Category Archives: MicroStrategy 9

Intelligent Cube – Part-1

Architect, Engine, I-Server, MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy 9

Intelligent Cubes: An Intelligent Cube is a set of data that can be shared as a single in-memory copy, among many different reports created by multiple users. Rather than returning data from the data warehouse for a single report,
you can return sets of data from your data warehouse and save them directly to Intelligence Server memory. The reports accessing Intelligent Cubes can use all of the OLAP Services features for analysis and reporting purposes.

Intelligent Cubes are created and published for use as a shared data source for the users to build reports from. Intelligent Cubes provide the fast response time and analytic calculations that are often associated with Multidimensional Online Analytic Processing (MOLAP) cubes, while also benefiting from the ability to use Relational Online Analytic Processing (ROLAP) by drilling into the full set of data outside of the Intelligent Cube. In addition, Intelligent Cubes are fully scalable, limiting excessive data consumption and redundant data by allowing you to build only the sets of data you require.
An intelligent cube is made up of two files – an info file (contains the structure of the cube) and a data file. Each one of them has a representation in memory and indicates different things:

  1. When the data file is not  updated with its representation from memory, the cube’s “dirty status flag”  is set to true.
  2. When the info file is different from its representation in memory, then the cube’s “monitoring information dirty status flag” is set to true.

While (1) indicates that the data of the cube is incorrect (2) indicates that the cube’s monitoring information is different on disk than it is in memory.

The following section discusses an example of the workflow and status change for MicroStrategy 9.x Intelligent Cube:
P = Processing, A = Active,  L = Loaded, D = Dirty, F = Filed, M = Monitoring Information Dirty

Coming soon on dynamic cube usage

Report Data Options in version 9

MicroStrategy 9,

You know how, after you execute a report, every time you make a change to the Report Data Options the report gets re-executed in order to apply those changes?

Well, in version 9 (not sure about 9.01 yet) this doesn’t happen for the Metric Join Type and Attribute Join Type options. I don’t know if this is a bug or a feature, though the behaviour appears to be intended by the developers. If someone from MicroStrategy is reading this, please provide some background details.

The downside of this is, of course, that if you are debugging a report by modifying one of those options, you might get the idea that your change had no effect whatsoever. This is because you were used with automatic re-execution after you pressed OK, as in the previous versions.

Field Report

MicroStrategy 9,

Last week I’ve attended a Free BI Class organized by MicroStrategy in Toronto, to see what’s new.

The presentation was really well planned – a mix of the usual sales pitch and a nice hands on web and desktop exercises.
Some new (at least to me) things that they’ve been working on are a great looking app for iPhone and some new geographic widgets, so heads up BigDataLabs. The app comes as no surprise, now that Apple no longer supports Flash. It takes advantage of the iPhone controls, including the G-sensor.

As a side note, there was a SAS training on the same floor as the Free BI Class, and the participants seemed to have a lot of fun in there, judging by their laughter. Our MSTR sales guy came with an awesome explanation – “Probably someone said it can be deployed in three months” :)

Metadata Browser v2.0

Metadata, MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy 9, SDK,

While the merge with Object Tracking Tool is still in development, I am proud to introduce the new and improved version of Metadata Browser, which you can download here: MBsetupV2.0.exe

Improved Documentation Tool
New properties are now retrieved for common object types:

  • Metrics: dimensionality, condition, transformation, smart (yes/no)
  • Attributes: form, lookup table, child & parent relations
  • Filters: expression
  • Prompts: item list

Change Journal Tools
This new function only works with MicroStrategy version 9.0 or higher and it either shows the Change Journal entries for a single object or for all the objects in a particular folder.

God Mode
If you have admin rights you can connect using “God Mode” and thus gain access to hidden system files. An interesting use (found during the test phase) is to navigate to System Objects\Columns and make dependency searches directly on Columns.

MicroStrategy Metadat Browser God ModeThis is a read only application. Using it won’t cause any changes to your Metadata.

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MSTR 9.0.1 (Release 2) and it’s New Features

Administration, Architect, I-Server, MicroStrategy 9

MicroStrategy 9 Release 2 (9.0.1 products) is now available on the download site.

What are the new features in MSTR 9 R2 (9.0.1)

1) Jump Start Project

2)  MicroStrategy Health Center

1) JUMP-START PROJECT

                                    What is the Jump-Start Project?   

Jump-Start is a complete MicroStrategy project that comes with 7 dashboards and 30 reports and all the underlying metrics, filters, attributes, and dimensions.  All you have to do is add data and rewire.  It was designed with one purpose in mind – to help you develop a complete MicroStrategy Project FAST! 

                                     How does Jump-Start Work?  

MicroStrategy’s Jump-Start Project provides the standard building blocks of any project, attributes and facts, and uses those objects to create application objects such as metrics, filters, reports, enterprise documents, and dashboards.  Because a specific project has yet to be defined, all of these objects use generic names as placeholders.   You redefine/rewire the attributes and facts so that they work off your data tables, and due to the object oriented design of MicroStrategy, the data will be cascaded into the pre-built reports and dashboards automatically. With all this work prebuilt, the Jump-Start project delivers a complete BI project in a matter of a few hours

Manuals are available in MicroStrategy site.

2) MicroStrategy Health Center

MicroStrategy Health Center allows users to prevent, diagnose and fix problems in a MicroStrategy system.  It detects known problems and provides an immediate solution to many of them.  

Health Center can email a system administrator if it encounters a problem with the system. In cases where Health Center cannot fix a problem immediately, it enables users to bundle relevant system information, such as log files, into a diagnostic package and transmit the package to MicroStrategy Technical Support for review and troubleshooting. 

  • MicroStrategy Health Center can only operate on MicroStrategy 9.0.1.
  • By default, MicroStrategy Health Center is installed and turned off (not configured). To start configuring MicroStrategy Health Center, please see the tech note below:
    • TN32554 How to Configure a MicroStrategy Health Center System
  • If MicroStrategy Health Center is already configured, to learn more about what common tasks can be carried out, please see the tech note below:
    • TN32552 How to use MicroStrategy Health Center Console
  • For a List a Current System Checks:
    • TN32551  A List of System Checks for MicroStrategy Health Center
  • MicroStrategy is constantly extending the functionality of Health Center by developing new system checks and information collectors, and refining existing ones. To keep the Health Center System up to date:
    • TN32553 How to keep the Health Center System up to date

Source: MicroStrategy’s Technical Email