Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
adjustments appropriately. In this example, almost all adjustments flow
through within two weeks, so 30 days accommodates the business need.
5. Who will be able to use the data here? Access to the data in the ETL data
stores is limited to the programs and utilities that comprise the ETL
system. The sole purpose of the ETL system is to prepare the data for
reporting and analysis. No business users are allowed to access and query
this environment. This allows pre-processing of data, tuning for batch
processes, and eliminates the need for user security. The entire focus is
on efficient preparation of the data.
6. What type of data access will they have? Access is through programs or
utilities to run the ETL system itself.
Both the bottom-up and top-down approaches utilize ETL data stores to efficiently
and accurately process the data. However, the top-down approach also includes a
physical data store here, called the
data warehouse.
Publish the Data: The Presentation Server
The purpose of the presentation server is to deliver the data to the business
user or analyst. Following are the primary considerations:
1. What data will be stored here (reference and/or transaction data)? All of
the transaction detail data will be stored here. This is needed to support
the business. Core reference data will be stored as dimensions here. All
data that has potential business value should flow from the source system
through the ETL system and be loaded here.
2. What is the primary purpose of keeping the data here? The data is to be
used for business analysis and reporting. This includes basic querying,
reporting, scorecards, dashboards, business intelligence, and analytical
modeling.
3. Howwillthedatabestructured?Thedataistobeorganizedindimen-
sional structures. These may be star schemas in a relational database tech-
nology or inherent in a multidimensional cube technology. The dimen-
sions are to be conformed to enable integration at query time across the
enterprise.
4. What is the persistence of the data or how much history will be stored?
All data needed to support the business requirements will be stored in
these dimensional structures, including atomic transaction detail.
5. Who will be able to use the data here? Data in the presentation servers
is organized to support many business users for their reporting and
analytical needs. The data is intended to be accessed with interactive
queries by the business community. Appropriate security measures must
be put in place based upon business requirements to ensure that only
authorized users are able to access the data.
