Importing Custom Data into the Data Warehouse
This section describes how to import custom data into the Data Warehouse by using Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript).
There are five steps to the custom import process:
Reduce the import data set to include only necessary data by clearly defining the purpose of the data import. The import time is directly proportional to the data.
Match the necessary data in the line-of-business (LOB) store or log file to existing structures in the Data Warehouse. For example, if user data is required, use the RegisteredUser class to hold the data.
Extend the Data Warehouse schema to incorporate LOB data unavailable in existing structures. For example, if the purpose of the data import is to analyze the favorite ice cream flavors of registered users, a fav_flavor_codedata member can be added to the RegisteredUser class. Only extend the existing schema if it is necessary.
Parse the LOB data into an intermediate form. This is referred to as staging the data. It increases the reliability of the import and reduces the time that you spend interacting with the Data Warehouse server. Extract the necessary data and put it in a format conducive to direct import into the Data Warehouse schema.
Create a process to import the data from the staging area into the Data Warehouse. Use the OLE DB provider for Commerce Server 2009 to import the data into the Data Warehouse schema.
A running example is used to explain this process. The example involves an ice cream company with a volume of user data. The goal is to use the Data Warehouse to analyze the regional distribution of favorite ice cream flavors.