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What is OLAP

OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) is a technology that enables quick analysis of large volumes of multidimensional data for business intelligence and decision-making, supporting operations like slice, dice, drill-down, roll-up, and pivot. There are several types of OLAP, including ROLAP, MOLAP, HOLAP, DOLAP, WOLAP, RTOLAP, and COLAP, each with its own advantages and limitations. A data warehouse serves as a centralized system for collecting and managing data from various sources, incorporating components like ETL, metadata repositories, data marts, and OLAP engines for multidimensional analysis.

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13 views3 pages

What is OLAP

OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) is a technology that enables quick analysis of large volumes of multidimensional data for business intelligence and decision-making, supporting operations like slice, dice, drill-down, roll-up, and pivot. There are several types of OLAP, including ROLAP, MOLAP, HOLAP, DOLAP, WOLAP, RTOLAP, and COLAP, each with its own advantages and limitations. A data warehouse serves as a centralized system for collecting and managing data from various sources, incorporating components like ETL, metadata repositories, data marts, and OLAP engines for multidimensional analysis.

Uploaded by

ehsanalam5309
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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What is OLAP?

OLAP stands for Online Analytical Processing. It is a category of technologies


that allows users to quickly analyze large volumes of multidimensional data
to support business intelligence (BI) and decision-making.
OLAP supports operations such as:
o Slice (filter one dimension)
o Dice (filter multiple dimensions)
o Drill-down (go from summary to detail)
o Roll-up (aggregate from detail to summary)
o Pivot (rotate dimensions for a different view)

Types of OLAP:
1. ROLAP (Relational OLAP)
• Uses relational databases for data storage.
• Executes OLAP queries via SQL.
• Suitable for large datasets.
• Slower performance due to real-time query generation.
Limitations:
• Slower than MOLAP for complex queries.
• Heavily dependent on SQL tuning and indexing.
2. MOLAP (Multidimensional OLAP)
• Stores data in multidimensional cubes.
• Uses pre-aggregated data for faster querying.
• Great for quick analysis, but not very scalable.
• Limited in handling very large datasets.
Limitations:
• Limited scalability.
• Difficult to update or refresh frequently.
3. HOLAP (Hybrid OLAP)
• Combines ROLAP and MOLAP.
• Stores summary data in cubes (MOLAP) and detailed data in relational
DBs (ROLAP).
• Balances speed and scalability.
• More complex architecture.
Limitations:
• More complex to implement and manage.
4. DOLAP (Desktop OLAP)
• OLAP tools operate on user’s desktop.
• Data cubes are downloaded and processed locally.
• Fast for small datasets, useful for individual analysis.
• Not suitable for large-scale or collaborative environments.
Limitations:
• Not suitable for enterprise-level data or collaboration.
5. WOLAP (Web OLAP) 6. RTOLAP (Real-Time OLAP) 7. COLAP (Cloud OLAP)

OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) functions as follows:


1. Data Collection: Gather data from various sources.
2. Data Storage: Store data in a multidimensional database (cube).
3. Query: Users query the data using OLAP tools.
4. Analysis: OLAP analyzes data, performing operations like:
- Roll-up (aggregation)
- Drill-down (detailed view)
- Slice (subset selection)
- Dice (multidimensional analysis)
5. Insight Generation: OLAP provides insights, trends, and patterns.

OLAP system Architecture:


What is data warehousing?
A data warehouse is a centralized system that collects, stores, and manages
large volumes of data from different source
components of Data Warehousing:
1. Data Sources
o Operational databases, external data, flat files, etc.
o Provide raw data for the warehouse.
2. ETL (Extract, Transform, Load)
o Extracts data from sources.
o Transforms data to clean, integrate, and format it.
o Loads data into the data warehouse.
3. Data Warehouse
o Central repository storing integrated, historical, and subject-
oriented data.
4. Metadata Repository
o Stores information about data sources, transformations,
structure, and definitions.
o Helps in data management and retrieval.
5. Data Marts
o Tailored for faster and easier access.
6. OLAP Engine
o Supports multidimensional analysis of data.
o Enables slicing, dicing, drill-down, and roll-up operations.
7. Query and Reporting Tools
o Front-end tools used by users to retrieve and analyze data.

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