Chapter 13 – Data

Warehousing
 Data Warehouse
 DSS – friendly data repository for the DSS is
the DATA WAREHOUSE

 Definition: Integrated, Subject-Oriented,

Time-Variant, Nonvolatile database that
provides support for decision making
 Integrated
 The data warehouse is a centralized,
consolidated database that integrated data
derived from the entire organization
– Multiple Sources
– Diverse Sources
– Diverse Formats
 Subject-Oriented
 Data is arranged and optimized to provide
answer to questions from diverse functional
areas
– Data is organized and summarized by topic
 Sales / Marketing / Finance / Distribution / Etc.
 Time-Variant
 The Data Warehouse represents the flow of
data through time
 Can contain projected data from statistical
models
 Data is periodically uploaded then time-
dependent data is recomputed
 Nonvolatile
 Once data is entered it is NEVER removed
 Represents the company’s entire history
– Near term history is continually added to it
– Always growing
– Must support terabyte databases and
multiprocessors
 Read-Only database for data analysis and
query processing
 Data Marts
 Small Data Stores
 More manageable data sets
 Targeted to meet the needs of small groups
within the organization

 Small, Single-Subject data warehouse

subset that provides decision support to a
small group of people
 OLAP
 Online Analytical Processing Tools
 DSS tools that use multidimensional data
analysis techniques
– Support for a DSS data store
– Data extraction and integration filter
– Specialized presentation interface
 12 Rules of a Data Warehouse
 Data Warehouse and Operational
Environments are Separated
 Data is integrated
 Contains historical data over a long period
of time
 Data is a snapshot data captured at a given
point in time
 Data is subject-oriented
 12 Rules of Data Warehouse
 Mainly read-only with periodic batch updates
 Development Life Cycle has a data driven
approach versus the traditional process-
driven approach
 Data contains several levels of detail
– Current, Old, Lightly Summarized, Highly
Summarized
 12 Rules of Data Warehouse
 Environment is characterized by Read-only
transactions to very large data sets
 System that traces data sources, transformations,
and storage
 Metadata is a critical component
– Source, transformation, integration, storage,
relationships, history, etc
 Contains a chargeback mechanism for resource
usage that enforces optimal use of data by end
users
 OLAP
 Need for More Intensive Decision Support
 4 Main Characteristics
– Multidimensional data analysis
– Advanced Database Support
– Easy-to-use end-user interfaces
– Support Client/Server architecture
 Multidimensional Data Analysis
Techniques
 Advanced Data Presentation Functions
– 3-D graphics, Pivot Tables, Crosstabs, etc.
– Compatible with Spreadsheets & Statistical
packages
– Advanced data aggregations, consolidation and
classification across time dimensions
– Advanced computational functions
– Advanced data modeling functions
 Advanced Database Support
 Advanced Data Access Features
– Access to many kinds of DBMS’s, flat files, and
internal and external data sources
– Access to aggregated data warehouse data
– Advanced data navigation (drill-downs and roll-
ups)
– Ability to map end-user requests to the
appropriate data source
– Support for Very Large Databases
 Easy-to-Use End-User Interface
 Graphical User Interfaces
 Much more useful if access is kept simple
 Client/Server Architecture
 Framework for the new systems to be
designed, developed and implemented
 Divide the OLAP system into several
components that define its architecture
– Same Computer
– Distributed among several computer
 OLAP Architecture
 3 Main Modules
– GUI
– Analytical Processing Logic
– Data-processing Logic
OLAP Client/Server
Architecture
 Relational OLAP
 Relational Online Analytical Processing
– OLAP functionality using relational database
and familiar query tools to store and analyze
multidimensional data
 Multidimensional data schema support
 Data access language & query performance
for multidimensional data
 Support for Very Large Databases
 Multidimensional Data Schema
Support
 Decision Support Data tends to be
– Nonnormalized
– Duplicated
– Preaggregated
 Star Schema
– Special Design technique for multidimensional
data representations
– Optimize data query operations instead of data
update operations
 Star Schemas
 Data Modeling Technique to map
multidimensional decision support data into
a relational database
 Current Relational modeling techniques do
not serve the needs of advanced data
requirements
 Star Schema
 4 Components
– Facts
– Dimensions
– Attributes
– Attribute Hierarchies
 Facts
 Numeric measurements (values) that represent a
specific business aspect or activity
 Stored in a fact table at the center of the star
scheme
 Contains facts that are linked through their
dimensions
 Can be computed or derived at run time
 Updated periodically with data from operational
databases
 Dimensions
 Qualifying characteristics that provide
additional perspectives to a given fact
– DSS data is almost always viewed in relation to
other data
 Dimensions are normally stored in
dimension tables
 Attributes
 Dimension Tables contain Attributes
 Attributes are used to search, filter, or classify
facts
 Dimensions provide descriptive characteristics
about the facts through their attributed
 Must define common business attributes that will
be used to narrow a search, group information, or
describe dimensions. (ex.: Time / Location /
Product)
 No mathematical limit to the number of dimensions
(3-D makes it easy to model)
 Attribute Hierarchies
 Provides a Top-Down data organization
– Aggregation
– Drill-down / Roll-Up data analysis
 Attributes from different dimensions can be
grouped to form a hierarchy
 Star Schema for Sales
Dimension
Tables

Fact Table
 Star Schema Representation
 Fact and Dimensions are represented by physical
tables in the data warehouse database
 Fact tables are related to each dimension table in
a Many to One relationship (Primary/Foreign Key
Relationships)
 Fact Table is related to many dimension tables
– The primary key of the fact table is a composite primary
key from the dimension tables
 Each fact table is designed to answer a specific
DSS question
 Star Schema
 The fact table is always the larges table in
the star schema
 Each dimension record is related to
thousand of fact records
 Star Schema facilitated data retrieval
functions
 DBMS first searches the Dimension Tables
before the larger fact table
Data Warehouse Implementation
 An Active Decision Support Framework
– Not a Static Database
– Always a Work in Process
– Complete Infrastructure for Company-Wide
decision support
– Hardware / Software / People / Procedures /
Data
– Data Warehouse is a critical component of the
Modern DSS – But not the Only critical
component