

• Outline only (no index or data files)
• Sparse (only index files)
• Dense (index files and data files) as a result of adding, deleting, or moving members and other operations
• Dense (index and data files) as a result of changing a dense dimension to sparse or changing a sparse dimension to dense

47.What is Implicit Restructure? 

Ans:

Essbase initiates an implicit restructure of the database files after an outline is changed using Outline Editor or Dimension Build. The type of restructure that is performed depends on the type of changes made to the outline

48.What is Explicit Restructures? 

Ans:

When you manually initiate a database restructure, you perform an explicit restructure. An explicit restructure forces a full restructure of the database. A full restructure comprises a dense restructure plus removal of empty blocks.

49.What is Dense restructure? 

Ans:

If a member of a dense dimension is moved, deleted, or added, Essbase restructures the blocks in the data files and creates new data files. When Essbase restructures the data blocks, it regenerates the index automatically so that index entries point to the new data blocks.

Empty blocks are not removed. Essbase marks all restructured blocks as dirty, so after a dense restructure you need to recalculate the database.

50.What is Sparse restructure? 

Ans:

If a member of a sparse dimension is moved, deleted, or added, Essbase restructures the index and creates new index files.Restructuring the index is relatively fast; the amount of time reuired depends on the size of the index.

51.Suppose we have assigned Generation 2 and Generation 4 as of now and think of adding generation 3 later some time. Can we build the dimension?

Ans:

No. If gen 2 and gen 4 exists, we must assign gen 3.

52.What is Hyperion Financial Management ?

Ans:

Oracle Hyperion Financial Management is a comprehensive, Web-based application that delivers global financial consolidation, reporting and analysis in a single, highly scalable software solution. Oracle Hyperion Financial Management utilizes today’s most advanced technology, yet is built to be owned and maintained by the enterprise’s finance team.

53.What are the benefits of Hyperion Financial Management ?

Ans:

Benefits:

• Accelerate reporting cycles: Reduce closing cycles by days, deliver more timely results to internal and external stakeholders.
• Improve transparency and compliance: Helps reduce the cost of compliance (as stipulated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, electronic filing, and other regulatory requirements) and support disclosure requirements, such as sustainability reporting
• Perform strategic analysis: Spend less time on processing and more time on value-added analysis
• Deliver a single truth: Provide a single version of the truth to support financial management and statutory reporting
• Easily integrate: Integrate not only with Hyperion products but also with your existing infrastructure

54.Can we have multiple databases in a single application ?

Ans:

Yes, in this one database per application.

55.Can we start and stop an application individually and how to increase performance using this ?

Ans:

We can manage our server resources by starting only applications which receive heavy user traffic. When an application is started, memory is accompanied by all associated data bases.

56. What is Hyperion?

Ans:

Hyperion is a file that empowers you to access the data uickly. The association was bought by Oracle in 2007 and has continued upgrading the product. The Fancy name of Hyperion is Business Intelligence and its motto is to support better business decision-making.

57. What is Hyperion Planning?

Ans:

Hyperion Planning is an accounting and forecasting application from Oracle formerly controlled by Hyperion Solutions Corporation. It uses Essbase as a database and calculation engine, a relational repository for business method of reasoning, and fuses a web-based user interface.  The Software allows you to add planning or forecast data to actuals.

58. What is Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM)?

Ans:

Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) is a complete Web-based application that provides global financial alliance, reporting and examination in a single, highly scalable software solution.  Oracle Hyperion Financial Management, part of the Oracle EPM Suite, supports the collection, consolidation and reporting of financial results in multiple GAAPs as well as IFRS, and the reconciliation of differences among the various standards. Hyperion Financial Management can be deployed uickly to integrate data from multiple Oracle and non-Oracle transactional systems, provide top-side reporting that conforms to IFRS reuirements, and help organizations make the transition to IFRS.

59. What are TB First and TB Last?

Ans:

TB First: The accounts member Opening Inventory in the Sample.Basic database is tagged as TB First. Opening Inventory combines the value of the first month in every quarter and uses that value for that month’s parent.

E.g. the value for tr1 is the same as the value for Jan.

TB Last: The accounts member Ending Inventory in the Sample.Basic database is tagged as TB Last. Ending Inventory combines the value for the last month in every quarter and uses that value for that month’s parent.

E.g. the value for tr1 is the same as the value for Mar.

60. Explain why we use Hyperion?

Ans:

We have IIS for HFM although there is no IIS for OLAp. If there is no IIS then it is a time taking process to recover financial data.

61. Explain custom based macro?

Ans:

Custom defined macros make use of an internal Ess base macro language that enables to combine calculation functions and also helpful to operate on multiple input parameters.

62. Explain data file cache?

Ans:

It signifies a buffer in memory which contains compressed data files (.PAG ).

63. Which two functions can produce a report that includes only Elimination entities?

Ans:

The two functions are:

• Fixed Name List
• Dynamic Name List.

64. Explain Dense and Sparse Dimensions?

Ans:

Dense dimension: It is a dimension in which most data exists for every combination of dimension members.

Sparse dimension: It is a dimension which has less probability that data will exist for every combination of dimension members.

65. What impact do Attribute dimensions have on the performance of reports?

Ans:

The impact of the Attribute dimensions on the performance of the reports is very high due to the dynamic calculation made referencing the reports. If the number of attribute dimensions shown in the reports is high, this will have a negative impact on performance.

66. What is the explanation for a higher efficiency of a bottom-up calculation than a top-down calculation?

Ans:

The clarification behind this is figuring a higher measure of blocks than reuired and for the right results to show up there is a prereuisite for making a top-down calculation.

67.What is the real base for calling a parallel or a serial method for making the calculations?

Ans:

We will use the serial estimation exactly when we have one processor and when we have more than one the operation can be part into strings that will wear down the diverse available processors.

68.What is the meaning of a block locking system?

Ans:

The Essbase Services also known analytic will make a lock to all the blocks that capture the Childs of the initial block, this process is block locking system.

69. What Are The Two Storage Options Available In Essbase And What Are The Differences?

Ans:

ASO (Aggregate Storage Option) ­ Used for

• If we have a large number of dimensions (generally more than 10).
• Most of the dimensions are sparse.
• We cannot write back in ASO. I heard recently that ASO will also have the write back capability.
• BSO (Block Storage Option)­
  • Dimensions are less and dense (recommended values for no of dim are between 4 and 8) .
  • We can write back hence much suited for planning applications.Financial applications are generally dense structures and normal analytical cubes are sparse. Here we also need to understand what these dense and sparse members are. When the intersections or cells of two dimensions mostly contain a value it is dense.
  • Say for example we have two dimensions period(Month or uarter) and region and we are calculation the sales amount. Generally maximum regions(countries, cities) will have some sales value for a particular month or uarter. Hence we can say that our period dimensions would be dense. But now instead of period, consider another dimension product. Now there are some products which are sold in only some particular regions hence for them there will be no values in other regions or will have very low percentage of data values hence the structure will become sparse.

70. Can We Build Dimensions Directly From Data Sources Without Using Rule Files.

Ans:

No. we cannot build dimensions directly from data sources without using rule files.

71. When Do We Generally Use Build Rules Files?

Ans:

To automate the process of creating dimensions with thousands of members.

72. In What Case We Can Define Generation 1 To A Field In Generation Build Method.

Ans:

We cannot define that as Generation 1 is not valid. 

73. Can We Create More Than 2 Dimensions Using Only One Build Rule File.

Ans:

Yes, we can do that but it is recommended to use a separate rule file for each dimension.

74. What Is Uda( User Defined Attributes). How Are They Different Than Aliases.

Ans:

UDA represents the class of the members. Aliases are just another name for the members. Both are different and have different usage.

75. Can We uery A Member For Its Uda In A Calculation Script.

Ans:

Yes. You can uery a member for its UDA in a calculation script.

76. While Loading The Data, You Have Applied Both The Selection Criteria As Well As Rejection Criteria To A Same Record.what Will Be The Outcome.

Ans:

The record will be rejected.

77. Can We Have One Aso Database And One Bso Database In One Single Application. If Yes, How And If No, Why.

Ans:

No. Because we define ASO or BSO options while creating the application and not databases. Hence if the application is ASO, the databases it contains will be that type only.

78. What Are The File Extensions For An Outline, Rule File And A Calc Script.

Ans:

.OTL, .RUL and .CSC.

79. What Is An Alternative To Create Meta Outline, Rule File And Load Data.

Ans:

Integration services and in version 11, we have Essbase studio.

80. Can We Start And Stop An Application Individually. How Can This Be Used To Increase Performance.

Ans:

Yes. We can manage our server resources by starting only the applications which receive heavy user traffic. When an application is started, all associated databases are brought to the memory.

81. How Can I Migrate An Application From My Test Environment To The Production Environment?

Ans:

Hyperion Administrative services console provides a migration utility to do this but only the application, database objects are migrated and no data is transferred.

82. A Customer Wants To Run Two Instances Of An Essbase Server On A Same Machine To Have Both Test Env And Development Env On The Same Server. Can He Do That?

Ans:

Yes. We can have multiple instances of an Essbase server on a single machine and there will be different sets of windows services for all these instances.