Installation and configuration of Microstrategy 9.

After you download the version of free evaluation of your Web Microstrategy 9, proceed to register the product. For this, use the promotional code provided to us and again, and we will send the activation code which will allow us to use the full functionality of the tool for 30 days (but we activate only be used for 7 days).

Before installing, we will take into account requirements of the applications of suite:

1. Operating system: Windows 2003 SP2, Windows 2003 R2 SP2, Windows XP Professional Edition SP3 (on x86) or SP2 (on x64), Windows Vista Business Edition SP1, or Windows Vista Enterprise Edition SP1 (all Windows operating systems on x86 or x64) .You can also install the suite on Windows XP or Vista, but only for evaluation purposes (as in our case).
2. Internet Services: Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.1, 6.0, or 7.0
3. Web browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7.0 or 6.0.2
4. PDF Reader: Adobe Reader version 7.0, 8.0, 8.1, or 9.0
5. Adobe Flash Player version 9.0
6. To evaluate the MicroStrategy Office, any of the following versions of Office: Microsoft Office 2002 (XP) SP3, Microsoft Office 2003 SP3 and Microsoft Office 2007 SP1.

Then launch the installation process, in which we ask for the location of files and items to be installed.If any of the units to install the suite is not met, we notify you. Once the installation process, continue with setup. To help, I recommend the video Set Up and Configure the Server: Installing and configuring the server.After the process, the system will reboot. It would be appropriate at this stage to register the license using the License Manager.

Databases necessary to use Microstrategy 9

To work with Microstrategy, we will have available several database schemas, each with a different role:

• Datawarehouse: one or more databases where the tool will read the information (depending on the model you built), to produce reports, queries, dashboards, cubes, etc.. It is the database that we have modeled and built into the analysis phase of our project and filled with ETL processes using Talend.
• Metadata: are the internal tables of Microstrategy where they keep all the information in the data model we define and build all the objects using the tools (filters, reports, indicators, etc.).It is the heart of the BI system.
• History: history of modifications made ​​to objects.
• Statistics: tables to maintain and control system activity.

MicroStrategy enables us to work directly with major database engines (DB2, Informix, MySql, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Sybase or SQL Server). Also, through ODBC can access many databases (check the compatibility tables in the documentation).

Database engine to use with Microstrategy

In our case, we use ODBC, the driver provided by MySQL.And configure the following data sources (you can use the Configuration Wizard Connectivity provided by Microstrategy or ODBC Connection Manager in Windows):

• ENOBI_DW: database where the data warehouse was located (corresponding to the database schema in MySql Enobia).
• ENOBI_MD: database which houses the metadata of your project (corresponding to the baseMETADATA data schema in MySql).
• ENOBI_HS: database which houses the History (HISTORY schema in MySql).
• ENOBI_ES: database where are the statistics (statistical scheme in MySql).

Initial System Configuration

Once defined the ODBC connections and properly installed and your license application, we will use the setup wizard ( Configuration Wizard ) to leave the system ready to start working with him.

The Configuration Wizard has 3 tasks, which are the following:

Configuration Wizard

• Repository tables: In this step we create in the database table catalogs needed for different components (as we have seen METADATA, STATISTICS AND HISTORY.)The process connects to the database and creates in them all the tables required to manage the metadata of MicroStrategy, besides filling the contents of the tables with predefined objects.

Creation of Metadata Repository tables

• MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Definition: The MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is the engine for processing and management of business applications, reports, analysis and monitoring.It uses a service-oriented architecture (SOA), and standardizing on a single platform all the needs of analysis and reporting, through various access channels: Web browsers, Microsoft ® Office, Desktop clients, and email. In this configuration step you associate with the Intelligence Server schema METADATA database (which we will no longer prepared in the previous step), and indicate additional configuration parameters (such as TCP or if we register it as a service).Intelligence Server will have a unique in our system.

Intelligence Server Configuration

• Project Sources: A source project is the central location of the various projects. It is a container which then allow us to define within the projects we have in our BI infrastructure.You can define several sources of project (not necessarily only one). By creating a source of projects, we associate a source type and indicates the type of user authentication to be performed for the (Windows user, the user of Microstrategy, LDAP user, database user, etc). In our case we believe the origin of Enobia project that will include all elements of our project.

Origins of Project Definition - Type of user authentication

Source types are the next project, according to the type of configuration:

• Direct or 2 levels, designed to test facilities, training or prototypes.In this case, we go through the Intelligence Server, but straight into the Metadata when we believe a project (it should be noted that data source contains the Metadata).
• Microstrategy Intelligence Server or 3 levels, designed for production facilities. In this case we go through the Intelligence Server, and therefore, we use the data source we defined earlier Metadata him.

Microstrategy Architecture Diagram

In a project source we can define one or more projects using the Project Builder or Microstrategy Desktop (and his assistant for the creation of projects).

We have concluded this step the basic configuration of our server Microstrategy 9.It was relatively easy to leave the system ready to begin working with Microstrategy tools.

Enobia Project Creation

This is the last step to start working with Microstrategy tools.A project should always be located in a source of projects, as we have seen. To create the project, we have two tools:

• Project Builder, a wizard is designed to create simple projects, demos and prototypes, so it has considerable limitations. For any productive project will be convenient to use the Desktop Tool. At the entrance 8 of the blog , we built a prototype of our project using this tool (discussed here in detail all steps taken).

• Desktop - Assistant to the creation of projects: it is the primary tool for working with Microstrategy development. In the tool Desktop see the different origins of the project that we defined in our system, and select one of them to create in him the new project. Then launch the wizard, as we see on screen. Has a series of steps where we set the different elements of the dimensional model of the project. With toolindex.asp "> Architect completes the hierarchical configuration of attributes that make up the dimensions.

You can see the video of Microstrategy which details all the steps for creating a project and its components.

Creation Wizard Project

With the tool will make an association between the database tables of the Data Warehouse (physical model), with the logical elements of the model (dimensions and attributes, hierarchy between the different attributes that make up the dimensions and finally, facts and indicators business).Detail the steps taken to do this in the next blog entry.