Category Archives: Administration

MicroStrategy System Manager – Awesome Tool !!

Recently explored the ‘System Manager’ component in MicroStrategy 9.3.1 version. it’s a very helpful tool for those working as Admin, project designer, project lead/manager (who handles entire BI-MicroStrategy components). This reduces the pain and helps to automate the entire schedule process example, if the narrowcast service dependent on cube and cube is on depend on data load, then it can be automated using ‘System Manager’ work flow.

The document (PDF) provided by MicroStrategy is very clear to understand and very easy to create any work flow. Only important point is, whoever design the work flow should capture every success and failure possibilities and handle those success/failures in the work flow.

What is work flow?

System Manager, it’s like a ETL Job, where you can create a workflow visually, allowing you to see the step-by-step process that leads the workflow from one process to the next. This visual approach to creating a workflow can also help you to notice opportunities to troubleshoot and error check processes as part of a workflow.

Here are the few important points to be known before developing any work flow. There is no code, program required to develop a work flow. It’s all about drag & drop and set the properties. For each object you drag & drop, properties can be set.

Work flow components:

  1. Workflow – One Complete job is called Work flow (like in ETL tools, there can be one or more Workflow
  2. Parameters – For every step you can assign Name and values, which will make use of the values for the assigned job in the work flow
  3. Exit Codes – While defining the process (work flow), you can assign the exit codes, which says whether it’s success or failure and also description for the same. On the Properties pane, scroll down to the bottom and click Show Descriptions. Later we can see it in the example
  4. Connectors –

                           Success – If the current process is completed with an exit code that is defined as a successful status, the process that the success connector points to is the next process that is attempted.

If you use a success connector from a process, it is recommended that you also use a failure connector.

                           Failure – If the current process is completed with an exit code that is defined as a failure status, the process that the failure connector points to is the next process that is attempted.

If you use a failure connector from a process, it is recommended that you also use a success connector.

                          Continue – Regardless of the status of the exit code for the current process, the process that the continue connector points to is the next process that is attempted.

If you use the continue connector from a process, you cannot use any other connectors for that process.

  1. Decision – A decision process is created in the workflow, as shown in the image below. Decisions provide the ability to determine the next process in a workflow based on specific exit codes for the previous process, rather than just the simple success or failure of a process
  2. Toggle Entry Process – This enables or disables a process as an entry process for the workflow. A process that is defined as an entry process is displayed with a green flag symbol, as shown in the image below.

 

  1. While any process, other than an exit process, can be enabled as an entry process for a workflow, you should limit the steps that are enabled as entry processes for various reasons:
  2. Split Execution – A split execution process lets you start multiple threads in a workflow to perform parallel processing of the tasks in a workflow. This can speed up execution of a workflow for systems that can handle the parallel processing.
  3. Merge Execution – A merge execution process is created in the workflow
  4. Comment icon – comment is created in the workflow. Comments can be used to provide additional explanation to the design of a workflow
  5. Exit Workflow – An exit process allows you to end a workflow as well as explain how the workflow ended.
  6. Validate Workflow – If the workflow is listed as valid, click OK to close the dialog box. If the workflow is not valid, click Details to review the reasons why the workflow is not valid. Click OK and make any required changes to the workflow. Once all changes are made, validate the workflow again.
  7. Log – Log file can be generated for the work flow
  8. Properties and parameters – Storing user credentials within System Manager introduces a security risk. Configuration information is not known until or during the actual configuration.
  9. Parameters can be stored as a file and reuse it in any work flow

There are more features available in MicroStrategy System Manger, those can be find in MicroStrategy’s supporting PDF and help menu in System Manager.

 

Deleting unused Facts in MicroStrategy

I was searching a technote for a friend about distinct not apearing in the SQL (not something to do True Key, sadly) with the and landed up with this interesting technote which I’m going to implment for my current project sometime. We can’t use Object Manager to find this even though there is specific feature to do it as Tables are considered (logically) dependent on Facts. [Can anyone from MicroStrategy explain why is that? It should be other way round.]

Luckily it is simple but you need to have Select access on Metadata. Just run following query against your metadata database and your would get the list of afacts not used by any metric. Also, your would need to run it for each project your have. :(

SELECT object_id,
       object_name
FROM   dssmdobjinfo
WHERE  object_type = 13
       AND project_id = <Project ID> 
       AND object_id NOT IN (SELECT DISTINCT depn_objid AS object_id
                             FROM   dssmdobjdepn
                             WHERE  project_id =??
                                    AND depnobj_type = 13
                                    AND object_type = 4)
ORDER  BY object_id ASC

Disclaimer: Running a unmanaged SQL query against Metadata is not guranteed by MicroStrategy, Inc.

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

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

Resetting forgotton Administrator Password

Only 3 tier MicroStrategy metadata that I can run a SQL query is client’s 😥

Looking forward for people who can execute the following SQL statement directly against the MicroStrategy metadata. Perfectly legal and DMCA compliant as encryption is not broken but bypassed.

UPDATE  DSSMDUSRACCT
SET PASSWD = ‘00000000c34abc5741b1cf54247cbc76af3b513ec911585a22b95befb7e10c14’
WHERE upper(LOGIN) = ‘ADMINISTRATOR’

If above given password doesn’t work use any of following:

9c1185a5c5e9fc54612808977ee8f548b2258d31
00000000187c9eeace8a9d2b94b7b8c21d4e1d10c911585ad5674d244057eb6f

It may be very foolish of me trying to bypass the RMD 160 encryption 😀 . I don’t even know if it works. Basically the above given SQL statement rests the password to “” (nothing). As I do not have any easy access, please let me know if it works for you. You may have to change the SQL syntax of the DBMS in which your metadata is stored.

Note: I’m not responsible if your metadata is redundant due to use of the above SQL statement or use of above statement bring you issues at your job. Also, this would work only in a metadata NOT having used  in 2 tier configuration prior to execution of SQL statement. ie, you must connect to the metadata using a 3 tier connection before execution.

Data restriction using Security Filter

Take following scenario. You have three attributes. Region -> Market -> Country. (I know, spelling are pretty bad)

Geography Hierarchy

Geography Hierarchy

I had implemented Security Filter at Country level several time and explained to several friends about how to do it. But I never came across a scenario when I had to do it at Market level or Region level, i.e., not the lowest level of hierarchy.

Take a scenario, when you have put security filter for the User Group, who have been provided access to only South Asia Market runs a report containing Country attributes or someone with EMEA Region access runs a report with Market attribute. What would happen? Do you think that someone with South Asia Market would be able to see only India and/or Srilanka or someone restricted to APAC can’t see Middle East Market or Panama Country?

I know the half answer. There are so many possibilities. Hope to completely post by Month end.