Controlling Access to Database Cells

In This Section:
Introduction
Understanding How Filters Define Permissions
Creating Filters
Managing Filters
Assigning Filters

Introduction
When security levels defined for applications, databases, users, and groups are insufficient,
Essbase security filters give you more specific control. Filters enable you to control access to
individual data within a database by defining what kind of access is allowed to which parts of the
database, and to whom these settings apply.
If you have Administrator permissions, you can define and assign any filters to any users or
groups. Filters do not affect you.
If you have Create/Delete Applications permissions, you can assign and define filters for
applications that you created.
If you have Application Manager or Database Manager permissions, you can define and assign
filters within your applications or databases.

Understanding How Filters Define Permissions

Filters control security access to data values, or cells. You create filters to accommodate security
needs for specific parts of a database. When you define a filter, you designate restrictions on
particular database cells. When you save the filter, you give it a unique name to distinguish it
from other filters, and the server stores it in essbase.sec, the security file. You can then assign the
filters to any users or groups on the server.
For example, a manager designs a filter named RED and associates it with a database to limit
access to cells containing profit information. The filter is assigned to a visiting group called
REVIEWERS, so that they can read, but cannot alter, most of the database; they have no access
to Profit data values.

Filters comprise one or more access settings for database members. You can specify the
following access levels and apply them to data ranging from a list of members to one cell.

Access
Level

Description

None

No data can be retrieved or updated for the specified member list.

Read

Data can be retrieved but not updated for the specified member list.

Write

Data can be retrieved and updated for the specified member list.

Metaread

Metadata (dimension and member names) can be retrieved and updated for the
corresponding member specification.

Note:
The metaread access level overrides all other access levels. If additional filters for data are
defined, they are enforced within any defined metaread filters.If you have assigned a metaread
filter on a substitution variable and then try to retrieve the substitution variable, an unknown
member error occurs, but the value of the substitution variable gets displayed. This is expected
behavior.Metadata security cannot be completely turned off in partitions. Therefore, do not set
metadata security at the source database; otherwise, incorrect data may result at the target
partition.When drilling up or retrieving on a member that has metadata security turned on and
has shared members in the children, an unknown member error occurs because the original
members of the shared members have been filtered. To avoid this error, give the original
members of the shared members metadata security access.
Any cells that are not specified in the filter definition inherit the database access level. Filters
can, however, add or remove access assigned at the database level, because the filter definition,
being more data-specific, indicates a greater level of detail than the more general database access
level.
Data values not covered by filter definitions default first to the access levels defined for users
and, when Essbase is in native security mode, second to the global database access levels.
Calculation access is controlled by permissions granted to users and groups. Users who have
calculate access to the database are not blocked by filtersthey can affect all data elements that

the execution of their calculations would update. When Essbase is in native security mode,
calculation access is also controlled by minimum global permissions for the application or
database.

Creating Filters
You can create a filter for each set of access restrictions you need to place on database values.
You need not create separate filters for users with the same access needs. After you have created
a filter, you can assign it to multiple users or groups of users. However, only one filter per
database can be assigned to a user or group.
Note:
If you use a calculation function that returns a set of members, such as children or descendants,
and it evaluates to an empty set, the security filter is not created. An error is written to the
application log stating that the region definition evaluated to an empty set.
Before creating a filter, perform the following actions:

Connect to the server and select the database associated with the filter.

Check the naming rules for filters in Limits.

To create a filter, use a tool:

Tool

Topic

Location

Administration
Services

Creating or Editing
Filters

Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online

Help

MaxL

create filter

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Filtering Members Versus Filtering Member Combinations

Figure 147, How Filters Affect Data AND/OR Relationships illustrates different ways to control
access to database cells. Data can be protected by filtering entire members or by filtering
member combinations.

Filtering members separately affects whole regions of data for those members.

Filtering member combinations affects data at the member intersections.

Figure 147. How Filters Affect Data AND/OR Relationships

Note:
Filtering on member combinations (AND relationship) does not apply to metaread. Metaread
filters each member separately (OR relationship).

Filtering Members Separately

To filter all the data for one or more members, define access for each member on its own row in
Filter Editor. Filter definitions on separate rows of a filter are treated with an OR relationship.
For example, to block access to Sales or Jan, assume that user KSmith is assigned this filter:

Access

Member Specification

None

Sales

None

Jan

The next time user KSmith connects to Sample.Basic, she has no access to data values for the
member Sales or for the member Jan. Her spreadsheet view of the profit margin for Qtr1:
Figure 148. Results of Filter Blocking Access to Sales or Jan

All data for Sales is blocked from view, as well as all data for January, inside and outside of the
Sales member. Data for COGS (Cost of Goods Sold), a sibling of Sales and a child of Margin, is
available, with the exception of COGS for January.

Filtering Member Combinations

To filter data for member combinations, define the access for each member combination using a
row in Filter Editor. In filter definitions, two member sets separated by a comma are treated as
union of those two member sets (an AND relationship).
For example, assume that user RChinn is assigned this filter:

Access

None

Member Specification

Sales, Jan

The next time user RChinn connects to Sample.Basic, she has no access to the data value at the
intersection of members Sales and Jan. Her spreadsheet view of the profit margin for Qtr1:
Figure 149. Results of Filter Blocking Access to Sales, Jan

Sales data for January is blocked from view. However, Sales data for other months is available,
and non-Sales data for January is available.

Filtering Using Substitution Variables

Substitution variables enable you to more easily manage information that changes regularly.
Each substitution variable has an assigned name and value. The Database Manager can change
the value anytime. Where a substitution variable is specified in a filter, the substitution variable
value at that time is used.
For example, if you want a group of users to see data only for the current month, you can set up a
substitution variable named CurMonth and define a filter (MonthlyAccess) wherein you specify
access, using &CurMonth for the member name. Using an ampersand (&) at the beginning of a
specification identifies it as a substitution variable instead of a member name to Essbase. Assign
the MonthlyAccess filter to the appropriate users.
Each month, you need to change only the value of the CurMonth substitution variable to the
member name for the current month, such as Jan, Feb, and so on. The new value will apply to all
assigned users.
See Using Substitution Variables.

Filtering with Attribute Functions

You can use filters to restrict access to data for base members sharing a particular attribute. To
filter data for members with particular attributes defined in an attribute dimension, use the
attribute member in combination with the @ATTRIBUTE function or the @WITHATTR
function.
Note:

@ATTRIBUTE and @WITHATTR are member set functions. Most member set functions can be
used in filter definitions.
For example, assume that user PJones is assigned this filter:

Access

None

Member Specification

@ATTRIBUTE(Caffeinated_False)

The next time user PJones connects to Sample.Basic, he has no access to the data values for any
base dimension members associated with Caffeinated_False. His spreadsheet view of firstquarter cola sales in California:
Figure 150. Results of Filter Blocking Access to Caffeine-free Products

Sales data for Caffeine Free Cola is blocked from view. Note that Caffeine Free Cola is a base
member, and Caffeinated_False is an associated member of the attribute dimension Caffeinated
(not shown in the above spreadsheet view).

Metadata Filtering
Metadata filtering provides an additional layer of security in addition to data filtering. With
metadata filtering, an administrator can remove outline members from a user's view, providing
access only to those members that are of interest to the user.
When a filter is used to apply MetaRead permission on a member,
1. Data for all ancestors of that member are hidden from the filter users view.
2. Data and metadata (member names) for all siblings of that member are hidden from the
filter users view.

Managing Filters
You can perform the following actions on filters: viewing, editing, copying, renaming, and
deleting.

Viewing Filters
To view a list of filters, use a tool:

Tool

Topic

Location

Administration
Services

Creating or Editing
Filters

Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online

Help

MaxL

display filter

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

ESSCMD

LISTFILTERS

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Editing Filters
To edit a filter, use a tool:

Tool

Topic

Location

Administration
Services

Creating or Editing
Filters

Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online

Help

MaxL

create filter

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Copying Filters
You can copy filters to applications and databases on any Essbase Server, according to your
permissions. You can also copy filters across servers as part of application migration.
To copy a filter, use a tool:

Tool

Topic

Location

Administration Services Copying Filters Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online Help

MaxL

create filter

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

ESSCMD

COPYFILTER Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Renaming Filters
To rename a filter, use a tool:

Tool

Topic

Location

Administration Services Renaming Filters

Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online

Help

MaxL

create filter

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

ESSCMD

RENAMEFILTER Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Deleting Filters
To delete a filter, use a tool:

Tool

Topic

Location

Administration Services Deleting Filters Oracle Essbase Administration Services Online Help

Tool

MaxL

Topic

drop filter

Location

Oracle Essbase Technical Reference

Assigning Filters
After you define filters, you can assign them to users or groups, which lets you manage multiple
users who require the same filter settings. Modifications to the definition of a filter are
automatically inherited by users of that filter.
Filters do not affect users who have the Administrator role. Only one filter per database can be
assigned to a user or group.

Assigning Filters in Shared Services Security Mode

In Oracle's Hyperion Shared Services security mode, you assign filters through Oracle's
Hyperion Shared Services Console.
To assign a filter to a user or group, see Assigning Database Calculation and Filter Access.

Assigning Filters in Native Security Mode

To assign a filter to a user or group, see Assigning Filters in the Oracle Essbase
Administration Services Online Help.

Overlapping Filter Definitions

If a filter contains rows that have overlapping member specifications, the inherited access is set
by the following rules, listed in order of precedence:
1. A filter that defines a more detailed dimension combination list takes precedence over a
filter with less detail.
2. If the preceding rule does not resolve the overlap conflict, the highest access level among
overlapping filter rows is applied.
For example, this filter contains overlap conflicts:

Access

Member Specification

Write

Actual

None

Actual

Read

Actual, @IDESCENDANTS(New York)

The third specification defines security at a greater level of detail than the other two. Therefore,
read access is granted to all Actual data for members in the New York branch.
Because write access is a higher access level than none, the remaining data values in Actual are
granted write access.
All other cells, such as Budget, are accessible according to the minimum database permissions.
If you have write access, you also have read access.
Note:
Changes to members in the database outline are not reflected automatically in filters. You must
manually update member references that change.

Overlapping Metadata Filter Definitions

You should define a MetaRead filter using multiple rows only when the affected member set in
any given row (the metaread members and their ancestors) has no overlap with MetaRead
members in other rows. It is recommended that you specify one dimension per row in filters that
contain MetaRead on multiple rows. However, as long as there is no overlap between the
ancestors and MetaRead members, it is still valid to specify different member sets of one
dimension into multiple MetaRead rows.
For example, in Sample Basic, the following filter definition has overlap conflicts:
Access

Member Specification

MetaRead

California

MetaRead

West

In the first row, applying MetaRead to California has the effect of allowing access to California
but blocking access to its ancestors. Therefore, the MetaRead access to West is ignored; users
who are assigned this filter will have no access to West.
If you wish to assign MetaRead access to West as well as California, then the appropriate method
is to combine them into one row:
Access
MetaRead

Member Specification
California,West

Overlapping Access Definitions

When the access rights of user and group definitions overlap, the following rules, listed in order
of precedence, apply:
1. An access level that defines a more detailed dimension combination list takes precedence
over a level with less detail.
2. If the preceding rule does not resolve the overlap conflict, the highest access level is
applied.
Example 1:
User Fred is defined with the following database access:
FINPLAN
CAPPLAN
PRODPLAN

R
W
N

He is assigned to Group Marketing, which has the following database access:

FINPLAN
CAPPLAN
PRODPLAN

N
N
W

His effective rights are set as:

FINPLAN
CAPPLAN
PRODPLAN

R
W
W

Example 2:
User Mary is defined with the following database access:
FINPLAN
PRODPLAN

R
N

She is assigned to Group Marketing, which has the following database access:
FINPLAN
PRODPLAN

N
W

Her effective rights are set as:

FINPLAN
PRODPLAN

R
W

In addition, Mary uses the filter artifact RED (for the database FINPLAN). The filter has two
filter rows:

Access

Member Specification

Read

Actual

Write

Budget, @IDESCENDANTS(New York)

The Group Marketing also uses a filter artifact BLUE (for the database FINPLAN). The filter has
two filter rows:

Access

Member Specification

Read

Actual, Sales

Write

Budget, Sales

Marys effective rights from the overlapping filters, and the permissions assigned to her and her
group:

Entire Finplan database

For all Budget data in the New York branch

For data values that relate to Budget and Sales