OBIEE 11g, Setup Client DSN for Administration Tool - How-To Video

After installing the OBI 11g client tools each OBI developer or administrator will need to access the Oracle BI RPD using the OBI Administration Tool. The Administration Tool is the GUI that connects to the Oracle BI Server RPD in Online mode (or on the network in offline mode) allowing development and administration functionality of the RPD. The informal video below highlights the process in which to create an ODBC data source connection to the Oracle BI server and test that the connectivity is working.

This video how-to makes the assumption that the client workstation already has the OBI 11g binaries installed on the machine from any of the install options via the OBI11g installer.

This video is part of a series of videos on OBI 11g installation and configuration.

OBIEE 11g Certification Available

Oracle tends to work hard to ensure that best practices are adhered to when working with their products. They even go as far to offer certifications which acknowledge one's ability to demonstrate product knowledge and acuity for implementing, developing, etc. with Oracle products. The release of OBIEE 11g is no exception, and Oracle has recently released the OBI 11g Certification Exam for those so inclined and ready to be stamped as an OBI 11g guru.

This certification holds some similar exam topics to that of its predecessor certification exam for the 10.1.3.x OBI version. But clearly with OBI 11g there are many new areas on which to be tested. Reading over the OBI 11g Exam certification topics one can get a good feel for what Oracle thinks are "must have" areas within the new application to focus on. Even if not taking the exam, learning these topics should provide an administrator, developer, or super-user with keen insight to working with and implementing OBI 11g.

The OB 11g Oracle certification is currently only available for Oracle partners. However, whether you gearing up for the OBI 11g exam or just needing to get educated on OBI 11g, BI Consulting Group has already released several OBI 11g training courses via their BICG University education center on the following topics:

# OBIEE 11-301: Dashboard/Report Application Development
# OBIEE 11-401: Repository/Metadata App Dev
# OBIEE 11-402: Server Architecture

In conclusion, I have always been a fan of official certifications as they show that one took the initiative to learn the information, was grilled on that information via examination, and knew the material well enough to achieve certification status. To me, this is only one or two steps below taking the time to write a book on the topic in question - guru status.

Do you think Oracle certifications are worthwhile?
How has an Oracle certification the helped you in the past?
Should Oracle offer a public OBI 11g certification?