Conceptual Data Warehouse Feature Information for Developers
This topic describes the high-level elements of the Commerce Server 2009 Data Analytics System.
Data Warehouse Elements
The Data Warehouse includes the following key elements:
Databases. The Commerce Server 2009 Data Warehouse data is stored in a SQL database and in an analysis server database.
Reports. Commerce Server 2009 supplies 34 reports. Commerce Server 2009 builds these reports by using the Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services. You can use these reports as-is, customize them, or you can create new reports by using SQL Server Reporting Services.
Data Transformation Services (DTS) import tasks. Commerce Server 2009 DTS import tasks are loaded into SQL Server when you unpack a site. These tasks import data from the Commerce Server 2009 run-time databases.
Data Warehouse Import Wizard. Commerce Server 2009 includes an interface that is designed to let you quickly and easily import data into the Data Warehouse. You can use the Data Warehouse Import Wizard in addition to the automated DTS import tasks, or to replace the DTS import tasks.
Sources of Data
The Data Warehouse contains day-to-day business data about your site's users, such as user profile data, transaction data, and click-history data. This data is imported from Web log files and Commerce Server 2009 databases (profiles, catalogs, campaigns, and orders) by using Commerce Server 2009 DTS import tasks, based on the configuration that you defined in the Data Warehouse Import Wizard. After you generate the data, additional calls to the originating database are not required. This minimizes the load on the computer that is running Commerce Server 2009.
For more information about the structure of information that is imported into the Data Warehouse, see What Data Does DTS Import into the Data Warehouse?
For more information about how to run DTS tasks, see Managing the Data Warehouse.
Processing Data (Cube Generation)
An Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) cube contains a subset of the data in the Data Warehouse that is defined by shared dimensions and measures. In Commerce Server 2009, a cube is created during the unpacking process, and is populated and processed for data retrieval when the reports preparation DTS task runs. Storing data in cubes increases the speed of data retrieval. For more information about Data Warehouse cube generation tables, see Data Warehouse Report Tables.
Reports
Commerce Server 2009 supplies 34 reports and classifies these reports by business scenario. To learn more about Commerce Server 2009 reports, see Data Warehouse Analytics Business Scenarios.
Note
If you change a database connection string in the Commerce Server Manager, you must reinstall reports that access the database. This causes an update to the connection string information. Or, you can use SQL Server Reporting Services to update each report data source object to use the new connection information.