Data Cubes

OLAP (Online analytical Processing)

OLAP (Online analytical Processing):
• OLAP is an approach to answering multi-
dimensional analytical (MDA) queries swiftly.

• OLAP is part of the broader category of

business intelligence, which also encompasses
relational database, report writing and data
mining.

• OLAP tools enable users to analyze

multidimensional data interactively from multiple
perspectives
OLAP consists of three basic analytical operations:

• Consolidation (Roll-Up)
• Drill-Down
• Slicing And Dicing
OLAP consists of three basic
analytical operations:
• Consolidation involves the aggregation of data that can be
accumulated and computed in one or more dimensions. For
example, all sales offices are rolled up to the sales
department or sales division to anticipate sales trends.
• The drill-down is a technique that allows users to navigate
through the details. For instance, users can view the sales
by individual products that make up a region’s sales.
• Slicing and dicing is a feature whereby users can take out
(slicing) a specific set of data of the OLAP cube and view
(dicing) the slices from different viewpoints.
ROLAP
• ROLAP operates by extracting data from
relational databases and organizing it
into multidimensional structures during
query processing.
• It supports real-time data access and
analysis, making it suitable for
environments with large or constantly
changing datasets.
• Data cubes are created on the fly, based
on user queries, allowing for flexibility
but at a cost of slower query
performance compared to MOLAP.
• ROLAP can handle larger volumes of data
than MOLAP, making it suitable for big
data and complex data environments.
ROLAP Architecture

• The architecture of Relational Online Analytical

Processing (ROLAP) involves multiple components that
work together to enable dynamic data analysis from
relational databases. Here’s how the ROLAP architecture
is structured:
• Database Server (RDBMS): The foundation of ROLAP
is the relational database management system
(RDBMS). This is where the data is stored in traditional
relational tables, typically in rows and columns. The
data here is not pre-aggregated but stored in its raw
form, ready to be queried.
• ROLAP Server: The ROLAP server contains two main
components
• ROLAP Analytical Processing Logic: This component is
responsible for processing the user queries and organizing
data for multidimensional analysis. It interprets the queries
and determines how to dynamically generate the appropriate
multidimensional views (or cubes) from the relational
database.
• ROLAP Data Processing Logic: This part handles the
dynamic creation of multidimensional cubes or views during
each query. It works by retrieving data from the relational
database and organizing it in a multidimensional way based
on the specified query.
• Front-End Tools: After the ROLAP server processes the
query, the results are sent to the front-end tools. These
tools provide an interface for users to interact with the
data. Users can view, analyze, and visualize the data
through dashboards, reports, and other business
intelligence tools. Multiple front-end tools can connect
to the ROLAP server, offering flexibility in how the data
is presented.
Key Features of ROLAP

• Dynamic Data Cube Creation: Multidimensional cubes are

generated on-the-fly based on user queries, meaning they are
created only when needed rather than being pre-aggregated.
This allows for flexible and efficient data analysis.
• Real-Time Data Access: By connecting directly to relational
databases, ROLAP ensures that users always have access to
the most up-to-date information for their analysis, providing
real-time data access.
• Scalability: ROLAP can efficiently handle large and growing
datasets. This makes it ideal for businesses working with vast
amounts of data, allowing them to scale their analysis without
sacrificing performance.
• Seamless Integration with Relational Databases: It integrates
smoothly with relational databases by using SQL queries to fetch and
process data. This eliminates the need for additional data modeling and
allows businesses to leverage their existing database systems.
• High Flexibility: The ability to create data cubes dynamically based on
specific needs means businesses can analyze data from multiple
perspectives. This flexibility supports a wide range of analytical approaches.
• Support for Complex Queries: ROLAP handles complex analytical
queries and can provide detailed reports across multiple dimensions,
making it ideal for in-depth analysis and strategic decision-making.
• Cost-Effective Solution: By using existing relational databases, ROLAP is
a cost-effective solution compared to MOLAP. It doesn’t require specialized
infrastructure for pre-aggregated cubes, making it more affordable for
businesses.
Disadvantages of ROLAP

• Slower Query Performance: Since ROLAP generates multidimensional cubes on-the-fly for
each query, the process can be slower compared to MOLAP, which uses pre-aggregated data
cubes. This can affect the response time, especially for complex queries.
• Complex Query Processing: ROLAP requires more complex SQL queries to generate data
views. This can make the system harder to manage and increase the time needed for
processing compared to other OLAP models.
• Heavy Dependence on Database Performance: The performance of ROLAP is directly
linked to the relational database's speed. If the database has performance issues or lacks
optimization, it can significantly slow down the querying and analysis process.
• Limited Support for Advanced Calculations: While ROLAP can handle basic
multidimensional analysis, it may struggle with more advanced calculations or aggregations
that are easily handled by MOLAP systems with pre-aggregated cubes.
• High Resource Consumption: The dynamic creation of cubes and complex query
processing can demand higher computational resources, especially when dealing with large
datasets, which may require additional infrastructure and increase operational costs.
Applications of ROLAP

• Business Intelligence & Reporting: ROLAP is commonly used for

generating business reports and insights. It enables organizations to
perform deep data analysis and create customized reports based on
dynamic multidimensional views, supporting decision-making
processes.
• Financial Analysis & Budgeting: It is extensively used in finance
for budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis. ROLAP helps
financial analysts query large datasets and generate detailed reports
on revenue, expenses, and profit margins.
• Sales & Marketing Analytics: ROLAP is ideal for analyzing sales
trends, customer behavior, and marketing effectiveness. It helps
businesses segment data by product, region, and customer, enabling
targeted marketing strategies and performance analysis.
• Supply Chain Management: In supply chain management, ROLAP is used to
analyze inventory levels, monitor logistics, and forecast demand. Its ability to
manage large datasets and generate real-time insights supports effective
supply chain optimization.
• Healthcare Data Analysis: ROLAP is useful in healthcare for analyzing
patient data, treatment outcomes, and healthcare trends. It allows healthcare
providers to query large datasets for insights into patient care, disease
prevention, and treatment effectiveness.
• Retail and E-commerce: Retailers use ROLAP to track product performance,
customer purchasing behavior, and inventory levels. It helps improve decision-
making related to pricing, stock management, and sales strategies.
• Telecom Analytics: ROLAP is used in the telecom industry to monitor network
performance, customer usage patterns, and service optimization. It helps
telecom companies analyze large volumes of call data and optimize their
services.
ROLAP Tools

• Oracle OLAP: Oracle OLAP is a powerful ROLAP tool that integrates with
Oracle databases. It provides high performance and supports advanced
analytics, including complex queries and multidimensional reporting.
• IBM Cognos: IBM Cognos is a popular business intelligence platform that
includes ROLAP functionality for multidimensional data analysis. It supports
real-time query processing and offers robust reporting and dashboarding
features.
• Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS): SQL Server Analysis
Services is part of Microsoft’s BI stack and includes ROLAP capabilities. It
enables users to create complex multidimensional queries on relational
databases and generate detailed reports and analyses.
• SAP BusinessObjects: SAP BusinessObjects offers ROLAP functionality for
users to analyze large volumes of data across different dimensions. It
integrates seamlessly with relational databases and provides comprehensive
reporting and visualization tools.
Benefits:

• It is compatible with data warehouses and OLTP

systems.
• The data size limitation of ROLAP technology is
determined by the underlying RDBMS. As a result, ROLAP
does not limit the amount of data that can be stored.
Limitations:
• SQL functionality is constrained.
• It’s difficult to keep aggregate tables up to date.
Multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP)
• MOLAP is the 'classic' form of OLAP and is
sometimes referred to as just OLAP.
• MOLAP stores this data in an optimized multi-
dimensional array storage, rather than
in a relational database. Therefore it requires the
pre-computation and storage of
information in the cube - the operation known as
processing.
• MOLAP tools generally utilize a pre-calculated data
set referred to as a data cube. The
data cube contains all the possible answers to a
given range of questions.
• MOLAP tools have a very fast response time and
the ability to quickly write back data
into the data set.
Benefits:
Suitable for slicing and dicing operations.
• Outperforms ROLAP when data is dense.
• Capable of performing complex calculations.

Limitations:
• It is difficult to change the dimensions without re-
aggregating.
• Since all calculations are performed when the cube is built,
a large amount of data cannot be
stored in the cube itself.
Hybrid OLAP (HOLAP):
There is no clear agreement across the industry as to what
constitutes Hybrid OLAP, except that a database will divide
data between relational and specialized storage.
• For example, for some vendors, a HOLAP database will use
relational tables to hold the larger quantities of detailed data,
and use specialized storage for at least some aspects of the
smaller quantities of more-aggregate or less-detailed data.
• HOLAP addresses the shortcomings of MOLAP and ROLAP by
combining the capabilities of both approaches.
• HOLAP tools can utilize both pre-calculated cubes and
relational data sources.
Hybrid OLAP (HOLAP):
• Benefits:
• • HOLAP combines the benefits of MOLAP and ROLAP.
• • Provide quick access at all aggregation levels.
• Limitations
• • Because it supports both MOLAP and ROLAP servers,
HOLAP architecture is extremely
• complex