Book Image

MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide

By : Fernando Carlos Rivero Esqueda
Book Image

MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide

By: Fernando Carlos Rivero Esqueda

Overview of this book

MicroStrategy is an enterprise business intelligence application. It turns data into reports for making and executing key organization decisions. This book shows you how to implement Business Intelligence (BI) with MicroStrategy. It takes you from setting up and configuring MicroStrategy to security and administration. The book starts by detailing the different components of the MicroStrategy platform, and the key concepts of Metadata and Project Source. You will then install and configure MicroStrategy and lay down the foundations for building MicroStrategy BI solutions. By learning about objects and different object types, you will develop a strong understanding of the MicroStrategy Schema and Public Objects. With these MicroStrategy objects, you will enhance and scale your BI and Analytics solutions. Finally, you will learn about the administration, security, and monitoring of your BI solution.

Related Content you might be interested in

Current Title:

Small book image
MicroStrategy Quick Start Guide
Fernando Carlos Rivero Esqueda
Sep, 2018 | 218 pages
No titles found
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Title Page
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Copyright and Credits
Dedication
Dedication
Packt Upsell
Packt Upsell
Foreword
Foreword
Contributors
Contributors
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
Architecture - Installing and Configuring MicroStrategy
Architecture - Installing and Configuring MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy architecture
Main server components
Client applications
Installation and configuration
The MicroStrategy metadata
Intelligence Server configuration
Summary
2
Project Design - Creating Your Project Foundation
Project Design - Creating Your Project Foundation
MicroStrategy Objects
MicroStrategy Analytics Modules
MicroStrategy Developer
MicroStrategy Projects
Your building blocks – Schema Objects
The Source – Tables
Business raw measures – Facts
Business context – Attributes
Grouping business context – Hierarchies
Comparing data across time – Transformations
Summary
3
Basic Reporting - Building Your First Reports
Basic Reporting - Building Your First Reports
Your analyzing blocks – Public Objects
Your main analysis tool – Reports
Reusing your report designs – Templates
Limiting your data – Filters
Business calculations – Metrics
Performing Report manipulations
Summary
4
Advanced Reporting - Interacting with and Improving Your Reports
Advanced Reporting - Interacting with and Improving Your Reports
Grouping data together – Custom Groups and Consolidations
Dynamic filtering and report creation – Prompts
Drilling paths – Drill maps
Publishing data sources – iCubes
Summary
5
Dashboarding - Creating Visual Reporting
Dashboarding - Creating Visual Reporting
Importing Data
Creating enterprise-certified dashboards – Documents
For the self-serving enthusiasts – web Dashboards
Summary
6
Security - Managing Your Users and Their Access
Security - Managing Your Users and Their Access
Your management blocks – Configuration Objects
MicroStrategy security levels
Summary
7
Administration - Maintaining and Monitoring Your Project
Administration - Maintaining and Monitoring Your Project
Database connectivity in MicroStrategy
Connecting to your source – Database Instances, Connections, and Logins
Improving Reporting Performance – MicroStrategy Cache
Monitoring your Project – MicroStrategy Developer Monitors
MicroStrategy Administrative Clients
Summary
Quick Reference Tables by Object Type
Quick Reference Tables by Object Type
Schema Objects
Application / Public Objects
Configuration Objects
Other Books You May Enjoy
Other Books You May Enjoy
Leave a review - let other readers know what you think
Index
Index

The MicroStrategy metadata

By definition, a metadata is "data about the data." It is usually a file or database that describes another set of data or information. In MicroStrategy, the metadata repository is a database that contains the definitions of database objects such as tables and fields in a way that developers and users can easily understand. The MicroStrategy metadata could be thought of as a logical bridge between the technicalities of the database and the business terms, measures, and contexts of the organization.

 

The MicroStrategy metadata maps logical abstractions, called objects, to physical database objects, as illustrated in the following diagram:

Creating and configuring MicroStrategy metadata

Before creating the MicroStrategy metadata, it is necessary to have the following two prerequisites ready:

  • A blank database (Amazon Redshift, DB2, Informix, Impala, SQL Server, Oracle, and so on. For a complete list of certified MicroStrategy metadata databases, check the Readme file or release notes corresponding to the version you are installing.)
  • A DSN (Data Source Name) using the corresponding ODBC/JDBC driver to that blank database.

Note

MicroStrategy Connectivity Wizard can also be used to create a DSN.

The steps to create the MicroStrategy metadata are:

  1. Open the MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard (macfgwizw.EXE). This tool will let you create a MicroStrategy metadata, configure an Intelligence Server, and create a project source among other configuration tasks, as shown in the following screenshots:
  1. Select the corresponding option for metadata creation: | Create Metadata, History List and Enterprise Manager Repositories.
  2. Select a DSN. The DSN will have the connectivity information and driver to access the blank database using ODBC/JDBC protocol.
  3. Follow the review window and click Next until the metadata table creation starts.
  1. During the creation of the MicroStrategy metadata, the MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard creates an empty shell with table structures that will host data about the data. The data that will be later populated within the structures is what we will refer to as MicroStrategy objects. This concept will be explained in the next chapter.
Previous Section
End of Section 6
Next Section