BusinessObjects Board

FAQ: Supervisor

Supervisor FAQ

Is any information available on how to set up a repository that is organized and simple to maintain?

What is the impact of deleting a resource (document, universe) from the repository?

Where can I find documentation for the repository tables?

I have locked my General Supervisor login. Is there any way to reset it?

How can I convert repository date fields into something I can understand?

How do I move my repository?

How can I increase the number of chances a user can try a password before he/she is disabled?

Why should or shouldn’t I have more than one repository?

How can I implement row level security?
Note: the row level security is linked to the Designer FAQ.

How are rights granted if a user is in multiple groups?

Why would I want to create multiple document and universe domains?

How can I create multiple document and universe domains?

How can I report on the status of the module permissions (green/orange/red buttons) in Supervisor?

Why does it take so long to log into BusinessObjects?

How can I report on user document and universe permissions?

How can I get a list of reports and the universes they use?


Bob (BOB member since 2002-06-06)

:?: Is any information available on how to set up a repository that is organized and simple to maintain?

:!: It is best to stick with one repository. A standard repository consists of one security domain, one universe domain, and one document domain. A drawback to using the standard configuration is that all your domains share the same database account. Also, documents of all types and universe lists of values comingle in the ‘Document’ domain.

Consider creating separate universe domains for ‘Production’, ‘Test’, and ‘Development Universes’. These universe domains will need corresponding document domains in the same database account to store custom lists of values. You need not grant permission to those document domains to anyone. Surprisingly, not having access to a domain used for lists of values does not impact your ability to import them nor does it impact a designer’s ability to export them.

Consider creating separate document domains for ‘Production’, ‘Test’, and ‘Development’ documents. You can create as many document domains as you wish. Consider creating a separate domain for ‘Scheduled’ documents processed by the BCA. The more you can separate documents, the more organized they are. Also, assigning separate default tablespaces to the distinct domains reduces the risk of problems should one of your domains run out of storage space. You may lose a domain but not an entire repository. In the standard setup, this would be a risk.

Consider creating a separate domain for ‘BO_User_Docs’. This would store documents sent from one user to another. Users could send using other domains but since the domains in the ‘Send To User’ dialog appear alphabetically, and since users would most likely NOT change this domain, user documents should stay confined to this area.


Cindy Clayton :us: (BOB member since 2002-06-11)

:?: What is the impact of deleting a resource (document, universe) from the repository?

:!: A deleted universe or document will no longer be accessible by anyone other than a General Supervisor. The General Supervisor may open the file and save for all users to share it with others. Users who attempt to open a document or universe that has been deleted from the repository will receive the ‘You are not authorized’ message. More information on this message is located here.


Cindy Clayton :us: (BOB member since 2002-06-11)

:?: Where can I find documentation for the repository tables?

:!: The BusinessObjects CD contains documentation on the repository tables. It is located in the freeware directory. Additionally, it can be found in PDF format here.

[added by Eileen]
:!: The documentation for Version 6 is available from Tech Support under Documentation for Security and Administration. It is the Business Objects Repository Reference Guide. It is installed under the online guides as borepository.pdf.


Cindy Clayton :us: (BOB member since 2002-06-11)

:?: I have locked my General Supervisor login. Is there any way to reset it?

:!: Warning: Direct manipulation of the repository tables can cause damage to your repository and will void your support contract. Do so at your own risk.

If you don’t have a second general supervisor, you could try the following SQL run against the security domain database:

Update OBJ_M_ACTOR 
Set M_ACTOR_C_PASSWORD = NULL 
Where M_ACTOR_C_NAME = <username of general supervisor>; 

This will set the password for the general supervisor to null, and therefore the next time you login, you will not need to enter a password. It is recommended that a password is given asap via the supervisor module.

You will also have to set the status of the user login, otherwise even with a null password BusObj will not let you log in.

The status column is in OBJ_M_ACTOR and is called M_ACTOR_N_STATUS. If you set this flag to 1 along with setting the password to null then you should be okay. If this still doesn’t work, make sure you have commited the database update :wink:


Cindy Clayton :us: (BOB member since 2002-06-11)

:?: How can I convert repository dates into something I can understand?

:!: The BusinessObjects repository dates are in UTC format. Depending on your database, you need different functions to translate from this value to a date/time. The definition of a UTC value is the number of seconds since midnight on December 15, 1970.

For Oracle, for example, you can simply add the number of seconds divided by the number of seconds in a day, as in:

to_date('15-DEC-1970','DD-MON-YYYY') + (m_actor_n_lad/86400) 

86400 being the number of seconds in a day (606024).

The date (Dec 15, 1970) may have been chosen arbitrarily as a date that would fit as a 32-bit value that would allow the greatest range for second-based calculations.


Cindy Clayton :us: (BOB member since 2002-06-11)

Moving a repository is fairly simple and straight forward, but you do need to make sure that you follow all the steps.

It is recommended that you disable access to the repository before doing this. You can use a Timestamp for this purpose.

:arrow_forward: First of all, copy your repository database to its new location.
:arrow_forward: Open Supervisor, and on the Login screen, click on the Admin button, and follow the wizard to do a Safe Recovery. This will generate a new .key file. Note: The .key file only contains the pointer to the security domain.
:arrow_forward: Continue to login to Supervisor, and go to Tools - Repository. Select your Document Domain, and click edit. Change the connection to point to the new repository location. Do the same for the Universe Domain. Repeat this process for any and all document and universe domains. Very important!
:arrow_forward: Distribute your new .key file to all machines that access the repository. This includes your Webi server, BCA server, and all Full Client desktop machines.

That’s it. You can now shut down your old repository.


MichaelWelter :vatican_city: (BOB member since 2002-08-08)

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Repository Migration
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FAQ: Designer
changing repository
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How to move repository?
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Database Move
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Migration
Switching BO to new database server
Replica of prod to staging
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Problem Exporting Universe

How can I increase the number of chances a user can try a password before he/she is disabled?

This is only possible in version 6.0 or later.

:arrow_forward: Log into Supervisor, as General Supervisor.
:arrow_forward: Go to Tools - Options, then the Security Policy Tab
:arrow_forward: At the bottom of the dialogue box, change the “Number of failed logins allowed”. The default number is 3.


MichaelWelter :vatican_city: (BOB member since 2002-08-08)

Why should or shouldn’t I have more than one repository?

Multiple repositories is not recommended. Most companies that have multiple repositories end up regretting it, and it is very difficult, and labor intensive, to merge two repositories. Consider these disadvantages:

:-1: Resources (Universes and Documents) are difficult, if not impossible to share across repositories
:-1: It can be confusing for end users who have access to multiple repositories
:-1: The more repositories you have, the more maintenance you must do

:+1: If you are concerned about resource security, it is better to create multiple Universe and Document domains within a single repository.

:+1: If you are concerned about physical distance between users, such as in a global deployment, create a single Security domain (repository), and multiple Universe and Document domains, which can be located closer to the users. The login process may be a little slower, but all other actions, such as running queries, or exporting documents, will take no extra time.


MichaelWelter :vatican_city: (BOB member since 2002-08-08)

How are rights granted if a user is in multiple groups?

For configuring resources (roles / access / modules / features), users in multiple groups are granted rights on a Most Restrictive basis. That is, if a feature is revoked from the user in one place, it’s gone everywhere.

For configuring Information Resources (e.g., universes, documents), granting is done on a Least Restrictive (or “most favorable”) basis. That is, if you are granted a universe in one group, you have it everywhere – even if you are in another group where that universe is not available.


Anita Craig :us: (BOB member since 2002-06-17)