A brief history on Essbase Essbase is a multidimensional database management system.. Essbase as we know it today evolved from software components developed by Arbor Software Corporation
Trang 2Thank you for selecting this book We assure you we will do our very best to
make it entirely worth your while The goal is to demystify the multidimensional
database world and have you comfortable with designing, building, and coding
Essbase systems
Always remember, Essbase is an art not a science!
A brief history on Essbase
Essbase is a multidimensional database management system The name Essbase stands for Extended Spread Sheet dataBASE Using the custom add-in provides the end-user with near seamless compatibility in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program
Essbase as we know it today evolved from software components developed by Arbor Software Corporation and through the acquisition of additional components or tools from other OLAP and Business Intelligence product development companies In
some cases Arbor Software Corporation purchased the entire company to acquire
the needed components as was the case with App Source in late 1997 It is generally agreed that the release of Essbase version 3.2 in 1995 set Essbase as the standard for OLAP and Business Intelligence and Analytics enterprise software
Rapid growth and popularity of the Essbase product led to the merger of Arbor
Software Corporation and Hyperion Software becoming Hyperion Solutions
Corporation in 1998 This new company achieved near global leadership in the
OLAP and Business Intelligence (BI) software arena and ultimately attracted the
attention of Oracle Corporation Oracle completed the purchase of Hyperion
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Why Essbase
In addition to being the leading global provider of OLAP and Business Intelligence
software, Essbase also offers incomparable value as a RAD (Rapid Application
Development) tool As will be demonstrated in the following pages the complete
cycle from concept to design to build to implement can be only a fraction of what
a traditional system may require Further, enhancements to reporting or other
functionality are fast, accurate and easy to code
What this book covers
Chapter 1 guides you through a typical Essbase installation which includes the
Essbase Agent on an analytic server, the Essbase API on the server, the Essbase
Administration Services, and the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel
Chapter 2 covers Essbase database design considerations and how to apply them
to a multidimensional database as opposed to the traditional row and column
relational database
Chapter 3 we begin to build in Essbase (hooray!) Using the information learned in the
previous chapter we build the Essbase outline which is the foundation of the Essbase database Instead of rows and columns an Essbase database contains dimensions and members in a hierarchical parent-child structure
Chapter 4 dives right into loading data into your Essbase database From user
inputted data to flat file data manipulation and loading to direct database access
all forms of data loading are explained and demonstrated
Chapter 5 explains the varied and simple ways to calculate your data Once data
is loaded it is time to demonstrate one of the largest benefits of Essbase Unlike
relational databases, Essbase data can be calculated in many different ways Instead
of writing complex programs to calculate and derive data elements from existing
elements or loading excessive amounts of data to derive the needed elements Essbase can calculate and derive data from a minimal amount of loaded data Essbase has
powerful yet simple to use tools that calculate the data
Chapter 6 goes over the use of the data for reporting, presentation, or data extracts
to feed other systems Simple steps explain how to create dynamic reporting abilities
or user interfaces with a minimum of effort
Trang 4Chapter 7 jumps feet first into the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel As Microsoft
Excel seems to have become the dominant spreadsheet program used by business
today the Essbase Add-in for Microsoft Excel has evolved into a very powerful tool indeed This is one of the main reasons Essbase is so popular today Even the most
novice end user can quickly create professional and dynamic reports with relative
ease We explain these features as well as how the addition of very little code can
make the spreadsheet very powerful
Chapter 8 we cover automating your Essbase cube Depending on the requirements
of your user community it is possible to design, build, and automate an Essbase
application to where there is virtually no need for IT intervention
Chapter 9 explains advanced techniques that can be used to keep your Essbase
application running at peak performance You know, those little things not usually
covered in the user guide but learned with experience Cache settings, server
configuration, memory management are just a few topics covered
Chapter 10 explains the Block Storage Option (BSO) and the Aggregate Storage
Option (ASO) for storing data in its database cubes For the most part this book
deals with the BSO Since the release of version 7.x Essbase has also offered the
ASO As this method of storing the data has substantial differences we felt it needed its own chapter to explain it
Chapter 11 gives a high level view of the optional Essbase System 9 components that
are available in the System 9 Suite with the Essbase database the common foundation for all the other components to launch from With components like Essbase Planning
or Hyperion Smart Office there's enough to make even the stodgiest accountant's
head spin
Appendix explains the significance of Oracle's new product Smart View.
Who this book is for
This book is aimed at the IT professional who has an understanding of typical
client-server applications but is new to Essbase and the concept of multidimensional database management systems
Occasionally explaining the concept of a multidimensional database to someone who only has experience with traditional row/column relational databases can make their
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Versions covered in this book
As of this writing, Essbase System 9.x is the latest offering from Oracle Corporation Essbase System 9.x itself is an integrated suite of Business Intelligence software
The Essbase module in System 9.x is substantially similar to Hyperion Essbase 7.x
Hyperion Essbase 7.x is still widely used and supported
Since this book primarily covers the Essbase component where screen captures are
used, they will be version 9.x however most all examples in this book will work in
versions 7.x and 9.x unless otherwise noted
Before we drill down into Essbase let us quickly take a minute to refresh some
accepted data warehousing concepts
Data warehousing concepts
Data warehousing is not a new concept In fact, it has been around for many
years now Traditionally a data warehouse has been constructed with some sort
of relational database structure What is relatively new is the addition of the
multidimensional database architecture to data warehousing family
The following information is designed to give you a high level understanding of
data warehousing and how it can be used in your business Once you understand
the basic principles and concepts of data warehousing it will be easier to understand where Essbase fits into the picture
The fathers of the data warehouse
We guess we shouldn't tell you about the data warehousing concept without
first telling you who is widely recognized as the creator or father of the modern
data warehouse
Bill Inmon is a world-renowned expert on data warehousing and is also widely
recognized as the Father of Data Warehousing With 35+ years of experience in the
Information Technology field and more specifically database technology management and data warehouse design, Bill has been a highly sought after speaker for many major computing associations and industry conferences, seminars, and tradeshows