Essbase and Anti-Virus, Revisited

Oracle documentation for Essbase has mentioned anti-virus as being problematic when installing and running the product. As we know, Essbase is a file-based database, and makes heavy use of the filesystem during normal operations. Anti-virus scans of those files that make up the Essbase cubes can cause performance degradation, and it was recommended to exclude those directories while the application was in use.

In EPM version 11.2.15, the first version to include Essbase 21c, the installation documentation now explicitly states to turn off anti-virus during installation and configuration, as well as excluding the Essbase application directories from automatic scans. But, what about stand-alone Essbase 21c installations? Are the same recommendations made there?

In the actual 21c documentation for on-premise installations, there is no mention made, ever, of anti-virus. No recommendations for exclusions or automatic scanning, nothing. 21c uses the same file-based system as the old 11g Essbase, and would have the same kinds of performance issues as its predecessor. iArch Solutions recognizes the value in properly configuring anti-virus scanning on an Essbase application server and makes these recommendations for both 11g and 21c Essbase engagements.

While reviewing the latest Essbase 21c documentation, I found there is an updated “Using Oracle Essbase” document (Feb. 2024) that mentions virus scanning for users who are loading data from their browser into Essbase. Digging deeper, I found this functionality has been in the REST API for some time as well. If the user has the “Service Administrator” role, you may enable and manage the “file scanner” functionality to scan files and ensure they’re virus-free before they’re uploaded into Essbase.

At this time, only Symantec and ClamAV virus scanner software is supported, and neither are included with the Essbase 21c installation. In this scenario, the virus scanner software resides on a dedicated server accessible to the user’s network, and your uploaded data would be directed there for scanning before being submitted to the Essbase server.