Quick Start

This quick start walks you through creating your first Casabase Cube by migrating an existing Oracle Essbase or Oracle Cloud EPM application.

Note

Oracle Essbase or Oracle Cloud EPM is not required to use Casabase Cube. To build a new multidimensional model from Snowflake data, see Creating a Cube from Snowflake Data.

Before You Begin

You’ll need:

• Casabase Cube installed in your Snowflake account.
• CUBE_ADMIN access for the user performing the migration.
• The source application’s Essbase outline. Oracle Essbase migrations can use either an OTL (.otl) file or an XML (.xml) outline export. Oracle Cloud EPM migrations use the native OTL file.
• A native level-0 export if you want to migrate source data.
• A Snowflake stage accessible to Casabase Cube for the data import and for SQL-based outline imports.

If Casabase Cube has not yet been installed, see:

• How to Get Casabase Cube
• Installation for Snowflake Administrators

1. Prepare Your Source Artifacts

Gather the required artifacts from your Oracle Essbase or Oracle Cloud EPM application.

Outline

Obtain the application’s Essbase outline. For Oracle Essbase, Casabase Cube accepts either the native OTL (.otl) file or an XML (.xml) outline export. For Oracle Cloud EPM, use the native Essbase OTL file from the Artifact Snapshot.

The outline contains multidimensional structure and metadata used during migration, including supported:

• Dimensions and hierarchy relationships
• Members
• Aliases
• Aggregation operators
• Shared members
• Formulas
• Member properties

Not every Oracle Essbase or Cloud EPM behavior has a direct Casabase Cube equivalent. Review Compatibility Notes as part of the migration.

Data

To migrate application data, create a native level-0 export from the source application.

Use a native level-0 export so the source supplies bottom-level data rather than pre-aggregated parent values.

The procedures for obtaining the required outline file and native level-0 export differ by source platform:

• Migrating from Oracle Essbase
• Migrating from Oracle Cloud EPM

2. Make the Files Available to Casabase Cube

For an interactive initial migration, the outline file can be uploaded through the Casabase Cube interface. Oracle Essbase accepts either .otl or .xml; Oracle Cloud EPM uses .otl.

The native level-0 export must be placed in a Snowflake stage that Casabase Cube can access.

For repeatable or automated workflows, stage both the outline file and the level-0 export and use the Casabase Cube SQL procedures.

If the stage is customer-owned and outside the Native App, grant Casabase Cube only the access required to use that stage.

Tip

The SQL-based migration workflow is recommended for repeatable production processes because it can be incorporated into scripts and other Snowflake orchestration workflows.

3. Open the Get Started Workflow

Open Casabase Cube and go to the Home page.

The Get Started workflow guides you through the initial migration:

Import Outline
      │
      ▼
Build Dimension Structures
      │
      ▼
Import Level-0 Data
      │
      ▼
Query the Cube

The interface also provides SQL alternatives for operations that can be scripted.

4. Import the Outline

Select Import Outline.

1. Enter a name for the new cube.
2. Select or drag and drop the outline file. For Oracle Essbase, this can be either an .otl or .xml file. For Oracle Cloud EPM, use the .otl file.
3. If required, choose an alternate Snowflake stage.
4. Choose the available option to build the imported dimension structures automatically if you want the build performed as part of the import workflow.
5. Select Upload & Import.

Casabase Cube imports the supported multidimensional metadata from the outline and creates the corresponding cube configuration.

Tip

For production automation, stage the outline and use the procedure that matches the outline format:

• OTL (.otl): CUBE.IMPORT_ESSBASE_OTL
• XML (.xml): CUBE.IMPORT_ESSBASE_OUTLINE_XML

The XML procedure applies to Oracle Essbase migrations. The Oracle Cloud EPM migration process continues to use the OTL workflow.

5. Build the Dimensions

If the imported dimensions were not built automatically during the outline import, use the Get Started workflow to build them.

Casabase Cube builds dimension structures from the imported metadata. These structures are used for hierarchy navigation, aggregation, formulas, and security.

In the current configuration model, dimension rebuilds are performed through the supported dimension rebuild workflow.

See Rebuilding Dimensions for the current build behavior.

6. Import the Native Level-0 Data

Use Import Data to load the native level-0 export from the Snowflake stage.

The imported data becomes the bottom-level cube data used by the Casabase Cube query engine.

Casabase Cube dynamically produces parent-level aggregation and calculated results at query time. You do not load precomputed parent aggregates as part of the normal migration workflow.

7. Validate the Migrated Cube

Before treating the migration as complete:

• Review migration messages and warnings.
• Review Compatibility Notes.
• Run Health Check.
• Compare representative query results with the source application.
• Validate important hierarchies, formulas, aggregation behavior, and data totals.

See Using Health Check for diagnostic guidance.

8. Query Your Cube

Open Query Builder and run a small query whose expected result is already known.

Query Builder allows you to:

• Select dimensions and members
• Navigate hierarchies
• Slice data across dimensions
• Retrieve dynamically aggregated results
• Query calculated members

For programmatic querying, use the supported QUERY_CUBE interface.

See Querying Overview.

What’s Next?

Continue with:

• First Login & Orientation for application navigation.
• Configuration Overview for cube configuration.
• Querying Overview for multidimensional querying.
• Formula Overview for calculated members and formulas.
• Oracle Essbase & Cloud EPM Migration for the complete migration workflow.
• Compatibility Notes for known source-platform differences.