Assignment 3 DM

DATA MANAGEMENT
MIT 7033
Assignment 3
By:
AHMAD DAUD BIN AHMAD FAUZI S16100213

KHALIL RAHIME BIN KHAIRI S16100201
AINI ZAHIRAH BINTI MOHD SAH S16100212
33.1
Discuss what online analytical processing (OLAP) represents.
OLAP is an acronym for Online Analytical Processing. OLAP performs

multidimensional analysis of business data and provides the capability for complex calculations,
trend analysis, and sophisticated data modeling. It is the foundation for many kinds of business
applications for Business Performance Management, Planning, Budgeting, Forecasting, Financial
Reporting, Analysis, Simulation Models, Knowledge Discovery, and Data Warehouse Reporting.
OLAP enables end-users to perform ad hoc analysis of data in multiple dimensions, thereby
providing the insight and understanding they need for better decision making.
33.2
Discuss the relationship between Data Warehouse and Online Analytical Processing
(OLAP)
A data warehouse is a database containing data that usually represents the business
history of an organization. This historical data is used for analysis. Data in a data warehouse is
organized to support analysis rather than to process real-time transactions as in online transaction
processing systems (OLTP).
OLAP technology enables data warehouses to be used effectively for online analysis, providing
rapid responses to iterative complex analytical queries. OLAP's multidimensional data model and
data aggregation techniques organize and summarize large amounts of data so it can be evaluated
quickly using online analysis and graphical tools.
33.8
OLAP implementation faces many challenges. Discuss critical OLAP implementation issues
and how they are addressed at present
OLAP Implementations
MOLAP: OLAP implemented with a multi-dimensional database.
ROLAP: OLAP implemented with a relational database.
HOLAP: OLAP implemented with a hybrid of multi-dimensional and relational database techno
logies.
DOLAP: OLAP implemented for desktop decision support environments.
Before considering implementation of OLAP in our data warehouse, we have to take into
account two key issues with regard to the MOLAP model running under MDDBMS. The first
issue relates to the lack of standardization. Each vendor tool has its own client interface. Another
issue is scalability. OLAP is generally good for handling summary data, but not good for
volumes of detailed data. On the other hand, highly normalized data in the data warehouse
can give rise to processing overhead when we are performing complex analysis. We may reduce
this by using a STAR schema multidimensional design. In fact, for some ROLAP tools, the
multidimensional representation of data in a STAR schema arrangement is a prerequisite.
Consider a few choices of architecture. They are various implementation options for providing
OLAP functionality in our data warehouse. These are important choices. Remember, without
OLAP, our users have very limited means for analysing data.
Data Design and Preparation

The data warehouse feeds data to the OLAP system. In the MOLAP model, separate proprietary
multidimensional databases store the data fed from the data warehouse in the form of
multidimensional cubes. On the other hand, in the ROLAP model, although no static
intermediary data repository exists, data is still pushed into the OLAP system with cubes created
dynamically on the fly. Thus, the sequence of the flow of data is from the operational source
systems to the data warehouse and from there to the OLAP system.
Sometimes, we may have the desire to short-circuit the flow of data. We may wonder
why we should not build the OLAP system on top of the operational source systems themselves.
 An OLAP system needs transformed and integrated data. The system assumes that the
data has been consolidated and cleansed somewhere before it arrives. The disparity
among operational systems does not support data integration directly.
 The operational systems keep historical data only to a limited extent. An OLAP system
needs extensive historical data. Historical data from the operational systems must be
combined with archived historical data before it reaches the OLAP system.
 An OLAP system requires data in multidimensional representations. This calls for
summarization in many different ways. Trying to extract and summarize data from the
various operational systems at the same time is untenable. Data must be consolidated
before it can be summarized at various levels and in different combinations.
 Assume there are a few OLAP systems in your environment. That is, one supports the
marketing department, another the inventory control department, yet another the finance
department, and so on. To accomplish this, you have to build a separate interface with the
operational systems for data extraction into each OLAP system.
In order to help prepare the data for the OLAP system, let we first examine some significant
characteristics of data in this system. Please review the following list:
 An OLAP system stores and uses much less data compared to a data warehouse.
 Data in the OLAP system is summarized. You will rarely find data at the lowest level of
detail as in the data warehouse.
 OLAP data is more flexible for processing and analysis partly because there is much less
data to work with.
 Every instance of the OLAP system in your environment is customized for the purpose
that instance serves. In order words, OLAP data tends to be more departmentalized,
whereas data in the data warehouse serves corporate-wide needs.

Administration and Performance
Let we now turn our attention to two important though not directly connected issues. One of
these issues is the matter of administration and management of the OLAP environment. The
OLAP system is part of the overall data warehouse environment and, therefore, administration of
the OLAP system is part of the data warehouse administration. Nevertheless, we must recognize
some key considerations for administering and managing the OLAP system. Let us briefly
indicate a few of these considerations.
 Expectations on what data will be accessed and how
 Selection of the right business dimensions
 Selection of the right filters for loading the data from the data warehouse
 Methods and techniques for moving data into the OLAP system (MOLAP model)
 Choosing the aggregation, summarization, and precalculation
 Developing application programs using the proprietary software of the OLAP vendor
 Size of the multidimensional database
 Handling of the sparse-matrix feature of multidimensional structures
 Drill down to the lowest level of detail
 Drill through to the data warehouse or to the source systems
 Drill across among OLAP system instances
 Access and security privileges
 Backup and restore facilities
First we need to recognize that the presence of an OLAP system in our data warehouse
environment shifts the workload. Some of the queries that usually must run against the data
warehouse will now be redistributed to the OLAP system. The types of queries that need OLAP
are complex and filled with involved calculations.
At this point, perhaps our project team has been given the mandate to build and implement an
OLAP system. We know the features and functions. We know the significance. We are also
aware of the important considerations. How do we go about implementing OLAP? Let us
summarize the key steps. These are the steps or activities at a very high level. Each step consists
of several tasks to accomplish the objectives of that step. We will have to come up with the tasks
based on the requirements of your environment. Here are the major steps:
 Dimensional modeling
 Design and building of the MDDB
 Selection of the data to be moved into the OLAP system
 Data acquisition or extraction for the OLAP system
 Data loading into the OLAP server
 Computation of data aggregation and derived data
 Implementation of application on the desktop
 Provision of user training
34.1
Discuss what data mining represents.
Data mining is the process of extracting valid, previously unknown, comprehensible, and
actionable information from large databases and using it to make crucial business decisions.
Data mining also concerned with the analysis of data and the use of software techniques for
finding hidden and unexpected patterns and relationships in sets of data. Data mining is
focusing to reveal information that is hidden and unexpected, as there is less value in finding
patterns relationships that are already intuitive. To identify the patterns and relationships, the
examining of the underlying rules and features in the data. Data mining analysis tends to
work from the data up, and the techniques that produce the most accurate results normally
require large volumes of data to deliver reliable conclusions. The process of analysis starts by
developing an optimal representation of the structure of sample data, during which time
knowledge is acquired. This knowledge is then extended to larger sets of data, working on
the assumption that the larger data set has a structure similar to the sample data. Data mining
can provide huge paybacks for companies who have made a significant investment in data
warehousing. Data mining is used in a wide range of industries. Data mining also has been
popular treated as a synonym of knowledge discovery in databases and some views data
mining as an essential step for knowledge discovery.

Assignment 3 DM

Uploaded by

Assignment 3 DM

Uploaded by

DATA MANAGEMENT

AHMAD DAUD BIN AHMAD FAUZI S16100213

Discuss what online analytical processing (OLAP) represents.

OLAP is an acronym for Online Analytical Processing. OLAP performs

Data Design and Preparation

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