List of Manual Setup required for iSetup to work

Question

Hi All,
This is Mugunthan from iSetup development. Based on my interaction with customers and Oracle functional experts, I had documented list of manual setups that are required for smooth loading of selection sets. I am sharing the same. Please let me know if I anyone had to enter some manual setup while using iSetup.
Understanding iSetup
iSetup is a tool to migrate and report on your configuration data. Various engineering teams from Oracle develop the APIs/Programs, which migrates the data across EBS instances. Hence all your data is validated for all business cases and data consistency is guarantied. It requires good amount of setup functional knowledge and bit of technical knowledge to use this tool.
Prerequisite setup for Instance Mapping to work
·     ATG patch set level should be same across all EBS instances.
·     Copy DBC files of each other EBS instances participating in migration under $FND_SECURE directory (refer note below for details).
·     Edit sqlnet.ora to allow connection between DB instacnes(tcp.invited_nodes=(<source>,<central>))
·     Make sure that same user name with iSetup responsibility exists in all EBS instances participating in migration.
Note:- iSetup tool is capable of connecting to multiple EBS instances. To do so, it uses dbc file information available under $FND_SECURE directory. Let us consider three instances A, B & C, where A is central instance, B is source instance and C is target instances. After copying the dbc file on all nodes, $FND_SECURE directory would look like this on each machine.
A => A.dbc, B.dbc, C.dbc
B => A.dbc, B.dbc
C => A.dbc, C.dbc
Prerequisite for registering Interface and creating Custom Selection Set
iSetup super role is mandatory to register and create custom selection set. It is not sufficient if you register API on central/source instance alone. You must register the API on all instances participating in migration/reporting.
Understanding how to access/share extracts across instances
Sharing iSetup artifacts
·     Only the exact same user can access extracts, transforms, or reports across different instances.
·     The “Download” capability offers a way to share extracts, transforms, and loads.
Implications for Extract/Load Management
·     Option 1: Same owner across all instances
·     Option 2: Same owner in Dev, Test, UAT, etc – but not Production
o     Extract/Load operations in non-Production instances
o     Once thoroughly tested and ready to load into Production, download to desktop and upload into Production
·     Option 3: Download and upload into each instance
Security Considerations
·     iSetup does not use SSH to connect between instances. It uses Concurrent Manager framework to lunch concurrent programs on source and target instances.
·     iSetup does not write password to any files or tables.
·     It uses JDBC connectivity obtained through standard AOL security layer
Common Incorrect Setups
·     Failure to complete/verify all of the steps in “Mapping instances”
·     DBC file should be copied again if EBS instance has been refreshed or autoconfig is run.
·     Custom interfaces should be registered in all EBS instances. Registering it on Central/Source is not sufficient.
·     Standard Concurrent Manager should up for picking up iSetup concurrent requests.
·     iSetup financial and SCM modules are supported from 12.0.4 onwards.
·     iSetup is not certified on RAC. However, you may still work with iSetup if you could copy the DBC file on all nodes with the same name as it had been registered through Instance Mapping screen.
Installed Languages
iSetup has limitations where it cannot Load or Report if the number and type of installed languages and DB Charset are different between Central, Source and Target instances. If your case is so, there is a workaround. Download the extract zip file to desktop and unzip it. Edit AZ_Prevalidator_1.xml to match your target instance language and DB Charset. Zip it back and upload to iSetup repository. Now, you would be able to load to target instance. You must ensure that this would not corrupt data in DB. This is considered as customization and any data issue coming out this modification is not supported.
Custom Applications
Application data is the prerequisite for the most of the Application Object Library setups such as Menus, Responsibility, and Concurrent programs. iSetup does not migrate Custom Applications as of now. So, if you have created any custom application on source instance, please manually create them on the target instance before moving Application Object Library (AOL) data.
General Foundation Selection Set
Setup objects in General foundation selection set supports filtering i.e. ability to extract specific setups. Since most of the AOL setup data such as Menus, Responsibilities and Request Groups are shipped by Oracle itself, it does not make sense to migrate all of them to target instance since they would be available on target instance. Hence, it is strongly recommended to extract only those setup objects, which are edited/added, by you to target instance. This improves the performance. iSetup uses FNDLOAD (seed data loader) to migrate most of the AOL Setups. The default behavior of FNDLOAD is given below.
Case 1 – Shipped by Oracle (Seed Data)
FNDLOAD checks last_update_date and last_updated_by columns to update a record. If it is shipped by Oracle, the default owner of the record would be Oracle and it would skip these records, which are identical. So, it won’t change last_update_by or last_updated_date columns.
Case 2 – Shipped by Oracle and customized by you
If a record were customized in source instance, then it would update the record based on last_update_date column. If the last_update_date in the target were more recent, then FNDLOAD would not update the record. So, it won’t change last_update_by column. Otherwise, it would update the records with user who customized the records in source instance.
Case 3 – Created and maintained by customers
If a record were newly added/edited in source instance by you, then it would update the record based on last_update_date column. If the last_update_date of the record in the target were more recent, then FNDLOAD would not update the record. So, it won’t change last_update_by column. Otherwise, it would update the records with user who customized the records in source instance.
Profiles
HR: Business Group => Set the name of the Business Group for which you would like to extract data from source instance. After loading Business Group onto the target instance, make sure that this profile option is set appropriately.
HR: Security Profile => Set the name of the Business Group for which you would like to extract data from source instance. After loading Business Group onto the target instance, make sure that this profile option is set appropriately.
MO: Operating Unit => Set the Operating Unit name for which you would like to extract data from source instance. After loading Operating Unit onto the target instance, make sure that this profile option is set if required.
Navigation path to do the above setup:
System Administrator -> Profile -> System.
Query for the above profiles and set the values accordingly.
Descriptive & Key Flex Fields
You must compile and freeze the flex field values before extracting using iSetup.
Otherwise, it would result in partial migration of data. Please verify that all the data been extracted by reporting on your extract before loading to ensure data consistency.
You can load the KFF/DFF data to target instance even the structures in both source as well as target instances are different only in the below cases.
Case 1:
Source => Loc1 (Mandate), Loc2 (Mandate), Loc3, and Loc4
Target=> Loc1, Loc2, Loc3 (Mandate), Loc4, Loc5 and Loc6
If you provide values for Loc1 (Mandate), Loc2 (Mandate), Loc3, Loc4, then locations will be loaded to target instance without any issue. If you do not provide value for Loc3, then API will fail, as Loc3 is a mandatory field.
Case 2:
Source => Loc1 (Mandate), Loc2 (Mandate), Loc3, and Loc4
Target=> Loc1 (Mandate), Loc2
If you provide values for Loc1 (Mandate), Loc2 (Mandate), Loc3 and Loc4 and load data to target instance, API will fail as Loc3 and Loc4 are not there in target instance.
It is always recommended that KFF/DFF structure should be same for both source as well as target instances.
Concurrent Programs and Request Groups
Concurrent program API migrates the program definition(Definition + Parameters + Executable) only. It does not migrate physical executable files under APPL_TOP. Please use custom solution to migrate executable files. Load Concurrent Programs prior to loading Request Groups. Otherwise, associated concurrent program meta-data will not be moved even through the Request Group extract contains associated Concurrent Program definition.
Locations - Geographies
If you have any custom Geographies, iSetup does not have any API to migrate this setup. Enter them manually before loading Locations API.
Currencies Types
iSetup does not have API to migrate Currency types. Enter them manually on target instance after loading Currency API.
GL Fiscal Super user--> setup--> Currencies --> rates -- > types
Associating an Employee details to an User
The extract process does not capture employee details associated with users. So, after loading the employee data successfully on the target instance, you have to configure them again on target instance.
Accounting Setup
Make sure that all Accounting Setups that you wish to migrate are in status “Complete”. In progress or not-completed Accounting Setups would not be migrated successfully.
Note: Currently iSetup does not migrate Sub-Ledger Accounting methods (SLA). Oracle supports some default SLA methods such as Standard Accrual and Standard Cash. You may make use of these two. If you want to use your own SLA method then you need to manually create it on target instances because iSetup does not have API to migrate SLA. If a Primary Ledger associated with Secondary Ledgers using different Chart of Accounts, then mapping rules should be defined in the target instance manually. Mapping rule name should match with XML tag “SlCoaMappingName”. After that you would be able to load Accounting Setup to target instance.
Organization API - Product Foundation Selection Set
All Organizations which are defined in HR module will be extracted by this API. This API will not extract Inventory Organization, Business Group. To migrate Inventory Organization, you have to use Inventory Organization API under Discrete Mfg. and Distribution Selection Set. To extract Business Group, you should use Business Group API.
Inventory Organization API - Discrete Mfg & Distribution Selection Set
Inventory Organization API will extract Inventory Organization information only. You should use Inventory Parameters API to move parameters such as Accounting Information. Inventory Organization API Supports Update which means that you can update existing header level attributes of Inventory Organization on the target instance. Inventory Parameters API does not support update. To update Inventory Parameters, use Inventory Parameters Update API.
We have a known issue where Inventory Organization API migrates non process enabled organization only. If your inventory organization is process enabled, then you can migrate them by a simple workaround. Download the extract zip file to desktop and unzip it. Navigate to Organization XML and edit the XML tag <ProcessEnabledFlag>Y</ProcessEnabledFlag> to <ProcessEnabledFlag>N</ProcessEnabledFlag>. Zip it back the extract and upload to target instance. You can load the extract now. After successful completion of load, you can manually enable the flag through Form UI. We are working on this issue and update you once patch is released to metalink.
Freight Carriers API - Product Foundation Selection Set
Freight Carriers API in Product Foundation selection set requires Inventory Organization and Organization Parameters as prerequisite setup. These two APIs are available under Discrete Mfg. and Distribution Selection Set. Also,Freight Carriers API is available under Discrete Mfg and Distribution Selection Set with name Carriers, Methods, Carrier-ModeServ,Carrier-Org. So, use Discrete Mfg selection set to load Freight Carriers. In next rollup release Freight Carriers API would be removed from Product Foundation Selection Set.
Organization Structure Selection Set
It is highly recommended to set filter and extract and load data related to one Business Group at a time. For example, setup objects such as Locations, Legal Entities,Operating Units,Organizations and Organization Structure Versions support filter by Business Group. So, set the filter for a specific Business Group and then extract and load the data to target instance.
List of mandatory iSetup Fwk patches*
8352532:R12.AZ.A - 1OFF:12.0.6: Ignore invalid Java identifier or Unicode identifier characters from the extracted data
8424285:R12.AZ.A - 1OFF:12.0.6:Framework Support to validate records from details to master during load
7608712:R12.AZ.A - 1OFF:12.0.4:ISETUP DOES NOT MIGRATE SYSTEM PROFILE VALUES
List of mandatory API/functional patches*
8441573:R12.FND.A - 1OFF:12.0.4: FNDLOAD DOWNLOAD COMMAND IS INSERTING EXTRA SPACE AFTER A NEWLINE CHARACTER
7413966:R12.PER.A - MIGRATION ISSUES
8445446:R12.GL.A - Consolidated Patch for iSetup Fixes
7502698:R12.GL.A - Not able to Load Accounting Setup API Data to target instance.
Appendix_
How to read logs
·     Logs are very important to diagnose and troubleshoot iSetup issues. Logs contain both functional and technical errors.
·     To find the log, navigate to View Detail screens of Extracts/ Transforms/Loads/Standard/Comparison Reports and click on View Log button to view the log.
·     Generic Loader (FNDLOAD or Seed data loader) logs are not printed as a part of main log. To view actual log, you have to take the request_id specified in the concurrent log and search for the same in Forms Request Search Window in the instance where the request was launched.
·     Functional errors are mainly due to
o     Missing prerequisite data – You did not load one more perquisite API before loading the current API. Example, trying to load “Accounting Setup” without loading “Chart of Accounts” would result in this kind of error.
o     Business validation failure – Setup is incorrect as per business rule. Example, Start data cannot be greater than end date.
o     API does not support Update Records – If the there is a matching record in the target instance and If the API does not support update, then you would get this kind of errors.
o     You unselected Update Records while launching load - If the there is a matching record in the target instance and If you do not select Update Records, then you would get this kind of errors.
Example – business validation failure
o     VONAME = Branches PLSQL; KEY = BANKNAME = 'AIBC‘
o     BRANCHNAME = 'AIBC'
o     EXCEPTION = Please provide a unique combination of bank number, bank branch number, and country combination. The 020, 26042, KA combination already exists.
Example – business validation failure
o     Tokens: VONAME = Banks PLSQL
o     BANKNAME = 'OLD_ROYAL BANK OF MY INDIA'
o     EXCEPTION = End date cannot be earlier than the start date
Example – missing prerequisite data.
o     VONAME = Operating Unit; KEY = Name = 'CAN OU'
o     Group Name = 'Setup Business Group'
o     ; EXCEPTION = Message not found. Application: PER, Message Name: HR_ORG_SOB_NOT_FOUND (Set of books not found for ‘Setup Business Group’)
Example – technical or fwk error
o     OAException: System Error: Procedure at Step 40
o     Cause: The procedure has created an error at Step 40.
o     Action: Contact your system administrator quoting the procedure and Step 40.
Example – technical or fwk error
o     Number of installed languages on source and target does not match.
Edited by: Mugunthan on Apr 24, 2009 2:45 PM
Edited by: Mugunthan on Apr 29, 2009 10:31 AM
Edited by: Mugunthan on Apr 30, 2009 10:15 AM
Edited by: Mugunthan on Apr 30, 2009 1:22 PM
Edited by: Mugunthan on Apr 30, 2009 1:28 PM
Edited by: Mugunthan on May 13, 2009 1:01 PM

Answer 1

Mugunthan
Yes we have applied 11i.AZ.H.2. I am getting several errors still that we trying to resolve
One of them is
===========>>>
Uploading snapshot to central instance failed, with 3 different messages
Error: An invalid status '-1' was passed to fnd_concurrent.set_completion_status. The valid statuses are: 'NORMAL', 'WARNING', 'ERROR'FND     at oracle.apps.az.r12.util.XmlTransmorpher.<init>(XmlTransmorpher.java:301)
     at oracle.apps.az.r12.extractor.cpserver.APIExtractor.insertGenericSelectionSet(APIExtractor.java:231)
please assist.
regards
girish