Overview
With the vast amounts of data flowing through the workplace on a daily basis, Data warehouses have evolved to cope with the huge volumes involved by separating the data used for reporting and decision making from the operational systems. Microsoft have entered the world of datawarehousing with the introduction of SQL Server 7 and OLAP Services.The purpose of the data warehouse is simply to store the raw data. The combination of this with OLAP enables the data to be transformed into useful information that reflects the real factors affecting the enterprise. OLAP techniques may range from simple navigation and browsing of the data to more serious analyses, such as time-series and complex modeling.
Synopsis
With the vast amounts of data flowing through the workplace on a daily basis, Data warehouses have evolved to cope with the huge volumes involved by separating the data used for reporting and decision making from the operational systems. Microsoft have entered the world of datawarehousing with the introduction of SQL Server 7 and OLAP Services.
The purpose of the data warehouse is simply to store the raw data. The combination of this with OLAP enables the data to be transformed into useful information that reflects the real factors affecting the enterprise. OLAP techniques may range from simple navigation and browsing of the data to more serious analyses, such as time-series and complex modeling.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewSo you're an SQL Server 7 professional merrily doing your OLTP thing—and along comes a DSS application. You've already got the tools. Now, you need the skills. The solution: Professional Data Warehousing With Sql Server 7.0 And Olap Services.
Sakhr Youness gives you all the background you'll need, explaining key differences between OLAP and OLTP applications; among OLAP applications (MOLAP, ROLAP, HOLAP); and the roles of data marts and data mining. He also shows how to leverage your existing OLTP skills to build the dimensional back-end databases your OLAP applications will utilize.
Microsoft provides powerful OLAP tools with SQL Server 7, and this book covers each of them. You'll find detailed coverage of Data Transformation Services (DTS); client tools such as the PivotTable Service; and the new Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) language. (There's also a lengthy appendix listing all MDX functions and statements.)
Youness also includes chapters on administration and tuning—and on protecting your OLAP applications using the layered security available through NT Server 4.0, SQL Server 7.0, and OLAP Services. Bottom line: you'll be OLAP-ing faster than you ever expected.
—bncom editor