Chapter 4- Front Room

Question 1

Front Room

Answer 1

-Public face of the warehouse
-Day-to-day aspect that business users work with
-Goal is to make information accessible as possible

Question 2

Access Tool Data Stores

Answer 2

-Data becomes more available and closer to the users in a diffused form
-Ability to create ad-hoc reports
-Data exported to Excel for further analysis
-cached data allows for quicker response

Question 3

Standard Reporting Data Stores

Answer 3

-multiple data marts may be used to draw the reports

Question 4

personal data marts

Answer 4

-idea has been embraced long ago
-may require replication framework to ensure they are always in sync

Question 5

Disposable Data Marts

Answer 5

-set of data create to support a short-lived business situation
-allows data be designed for specifically event
-Allows business rules and filters to create simple sandbox for analysts

Question 6

Application Models

Answer 6

-Data Mining
-collection of powerful analysis techniques for making sense out of large data sets

Question 7

Downstream Systems

Answer 7

-Reporting close to operational side
-Transaction oriented

Question 8

5 types of activities for differing granularity and allocating

Answer 8

-Warehouse or Metadata Browsing
-Access and Security
-Activity Monitoring
-Query Management
-Standard Reporting

Question 9

Warehouse or Metadata Browsing

Answer 9

-Metadata subsets of the database to simplify user’s view
-Takes work to initiate but will be rewarded with self-sufficient user community
-Allows browsing database through descriptions or metadata

Question 10

Access Security

Answer 10

-Facilitates a user’s connection to the database
-User’s access and security rely on authorization and authentication
-possible require physical evidence of identity like magnetic cards

Question 11

Activity Monitoring

Answer 11

Captures info about the use of the DW

Question 12

What is Activity Monitoring Centered around?

Answer 12

Performance
User support
Marketing
Planning

Question 13

Activity Monitoring: Performance

Answer 13

Usage
Shows which table and columns are most joined, selected, aggregated or filtered

Question 14

Activity Monitoring: User Support

Answer 14

-Monitors to see if trained users have success
-Understand what users are doing

Question 15

Activity Monitoring: marketing

Answer 15

-Outputs Statistics
-Able to see curve, whether growth, flat or decreasing

Question 16

Activity Monitoring: Planning

Answer 16

-Quantifies the need and time for capacity increases through monitoring of usage, query time

Question 17

Query Management

Answer 17

• capabilities that manage exchange between query formulation, execution and return of results

Question 18

Query Management: Content simplification

Answer 18

Shields user from complex queries
-may include limiting user’s view to subsets of tables
-usually hidden in front end

Question 19

Query Management: Query reformulation

Answer 19

-queries are parsed and reformulated for best solution

Question 20

query Management: Query retargeting and Multipass SQL

Answer 20

• Looks up elements in metadata and redirects query to appropriate location
  -includes simple redirects, heterogeneous joins and other functions such as unions and minus

Question 21

Query Management: Date Awareness

Answer 21

-Allows user to ask for items like current year to date
-periods dimension would assist in identifying appropriate dates

Question 22

query Management: Query Governing

Answer 22

-Limiting run times of queries or # of rows

Question 23

Query Service Location 3 major options

Answer 23

-Desktop
-App Server
-Database

Question 24

Query Service Locations: Database Advantage

Answer 24

all front end tools can take advantage of services on the database

Question 25

Query Service Locations: Database disadvantage

Answer 25

more limiting than application server because it is not supported across machines and DB

Question 26

Requirements for standard Reporting Tools

Answer 26

-Report development environment
-Report execution server
-Parameter or variable driven capabilities
-Time and event-based scheduling of report execution

Question 27

Future access Services : Authentication and authorization

Answer 27

-Identify user and grant access
-Security mechanism to see what permission a user has

Question 28

Future access Services :Centralized services

Answer 28

access services on app server or DB. to centralize data

Question 29

Future access Services :Vendor consolidation

Answer 29

• ## ability to seamlessly flow despite the vendors

Question 30

Future access Services : Web-based customer access

Answer 30

-Direct access to share info with customers
-ability to share monthly summaries with customers
-Info can be sliced in different ways

Question 31

4 main data access categories include:

Answer 31

• push-button
  -standard reports
  -ad Hoc
  -data mining

Question 32

Web Implications for data access

Answer 32

-requirements for DW and architectureal implications
-Architecture should have access services for web server supporting DB

Question 33

Ways Web is impacting the data access tools

Answer 33

-Platform independent
-Zero maintenance
-Low cost

Question 34

Desktop Tool Architecture Approaches

Answer 34

-Direct Connect ( Two Tier)
-ROLAP App Layer ( 3 Tier)
-MOLAP App Layer (3+ Tier)

Question 35

Direct Connect

Answer 35

• Desktop tool to connect directly to database
• query management not required

Question 36

Direct Connect Advantages

Answer 36

-Easy to install and administer
-Relatively simple to manage

Question 37

Direct Connect Disadvantages:

Answer 37

• Does not scale well
  Simple
  -Sparser metadata
  -limited functionality

Question 38

ROLAP

Answer 38

-App layer is loacted between DB and Front Ent
-allows less footprints on desktop
-Presents DB as multidimensional environment
-uses metadata

Question 39

MOLAP

Answer 39

-Between relational data warehouse and Front end
-middle tier called multidimensional DB cube