Importing a Physical Schema from Relational Data Sources

You can import physical schema for supported data source types. When you can use importing to create the physical schema, you need to select one of the following import options and the appropriate connection type:

• From a database. Available in Offline and Online modes. Use this option when you have all database connections set up on your machine. You can use the following connection types with the Import option:
  • Most physical schema imports are performed using an ODBC connection type.
  • Native database gateways for schema import are supported for only DB2 (using DB2 CLI or DB2 CLI Unicode) and XML connection types. For more information about importing XML data using the Oracle BI Server XML gateway, refer to Oracle BI Server XML Gateway Example.
  • You can use a table mask to limit (filter) the list of tables that appear in the Import dialog box. When you have one or more specific tables that you want to import, using a table mask helps locate the tables.
• Through the Oracle BI Server. Available in Online mode. Use this option when you want to use the Oracle BI Server connections to import schema. This option allows Oracle BI Administrators to use the Data Source Name (DSN) of the Oracle BI Server machine to import physical schema information. Connectivity software and duplicate DSNs do not have to reside on the Oracle BI Administrator's machine and the Oracle BI Server machine. You can use the following connection types with the Import option:
  • Available connection types are ODBC, DB2 CLI, DB2 CLI (Unicode), and XML.
  • When it is running on a UNIX platform, the Oracle BI Server does not support importing schema using an ODBC connection type.
• From a repository. Available in Offline mode. By default, the Import from repository option on the File menu is disabled and this option will not be supported in the future. If you must import metadata using this method, see Using the Options Dialog Box—General Tab.
  NOTE:  It is recommended that you create projects in the repository that contain the objects that you wish to import, and then use repository merge to bring the projects into your current repository. For more information, see About Extracting Metadata Subsets Into Projects.
• From XMLA. Used to import multidimensional data sources. For more information, refer to Importing a Physical Schema from Multidimensional Data Sources.

To import a physical schema from an ODBC connection type

1. In the Administration Tool, select File > Import, and then select the source type of your physical schema from the following options:
   • from Database
   • through Server
   • from Repository
2. In the Select Data Source dialog box, perform the following steps:
   1. From the Connection Type drop-down list, select the correct type.
      NOTE:  It is recommended that you use ODBC 3.5 or DB2 CLI Unicode for importing schema with International characters such as Japanese table and column names.
   2. In the DSN list, select a data source from which to import the schema.
      When you import through the Oracle BI Server, the DSN entries are on the Oracle BI Server, not on the local machine.
   3. To import from Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tables, select the Read from CRM metadata tables check box.
   4. Click OK.
3. If a logon screen appears, type a valid user ID and password for the data source, and then click OK.
   The Oracle BI Administrator must supply the user name and password for the data source. If you are performing an import on the Oracle BI Administrator's machine, the user name will be obtained from the machine's DSN configuration.
4. In the Import dialog box, select the check boxes for the types of objects that you want to import. For example, Tables, Keys, and Foreign Keys.
   Some objects check boxes are automatically selected. These default selections depend on your data source.
5. To use a table mask, type a table mask such as F%, and then click the highest level database folder.
   Tables that meet the filter criteria appear.
6. Select the tables and columns you want to import.
   NOTE:  If you select just a table without identifying the columns, all the columns in the table will be imported.
7. After you select all the objects you want to import, click Import or drag and drop them into the Physical layer.