Cognos 8 BI Transformer Designing OLAP Models (Part 2)

Cognos Training
Cognos 8 BI Transformer:
Designing OLAP Models
(version 8.3)
Student Guide
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Cognos 8 BI Transformer: Designing OLAP

Models (version 8.3)
Copyright 2008 Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos

Incorporated). Cognos ULC is an IBM Company.
C88382 - Production
Portions of Cognos(R) software products are protected by

one or more of the following U.S. Patents: 6,609,123 B1;
6,611,838 B1; 6,662,188 B1; 6,728,697 B2; 6,741,982
B2; 6,763,520 B1; 6,768,995 B2; 6,782,378 B2;
6,847,973 B2.
Part Number: 60557

Published May 2008
While every attempt has been made to ensure that the

information in this document is accurate and complete,
some typographical errors or technical inaccuracies may
exist. Cognos does not accept responsibility for any kind
of loss resulting from the use of information contained in
this document.
This document shows the publication date. The
information contained in this document is subject to
change without notice. Any improvements or changes to
the information contained in this document will be
documented in subsequent editions. This document
contains proprietary information of Cognos. All rights are
reserved. No part of this document may be copied,
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transmitted in any form or by any means, or translated
into another language without the prior written consent of
Cognos.
Cognos and the Cognos logo are trademarks of Cognos
ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated) in the United States
and/or other countries. IBM and the IBM logo are
trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation in the United States, or other countries, or
both. All other names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Information about Cognos products can be found at
www.cognos.com.
IP-2
2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Cognos Confidential. For internal use only.
This guide contains proprietary information which is protected by copyright. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced,
or translated into another language without a legal license agreement from Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated).
12
Currency Conversion
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
Unless specified otherwise in demo or workshop steps, instructors and students will always log on to
Cognos 8 in the Local NT namespace using the following credentials:
User ID: admin
Password: Education1!
COGNOS
12-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
Objectives
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
apply and use currency conversion techniques
Instructor Notes
Ensure you set the default directories for opening cubes in C:\Edcognos\C88382.

12-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Currency Conversion
Convert financial measures using conversion tables in
Transformer.
Populate currency conversion tables by either:
adding a data source containing conversion data

from an external currency table to a model
manually defining new currencies and conversion

rates in Transformer
Transformer can convert financial data according to the conversion rates, which must
be in a currency table added as a data source.
The converted data is then added to the PowerCube.
Instructor Notes
If a measure's formatting is set to show currency symbols, the symbol shown dynamically reflects the
locale of the measure's currency setting. If an administrator chooses to override a currency's symbol,
the override is used. (Regional Control Settings)
You can add currency conversion data into a Transformer model using either of these two ways:
Query an external currency table, and then add the data source into your model.
Define new currencies and conversion rates in Transformer by creating a currency table.
Your model must contain a time dimension before you can add a currency table.
After the converted data is loaded in to the PowerCube, users can then decide which conversions to
apply.
12-4

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
How is Currency Converted?

Conversions are performed against lowest level date
categories from the time dimension.
Conversion rates are for default currency from
Regional Settings.
Currency tables are added to the PowerCube or
updated in the PowerCube.
Rollup rules apply.
Currency conversion tables are based on the time dimension.
Instructor Notes
For example, months in the time dimension correspond to months in the currency conversion table. If you
have conversion rates on a monthly basis in your currency table, data for each month is converted based
on the rate specified for its respective month in the Currency table. The converted data is then rolled up
based on your rollup rules. This rule also applies to calculated measures that are calculated either before
or after rollup.
This feature is enabled only if there is more than one currency defined in the cube. A default currency
(Regional Control Settings) is always defined.
12-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Default Currency Settings

Default currency settings are determined by the
regional and Language Options
Transformer uses the Regional Options to establish a framework for the currency
tables.
Transformer default settings are determined by Regional Options. These settings can
be changed in either the Customize Regional Options dialog box or in Transformer.
The Regional Options control the behavior of the Number, Currency, Time, and Date
tab properties.
Instructor Notes
The position of the currency symbol (before or after the monetary units) is dependent upon the
properties in the Control Panel Regional Options. For example, if you set your desktop Regional
Options to French (Standard), the currency symbol will always appear after the monetary units. If you
set your desktop Regional Options to English (United States), the currency symbol will always appear
before the monetary units. Transformer is informed of this setting and will always support the Control
Panel Regional Options.
12-6

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
Demo 1: Import Currency Data Using a Data Source

Purpose:
You are required to convert financial results into different
currencies.
Components:
Transformer, Analysis Studio
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Verify regional settings in Control Panel.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Open Control Panel.

Double-click Regional and Language Options.
English (United States) should be selected in the preferences list.
Click Customize to view the operating system defaults that apply to English
(United States).
Decimal symbol: . (period)
No. of digits after decimal: 2
Digit grouping symbol: , (comma)
Close the dialog box, and close Control Panel.
Task 2. Add Currency Conversion data source.

1.
Open a Transformer model.

Location: C:\Program Files\cognos\c8\webcontent\samples\Models\
Transformer8\EN
Name: Sales and Marketing.mdl

12-7
COGNOS
2.
3.
4.
5.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Insert the Currency Conversion data source.

Data source name: Currency Conversion
Data source type: Excel database
Location: C:\Program Files\cognos\c8\webcontent\samples\
datasources\cubes\PowerCubes\EN\great outdoors sales\
Filename: currency.xls
Table or range: Currency
Expand Currency Conversion.
Modify the properties of the CONVERSION_DATE column.
Data class: Date
Generate the categories, and then click OK to accept the warning.
Note: User ID - admin, Password - Education1!
You must generate categories before Transformer will process a currency table.
Task 3. Set up a currency table.

1.
2.
3.
From the File menu, click Currency Table.

Select the Use an external currency data source check box.
Under Base table columns, add the following:
Association role
Column name
Label
Rate
Country code
Date
12-8
CURRENCY_NAME
CONVERSION_TO_LOCAL
ISO_THREE_LETTER_CODE
CONVERSION_DATE

CURRENCY
4.
5.
CONVERSION
Click Load Table.

This step loads the values contained in the Currency data source into the special
currency table created by Transformer.
Click OK.
Task 4. Format and specify the measures that can have

currency conversion applied to them.
1.
Modify the Revenue and Product cost properties:

Allow currency conversion
Format: $#, ##0
Decimal places: 2
Notice the icons for the measures now include a $ sign to indicate these
measures can be converted.
Task 5. View and modify the Currency Record.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Under Currencies, click Canadian dollars (CAN).
Conversion rates display for the listed periods.
Under Currencies, click <Base default> (USA) and then click Properties.
Select the Override the country code.
Change the Currency symbol to US$.
Click OK twice.

12-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 6. Publish the PowerCube directly to Cognos Connection.

1.
2.
3.
Insert a new PowerCube called Currency Conversion.

Right-click Currency Conversion and click Create Selected PowerCubes.
Publish the PowerCube as a data source and package.
Method: Publish the PowerCube using current settings
Task 7. Create a basic Analysis.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
12-10
Log on to Cognos Connection.

URL: http://localhost/Cognos8
Username: admin
Open Analysis Studio and create a Blank Analysis.
Package: Currency Conversion
Expand the Time folder, and then drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
Drag Products to the Columns drop zone.
Expand Measures, and drag Revenue to the Measure drop zone.
The report appears as shown below.

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
6.
Expand Currency and drag <Euro> to the Context filter.

All the values are converted to Euros.
The report appears as shown below:
7.
Under Currency drag United States to the Context filter.

All the values are converted back to American dollars.
Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then click Log off.
In Transformer, close the model without saving and leave Transformer open
for the workshop.
8.
9.
Results:
You set up currency conversion in Transformer so that you can
accurately and efficiently convert financial results to different
currencies.

12-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Summary
apply and use currency conversion techniques
Instructor Notes
If you have reached the end of a teaching day, you can show students how to remove packages and
data source connections in Cognos Connection (except Go Data Warehouse (query), and Go Data
Warehouse (analysis). This will "unclutter" public folders. You can also delete the cubes, log files etc.
from C:\Edcognos\C88382.
12-12

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
Workshop 1: Currency Conversion

You are required to find a currency conversion method to display various currencies in
the analyses. You will set up currency conversion using an external data source. That
means that all currencies are automatically converted to other currencies. To
accomplish this task, complete the following items:
Open the Sales and Marketing model.
Add currency.xls as a data source to the model.
Set up a currency table.
Specify Revenue, Product cost, and Gross profit to support currency conversion
and format each measure to be $#,##0 with 2 decimal places.
Update the existing currency table by adding the South African Rand to the
currency table. (currency rates for 2004 - 2007 are 500.000000000)
Modify the Currency Record to distinguish between the Canadian ($CAN) and
American dollars (US$)
Insert a new PowerCube and view your results in Analysis Studio.

12-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Workshop 1: Task Table

Task
Where to Work
1. Open the model and File menu
add the Currency
Data source list
Conversion data
source.
2. Set up a currency
table.
File menu >

Currency Table
Hints
Open Sales and Marketing.mdl.
Insert Currency Conversion data
source using currency.xls.
Use an external currency data
source.
Add Base table columns.
Load table.
3. Format and specify

the measures that
can have currency
conversion applied
to them.
Measure properties
Allow currency conversion for

Revenue, Product cost, and Gross
profit.
Format: $#, ##0
Decimal places: 2
4. Add the South

African Rand to the
currency table.
File menu >

Currency Table
Add a new currency for the South

Africa Rand.
Country code: South Africa (ZAF)
Currency rates for 2004 - 2007 at
500.000000000.
12-14

CURRENCY
Task
Where to Work
5. View and modify the File menu >
Currency Record.
Currency Table
CONVERSION
Hints
Set the Canadian Currency symbol
to $CAN.
Set the United States currency
symbol to US$.
6. Publish the
PowerCube directly
to Cognos
Connection.
Transformer
7. View the result.
Analysis Studio
Insert a PowerCube called New

Currency.
Publish using current settings.
New Currency Package.
If you need more information to complete a task, see the Step-by-Step Instructions at
the end of the workshop.

12-15
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Workshop 1: Workshop Results

After adding conversion rates to the currency table the Conversion Rates appear as
shown below:
After viewing the South African result in Analysis Studio, the result appears as
shown below:
12-16

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
Workshop 1: Step-by-Step Instructions

Components:
Package:
GO Data Warehouse (query)
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open the model and add Currency Conversion data

source.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Transformer8\EN
Insert the Currency Conversion data source.
Data source name: Currency Conversion
Data source type: Excel database
Location: C:\Program Files\cognos\c8\webcontent\samples\
datasources\cubes\PowerCubes\EN\great outdoors sales
Filename: currency.xls
Table or range: Currency
Expand Currency Conversion.
Modify the properties of the CONVERSION_DATE column.
Data class: Date
Generate the categories, and click OK to accept the warning.

12-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 2. Set up a currency table.

1.
2.
3.

Select the Use an external currency data source check box.
Under Base table columns, add the following:
Association role
Column name
Label
Rate
Country code
Date
4.
5.
CURRENCY_NAME
CONVERSION_TO_LOCAL
ISO_THREE_LETTER_CODE
CONVERSION_DATE
Click Load Table.

This step loads the values contained in the Currency data source into the special
currency table created by Transformer.
Click OK.
Task 3. Format and specify the measures that can have

currency conversion applied to them.
1.
12-18
Modify the Revenue, Product cost, and Gross profit properties:

Allow currency conversion
Format: $#, ##0
Decimal places: 2

CURRENCY
CONVERSION
Task 4. Add the South African Rand to the currency table.

1.
2.
3.

Add a new currency:
Hint: Under Currencies, click Add.
Currency label: South Africa
Date level: Year
Country code: South Africa (ZAF)
Under Currencies, select South Africa (ZAF) and set the currency rates for
2004 - 2007 at 500.000000000.
Task 5. View and modify the Currency Record.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Under Currencies, click Canadian dollars (CAN).

Click Properties, and then select the Override the country code.
Change the Currency symbol to $CAN and then click OK.
Under Currencies, click <Base default> (USA) and then click Properties.
Select the Override the country code.
Change the Currency symbol to US$.
Click OK twice.

1.
2.
3.
Insert a new PowerCube called New Currency.

Right-click New Currency and click Create Selected PowerCubes.
Publish the PowerCube as a data source and a package.

12-19
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 7. View the result.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
12-20

Username: admin
Package: New Currency
Expand the Time folder, and then drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
Drag Products to the Columns drop zone.
Expand Currency and drag South Africa to the Context filter.
All the values are converted to the South African Rand.
Under Currency, drag Canada to the Context filter.
Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then close Internet Explorer.
In Transformer, close the model without saving.

13
Alternative Hierarchies within

a Dimension
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
User ID: admin
COGNOS
13-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Objectives
discuss primary and alternate hierarchies
describe the benefits of alternate hierarchies
create an alternate hierarchies
define convergence levels and identify uniqueness

issues
Instructor Notes
Students should be familiar with:
the Transformer development process
how to build a model
Transformer data sources
the Transformer time dimension
Ensure the default directories for opening cubes and saving reports is C:\Edcognos\C88382.

13-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What is an Alternate Hierarchy?

Alternate hierarchies provide:
an alternate drill path through the data in the

dimension
new perspectives to explore the data
Primary hierarchy
Alternate hierarchy
The primary path in a dimension is defined as the most common approach to

structuring the data.
An alternate hierarchy provides a secondary path for exploring the data in the
dimension by drilling down.
Instructor Notes
When you create a dimension, the levels and categories are organized in the most common way used
to explore the data. This is referred to as the primary hierarchy. You can incorporate other equally valid
perspectives in the dimension that benefit the users by creating alternate hierarchies in the dimension.
Although the primary path is the method most often used to navigate the levels in a dimension, users
may occasionally need to see data structured differently.
13-4

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Why Do We Use Alternate

Hierarchies?
provides more direct navigation to the detailed data in
a dimension
You can also use an alternate hierarchy to:

offer more intuitive options for analyzing data on an ad hoc basis
present different relationships between parts of the data in the data source
order the categories differently
Instructor Notes
Reasons to apply an alternate hierarchy:
To introduce new attributes that are different from those available in your primary hierarchy as a
level in the dimension.
To help reveal other trends and relationships in the data that may not be immediately apparent in
the primary hierarchy.
To apply an alternate hierarchy, instead of adding another dimension to your application, to reduce
the total number of categories in your model.
13-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Direct Access
direct access to the lower levels of detail in a
dimension
bypass higher levels to view a broader scope of data
Primary
hierarchy
Alternate
hierarchies
This type of alternate hierarchy provides flexibility in an Explorer report so that you
can quickly view a greater scope of the lower levels of details.
You do not have to filter through other levels in the same dimension.
Instructor Notes
In the slide example, two alternate hierarchies have been created to provide direct access in the
Region dimension to all the categories at the Employee name level. This provides a view of a broader
scope of data pertaining to the dimension. One path allows users to view lower levels of Employee
name data in the context of City, while the other allows them to view lower levels of Employee name
data in the context of Country. Therefore, users do not have to filter by drilling down through all the
levels of the dimension.
13-6

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Reorganize the Levels

provides a different approach to the primary hierarchy
using the current levels
reorganize the order of levels in a dimension
Primary
hierarchy
Alternate
hierarchy
In some instances, you may need to reorganize the levels to provide different
perspectives and insights into the data.
This approach is especially useful when data related to the dimension must meet the
requirements of several different users who want to explore different perspectives of
the same data.
Instructor Notes
Typically, this situation is referred to as a many-to-many relationship within the data where you can use
two or more levels interchangeably within the hierarchy of the dimension. The slide example
demonstrates a dimension called Product Line:
The primary hierarchy brings the user from color to the various models to individual product names
for each product line.
The alternate hierarchy (equally valid) for this dimension is to bring the user from the model to the
various colors to individual product names for each product line.
13-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Introduce a New Level

provides an additional perspective for the dimension
can introduce a level not currently used in the
dimension
Primary
hierarchy
Alternate
hierarchy
Because a dimension has data that contains several attributes, you may prefer to create
an alternate hierarchy.
You do this to avoid:
introducing an excessive number of levels in the primary hierarchy
adding an entirely separate dimension
Instructor Notes
You must carefully consider the level being introduced to make sure you maintain the integrity of the
dimension structure.
13-8

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Convergence Levels
the level at which an alternate hierarchy connects to
the primary path
each convergence level must have unique categories
Convergence
level
One or more alternate hierarchies can be merged into the primary path at one or more
levels called convergence levels.
Each convergence level must contain only unique categories so that Transformer can
correctly connect several parent categories to the same converging category.
Instructor Notes
Primary and alternate hierarchies share the category values at the convergence level and below. If you
delete or modify a category in one hierarchy at or below the convergence level, the change is
immediately reflected for the same category in all other hierarchies.

13-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Define the Convergence Level as

Unique
Levels may already be defined as unique because of
previous relationships analyzed using the Data Source
Scope.
Transformer warns you if the convergence level was
not declared unique.
Prior to creating an alternate hierarchy, you must declare convergence levels unique by
setting uniqueness in the Level property sheet.
Instructor Notes
If you declare level uniqueness in the Level property sheet, you receive Transformer Warning message
TR2327. If you answer Yes, the level will be designated as unique. Otherwise, when you create the
alternate hierarchy, Transformer Warning message TR2312 appears, prompting you to confirm
uniqueness of the convergence level. Unlike the Level property sheet, the appropriate confirmation
response is No. This response automatically declares the level as unique.
Alternate hierarchies always begin at a root category and extend to the selected convergence level. For
a convergence level to be valid, it must have source values that map onto unique categories.
Otherwise, there would be no way to distinguish between categories.
13-10

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
An Alternate Hierarchy in a Time

Dimension
View time data in different ways and to avoid using
multiple time dimensions in a model.
For example, you can view data for the calendar or
fiscal year in the same model.
Many businesses track measures by using more than one calendar.

A common combination is calendar and fiscal years, where a company sets up fiscal
years that span different parts of two calendar years.
Instructor Notes
When you create an alternate hierarchy for a fiscal year, the convergence level is dependent on the
start date of the fiscal year. If the fiscal year were in step with the standard start dates of the calendar
year quarters (that is, January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1), the convergence level is Quarter. If it is
the first day of any other month, the convergence level would be Month.

13-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 1: Create Alternate Hierarchies

Purpose:
Two departments asked for specific reporting paths based on data
contained within a single dimension. To provide direct access for
both departments, you will create an alternate hierarchy.
Component:
Transformer, Analysis
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create an alternate hierarchy using the Create DrillDown command.

1.
2.
3.

Name: Demo 1_Start.pyj
Location:
C:\Edcognos\PPT-Alternate_Hierarchies_within_a_Dimension
Click the Employee name level.
From the Edit menu, click Create Drill-Down.
The following warning appears:
Instructor Notes
Alternate hierarchies may have performance implications. Rollups occur only in the primary hierarchy.
An alternate hierarchy cannot take advantage of any partitioning in the model. Therefore, performance
in the alternate hierarchy is poorer than in the primary hierarchy.
13-12

ALTERNATE
4.
5.
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Click No to declare the Employee name level unique.

A blank box appears above Employee name and spans the three ancestral levels
City, Country, and Region. This represents the alternate hierarchy.
From the data source, drag CITY into the new empty box.
The alternate hierarchy appears as shown below:
You just created an alternate hierarchy that bypasses Region and Country and
summarizes data to City.
Task 2. Add a data source, and declare a convergence level
as unique.
1.
2.
Insert a new data source.

Data source name: Product Profits
Type: Delimited-field text with Column titles
Location: C:\Edcognos\C88382\Product Profits.csv
Do not use AutoDesign
The Product Profits data source has been added to the list.
Ensure Product Profits is first in the Data Sources list.
Instructor Notes
Point out that the Product key columns in both data sources is already named the same.

13-13
COGNOS
3.
4.
5.
6.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Modify the Product Profits data source properties.

Hint: Data source query properties, General tab
Clear Sets the current period check box.
In the Data Sources list, right-click Product Profits, and then click Show
Scope.
The data source has a conflicting relationship in the Dimension Map structure;
that is, a red label is on Product name.
Set the Product name level as Unique, and then click OK to accept the
warning.
Hint: level property sheet
The Product name level should be colored dark yellow, and its ancestral levels
should be colored light yellow.
Close the Data Sources scope Dimension Map.
Task 3. Create an alternate hierarchy using the drag-and-drop

method.
1.
Drag the Profit Ranking column to the upper-right corner of the Product
line level. (Do not release the mouse button) as shown below:
A green outlined box appears in the Product line level.
13-14

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
2.
Drag the green box down to just above the Product name level.
3.
Release the mouse button.

The alternate hierarchy appears as shown below:
DIMENSION
The Profit Ranking level spans both the Product line and Product type levels,
creating direct access to the Product name level.
Task 4. Rename alternate hierarchies in the dimension
diagram.
1.


13-15
COGNOS
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click the Product line dimension, and then click Show Diagram.
The dimension diagram appears as shown below:
The alternate hierarchy is enclosed in a box (called a drill-down structure) that

surrounds the drill category and its descendants. It is located below the primary
hierarchy.
Click the alternate drill category By Product Name, and then press F2.
Type By Profit Ranking, and then press Enter.
Alternatively, you can rename it in the Category property sheet.
In the Dimension pane, click the Region dimension.
Rename By Employee name to By City.
Close the dimension diagram.

1.
2.
13-16
Check the model and create the PowerCube.

Publish the PowerCube as a data Source and package.

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Username: admin
Create a Blank Analysis in Analysis Studio.
Package: Alternate
Expand Date, and drag Date to the Rows drop zone.
Expand Measures and drag Revenue to the Measure drop zone.
Expand Region.
The alternate hierarchy you created called By City displays.
Expand Product line.

The alternate hierarchy you created called By Profit Ranking displays.

13-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
7.
Expand By Profit Ranking.
8.
The lower levels of drill-down categories display.

Drag HIGH to the Columns drop zone.
The analysis appears as shown below:
(VERSION
8.3)
All Products that have a high profit ranking display in the columns.
9. Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then close Internet Explorer.
10. Leave Transformer open for the next demo.
Results:
Two departments can now effectively use the same PowerCube to
report on similar data.
13-18

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Demo 2: Create an Alternate Hierarchy in the Time Dimension

Purpose:
You want to view a fiscal calendar based on financial quarterly
periods. To compare fiscal results with standard yearly calendar
results, they require both time dimensions in their PowerCube. The
best method of achieving this is an alternate hierarchy.
Component:
Transformer
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create an Alternate Hierarchy.

1.
Create a new alternate hierarchy converging at the Month level.

Hint: Edit menu, Create Drill-Down
Transformer creates room for a new drill-down hierarchy in the Date
dimension.
Task 2. Add Fiscal Quarter to the alternate Hierarchy.

2.
3.
Insert a level in the alternate hierarchy.

Hint: Right-click the empty level, and then click Insert Level.
Level name: Fiscal Quarter
Association role: Source
Column name: Date
This source column populates the new alternate hierarchy.
Click OK to return to the Fiscal Quarter level property sheet.

13-19
COGNOS
4.
5.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Apply the Calendar quarter date function.

Hint: Time tab
Date function: Calendar quarter
Calendar quarter generates quarters based on the standard calendar format of
YYYY Q Q, where the last Q is the designated quarter (1, 2, 3, or 4).
Click OK.
The new Fiscal Quarter level appears in italics in the new alternate hierarchy.
Task 3. Add Fiscal Year to the alternate hierarchy.

1.
2.
3.
13-20
Insert a level above Fiscal Quarter in the alternate hierarchy.

Hint: right-click the Fiscal Quarter level, Insert Level
Level name: Fiscal Year
Association role: Source
Column name: Date
This source column populates the new alternate hierarchy.
Click OK to return to the Fiscal Year level property sheet.
Apply the Calendar year date function.
Hint: Time tab
Date function: Calendar year

ALTERNATE
4.
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Click OK.
The Date Dimension appears as shown below:
Task 4. Change the name of the alternate hierarchy and

modify the year begins date.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Click the Date dimension label, and then click the Show Diagram.
Resize the dimension diagram if necessary.
Rename the By Month drill category in the property sheet.
Category label: By Fiscal Date
Click the Time tab.
Modify the years begins date.
Year begins: 20070301
Click OK, and then click OK to accept the warning.
Generate the categories, and click OK to accept the warning.

13-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
7.
Expand 2005 and 2005 Q 1 to confirm that Q1 starts on March 2004.

8.
Close Transformer without saving.
Results:
You met the Finance department's need to view a fiscal calendar
based on financial quarterly periods and a standard yearly calendar
in the PowerCube.
13-22

ALTERNATE
HIERARCHIES
WITHIN
DIMENSION
Summary
discuss primary and alternate hierarchies
describe the benefits of alternate hierarchies
create an alternate hierarchies
define convergence levels and identify uniqueness

issues
Instructor Notes

13-23
COGNOS
13-24
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

14
Advanced Dimensional
Modeling
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
User ID: admin
COGNOS
14-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Objectives
discuss techniques for customizing dimensions
add a new source level to an existing dimension
create and populate a manual level in a dimension
create orphan categories
modify a dimension using a subdimension
create a special category
create a scenario dimension
create and use calculated columns and categories
Instructor Notes
the Transformer development process
how to build a model
working with measures
using multiple data sources in a model
Ensure to set the default directories for opening cubes and saving reports to C:\Edcognos\C88382.

14-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Customize Dimensions
You can customize dimensions to:
reflect changes in the available data source
accommodate a particular view of the data
add analytical value to the structure of the

application
improve performance and optimize PowerCube

design
You can choose to customize dimensions by:

adding new source levels and manual levels
using subdimensions and special categories
creating scenario dimensions, calculated columns, and calculated categories
removing old categories or levels
14-4

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Add a New Source Level

Add a new data source column as a level in the
dimension to provide further definition to the existing
structure.
When the required source data already exists, this is
one of the easiest ways to update the dimensions.
If you introduce a new source level, it must fit logically into the existing data hierarchy.
Instructor Notes
To add a new level, drag the column to the dimension map. You can also add a new source level by
selecting an existing level on the dimension map or dimension diagram using insert level. If the Data
Sources list does not contain the columns you want, you may have to modify the data source to include
additional columns of data. Modifying your data source may also require that the data source columns
Transformer currently recognizes be synchronized with those in your updated data source.

14-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What are Manual Levels?

provide further definition to dimensions when source
levels are not available
add more detail by providing intermediary levels
group and organize large numbers of descendant
categories
For example, the number of descendant categories in a dimension is too large to

support meaningful analysis. To add definition to the dimension, insert a manual level
that gives a more balanced breakdown of the categories.
Instructor Notes
Use Manual levels primarily for static data. If new categories are added as children of a Manual level,
you must connect them manually to the existing structure. You must also define and manually maintain
the individual categories for each manual level in the dimension diagram.
By creating manual levels you are imposing an organizational structure on the data even if that
structure is not embedded in your data source.
14-6

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Populate Manual Levels

Manual levels contain manual categories that you
create within the dimension diagram.
Each manual category must have parent-child
relationships defined.
Manual Level
Manual/Parent
Category
Child Category
For each manual category and for any new categories introduced into the dimension,
you must also define parent-child relationships with existing lower-level categories.
Instructor Notes
You can create manual categories only in the dimension diagram. If new categories are generated, you
must relate them to the appropriate categories. Not all branches of the hierarchy need to be populated
with manual categories.

14-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Create Orphan Categories

An orphan category in a manual level provides a
default parent for new categories.
Once created, any new categories generated
that are not specifically defined will become
children of this orphanage.
An orphanage is a category in a manual level that is the default parent for any new
categories.
You can create a manual level to establish a category that is used as an orphanage for
the dimension.
14-8

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Demo 1: Add a Manual Level, and Manual Categories

Purpose:
You want to add more detail to the Retailer Type dimension as well
as view sales in all Sales Territories by Region. This data is not
currently available; therefore, you will add a new source level within
the Retailer Type dimension and a manual level within the Sales
Territory dimension, and populate it with categories in the
Transformer model.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open a Model.

1.
Open a Transformer model:

Model name: Sales and Marketing.mdl
Transformer8\EN

14-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 2. Create a manual level in the model.

1.
2.
3.
4.
14-10

Insert a new level above Retailer country.
Hint: Right-click Retailer country, Insert Level
Level name: Sales District
The new level appears in the dimension, with the icon identifying it as a manual
level.
Click the Retailers dimension label, and then click Show Diagram.
If necessary, resize the dimension diagram.
The new manual level called Sales District is shown between Region and
Retailer country.
Sort the categories in the Retailer country level.

Hint: Retailer country properties, Order by Retailer country
This will make it easier to create relationships between the manual categories in
the Region level and the source categories in the Retailer country level.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Task 3. Create manual categories for the manual level.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Click the right side of the Southern Europe category, and then drag it under
the Sales District level.
Note: The pointer should be a crosshair.
In the Category label box, type East, and then click OK.
A new manual category is created under the Sales District level, with the
Southern Europe category expanded to country.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 to create a category called West.
Create two new categories for Americas.
Categories: North, South

14-11
COGNOS
5.
14-12
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Create 2 new categories for Asia Pacific.

Categories: North, South
Under the Sales District level, you added six new manual categories.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Task 4. Establish relationships between manual levels and

categories.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Under the Retailer country level, click Austria, and Shift+click Italy.
Drag the categories to the Southern Europe, East category.
This action creates the necessary relationship between the categories. Two new
relationships are defined in the dimension hierarchy.
Add Spain to the Southern Europe, West category.
Add Canada and United States to the Americas, North category.
Add Mexico and Brazil to the Americas, South category.
Add Japan, China, and Korea to the Asia Pacific, North category.
Add Australia and Singapore to the Asia Pacific, South category.
Instructor Notes
If you associate the wrong category (for example "United States") with a particular manual level (for
example "South"), and undo is no longer an option, you can re-associate the errant category with its
original parent category ("United States" back into "Americas") and then associate it with the
appropriate manual level.

14-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
8.
Expand each of the manual categories in the new Sales District level.
Notice the defined relationships. The dimension diagram appears as shown
below:
9.

1.
2.
3.
4.
14-14
Check the model.

Insert a new PowerCube called Sales Districts.
Right-click Sales Districts and click Create Selected PowerCube.
Publish the PowerCube as a Data Source and Package.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Task 6. View the new manual level and manual categories in

Analysis Studio.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
View the package in Public Folders.

Username: admin
Package: Sales Districts
Expand Time, and then drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
Expand Measures, and drag Revenue to Measures.
Expand Retailers, Americas and Asia Pacific.
The Insertable Objects pane appears as shown below:

14-15
COGNOS
6.
7.
8.
9.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Drag the Americas dimension to the Columns drop zone.

North and South appear. This is the Manual Sales District level you added.
Drill down on North.
Notice that Canada and the United States appear as lower-level categories for
North.
Close Analysis Studio without saving the report, and then click Log Off.
Close the model without saving, and leave Transformer open for the next
demo.
Results:
You reorganized the Retailers dimension by creating and populating
a new manual level called Sales District. By doing this, you made it
possible for the Director of Sales to view sales data in a new way.
14-16

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Demo 2: Create an Orphanage (Instructor Only)

Purpose:
The Sales Director wants to determine if there is data without parent
categories, and associate this data to the correct data source in the
model. You will create an orphanage in a manual level to
accommodate his request.
Component:
Transformer, Analysis Studio, Microsoft Excel
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open and review the model.

1.
Open the Model.

Name: Demo 2_Start.pyj
Location: C:\Edcognos\C88382\PPT-Advanced Dimensional modeling
Task 2. Modify the data source.

2.
You will modify the data source to explore this process.

In Notepad, open Basic Measures.csv.
Location at C:\Edcognos\C88382
Instructor Notes
Ensure that you open the file in Notepad as the number of records exceeds a spreadsheet in Excel. It
is recommended that this demo is Instructor Only since it requires you to modify the source files that
will be used later in the course.

14-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
3.
4.
In the first row with data, change the Employee key from 4001 to 7777.
In the second row with data, change the Employee key from 4001 to 8888.
5.
Save the file and close it.
Task 3. View unattached categories.

1.
2.
3.
Generate the categories.

Click the Region dimension and then click Show Diagram.
Completely expand the Orphans of By Region.
There are unattached categories (7777 and 8888) for the Employee key.
Task 4. Create an orphanage in a manual level.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
14-18
Delete the orphan categories.

Click the right side of the Region level, and then drag it to the left of the
Region level.
In the Level name box, type Unknown Fact Data, and then click OK.
Click the right side of the By Region drill-down category, and then drag it
directly below the Unknown Fact Data level.
In the Category label box, type Unknowns, select the Category is an
orphanage check box, and then click OK.
The category Unknowns may appear in a different vertical position in the
dimension diagram, depending on where you drag the mouse when creating the
category.

ADVANCED
7.
8.
9.
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

Click the Region dimension, and then click Show Diagram.
Expand Unknowns to the Employee name level.
The new orphanage category Unknowns now contains the unattached
categories 7777 and 8888.
Your dimension diagram appears as shown below:
10. Close the dimension diagram.

Task 5. View the Results in Analysis Studio.
1.
2.
3.
In Transformer, insert a new PowerCube called Orphanage.

Right-click the PowerCube and click Create Selected PowerCube.
Task 6. Explore the results.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Launch Analysis Studio.

Create a Blank Analysis.
Package: Orphanage
Expand Date, and then drag Date to Rows.
Expand Measures, and drag Revenue to Measures.

14-19
COGNOS
5.
6.
7.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Drag Region to Columns.

Notice that Unknowns now displays with the Regions.

Drill down on Unknowns.
Your report appears as shown below.
The unattached members 7777 and 8888 display.

Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then click Log Off.
Task 7: Reset the Data.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Open the Basics Measures.csv in Notepad.

In row 2, reset 7777 to 4001.
In row 3, reset 8888 to 4001.
Close the model without saving and leave Transformer open for the next demo.
Results:
You created an orphanage in the manual level to accommodate the
request of the Sales Director.
14-20

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Create Subdimensions
Subdimensions are created in the category viewer of
the dimension diagram.
Subdimension
A subdimension isolates a hierarchy of categories from the rest of the dimension.

Categories in a subdimension are independent of levels in other parts of the dimension.
Changes made to levels outside the subdimension do not affect the categories in the
subdimension and vice versa.
Instructor Notes
Subdimensions accommodate unbalanced dimensions and provide more drill-down depth in the model
If required, you can create alternate drill-down paths in a subdimension. You can use subdimensions to
provide different levels of detail, or different details altogether, for certain categories in a level.
Subdimensions contain categories from the same dimension, whereas categories in a Manual Level
are not necessarily from the same dimension.

14-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Special Categories
highlight important data in the model
groups regular categories from any level in a
dimension, without regard for their normal
hierarchical organization
viewed as part of the dimension hierarchy but are
not part of the main dimension rollup
A special category is a specifically designed view of the data that is created outside the
main dimension hierarchy in the dimension diagram.
Instructor Notes
For example, you want to categorize a group of products that are not normally related to each other,
such as best-selling products or the products that will be discontinued. In the dimension diagram, the
children of the special category appear both in the main hierarchy and in the special category. Any
changes to a regular category in this group are reflected in both instances.
Special categories are unstructured and must be maintained manually. If a grouping can be based on a
column in the data source, then you can use an alternate path rather than a special category. This
saves the need to manually maintain a special category. By default, measure values are summarized in
special categories. You can disable this by changing the Category Rollup setting (General tab on the
Special Category property sheet).
14-22

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Demo 3: Create a Subdimension and a Special Category

Purpose:
You want to report on all new sales representatives worldwide.
While all regional directors base the reports on sales
representatives by country and city, Asia Pacific directors do not
use country, and refer to city as "Area". To fulfill these requests,
you will create a subdimension for Asia Pacific, and create a special
category for new sales representatives.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create a subdimension.

1.
2.
3.
Open the model.

Name: Employee expenses.mdl
Transformer8\EN
Click the GO Region dimension label, and then click Show Diagram.
Expand Asia Pacific.

14-23
COGNOS
4.
5.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Right-click the Asia Pacific category label, and then click Create/Delete
Subdimension.
A box appears around Asia Pacific and its descendants. You created an Asia
Pacific subdimension with a By Asia Pacific drill category. When you create a
subdimension, Transformer inserts a new drill category below the category you
selected as the root of the subdimension. It then re-references all descendants
of the subdimension's root category.
Change the name to By Asia Pacific.
The dimension diagram appears as shown below.
Task 2. Define properties of the subdimension and levels.

1.
2.
3.
14-24
In the subdimension, create a new manual level to the left of City called Area.
Create two new categories called North and South.
Shift+click Osaka City, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, click the right side of one of
the selected categories, and then drag the crosshair to the Asia Pacific, North
category.

ADVANCED
4.
5.
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Shift+click Singapore and Melbourne, click the right side of one of the
selected categories, and then drag the crosshair to the Asia Pacific, South
category.
Click Generate Categories, and then click OK to accept the warning.
The subdimension diagram appears as shown below:
Task 3. Create a special category for New Reps.

1.
2.
Click the right side of the GO Region root category label, and then drag the
crosshair below the outline of the main dimension box.
In the Category label box, type New Reps, and then click OK.
The new special category appears outside the main dimension box.
Task 4. Define the related categories.

1.
2.
3.
Expand By Asia Pacific, North, Tokyo, and Level 1 Sales Representative

to see the sales rep Saburo Aoki.
Expand By Asia Pacific, South, Melbourne, and Level 1 Sales
Representative to see Dave Smythe.
Shift+click Saburo Aoki and Dave Smythe.
These are the new sales reps.
Instructor Notes
Show students the alternative method: Use Find to locate the sales reps.
Multiple entries of Dave Smythe and Jake Cartel exist because it is a slowly changing dimension. For
example, an employee may have changed positions or moved locations etc.

14-25
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
4.
Drag these Employees to the New Reps special category.

Each category now appears as a child of the special category. These categories
still remain in the regular dimension hierarchy.
The New Reps category appears as shown below:
5.
Task 5. View the results in Analysis Studio.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
14-26
View the properties for the Employee expenses PowerCube.

Change the PowerCube file name to C:\Edcognos\C88382 and then click
OK.
Right-click the Employee expenses PowerCube, and then select Create
Selected PowerCube.
Publish the Employee expenses PowerCube as a Data Source and Package.
Package: Employee expenses
Create a Blank Analysis.
Expand Time, and drag Time to Rows.
Expand GO Region, and drag GO Region to the Columns.
Expand Measures and drag Expense total to Measure.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
10. Drill down on Asia Pacific.

North and South are lower-level categories for Asia Pacific.
11. Drill down on North.
12. Drill down on Tokyo and Level 1 Sales Representatives.
Saburo Aoki is still included for Tokyo.
13. From the Insertable Objects pane, drag New Reps to the columns.
Expense figures appear for the two new sales representatives whom you added
to the special category.
14. Close Analysis Studio without saving the report, and then click Log Off.
15. Close the model without saving, and then leave Transformer open for the next
demo.
Results:
You created a new subdimension for the Asia Pacific director and a
special category for new sales representatives. The Director of
Sales can now report on all new sales reps worldwide, and each
regional director can report on their respective areas according to
their needs.

14-27
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Scenario Dimensions
analyze several sets of figures, or scenarios, that do
not roll up to a single root category.
Scenario Dimension
Budget
Levels
Planned
Actual
Forecast
These 3 categories represent financial data

that cannot be combined
Scenario dimensions are useful if you need to analyze financial data, such as budgets.
Instead of calculating just one set of budgetary figures, you may want to calculate
several sets, or scenarios (for example, Actual, Plan, Forecast).
Scenario dimensions do not roll up to a single root category, because the resulting
aggregation would not be meaningful.
Instructor Notes
You can set any dimension (other than the time dimension) to display "na" values instead of the
rolled-up data. You can also set the default category that a dimension will display when added to a
crosstab in an analysis. A scenario dimension changes the appearance of rolled up figures, but does
not affect the actual data that is moved from the data sources into the cube when the cube is created.
14-28

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Demo 4: Create a Scenario Dimension

Purpose:
The Finance department requires a cube that will allow them to
analyze their budget data. Their data consists of actual, budget, and
operational plan data. They want to analyze this data from different
perspectives of the business, such as by product line, and by sales
territory. To meet this requirement, you will create a cube based on
a model that contains a scenario dimension.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create the model.

1.
2.
3.
4.
In Transformer, create a new model.

Model name: Scenario
Data source name: Scenario
Data source type: Delimited-filed text with column titles
Location: C:\Edcognos\C88382\go_sales_scenario.csv
Click Next, clear the Run AutoDesign check box, and then click Finish.
Expand the Scenario data source, and then double-click
ORDER_DAY_KEY.
Set the Data class to Date, and then click OK.

14-29
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
5.
Create the following dimension map:
6.
Drag REVENUE, COST_OF_GOODS, and QUANTITY to the

Measures list.
Task 2. Specify a scenario dimension.

1.
2.

Click the SCENARIO dimension label, and then click Show Diagram.
3.
4.
5.
Right-click the SCENARIO root category, and then click Properties.

Select the Hide the value check box, and then click OK.
Under the Scenario level, right-click the Actual category, and then click Set as
Default Category.
6.

1.
2.
14-30
Check the model and create the PowerCube.


ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

1.
2.
3.

Package: Scenario
Create a Default Analysis.
Expand SCENARIO, and drag Budget to the context filter.
The result appears as shown below:
Notice that the numbers have changed, because you are now looking at budget
values for all product types. You now want to look at all financial scenarios at
the same time, including Actual, Budget, and Operational Plan.

14-31
COGNOS
4.
5.
6.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Drag SCENARIO to the Columns drop zone.

You can now see financial data for all three financial scenarios at the same time.
There is no summary value for the Scenario level for each row, or as an overall
summary value, and '--' appears instead. This occurs as a result of setting the
Hide the value property on the Scenario root category.
Close the model without saving, and then leave Transformer open for the next
demo.
Results:
You have provided a cube to the Finance department that will allow
them to analyze their budget data. You built this cube by creating a
model that includes a scenario dimension.
14-32

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Calculated Columns
are expressions that use other columns, functions,
and constants to derive new data for your model
can be a source column for a level
can add data not directly available in the data
source
Calculated columns can add more structural or numeric detail to your model than is
available from your data source.
Instructor Notes
When you use a calculated column as a measure, the value is always derived before any rollup takes
place. This is effectively the same as using a calculated measure. However, when the timing of a
calculated measure is set to Before Rollup, consolidation is not done. So, to optimize both cube size
and PowerPlay performance, use calculated columns rather than before-rollup calculated measures.
Calculated Measures
Calculated at run-time
Performance degrades if there are many
calculated measures in a model
Calculated Columns
Calculated during cube build and stored in cube
Calculated columns do not impede performance.
Q. Why would you use a calculated measure over a calculated column?

A.
You cannot set the rollup on a calculated column.
14-33
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Calculated Categories
enhance the model by making commonly requested
calculations available
are based on a formula and a set of categories
Calculated Category
at the dimension level
You can use calculated categories to add commonly requested calculations to the
model, such as month-by-month growth or market share.
Category calculation occurs based on a formula and a set of categories you apply at the
dimension level or to individual categories.
You then specify the categories to which the formula applies: either a single category, a
category set, or a level, all in the same dimension.
Instructor Notes
When you create a calculated category, some functions permit a category set to be specified as a
parameter. Sets are a convenient way of grouping categories when you do not want to include the
entire level in your formula. Here is how to define category sets for calculated categories. You can also
use category sets in the formula expression.
14-34

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Demo 5: Create Calculated Columns and an Exception

Dimension
Purpose:
The Financial Analysts for the Great Outdoors Company have asked
to view profit results without having to do their own calculations. To
automatically show profit for reporting, create a calculated column
for profit, and also create a calculated column for Product Type and
Product Name.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create a calculated column.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Open a Model.
Transformer8\EN
In the Data Sources list, expand Go Data Warehouse (query) and Go Data
Warehouse.
Right-click any column, and then click Insert Column.
In the Column name box, type Profit.

14-35
COGNOS
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
On the General tab, click the Calculated option to select it, and then click
Calculation.
You are prompted for the data class type. Transformer cannot determine if
columns are numeric or string. The data class was defined as Unspecified by
default in the Column property sheet.
Ensure that Numeric is selected, and then click OK.
Create the following expression:
"Revenue" - "Product Cost"
Click OK twice.
You created a calculated column that shows profit for a product. There are
performance advantages for creating a calculated column and then using it as a
measure rather than creating a calculated measure.
Drag Profit to the Measures list.
By adding Profit to the Measures list, you make the calculated column available
to other data sources. In an Analysis, users can see the profit for each of the
relevant categories.
Also, by creating a calculated column in the Data Sources list, it can be a level in
the dimension map.
Task 2. Create a second calculated column.

1.
14-36
Insert a new calculated column.

Column name: Markup.
Data Class: Numeric
Calculation Expression: "Profit" / "Revenue"

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Task 3. Create an Exception dimension based on a calculated

column.
1.
2.

Column name: Profit Range.
Data Class: Text
Calculation Expression: if ("Markup" < 0.25) then ('0-24%') else (if
("Markup" > 0.5) then ('51%+') else ('25-50%'))
The Profit Range calculated column appears in the Data Sources list.
Drag the Profit Range column to the Dimension Map to create a new
dimension.
Task 4. Create a calculated column for Prod Type Name.

1.

Column name: Prod Type Name
Data Class: Text
Calculation Expression: "Product type" + '_' + "Product name"
2.
This expression concatenates the columns Product type and Product name.
Drag the Prod Type Name column to the right side of the Dimension Map
to create a new dimension.

14-37
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 5. Create the PowerCube and publish to Cognos

Connection.
1.
2.
3.
Insert a new PowerCube called Calculated Columns.

Right-click the Calculated Columns PowerCube, and click Create Selected
PowerCube.
Task 6. Create an Analysis

1.
2.
3.
14-38
Launch Analysis Studio and create a Default Analysis.

Package: Calculated Columns
Drag Profit Range to Rows.
You can reorder the profit range from least to greatest. The modeler can prefix
the strings that are included in the expression so that the default sort on
numbers makes sense. Also, in Analysis Studio the user can sort the labels in
descending order to move 0-24% to the first position in the column. The latter
method will have to be repeated each time the report is opened.
You can see the revenue for product lines broken down by profit range.
Expand Measures, and then drag Profit to the Measures drop zone.
You now see the profit for the various product lines organized by profit range.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
4.
5.
Click Swap Rows and Columns.

Drag Prod Type Name to the Rows.
You can see the profit for the various products and organized by profit range.
6.
Leave the model open for the next demo.
Results:
You created a calculated column that so that the Financial Analysts
can view profit values in PowerPlay for Windows.

14-39
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 6: Create Calculated Categories in Transformer

Purpose:
The Finance department wants to see what percent share of the
product line specific packs and sleeping bags represent. You will
fulfill this request by creating a calculated category set in the
Transformer model.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create a calculated category set.

1.
2.
3.
4.
14-40
Double-click the Products dimension label.

Click the Calculation tab, and then click Add.
Click Calculation.
Expand Functions, and then double-click share.
"share ( " appears in the Expression definition window.
The share function accepts two parameters. Values associated with the first
parameter are expressed as a percentage of the second.
You want to create a new category set that displays the percentage share each
back pack, sleeping bag, and tent product has of the measures for Products.
The goal is to view specific products as a percentage of the total product line.
Transformer uses the term share for this calculation.

ADVANCED
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Double-click Category Set to add Set 1 to the definition.

In the Categories diagrammer, expand the following: Camping Equipment,
Packs, and Sleeping Bags.
Shift-click the following: Hibernator Lite, Hibernator Extreme, Canyon
Mule Extreme, and Canyon Mule Cooler.
These are the specific products you want analyze.
Click the Hibernator Lite category, and drag to Set 1.
The items are added to the category set as shown below:
In the Categories diagrammer, drag the Products root category label to the
end of the expression. The expression appears as shown below:

14-41
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
10. Click OK.

11. Click OK twice.

Task 2. Review the calculated categories.
1.
2.
14-42
On the Dimension Map, click the Products dimension label, and then click
Show Diagram.
Expand Camping Equipment, Sleeping Bags, and Packs.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
3.
You can now see the set of calculated categories that you created for each of the
required products.
You can hold the cursor over any of the new categories to produce a screen tip
with the complete label.
Task 3. Create the PowerCube and publish to Cognos

Connection.
1.
2.
3.
Insert a new PowerCube called Categories.

Right-click the Categories PowerCube, and click Create Selected
PowerCube.
Publish the PowerCube as a Data Source and a Package.

14-43
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 4. Create an Analysis.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Package: Categories
Expand Products, Camping Equipment, and Packs.
The calculated columns for Packs appear.
Click the Swap Rows and Columns button.
Drill down on Camping Equipment.
Drill down on Packs.
If necessary, resize the columns so that the contents are visible.
The numbers expressed are the percentage shares that each product has of the
whole product line.
14-44

ADVANCED
7.
8.
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
In Transformer, close the model without saving, and leave Transformer open
for the workshop.
Results:
You created a calculated category set by using the share function.
The PowerPlay report now contains new categories with
calculations showing you the share that specific products have of
the total results for the product line.

14-45
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Dimension Customization Review

Add a New Source Level
Add a new level from a new column of data in a

data source.
Manual Level
Create a new level not supported by a column

in the data source.
Subdimension
Create a separate level structure for a specific

branch within a dimension.
Special Categories
Create a new view of the categories outside the

main dimension structure.
Calculated Columns
Expressions using other columns, functions and

constants to provide new data for the model.
Calculated Categories
Provides commonly used calculations to users.
This slide outlines the main attributes of some customization methods examined thus
far.
Add a New Source Level create a new source level using the existing columns
Manual Level
Manual levels are inserted into existing dimension
hierarchies without altering the structure of rollups between
higher and lower levels. Manual levels are often the answer
to the 1:10 ratio "rule of thumb" on the Dimension Map. If
too many categories are rolling up in one level, further
classification using a manual level may be a solution.
Subdimensions
Provide better classification of levels. The dimension
structure is enhanced by the use of subdimensions.
Special Categories
Create new groupings of the categories in a dimension.
Highlight, and make more accessible, specific categories in a
dimension.
14-46

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Summary
discuss techniques for customizing dimensions
add a new source level to an existing dimension
create and populate a manual level in a dimension
create orphan categories
modify a dimension using a subdimension
create a special category
create a scenario dimension
create and use calculated columns and categories
Instructor Notes

14-47
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Workshop 1: Customize the Model

You are continually communicating with different departments to ensure that their
needs are being met. At the last meeting, you received the following requests:
Inventory personnel want to focus solely on product types organized
alphabetically in groups A-J, K-R, and S-Z.
Head Office wants a subdimension for the Americas organized by North,
Central, and South countries.
Inventory Control needs a special category to track shipments of new products:
Firefly Lite, Granite Axe, Hailstorm Steel Irons, and Hailstorm Steel Woods Set.
To accommodate all these requests, you will:
Delete the Product line level, and then add a manual level to the left of the
Product Type label, called Product Types - Alphabetical that includes categories
A-J, K-R, and S-Z.
Create a subdimension for Americas and add a manual level called Area with
Manual categories called North, South, and Central.
Create a special category for New Products (Firefly Lite, Granite Axe, Hailstorm
Steel Wood Set, and Lady Hailstorm Steel Irons).
Create Customized Dimensions PowerCube and publish to Cognos Connection.
Create a Blank Analysis report.
14-48

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

Task
Where to Work
Hints
1. Open the model,

delete the Product
line level, and
generate the
categories.
File menu
Open the Sales and

Marketing.mdl.
2. Create a manual
level in the model.
Dimension Map
Insert the Product Types Alphabetical level above Product

type.
Show Diagram
Sort the categories in the Product

type level.
3. Create manual
categories for the
manual level.
Dimension Diagram
Create A-J, K-R and S-Z

categories under Product Types Alphabetical.
4. Establish
relationships
between manual
levels and
categories.
Dimension Diagram
Drag all categories between A -J

to the A-J category.
5. Create a
subdimension for
Americas.
Dimension Diagram
Dimension Map
Toolbar
Delete the Product line level.

Drag all categories between K-R

to the K-R category.
Drag all categories between S-Z
to the S-Z category.
Create/Delete Subdimension.
Change the Drill category label to
By Americas.

14-49
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task
Where to Work
Hints
6. Add a manual level

and add manual
categories.
Dimension Diagram
In the subdimension, create a

manual level called Area.
Area contains: North, Central,
and South.
North: United States and Canada
Central: Mexico
South: Brazil
Generate Categories.
7. Create a special
category for New
Products.
Dimension Diagram
Category label: New Products
8. Define the related

categories.
Dimension Diagram
Add new these new Products to

the special category: Lady
Hailstorm Steel Irons, Firefly Lite,
Granite Axe, and Hailstorm Steel
Wood Set.
9. Publish PowerCube PowerCube list

and view the results
in Analysis Studio.
Analysis Studio
Insert and create a new cube

called Customized Dimensions.
Publish the PowerCube as a Data
Source and Package.
View the results in Analysis
Studio.
14-50

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

After establishing the relationships between the new manual level and the Product
type categories, the result appears as shown below:

14-51
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
The Americas subdimension appears as shown below
The special category appears as shown below:
In Analysis Studio the results appears as shown below:
14-52

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

Components:
Package:
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open the model, delete the Product line level, and
generate the categories.
1.
2.
3.
Open the model.

Transformer8\EN
Generate the categories
Task 2. Create a manual level in the model.

1.
Insert a new level above Product type.

Hint: Right-click Product type, Insert Level
Level name: Product Types - Alphabetical
The new level appears in the dimension, with the icon identifying it as a manual
level.

14-53
COGNOS
2.
3.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click the Products dimension label, and then click Show Diagram.
If necessary, resize the dimension diagram.
The new manual level called Product Types - Alphabetical is shown above
Product type.
Sort the categories in the Product type level.
This will make it easier to create relationships between the manual categories in
the Product Types - Alphabetical level and the source categories in the Product
type level.
Task 3. Create manual categories for the manual level.

1.
2.
3.
Click the right side of the By Products category, and then drag it under the
Product Types - Alphabetical level.
Note: the pointer should be a crosshair.
In the Category label box, type A-J, and then click OK.
A new manual category is created under the Region level, with the Southern
Europe category expanded to country.
Create new categories called K-R and S-Z.
Task 4. Establish relationships between manual levels and

categories.
1.
2.
3.
14-54
Under the Product type level, click Binoculars, and Shift+click Irons.
Drag the categories to the A-J category.
This action creates the necessary relationship between the categories. Two new
relationships are defined in the dimension hierarchy.
Under the Product type level, click Knives, and Shift+click Rope.

ADVANCED
4.
5.
6.
7.
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
Drag the categories to the K-R category.

Under the Product type level, click Safety, and Shift+click Woods.
Drag the categories to the S-Z category.
Expand each of the manual categories in the new Product type - Alphabetical
level.
Task 5. Create a subdimension for Americas.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Under Dimensions, click Retailers.

Expand Americas.
Right-click the Americas category label, and then click Create/Delete
Subdimension.
A box appears around Americas and its descendants. You created an Americas
subdimension with a By Americas drill category. When you create a
subdimension, Transformer inserts a new drill category below the category you
selected as the root of the subdimension. It then re-references all descendants
of the subdimension's root category.
In the subdimension, change the Drill category label to By Americas.
Task 6. Add a manual level and add manual categories.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In the subdimension, create a new manual level to the left of Retailer Country
called Area.
Under Area, create three new categories called North, Central, and South.
Shift+click United States and Canada, click the right side of one of the
selected categories, and then drag the crosshair to the North category.
Drag Mexico to the Central category.
Drag Brazil to the South category.
Click Generate Categories.

14-55
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 7. Create a special category for New Products.

1.
2.
3.
Under Dimensions, click Products.

Click the right side of the Products root category label, and then drag the
crosshair below the outline of the main dimension box.
In the Category label box, type New Products, and then click OK.
The new special category appears outside the main dimension box.
Task 8. Define the related categories.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Expand Irons, Lanterns, Tools, and Woods.

Shift+click Lady Hailstorm Steel Irons, Firefly Lite, Granite Axe, and
Hailstorm Steel Wood Set.
These are the new products.
Drag these products to the New Products special category.
Each category now appears as a child of the special category. These categories
still remain in the regular dimension hierarchy.
Task 9. Publish the PowerCube and view the results in

Analysis Studio.
1.
2.
3.
14-56
Insert a new cube called Customized Dimensions.

Right-click the Customized Dimensions PowerCube, and then select Create
Selected PowerCube.
Publish the Customized Dimensions PowerCube as a Data Source and
Package.

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING
4.

Package: Customized Dimensions
5. Create a Blank Analysis.
6. Expand the Time folder, and then drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
7. Expand Measures and drag Revenue to the Measure drop zone.
8. Expand the Products folder. and then drag Products to the Columns drop
zone.
The new level (Product Types - Alphabetical) displays.
9. Drag New Products to the Columns. These products were added to the
special category in Transformer.
10. Expand Retailers, and drag Americas to the Columns.
North, Central, and South display. This new level was created within the
subdimension in Transformer.
11. Close Analysis Studio without saving the changes, and then click Log Off.
12. Leave the model open for the next workshop.

14-57
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Workshop 2: Create a Calculated Column and Calculated

Categories
The Finance department repeatedly calculates columns to obtain required results for
various factors of the business. You can minimize their efforts by creating a calculated
column for the price ranges of products (High, Medium, and Low) and calculated
categories for monthly changes in Transformer.
After further discussion with the Finance department, you determine that you need to
modify an existing model by applying the following changes:
Insert a calculated column called Order Price Range.
Expression: if ("Unit price" > 125) then ('High') else (if("Unit price" < 50)
then ('Low') else ('Medium'))
Add the Order Price Range column as a new exception dimension.
Use the Time dimension diagram and property sheet to create the following
definition:
14-58

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

Task
Where to Work
1. Create a calculated Data Source List
column.
Hints
Insert Order Price Range column.
Add calculation: if ("Unit price" >
125) then ('High') else (if("Unit
price" < 50) then ('Low') else
('Medium')).
Add new column to dimension
map.
2.
Create calculated
categories.
Dimension Diagram
Time Dimension - Show Diagram

Time dimension calculation Change (Level("Month"))
Generate categories.
3.
Publish
PowerCube and
view the result in
Analysis Studio.
Transformer
Insert, create and publish Finance

PowerCube.
View results in Analysis Studio.

14-59
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

Use the Time dimension diagram and property sheet to create the following
definition:
Explore the result in Analysis Studio:
14-60

ADVANCED
DIMENSIONAL
MODELING

Components:
Package:
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create a calculated column.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In the Data Sources list, expand Go Data Warehouse (query) and Go Data
Warehouse.
Right-click any column, and then click Insert Column.
In the Column name box, type Order Price Range.
Set the Data class to Text.
Click Calculated, and then click Calculation.
Create the following expression:
if ("Unit price" > 125) then ('High') else (if("Unit price" < 50) then
('Low') else ('Medium'))
7.
Drag the Order Price Range column to the dimension map as a new
exception dimension.
Task 2. Create calculated categories.

1.
2.
3.
On the Dimension Map, click the Time dimension label.

Click Show Diagram.
In the Dimensions pane, double-click the Time dimension label.

14-61
COGNOS
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click the Calculation tab, and then click Add.

You will create a calculated category to show change at the month level.
Click Calculation, expand Functions, and then double-click change.
Complete the following expression:
Change (Level("Month"))
Click OK three times.
Click Generate Categories, and then click OK to accept the warning.
You may want to expand the categories to the month level to see the new
calculated categories.
Task 3 Publish PowerCube and view the result in Analysis

Studio.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
14-62
Insert a new cube called Finance.

Right-click the Finance PowerCube, and then select Create Selected
PowerCube.
Publish the Finance PowerCube as a Data Source and Package.
Package: Finance
Drag Order Price Range to the Columns drop zone.
Drill down on 2004 and 2004 Q 4.
You can now see the changes from month-to-month for the products.
Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then close Internet Explorer
Close the model without saving, and then close Transformer.

15
Customize Cube Content
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
User ID: admin
COGNOS
15-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Objectives
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
omit dimensions and exclude measures
create and apply dimension views
Instructor Notes
The Transformer development process
How to build a model
The Transformer time dimension
How to work with measures
Using multiple data sources in a model
Ensure the default directories are set to C:\Edcognos\C88382.
15-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Customize Content with Views

Customize the PowerCube as a whole or for specific
users.
Customize options:
Omit measures or entire dimensions
Apply dimension views
By omitting dimensions and excluding measures, you reduce the physical size of the
PowerCube. Instead of omitting measures or entire dimensions from a cube you can
use customization options to deliver only information of interest to your users.
Customization options include:
apex, exclude, cloak, summarize, suppress
Instructor Notes
By default, all dimensions and measures are included in a PowerCube. For example, you want to
examine the sales revenue for each channel. You can customize the PowerCube and include only the
Customer and Channels dimensions and the Revenue measure. The Status list provides the current
status of each measure in the PowerCube. If a measure is excluded from a view, it does not appear to
the end user but is still available in the model for the creation of calculated measures.
15-4

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Demo 1: Omit Dimensions and Exclude Measures from a

PowerCube
Purpose:
You want a PowerCube that reflects the department's data needs.
Currently, they use a PowerCube from the Sales department that
contains measures and dimensions not relevant to the Finance
department.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open a model.

1.
2.
3.
Launch Transformer.
Open the model.
Transformer8\EN
Insert a new PowerCube called Customize.
Task 2. Omit a dimension from the PowerCube.

1.
2.
View the Customize PowerCube properties.

Click the Dimensions tab.
The current dimensions included in the PowerCube display. Notice the status
of the dimensions listed in the Dimension list. All dimensions are active and are
identified with the status of All Categories in the View list.

15-5
COGNOS
3.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Under Dimensions, right-click Order method, and then click Omit

Dimension.
The Order method dimension will not appear in the PowerCube.
Task 3. Exclude measures from the PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
4.
15-6
Click the Measures tab.

The current measures in the Transformer model are listed. Notice that all
measures are active and are identified with a status of Included.
Under Measures, click Quantity, and then Ctrl+click Unit Price.
Right-click one of the selected measures, and then click Exclude.
The Quantity and Unit Price measures will be excluded from the PowerCube.
Click OK.

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT

1.
2.
3.
Check the model.

Right click the Customize PowerCube, and click Create Selected
PowerCube.

1.
2.

Username: admin
Package: Customize
The Insertable Objects pane appears as shown below:
The Order method dimension does not appear because it was excluded from
the PowerCube.

15-7
COGNOS
3.
4.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Expand Measures.
The Measures folder displays the first available measure, Revenue. The Quantity
and Unit price measures are excluded for this PowerCube.
Results:
You customized the PowerCube by omitting the dimensions and
excluding measures. The cube now reflects the data used by the
Finance department.
15-8

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Suppressed Category
Result
Product Lines
Camping Equipment
Personal Accessories
Outdoor Protection
Suppress
Camping
Equipment
Golf Equipment
Cooking gear
Tents
Sleeping bags
Packs
lanterns
Outdoor Protection
Golf Equipment
When a category is not required for reporting purposes but its parent and child
categories are, you can suppress it. A user does not see the suppressed category and will
drill down to the next available one.
Note:
the category is hidden from a user
descendants appear as lower-level categories
rollup of measure values is maintained in the parent category
Instructor Notes
Camping Equipment is the suppressed category. It is omitted, but the specific product types in the
suppressed category display. The immediate descendants of each category are rolled up to the parent
category, Product Line. This is especially useful when you want to suppress categories with no
associated source data. For example, your Location dimension has Country, Region, Province/State,
and Branch. Not all regions have data values for Province and State. In this case, you may choose to
suppress the blank values.
15-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Summarized Category
the descendants of the selected category are
eliminated
measure values are rolled up to the parent category
Summarized
category
A summarized category eliminates the descendants from the view. This category is
displayed to end users and maintains the rollup of measure values for its descendants.
Instructor Note
Notes for using the Summarize option:
Special categories cannot be summarized.
If you create a summarized view for a PowerCube, by default, Transformer enables consolidation
for the PowerCube.
You cannot create a summarized Dimension View for a time dimension when the model contains a
measure with Time State Rollup.
15-10

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Cloaked Category
the category and its descendants are hidden
the cloaked category is included in the summary
values
Cloaked
category
A cloaked category hides the selected category and its descendants but maintains the
rollup of measure values to its parent category.
Instructor Notes
Camping Equipment and its descendants have been eliminated from the PowerCube. However, the
rollup of measure values is maintained in the parent category, Product Line. A cloaked category is not
generated during PowerCube creation. Like Suppress, the Cloak action causes a category to be
omitted from the PowerCube. Example: you want users to see the entire value for salaries but not
individual salaries. You can use Cloak only within dimension views or custom views.

15-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Excluded Category
the category and its descendants are excluded
associated data is also omitted
Excluded
category
Excluding does alter the metadata in the PowerCube, even though users can drill down
only to the parent of the category you excluded.
Instructor Notes
The summary column for Product Line now contains only the information for Mountaineering
Equipment, Personal Accessories, Outdoor Protection, and Golf Equipment.
Notes for using the Exclude action:
Exercise caution when excluding categories in a dimension that contains alternate drill-down paths.
If you exclude categories from one of the paths, the data is excluded from all drill-down paths.
15-12

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Apexed Category
Product Lines
Camping Equipment
Outdoor Protection
Result
Apex
Camping
Equipment
Camping Equipment
Golf Equipment
An apexed category displays only the selected category and its descendants to the
PowerPlay client. In Transformer, the diagram displays only the Apex category,
Camping Equipment.
All other categories, including the parent category, will not appear, nor will their
respective measure values be stored in the PowerCube.
Instructor Notes
Camping Equipment is the apexed category. Only the apexed category, and its descendants are
displayed in Transformer, and to the end user. There is no symbol for an apexed category. What the
difference between apexing Camping Equipment and excluding all other Product lines. Ans: There will
be no difference right now, but if a fourth product line is eventually introduced, the cube using the
Exclude action would show the fourth, but the cube using the Apex action would not.

15-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What are Dimension Views?

Used to create PowerCubes that contain only selected
aspects of the dimension that shows users only the
data most relevant to them.
Three step process:
Define a dimension view.
Customize it by applying an action, such as

Exclude, Cloak, Suppress, Summarize, or Apex.
Apply the dimension view to a new PowerCube.
If you implement reporting solutions for diverse groups in your organization, you may
want to create individual cubes that meet the needs of each group.
To do so, you can create one or more dimension views and apply these to the
appropriate cubes in the model.
Instructor Notes
Example: Europe users do not need to analyze information about the Americas or Asia Pacific. You
can create a view of the Sales Territory dimension that does not include the Americas or Asia Pacific.
You then apply this dimension to the cube intended for Europe.
In the dimension diagram's normal view, the only options available are Exclude and Suppress. After a
dimension view is created, all options become available for the dimension view.
15-14

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Demo 2: Create Dimension Views

Purpose:
The Product management group needs a PowerCube that contains
only summary information for Camping Equipment. Therefore, you
decided to customize the present PowerCube and create dimension
views that summarize and exclude information pertaining to
Camping Equipment in specific PowerCubes.
Component:
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create dimension view that summarizes and excludes

categories.
1.
2.
3.
4.
In the Dimensions pane, right-click the Products dimension, and then click
Add New View.
Set the View name to Summarize View, and then click OK.
Add a New View to the Retailers dimension.
View name: Exclude View

15-15
COGNOS
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
15-16
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
In the dimensions pane, expand Products and Retailers.

The dimension pane appears as shown below:
The Summarize and Exclude Views appear as dimension views.

Under Products, click Summarize View.
In the category viewer, right-click the Camping Equipment category label,
and then click Summarize.
The sigma
represents a summary of all Camping Equipment. The measure
values will be rolled up to the selected summarized category, Camping
Equipment. All categories are present at build time but not at run time. This
means that the PowerCube that is created is smaller because lower-level data is
not stored in the PowerCube.
In the Dimensions pane, under Retailers, click Exclude View.
In the category viewer, Shift+click Northern Europe, Central Europe, and
Southern Europe.

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
10. Right-click Northern Europe, and then click Exclude.

The category viewer appears as shown below:
The European regions are excluded. Each region and its descendants will not be
displayed to end users. When you use exclude a category, it is not included in
the generation of the PowerCube and it is not available to the end user. You can
only drill down to the parent of the excluded category.
Task 2. Apply dimension views to PowerCubes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Insert a new PowerCube.

Hint: toolbar, Insert PowerCube (Ins)
PowerCube name: DimensionView
Click the Dimensions tab.
Right-click Products, and then click View.
Click Summarize View, and then click OK.
You applied the Summarize View to the Products dimension.
Right-click Retailers, and then click View.
Click Exclude View, and then click OK.
You applied the Exclude View to the Retailers dimension.
Click OK.

15-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 3. Create the PowerCubes and publish them to Cognos

Connection.
1.
2.
Right-click the DimensionView PowerCube, and then click Create Selected

PowerCube.
Publish the DimensionView PowerCube as a Data Source and a Package.

1.
2.
3.

Package: DimensionView
Expand the Retailers dimension.
The Retailers dimension appears as shown below:
The Northern European regions are not available in the Retailers dimension.
15-18

CUSTOMIZE
4.
5.
6.
CUBE
CONTENT
Expand the Products dimension.

The Products dimension appears as shown below:
Camping Equipment does not contain lower-level members. It displays a

summary value only at the top level. You do not have access to lower-level
members.
Note: It may appear as though Camping Equipment has lower level members,
however if you attempt to expand it, the + symbol will disappear.
Close the model without saving, and leave Transformer open.
Results:
You customized the PowerCube by adding an Exclude View so that
users do not have access to detailed information about Camping
Equipment. However, when the Summarize View is applied to a
PowerCube, users will have access to summary information about
Camping Equipment.

15-19
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Summary
omit dimensions and excluded measures
create and apply dimension views
Instructor Notes
15-20

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Workshop 1: Customize PowerCubes

You have almost completed the development of the Transformer model. Your final
task is to create dimension views for the Great Outdoors European Director of
Marketing. The Director has determined the requirements in the following statement
issued to you:
"I want information about our products and the retailers who purchase them. I need to
analyze product information at all levels from product line to individual products and
promotions. In addition, I am interested in the performance activity of our sales
channels. I want to perform a sales analysis of our products sold to each retailer."
To accomplish this, you complete the following steps:
Open the Sales and Marketing.mdl located in Samples, and then delete Product
line.
Create a dimension view called European View for the Retailers dimension.
Exclude the non-European Regions in the European View.
Create a PowerCube called European Marketing Director.
Omit the Order Method dimension, and apply European view to Retailers
dimension.
Exclude the Product cost, Unit cost, and Unit price measures from the European
Marketing Director PowerCube.
Apply the European View to the Retailers dimension in the European Marketing
Director PowerCube.

15-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

Task
1. Open the model.
Where to Work
Hints
File Menu
Sales and Marketing.mdl
Dimension Map
Delete Product line.
2. Create a dimension
view called
European View.
Show Diagram
Retailers dimension
3. Exclude nonEuropean region

categories in the
European View.
Dimension
Diagram
Add new view: European View.

Expand Retailers, and then click
European View.
Exclude Americas and Asia Pacific.
4. Create a PowerCube PowerCubes list

and then omit a
dimension.
Insert a new PowerCube called

European Marketing Director.
5. Apply the European PowerCube

View to the
Properties/
Retailers dimension Dimensions tab
in the PowerCube.
Right-click Retailers apply the

European view.
6. Exclude measures
from the
PowerCube.
Exclude the Product cost, Unit cost,

and Unit price.
15-22
PowerCube
Properties/
Measures tab
Omit the Order Method dimension.

CUSTOMIZE
Task
7. Generate the
PowerCube, and
view the result in
Analysis Studio.
CUBE
Where to Work
Hints
PowerCube list
Create the PowerCube.
CONTENT
Publish the PowerCube as a Package

and Data Source.
View results in Analysis Studio.
Analysis Studio
Rows: Time
Measures: Revenue
Columns: Retailers

15-23
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

After you exclude the non-European Regions in the European View the results
appears as shown below:
After expanding Measures in Analysis Studio, the result appears as shown below:
Note: Product cost, Unit cost, and Unit price measures have been excluded
In Analysis Studio, the result appears as shown below:

Note: All non-European Regions are excluded.
15-24

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT

Components:
Package:
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open the model.

1.
2.
3.
Open the model.

Transformer8\EN
Task 2. Create a dimension view called European View.

1.
2.
3.
On the Dimension Map, click the Retailers dimension label, and then click
Show Diagram.
In the Dimensions pane, right-click the Retailers dimension, and then click
Add New View.
In the View name box, type European View, and then click OK.

15-25
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 3. Exclude non-European region categories in the

European View.
1.
2.
3.
4.
In the Dimensions pane, expand Retailers, and then click European View.
In the category viewer, under the Region label, Shift+click Americas and Asia
Pacific.
Right-click one of the selected regions, and then click Exclude.
Task 4. Create a PowerCube and then omit a dimension.

1.
2.

Name: European Marketing Director
Omit the Order Method dimension.
Method: Right-click Order Method, and then click Omit Dimension.
Task 5. Apply the European View to the Retailers dimension

in PowerCube.
1.
2.
Right-click Retailers, and then click View.

Click European View, and then click OK.
Task 6. Exclude measures from the PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
4.
15-26
Click the Measures tab.

Click Product Cost, and then Ctrl+click Unit cost and Unit price.
Right-click the selected measures, and then click Exclude.
Click OK.

CUSTOMIZE
CUBE
CONTENT
Task 7. Generate the PowerCube, and view the result in

Analysis Studio.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Right-click European Marketing Director PowerCube, and then click Create

Selected PowerCube.
Package: European Marketing Director
The Order Method is not available.
Expand Time, and then drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
Expand Measures.
Notice the excluded measures (Product cost, Unit price, Unit cost)
Drag Revenue to the Measures drop zone.
Drag Retailers to the Columns drop zone.
Americas and Asia Pacific are not included.
Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then close Internet Explorer.
Close Transformer without saving the model.

15-27
COGNOS
15-28
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

16
Examine Cognos 8 Security
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
User ID: admin
COGNOS
16-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

EXAMINE
COGNOS
SECURITY
Objectives
examine the Cognos 8 security environment
identify the Cognos 8 BI security model
define authentication in Cognos 8 BI
define authorization in Cognos 8 BI
identify security policies

16-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine the Cognos 8 Security

Model
Based on:
third-party authentication providers
authorization
(security object + permission + entry)
Cognos namespace
administration
Security is optional - anonymous access is allowed
16-4

EXAMINE
COGNOS
SECURITY
Use Authentication Providers

Cognos 8 BI uses third-party authentication providers
to facilitate user authentication.
Authentication providers define users, groups, and
roles used for authentication (logon) and
authorization (access to content).
You can define multiple providers concurrently.
The Cognos 8 BI security model allows you to integrate into your existing user
repositories for the purposes of authentication while maintaining a granular
authorization model.
Configuring authentication lets you leverage your existing user and group repositories,
which means that you do not have to replicate your existing repositories for use with
Cognos 8 BI.
Instructor Notes
Authentication providers define users, groups, and roles used for authentication. User names, IDs, passwords,
regional settings, and personal preferences are some examples of information stored in the providers. If you
set up authentication for Cognos 8 BI, users must provide valid credentials, such as user ID and password, at
logon time. Cognos 8 BI does not replicate the users, groups, and roles defined in your authentication provider.
However, you can reference them in Cognos 8 BI when you set access permissions to content.
Out of the box, Cognos 8 BI supports LDAP, Active Directory, NTLM, SAP, Cognos Series 7, and Netegrity
security sources.
16-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Authorization
Initially, all users have authorized access to all
objects.
Security is implemented and authorization is
performed based on:
Cognos 8 BI objects
users and groups from authentication providers
groups and roles from the Cognos namespace
policies
Content Manager controls authorization.
The initial security policies grant unrestricted authorized access to all objects in the
content store to all users through an anonymous user account.
After security is enabled, and the authentication process has been performed, Cognos 8
BI authorization is achieved by verifying both:
the security policies (permissions and policy rules) applied to the Cognos 8 BI
object that is being accessed
the access rights that have been assigned for the user attempting to access the
object
Instructor Notes
A policy consists of a set of permissions and policy rules.
Access rights are assigned for individual users or to the groups or roles, of which users can be
members. These access rights allow users to perform actions, such as read or write, on content store
objects, such as folders and reports.
16-6

EXAMINE
COGNOS
SECURITY
Control Access to Content

Use the groups and roles defined in the Cognos
namespace to control access to content in
Cognos 8 BI.
The Cognos namespace contains security entries,
which are:
built-in groups or roles
predefined groups or roles
user-defined groups or roles
The Cognos namespace is not used for authentication. It contains the Cognos security
entries, which are pre-defined, and user-defined groups and roles.
Use the Cognos namespace to create groups and roles specific to a Cognos 8 BI
application, to repackage security data available from authentication providers, and to
avoid cluttering authentication providers.
The Cognos namespace always exists in Cognos 8 BI, but the use of Cognos groups
and roles it contains is optional. You can implement security using users, groups, and
roles, directly from the authentication providers.
Instructor Notes
Built-in and predefined security entries are created in this namespace during the content store
initialization. You can use the Cognos namespace groups and roles and create your own groups and
roles to implement security that is specific to a Cognos 8 BI application. The difference between a
group and a role is that a group can contain other groups or users. A role can contain other groups,
users, or other roles.

16-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Define Security Policies

Security policies are:
assigned to Cognos 8 BI portal entries
assigned to Framework Manager objects and data

represented by these objects
assigned to custom views in a Transformer model

which are then associated to PowerCubes
Each Cognos 8 BI portal entry, Framework Manager object, and Transformer cube has
a security policy associated with it.
For Cognos 8 BI entries and Framework Manager objects, a policy consists of the entry
itself and a permissions list.
For PowerCubes, policy consists of a custom view created in the model and associated
with a PowerCube.
Instructor Notes
Cognos 8 BI portal entries include content entries (reports, folders) and administration entries
(deployments, data sources).
Framework Manager objects includes packages, query subjects, query items, namespaces.
16-8

EXAMINE
COGNOS
SECURITY
Define Permissions
You can assign one or more permissions to a
Cognos 8 BI portal entry.
Each permission has three aspects:
security object
capability
access right(s)
Security object - user, group, or role from an authentication provider or the Cognos
namespace.
Capability - grant the access right or deny the access right.
Access rights - the actions that can be performed, including read, write, execute, set
policy, and traverse.

16-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 1: Introduce Cognos 8 Security and Create Groups.

Purpose:
You want to examine Cognos 8 security and create groups.
Component:
Cognos Connection
URL:
http://localhost/cognos8
Username:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Introduce Cognos 8 security.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
16-10

Username: admin
Click Administer Cognos content.
Click the Security tab.
Click the Users, Groups, and Roles link.
The Cognos Namespace and the Local NT namespace are available.
Click the Cognos namespace.
Use the Cognos namespace to create groups and roles specific to Cognos 8 BI.
When a content store is initialized, a set of default groups and roles is created
and stored in the Cognos namespace. Use these objects to simplify the
administration of Cognos 8 BI security.

EXAMINE
COGNOS
SECURITY
Task 2. Create the Canada group and add members.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
On the toolbar, click New Group.

In the Name box, type Canada, and then click Next.
You now want to add members to the group.
Click Add, and then click Local NT.
Select the Show users in the list check box.
Locate and select Donald Chow, and then click Add.
Locate and select Brendon Pike, and then click Add.
Click OK, and then click Finish.
The new group Canada is added to the Cognos Namespace.
Task 3. Create the Italy group and add members.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
On the toolbar, click New Group.

In the Name box, type Italy, click Next.
You now want to add members to the group.
Click Add, and then click Local NT.
Select the Show users in the list check box.
You can also search for users using the search tool.
Click Search, and in the Name field, type Alessandra.

16-11
COGNOS
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click Advanced, and in the Type list, click Users.

Click Search.
Select Alessandra Torta, and then click Add.
In the Name box, type Silvano, and then click Search.
Select Silvano Allessori, and then click Add.
Click OK and then click Finish.
The new group (Italy) is added to the Cognos Namespace.
Result:
You examined Cognos 8 security and created groups.
16-12

EXAMINE
COGNOS
SECURITY
Transformer Security
In Transformer, security is implemented by:
assigning security objects to custom views, and

then combining custom views with dimension
filtering
associating custom views to PowerCubes before

they are delivered to the portal
You can add custom views to each PowerCube to grant or deny access to sensitive
business intelligence information. These access controls can be customized down to the
query object level: not merely to reports and cubes, but to the specific levels, categories
or members, and measures within them.
Instructor Notes
When you create a custom view, you select security objects (users, groups, and roles) configured in
your Cognos 8 namespaces, and then define a specific view of the data for those security objects using
dimension filtering methods, including:
Removing dimensions and measures.
Apex, which omits ancestors and siblings of a category.
Exclude, which omits a category, its descendants, and their data.
Cloak, which omits a category and its descendants, but retains the rollup values in ancestor
categories.
Summarize, which omits descendants, but retains their rollup values.
Suppress, which omits a category from reports based on the cube, but retains its rollup value in
ancestor categories.
16-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Summary
examine the Cognos 8 security environment
identify the Cognos 8 BI security model
define authentication in Cognos 8 BI
define authorization in Cognos 8 BI
identify security policies
Instructor Notes
16-14

17
Applying Security
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
User ID: admin
COGNOS
17-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

APPLYING
SECURITY
Objectives
review model security (cube-based, memberbased)
create custom views
assign security to custom views
assign custom views to PowerCubes
combine custom views with dimension views
examine a union of custom views

17-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Overview of Model Security

Restrict data access across the Cognos 8 reporting
components using:
cube-based security
member-based security
With cube-based security, you apply security to an entire PowerCube or cube group by
setting a password to restrict access to authorized users.
You add member-based security to a model by creating custom views of the data, and
then assigning the custom views to individual cubes.
17-4

APPLYING
SECURITY
Create Password-protected Cubes

You apply security to an entire PowerCube or cube
group by setting a password to restrict access to
authorized users.
When users access cubes and reports in their
reporting component, they must enter the password
to see the data.
When you publish a data source to Cognos Connection and include the cube password
association in the data source, users are not prompted for the cube password when they
log on.
Password-protected PowerCubes are recommended if you intend to build cubes for
disconnected or mobile use.
Instructor Notes
When a password is defined at the root node of a cube group, the same password applies to all cubes
in the group. However, a password defined for a member of a cube group overrides the password
defined at the root level for the group.

17-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Create Member-based Security

define a specific view of the data
create custom views of the data using dimension
filtering methods, such as apexing or cloaking
You must configure security before you include custom views in your model.
You can then select security objects, define a custom view, and associate the view with
a cube.
When you add or make changes to custom views, you must rebuild the cube for the
changes to take effect.
17-6

APPLYING
SECURITY
Assign Security to Custom View

Once you create the custom view, you then you
assign the security.
You assign security objects (users, groups, and
roles) configured in your Cognos 8 namespace.
When you make changes to the security objects in your configured Cognos 8
namespaces or source authentication providers, you do not need to rebuild the cube to
reflect the changes.

17-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Assign Custom Views to PowerCubes

associate the view with a cube
When a user opens the cube in one of the Cognos 8 studios, the system verifies that the
user has the necessary access permissions for the secured data before showing the
portion of the cube defined in the custom view.
17-8

APPLYING
SECURITY
Demo 1: Create Custom Views

Purpose:
You want to add member-based security to a model by creating
custom views of the data using dimension filtering methods.
1.
Launch Transformer, and open the model.

Transformer8\EN
Task 2. Create the Custom Views for Italy.
1.
2.
3.
4.
You will create a custom view for Italy and Canada. These views allow users
that are part of these custom views to only see data for their Country.
Click the Retailers dimension, and then click Show Diagram.
Click the Custom Views tab.
Right-click in the Custom Views window, and then click Create Custom
View.
Create a view to allow users from the Italian office to only see information for
Italy.
Under Custom view name, type Italy and click OK.
You will define a specific view of the data for Italy using dimension filtering
methods, such as apex. This way, users can only see the data for Italy.

17-9
COGNOS
5.
6.
7.
8.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click Italy custom view.

Under Dimensions, click Retailers, and then click Customize.
You can also Omit dimensions and measures from the custom view.
Expand Southern Europe.
You want to use Apex so the Italian users can only see information for Italy.
Right-click Italy, and click Apex.
You can only see Italy, as shown below:
Task 3. Create a Custom view for Canada.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Canadian users want to see all the data for Canada, but also want to see the
summary for United States and Mexico. They do not need to see any other
Regions.
Right-click in the Custom View window, and then click Create Custom
View.
Set the Custom view name as Canada, and then click OK.
Click the Canada custom view, click the Retailers dimension, and then click
the Customize icon.
Right-click Asia Pacific, and click Exclude.
Exclude Northern Europe, Central Europe, and Southern Europe.
Instructor Notes
Under dimensions, point out that the icon changes to reflect which dimension is customizes. Also, point
out that the Customized count of changed from 0 to 1.
17-10

APPLYING
6.
7.
8.
SECURITY
Expand Americas, right-click United States, and then click Summarize.

Apply Summarize to Mexico.
Apply Exclude to Brazil.
The final result appears as shown below:
Note: All countries in the excluded regions are also excluded.

Results:
You added member-based security to a model by creating custom
views of the data using dimension filtering methods.

17-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 2: Assign Security to Custom Views

Purpose:
You now want to assign groups configured in your Cognos 8
namespace to the custom views and then assign the custom views
to the PowerCube.
You will assign security to the custom view. In Cognos 8.3, you can add users, groups
and roles to the custom view. You can also include objects from different namespaces
inside the custom view. In this workshop, you will add a few users for each custom
views.
Task 1. Assign security to the Italy custom view.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
17-12
From the Custom View window, double-click Italy to edit the properties.
You need to logon to a namespace to assign the security.
Click Log On.
Username: admin
You will return to the Custom View - Italy window on successful log on.
Click Assign Security located at the bottom of the window.
In the Cognos namespace directory, select the Italy group, and then click Add.
Click OK twice to close the Custom View - Italy window.

APPLYING
SECURITY
Task 2. Assign security to the Canada custom view.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
You will now add the Canada group to custom view.

Under Custom Views, double-click Canada.
Click Assign Security.
In the Cognos namespace directory, click the Canada group, and then click
Add.
Click OK twice to close the Custom View - Canada window.
The custom views you just created display in the model as shown below:
Task 3. Add the Custom Views to the PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
Insert a new PowerCube called Custom Views.

You need to include the Custom Views in the PowerCubes if you wish to
include the security.
Drag Italy to Custom Views cube.
Drag Canada to Custom Views cube.

17-13
COGNOS
4.
5.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Right-click the Custom Views cube, and then click Create Selected
PowerCube.
If you make changes to the security objects in your configured Cognos 8
namespaces or source authentication providers, you do not need to rebuild the
cube to reflect the changes. PowerCubes reflect the applied Member based
security at run time. For example, if you change the users who belong to the
Italy group, the PowerCube reflects the changes without needing to be rebuilt.
Task 4. Test the security of the PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
4.
17-14
Log in to Cognos Connection.

Username: tortaa
Launch Analysis Studio and create a Blank Analysis.
Package: Custom Views
Expand Time, and drag Time to the Columns drop zone.

APPLYING
5.
SECURITY
Drag Retailers to the Rows drop zone.

Only retailers in Italy display. Alessandra Torta can only view information for
Italy. The security worked.
6. Close Analysis Studio without saving the changes.
7. In Cognos Connection, click Log Off, and then click Log on again.
Username: chowd
8. Launch Analysis Studio.
Package: Custom Views
9. Create a Default Analysis.
10. Expand Retailers.
Donald Chow can only see information for Americas. All other regions where
excluded.

17-15
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
11. Drag Americas to Rows.

You can see United States, Canada and Mexico. You excluded Brazil in the
custom view.
12. Drill-down on United States.
You cannot see lower levels because you applied a summarize dimension view
to it.
13. Drill-up on United States.
14. Drill-down on Canada.
You can view the lower levels with Canada.
15. Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then click Log off.
Leave the model open for the workshop
Results:
You assigned groups configured in your Cognos 8 namespace to
the custom views and then assigned the custom views to the
PowerCube.
17-16

APPLYING
SECURITY
Combine Custom Views with Dimension

Views
You can add custom views to a cube that already
has dimension views.
Use this combination when you must control
access to certain information (such as salaries)
based on a user's security classification, but do
not need to restrict access to the remaining data.
Process:
Create all the cube groups and dimension views you need for the model.
Create and apply custom views to the cubes and cube groups.
On the Cube property sheets (Dimensions tab), select the appropriate dimension
views.
Create and deploy your secured PowerCubes.
Instructor Notes
Example: you create a cube group that includes separate cubes for Central Europe, the Americas, and
the Far East. For each cube, additional protection is imposed by creating custom views that group
OLAP report users separately from security administrators for each region. When the cubes and the
accompanying authentication sources are released to users in each region, regional security
administrators can maintain security definitions for their own regions

17-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Union of Custom Views

A user can be a member of several user groups
or roles, and can belong to multiple custom
views.
When a user belongs to more than one group or
role and the group, roles, or user belongs to
multiple custom views, the cube opens with a
union of all the custom views.
A union of custom views combines the access capabilities of its member custom views,
but not their restrictions.
Instructor Notes
The rules for determining what is shown in the cube as a result of a union of custom views are:
that which is shown to an individual custom view is shown to the union
that which is not shown to an individual custom view is the same as that which is not shown to the
union
a category is shown to the union if it is shown in at least one custom view
measure values, or cell values, are shown to the union if there is at least one custom view that sees
all the categories in the cell domain
a measure value, or cell value, is not shown to a union when none of the custom views in the union
can see all the categories in the cell domain
in a union of custom views, the root category shifts to the lowest common ancestor of all member
custom views
These rules apply to all custom views in the union.
Note: A new demo will be added to the Production release to show this functionality. There are plenty
of examples in the product documentation. If time permits, you can show the students an example.
17-18

APPLYING
SECURITY
Summary
review model security (cube-based, memberbased)
create custom views
assign security to custom views
assign custom views to PowerCubes
combine custom views with dimension views
examine a union of custom views

17-19
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Workshop 1: Create Custom Views and Apply Security

You want to create custom views so that Harold Townsend cannot view particular
order methods. You want to apply Cloak to email and fax so that he cannot see these
order methods, but the summary values will still include fax and email values. You also
want to create a custom view so that John Sinden cannot view these order methods.
You want to apply Exclude to email and fax so that he cannot see email and fax order
methods, however, the summary values will not be included in the summary.
Create a custom view called Order method Cloak:
Customize the Order method dimension by applying Cloak to Email and Fax
Create a custom view called Order method Exclude:
Customize the Order method dimension by applying Exclude to Email and
Fax
Assign Harold Townsend (Local NT) as a user to the custom view cloaked Order
methods. Assign John Sinden (Local NT) as a user to the custom view so he
cannot view the Excluded Order methods.
Insert a new PowerCube and add the custom views to the PowerCube.
View the results in Analysis Studio as each user.
17-20

APPLYING
SECURITY

Task
1. Create a Custom
View for Order
method.
Where to Work
Hints
Dimension Diagram
Create a new custom view called

Order method Cloak.
Customize the Order method
Dimension.
Cloak Email and Fax.
2. Create another
Custom View.
Dimension Diagram
Create a new custom view called

Order method Exclude.
Customize the Order method
Dimension.
Exclude Email and Fax.
3. Assign security to
the custom views.
Dimension Diagram
View the properties for Order

method Cloak.
Log on as admin (Education1!).
Assign Security: Local NT - Harold
Townsend
View the properties for Order
method Exclude and Assign
Security: Local NT - John Sinden.

17-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
Task
4. Add the Custom
Views to the
PowerCube.
DESIGNING
Where to Work
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Hints
Insert a new PowerCube called

Transformer/
Cloak Exclude.
PowerCubes window
Drag Order method Cloak to the
Cloak Exclude PowerCube.
Drag Order method Exclude to the
Cloak Exclude PowerCube.
Create and Publish PowerCube as a
Data Source and Package.
5. Test the security of

the PowerCube.
Cognos Connection
Analysis Studio
Log in to Cognos Connection as

Harold Townsend (Education1!).
Launch Analysis Studio using the
Cloak Exclude package.
Rows: Time
Measures: Quantity
Columns: Order method
Log in to Cognos Connection as
John Sinden (Education1!).
Launch Analysis Studio using the
Cloak Exclude package.
Rows: Time
Measures: Quantity
Columns: Order method
17-22

APPLYING
SECURITY

After logging in as Harold Townsend, Email and Fax are not displayed but their values
are included in the summary value:
After logging in as John Sinden, Email and Fax are not displayed, and their values are
not included in the summary:

17-23
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

Components:
Package:
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create a Custom View for Order method.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Click the Order method dimension, and then click Show Diagram.
Click the Custom Views tab.
View.
Under Custom view name, type Order method Cloak and click OK.
Click Order method Cloak custom view.
Under Dimensions, click Order method, and then click Customize.
Right-click Email, and then click Cloak.
Right-click Fax, and then click Cloak.
Task 2. Create another Custom View.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
17-24
View.
Under Custom view name, type Order method Exclude and click OK.
Click Order method Exclude custom view.
Under Dimensions, click Order method, and then click Customize.
Right-click Email, and then click Exclude.
Right-click Fax, and then click Exclude.

APPLYING
SECURITY
Task 3. Assign security to the custom views.

1.
From the Custom View window, double-click Order method Cloak to edit
the properties.
You may need to logon to a namespace to assign the security.
2. Click Log On.
Username: admin
3. Click Assign Security located at the bottom of the window.
4. Click Local NT, locate Harold Townsend and add him to Selected entries.
5. Click OK twice.
6. From the Custom View window, double-click Order method Exclude to edit
the properties.
You need to logon to a namespace to assign the security.
7. Click Assign Security located at the bottom of the window.
8. Click Local NT, locate John Sinden and add him to Selected entries.
9. Click OK twice.

17-25
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 4. Add the Custom Views to the PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Insert a new PowerCube called Cloak Exclude.

Drag Order method Cloak to the Cloak Exclude PowerCube.
Drag Order method Exclude to the Cloak Exclude PowerCube.
Right-click the Cloak Exclude cube, and then click Create Selected
PowerCube.
Task 5. Test the security of the PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
17-26
Log in to Cognos Connection.

Username: townsenh
Launch Analysis Studio and create a Blank Analysis.
Package: Cloak Exclude
Expand Time, and drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
Expand Measures, and drag Quantity to the Measure drop zone.
Drag Order method to the Columns drop zone.
Harold Townsend cannot view email or fax order methods either. This custom
view was set up to cloak order methods.
Close Analysis Studio.

APPLYING
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
SECURITY
In Cognos Connection, click Log Off, and then click Log on again.
Username: sindenj
Launch Analysis Studio, and create a Blank Analysis.
Package: Cloak Exclude
Expand Time, and drag Time to the Rows drop zone.
Expand Measures, and drag Quantity to the Measure drop zone.
Drag Order method to the Columns drop zone.
John Sinden cannot view email or fax order methods. This custom view was set
up to exclude these order methods.
Close Analysis Studio without saving the report, and then close Internet
Explorer.
Close the model without saving, and then close Transformer.

17-27
COGNOS
17-28
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

18
Optimizing PowerCubes
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
This module is structured as an interactive question and answer session, led by the instructor, to
discuss the various ways to optimize PowerCubes and overall performance.
COGNOS
18-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Objectives
examine cube groups
plan for disk space
optimize factors
optimize PowerCube inputs and outputs
determine factors affecting PowerCube build time
Instructor Notes
If you intend to teach this module, students should be familiar with:

18-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What is a Cube Group?

group of related PowerCubes based on a specific level
in a dimension
contains separate child cubes for each category in the
level
Country
Cube Group
City
Retailer Site
Canada
United States
United Kingdom
Each cube within the group contains detail information related to the summary level in
the dimension.
A cube group saves you time in model creation and produces smaller, more efficient
PowerCubes.
This approach may be appropriate for slow networks or underpowered computers, or
where a single large cube may not be the desired solution.
Instructor Notes
A cube group is created using the Country level. Individual PowerCubes are created for Canada,
United States, and United Kingdom. Each group cube contains detailed information for individual
countries and thus meets the needs of those managers. There may be others who need to view
summary information. You can create a cube that contains the summary information only, and add it to
the cube group. And then if detail information is required, you could provide a drill through to each
detail cube. By default, the parent PowerCube in a cube group contains auto-partition, the default
optimization setting. NOTE: You can demo creating a cube group. Due to time constraints, the demo
has been removed and will be added to the production release.
18-4

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
What is Stored in a PowerCube?

Metadata:
object names
short names
descriptions
drill-through items
security
Data:
text, which become categories/members
values, which become measures
Metadata is the information about the data. The metadata consists of object names,
short names, drill-through information, user classes, and text, such as descriptions.
The data consists of either text values that become categories in the model or numeric
values that become measures. All measure values are stored in the PowerCube in a
compressed format.
Instructor Notes
The cube does not contain data that is already summarized at all levels. Varying degrees of summaries
may be prestored in the cube, but this is dependent on several optimizing parameters, such as
partitioning. Summary totals are stored in the local cache but can also be stored in the PowerCube if
the Enable Crosstab Caching property is enabled. This can be used so that cubes open faster. The
size of the PowerCube increases.

18-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
PowerCube Production Process
PowerCube
Generation
and
Initialization
Data
Sources
Category
Work File
Generation
Temporary
Work Files
PowerCube
Initialization
and Metadata
Update
Data
Update for
PowerCube
Instructor Notes
The following takes place during the PowerCube creation process:
PowerCube Generation and Initialization - activates the PowerCube creation process.
Category and Work File Generation - reads the data source files and processes the rows to create
categories, and writes to the compressed temporary working files.
PowerCube Initialization and Metadata Update - Specifies the structure of the PowerCube,
including a subset of the dimensions, categories, and measures of the model, and reflects what the
end-user will see.
Data Update for PowerCube - reads the temporary work files and then consolidates, partitions, and
updates the PowerCube with the set of records that apply to the PowerCube. This phase results in
the creation of the PowerCube and is the longest phase in the PowerCube production process. At
the end of this phase, the temporary work files are automatically deleted.
18-6

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Consider Optimization
Question: When do you need to optimize?
Answer: Consider optimization when:
user response time is unacceptable
build times are too long
The most effective way to optimize is to consider optimization methods when the
model is designed to meet the requirements of the business.
If your categories change frequently, it is a proven practice to regularly defragment
your .pyj file.
Instructor Notes
Let a cube be built during quiet periods.
To defrag your .pyj file, save the .pyj file as .mdl, and then resave as .pyj.

18-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
User Response Time

Question: What affects user response time?
Answer: Cube size has a big impact on user
response time. Strategies to consider:
partition a PowerCube
use a multifile PowerCube
use crosstab caching
use drill through
use time-based partitioned cubes
The most important factor in response time for users is cube size.
Instructor Notes
partition the cube to speed response processing (for a small increase in cube size)
use a multi-file cube if you require different things to meet the needs of a diverse user base
crosstab caching makes it appear that cube is opening faster
Use drill through to access information not available in the cube
use time-based partitioned cubes, depending on your model design and user analysis patterns, by
using lower level time periods to improve performance time
18-8

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Manage Cube Build Time

Question: What affects cube build time?
Answer: Build time is impacted by:
the time required to read the data
the frequency at which you read the

data
the amount of time required to

process the data

18-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Optimize Performance
Consider the following when building a PowerCube:
multifile PowerCubes
data source optimization
PowerCube processing
incremental updates
hardware (real system memory)
partitioning
time-based partitioned cubes
Many factors can affect performance, such as cube size, processing time in
Transformer, and access time in Cognos 8 studios.
18-10

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Manage Data Read Time

Question: What affects how long it takes to read data?
Answer: Volume of data, data structure. Consider:
create aggregate tables in the source
consolidate and streamline your data
reduce categories and measures
use alternate data sources
perform incremental updates or use

time-based partitioned cubes
run pcoptimizer.exe
Transformer works best when the data is organized as a star schema.

If you are reading a fully normalized operational database, the data source queries will
be more complex and take longer to process.

18-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Streamline Your Data

You can streamline your data before and after it is
used in Transformer by:
summarizing your data before using it in

Transformer
consolidating data in Transformer
reducing the number of categories
reducing the number of measures
If you minimize the amount of information in a PowerCube, you can significantly

decrease the size of the PowerCube and production time.
Consolidation is enabled by default. Evaluate your data to see whether using the
duplicates or regular rollup features of Transformer further consolidate it.
You can eliminate measures by cleaning your source data to eliminate records with
missing values, or by excluding measures from your PowerCubes that contain missing
values.
Instructor Notes
You can point out that this section is about limiting the size and quantity of data in the PowerCube,
which optimizes access time in PowerPlay but increases the cube build time in Transformer.
If your business organization changes, your Transformer model may contain inactive categories that
you no longer need. For example, after a consolidation of offices, you now inspect and report on the
operations of only thirty sales offices instead of forty. For effective production management, you can
delete the categories for the ten sales offices that have been closed since the start of the fiscal year.
18-12

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
What is Consolidation?
reduces the number of rows by combining identical
non-measure values into a single record.
Before Consolidation:
2002-05-15
Outdoor Products
1,000
2002 -05-16
Outdoor Products
1,500
2002 -05-16
Outdoor Products
2,000
2002 -05-15
GO Sports Line
1,600
2002 -05-15
GO Sports Line
1,700
2002 -05-15
Outdoor Products
1,000
2002 -05-15
GO Sports Line
3,300
2002 -05-16
Outdoor Products
3,500
After Consolidation:
Consolidation summarizes measure values during cube creation in Transformer so that

PowerPlay clients do not have to perform as many summarizing calculations.
Consolidation is intended to reduce the size of PowerCubes, decrease PowerCube
creation time, and improve access time in PowerPlay clients by combining and reducing
the number of identical rows in the source data. Fewer rows means faster indexing and
fewer measure values required for the queries.
Instructor Notes
Identical non-measure values occur in four areas:

The data source transactions contain identical non-measure values. For example, two sales of the same
product are made to the same customer on the same day.
Records become identical when a dimension is omitted from the cube object. For example, two sales of the
same product are made at different stores on the same day. If stores are omitted from the cube, the sales
records will have identical non-measure values.
Records become identical when categories in the PowerCube are summarized or suppressed. For example,
two sales of the same product are made to the same customer on the same day. Each product was a different
color. If you exclude colors from the PowerCube, the sales records will have identical non-measure values. In
this example, you could exclude color from the PowerCube by using summarization or suppression in a view.
Records become identical when the level of detail permits. For example, if the level of detail for the time
dimension is monthly, Transformer ignores the day values in the source transactions when consolidating
records.
18-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Use the Appropriate Rollup for

Consolidation
By default, the rollup method for consolidation is
Sum.
You may want to consolidate with another rollup
methods (for example, Average).
A Duplicates rollup setting other than None forces
Transformer to consolidate the data source file when
generating PowerCubes.
In most applications where you have rows with identical non-measure values, you want
to consolidate the rows by summing the measure values.
In some situations, a Sum rollup is inappropriate.
Instructor Notes
Duplicate rollup cannot be performed on cubes with the Direct Create option set. Transformer will issue
a warning with the Check Model command. When consolidation is enabled, Transformer will perform
the duplicate rollup first and then the regular rollup.
See notes in PPT for an example of when a Sum rollup is inappropriate.
18-14

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Demo 1: Explore Data Source and Optimization Settings

Purpose:
You want to explore optimization settings in the model.
Components:
Transformer
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Open a Model.

1. Open a model.
Transformer8\EN
Task 2. Explore PowerCube optimization/processing settings.
1. Click Create PowerCubes.
The Progress dialog box indicated that it required 10 steps to create the Sales and
Marketing PowerCube that contains all 376433 rows.
2. View the PowerCube properties.
3. Click the General tab.
The Consolidate list specifies if the data will be consolidated during generation.
Consolidation reduces the number of rows by combining identical non-measure
values into a single record. By default, Default is selected, which consolidates
data if Transformer determines it useful. No, Yes (with Sort), and Yes (presort)
are also available. The setting should be left as Default.

18-15
COGNOS
4.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Yes (with sort) - sorts the data before performing consolidation. This reduces
row count by sorting and summarizing data before building the PowerCube.
Build time increases when this option is selected, but run-time performance in
PowerPlay clients is usually improved.
Yes (presort) - assumes the data has been sorted before being applied as a data
source, and immediately begins searching for consolidation opportunities.
Click the Processing tab.
On this tab, you can modify these settings to optimize processing of a

PowerCube. Optimization options define how Transformer optimizes the
creation of the cube. By default, Default (auto-partition) is selected. This setting
specifies that an auto-partitioning strategy devised by Transformer is used.
Auto-Partition is the most frequently used setting. Other options include
Categories, Data passes, and Direct create.
If you select This cube is incrementally updated, you are indicating that the data
sources contain incremental updates.
18-16

OPTIMIZING
5.
POWERCUBES
This cube is incrementally updated - incrementally adds only the most recent
data to the cube. This can shorten processing time, but you must be aware of
the limitations, which are described in a later slide.
Cube creation - creates the cube whenever you use the Create PowerCubes
command. If the data related to the cube is unchanged since the last update, you
can disable this option and shorten processing time.
Processed - specifies whether the cube is processed locally or on the server.
Click Cancel to close the PowerCube property sheet.
Task 3. Explore Data source optimization settings.

To optimize the processing of a query on a data source, you can adjust the
settings in the Data Source property sheet.
1. In the Data Source list, expand GO Data Warehouse (query).
2. Double-click GO Data Warehouse, and then click the General tab.
You can modify the Timing settings. They define how Transformer reads the
source data. If you have defined structural and transactional data sources, you
can set the timing for each of these. Structural data sources are used for
category generation and transactional data sources for cube creation.
Using the settings under Uniqueness Verification, Transformer verifies
uniqueness for each data source in a multiple data source model. It is
recommended that you leave the default setting. However, if you are sure there
are no uniqueness issues with the model, turn this setting off to speed up
reading the data source.
Result:
You explored optimization settings in the model.

18-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Manage Categories
Inclusion setting specifies the conditions under which
Transformer includes or excludes categories from the
PowerCube.
The default (When Needed) is the optimum setting because it includes categories when
there is source data to support them.
By default, Transformer includes categories in your PowerCube when there is source
data to support them.
You can change this setting by specifying the conditions for inclusion of categories in
your PowerCube.
Additional Information
An example of when you would exclude would be if you define a time dimension to include data for
January 1 to January 7, 2004, and create a PowerCube on January 3, the PowerCube contains
categories that lack information in the source data. Setting Inclusion for a level affects all categories
contained within that level, except for categories whose Inclusion property has also been set.
18-18

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Manage Measures
Exclude
Measures
The number of measures in the cube affects the

size and usability.
Large data storage types in your source files can
affect performance.
Example: If all of your data is stored as 32-bit

Storage Type integers and you set the storage type to a 64-bit
floating point, you are using space that may not be
required.
Warning: Changing the storage type can affect
rounding and truncation.
All measure values are stored in the PowerCube in a compressed format.

However, you can optimize further by eliminating measures that have no values in
some dimensions.
Instructor Notes
Changing storage type can affect truncation and rounding. You can clean the source data to eliminate
records with missing values or by exclude measures from PowerCubes that contain missing values.
The measure values in your data source should be stored in as small a data type as possible. You can
reduce the amount of space a measure uses by applying Input Scale and Output Scale settings. This
helps to reduce both work file and PowerCube size. The # of measures in a cube directly affects the
size of the cube. Queries against data sources with large numbers of measures may consume
resources.
18-19
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
PC Optimizer Utility
Cognos PowerCubes that have not yet been optimized
may open slowly in Cognos 8.
If PowerCubes created with previous versions of
Transformer take too long to open in the Cognos 8
Web studios, we recommend that you run this utility
to improve run-time performance.
This optimization utility is suitable for older PowerCubes when the model no longer
exists or the data used to build the PowerCube is no longer available. It is not necessary
to run this command line utility for cubes created in Transformer 8.3.
This will help improve run-time performance.
Instructor Notes
The PC Optimizer utility can be found at <Cognos 8 install path>:\bin directory.
Open command line window and run PCOptimizer.exe. For more information, see the troubleshooting
section of the Transformer User Guide.
With large cubes, the time to open a PowerCube can be excessively long in Report Studio and
Analysis Studio. This is because the entire cube, including members, must be loaded into memory.
18-20

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Limit Data Reads

Question:
How do you limit the number of times the

data is read?
Answer:
Build several cubes, and optimize each individually
Use time-based partitioned cubes
Process dimension sources only when they change

(save the model after category generation)

18-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Reduce PowerCube Build Times

Expect efficiency gains from optimization strategies
such as:
hardware upgrades
system tuning
memory re-allocation
model redesign
By upgrading to a multi- server environment and running multiple instances of

Transformer in parallel, you can significantly decrease the build times.
It is important to provide sufficient physical memory on a server dedicated to building
cubes to avoid excessive pagination. In addition to having sufficient memory to handle
all running application requests, make sure the operating system disk cache on the
server can grow as large as required during the cube build process.
Be sure to allocate sufficient space for the temporary files, and optimize the operating
environment.
Instructor Notes
One of the most important aspects of cube build time, particularly with a large amount of data, is
hardware. Transformer is often I/O (Input/Output) bound, so make sure the Directories tab of the
Preferences dialog points each item to different physical disks.
Multi-server processing can be enabled on the data source property sheet. Switching off uniqueness
verification can save a small amount of time, but incorrect data may result if integrity is not enforced.
18-22

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Hardware Considerations
Consider the effect your hardware can have on
building your cubes:
memory
disk space and configuration
network bandwidth
computer power
Memory - Transformer uses memory during category and work-file generation, and
also during metadata and data update.
Disk Space and Configuration - Transformer is I/O intensive because it reads source
data, builds temporary work files, and creates PowerCubes.
Networking Considerations - Ensure fast access between Transformer and its data
sources for optimal cube build times.
Instructor Notes
Memory is probably the single most important aspect of the computer for building PowerCubes. If your
server is equipped with four or more processors, then you can take advantage of using multiple
instances of Transformer by building multiple cubes simultaneously.
Tuning your environment to provide Transformer the best possible I/O performance will speed up your
cube building.
18-23
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Plan for Disk Space

Ensure there is sufficient disk space available for:
source data files
model files (.pyj, .mdl, and .qyi)
temporary files
PowerCubes (.mdc)
Periodically save .pyj models as an .mdl file, and

then resave it as a .pyj file. This defragments the
model file.
In general, .pyj files are larger than their .mdl equivalents. Each time Transformer loads
a model into memory, it also creates a checkpoint file (.qyi) in the models temporary
location.
Remove unwanted checkpoint files by manually deleting them. You can also open their
corresponding model files and choose whether to either perform a restart operation, or
to remove the file and revert back to a previously saved version of the model.
Instructor Notes
As you edit a model, the size of the pyj file increases because Transformer maintains information on the
operations performed during model editing. Transformer uses this information for things such as
Client/Server operations and incremental updates. The storage of these model operations causes
internal fragmentation within the binary model file. Saving the .pyj files as .mdl files ensures that future
builds take less time. The .mdl file can also be used as a backup. The amount of disk space consumed
by the .qyi files is the same size as the .pyj equivalents. This is important when planning for disk space. If
you manually delete .qyi files, Transformer cannot perform a restart for models that require these files.
Transformer lock files are usually very small.
18-24

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Model Space Requirements

To open and use an existing model, the amount of
disk space required (in bytes) is:
2 x size of current model file (.pyj)
When creating a new model, you can estimate the

disk space required (in bytes):
2 x (500 x number of categories in the model)

or 1KB per category
Model Temporary Files location specifies the name of the directory in which
Transformer can create a temporary .qy? file while you work on your model. You can
use this temporary file to recover a suspended model at strategic checkpoints, should a
fatal error occur.
If a directory is not specified, Transformer saves model temporary files in the
temporary files location specified in Cognos Configuration.

18-25
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Work File Space Requirements

Build problems can occur if space is not available for
work files.
If you are low on disk space, you can manually
estimate the space required for work files. This can
avoid running out of space just before the end of a
long build.
Transformer creates temporary work files while generating cubes. To process very large
cubes, where a single directory might not provide enough disk space for the files, you
can specify multiple directories on multiple local drives.
All PowerCubes require one work file with the exception of PowerCubes within a
PowerCube group. PowerCube groups require two work files for the entire group.
You specify the location where temporary work files are stored in the Preferences
dialog box on the Directories tab.
18-26

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Optimize the I/O

Cube creation is faster if Transformer never reads and
writes to the same physical disk at the same time.
This makes it possible to use disk caching to

improve performance.
Through Preferences, set where each file is stored:
Models, data source files, PowerCubes
temporary data files, temporary model files
log files
You can achieve additional gains by reconfiguring the hard drive of your build server to
optimize I/O processing.
To optimize the PowerCube creation process, take advantage of any physical disk
caching that may be available on the computer.
Instructor Notes
For example, store the data source files on one disk and the work files on another to separate the read
and write operations. A disk controller that is dedicated exclusively to a write or read operation has a
better chance of taking advantage of physical disk caching.
Specify the location on the Directories tab of the Preferences dialog box.
Data temporary files - if the cube is very large, and a single location may not provide enough disk
space for the temporary files, you can specify multiple directories on multiple drives. Delimit the
directories with a semicolon.
Model temporary files - if blank, Transformer tries the following directories: Models, PowerPlay
installation directory, location set by Cognos.ini file, or location set by environment variables.
Log files - if blank, Transformer uses the Models directory. Alternatively, you can specify the
location on the Logging tab of the Preferences dialog box. If both are blank, Transformer assumes
the installation directory.
18-27
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Ensure Sufficient Memory

Ensure enough computer memory is available.
Data Population is memory intensive.
PowerCube creation can be faster with more
memory.
Keep model and cube sizes within practical limits.
Transformer needs memory to manage the categories. This memory generates and
works with a populated model. In addition, Transformer needs memory to write the
PowerCube. This configurable memory is for caching and improving write time.
Many operating systems are configured so that one process cannot take all the memory.
This configuration provides a tuned environment for multi-user systems. Ensure that
there is enough memory on the computer and is available to Transformer.
18-28

OPTIMIZING
POWERCUBES
Summary
examine cube groups
plan for disk space
optimize factors
optimize PowerCube inputs and outputs
determine factors affecting PowerCube build time

18-29
COGNOS
18-30
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

19
Partition a PowerCube
Cognos 8 BI
COGNOS
19-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Objectives
identify the pros and cons
develop a partitioning strategy
create a Time-based partitioned cube
automatic vs. manual partitioning
Understand multifile PowerCubes
Instructor Notes
How to work with measures
How to customize PowerCubes
Ensure you set the default directories for opening cubes and saving reports to C:\Edcognos\C88382.
19-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Partition a PowerCube
Partitioning:
divides a large PowerCube into a set of nested

sections
is based on each partition containing

presummarized data for faster access
optimizes run-time performance by reducing the

number of data records searched to satisfy each
information request
When you create a PowerCube, Transformer writes data records to the PowerCube
based on the specifications you provide.
A partitioned PowerCube consists of a summary partition and various lower-level
partitions. The summary partition contains presummarized data records, and the lowerlevel partitions contain detailed data records.
At run time, when a user processes a request for summary data, it retrieves the data
directly from the summary partition. The lower-level partitions are accessed only when
users process requests for detailed information.
Instructor Notes
The goal of partitioning has always been to acquire a satisfactory end-user query response time. The 3
steps in order are: good cube design, using the right hardware to improve the speed of rollup
calculations, partitioning to improve query performance.
Selecting an OLAP architecture that maximizes caching opportunities and minimizes network overhead
is critical to the success of any BI Deployment. Equally important is utilizing the right hardware to
execute queries quickly and concisely for the required number of users. The third consideration,
partitioning, is a strategy that improves query response time at the expense of cube build time.
19-4

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Pros and Cons of Partitioning

Partitioning is required for good runtime performance.
Partitioned PowerCubes take longer to build than
unpartitioned PowerCubes.
Amount of
partitioning
Increased build
performance when
building PowerCube
+
Increased run-time
performance in
PowerPlay clients
As the amount of partitioning increases, the time required to build PowerCubes

increases, while the response time decreases.
When a PowerCube is partitioned, each category gets an index to the rows that it needs
within the partitions. If the category is inside a partition, the additional index is smaller
because it points only to the rows in a single partition.
Instructor Notes
Example, partitioning is increased as the slider is moved from right to left. With no partitioning,
PowerCube build performance is optimal. As the number of levels of partitioning increases, the
PowerCube build time increases proportionally. However, partitioning yields performance gains for the
end users, which outweigh the cost. Partitioning is usually recommended for all PowerCubes.
Queries on categories below the partitioned levels are also faster. These categories are essentially
inside a smaller PowerCube. Indexes are smaller, and measure values are retrieved faster, even
though the number of rows required remains the same.
19-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Develop a Partitioning Strategy

Consider the following items for your partitioning
strategy:
alternate drill paths
lowest level detail reports
environmental constraints:
network
cube
bandwidth
build window
query
response times
server
and end user hardware
In partitioned dimensions, lowest-level detail reports are slower than summary-level

reports because the information request may return data from several partitions.
Instructor Notes
The fact that lowest-level detail reports are slower than summary-level reports is also true for special
categories whose children span multiple partitions. In cases when performance is unacceptable for
lowest-level detail reports, consider creating multiple PowerCubes or implementing drill-through reports
to contain the details.
When considering cube build time, decreasing partition size generally improves query response time by
reducing the volume of data required for query calculation. This improvement is at the expense of increasing
cube build time. Average query response time should reflect the response time a user expects and the
throughput required to serve the user community. Your strategy should try to ensure that the response
to the majority of queries can be retrieved from the first or upper partitions and that the information
sought by a query can be found within a single partition.
19-6

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Create a Time-based Partitioned Cube

A time-based partitioned cube is a single holistic
view made up of a collection of member cubes.
The member cubes must share a common time
dimension.
Time-based partitioned cubes allow users to access a large amount of related data from
a single cube.
To make a time-based partitioned cube, Transformer creates member cubes as member
cubes of a cube group. Transformer then creates a control cube (.mdc) and a text file
(.vcd), combining multiple member cubes to provide a single holistic view.
Instructor Notes
The benefits of using time-based partitioned cubes include greater manageability, enhanced end-user
performance, and the elimination of large cube rebuilds. You can only include one time dimension in
the time-based partitioned cube model. Member cubes of the time-based partitioned cube must each
cover a distinct level (Year, Quarter, Month), but do not have to cover the same time period.
For time-based partitioned cubes, the category structure cannot be altered the way it can for
incrementally updated cubes. Time-based partitioned cubes with historical data do not need to be
rebuilt to add new data, because new data can be added in the form of a member cube. The timebased partitioned cube does not need to be recreated when updating, and will usually be more stable
than an incrementally updated cube, because you are adding small well-partitioned cubes rather than
incrementally updating a large cube where new records are not partitioned. Rolling time support can be
achieved by manually editing the .vcd file to remove references to member cubes no longer needed.
19-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 1: Create and Modify a Time-Based Partitioned

PowerCube
Purpose:
The financial advisor wants to use the Sales Analysis model for
reviewing quarterly sales for the years 2004, 2005, 2006. After
studying the results, he decided that it would be best to keep only
the information for 2005, 2006, 2007.
Components:
Model:
Sales and Marketing.mdl
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Define a Time-Based Partitioned PowerCube.

1.
2.
3.
19-8
Open a model in Transformer.

Transformer8\EN
PowerCube name: Quarterly Sales.
On the Output tab, in the PowerCube file name box, type Quarterly
Sales.mdc.

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
4.
Enable Time-based Partitioning.

Hint: Cube Group tab
Level: Quarter
This determines the level of detail for the time dimension that the time-based
partitioned cube is based on.
5.
Click OK.
The Quarterly Sales time-based partitioned cube displays in the PowerCubes
list.
Right-click the Quarterly Sales PowerCube and click Create Selected
PowerCube.
Transformer builds the time-based partitioned cube and its members.
6.

19-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
7.
In the PowerCubes list, expand Quarterly Sales to display the list of member
cubes.
Notice each member cube is named with the date range and there is a separate
cube for each quarter of data.
8.
In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Edcognos\C88382\Quarterly Sales.

This folder was created by Transformer to hold the member cubes for the
Quarterly Sales time-based partitioned cube by the same name.
Task 2. Explore the time-based partitioned cube in Analysis

Studio.
1.
2.
19-10
In the PowerCubes list, right-click Quarterly Sales.

Select Publish PowerCube as Data Source and Package.
Hint: Publish the PowerCube using current settings

PARTITION
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
POWERCUBE
Logon Cognos Connection.

Username: admin
Open Analysis Studio and create a Default Analysis.
Package: Quarterly Sales
The results of sales by Products are displayed for 2004 to 2006.
Expand Time, and then expand Time.
Expand 2004.
The quarterly periods display for 2004.
Right-click Retailers, point to Replace and then click Columns.
The results of sales by sales territory are displayed.
Close Analysis Studio without saving.

19-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 3. Modify the time-based partitioned cube to include

information for only the year 2005.
1.
2.
3.
4.
19-12
Launch Windows Explorer, and navigate to C:\Edcognos\C88382.

If the display is not alphabetically sorted, you may want to click the Name
column so that you can locate specific filenames easier.
When the time-based partitioned cube Quarterly Sales was built, a PowerCube
named Quarterly Sales.mdc and a corresponding file Quarterly Sales.vcd file were
created. You will now edit the .vcd file to exclude the data for the year 2004.
Open the file Quarterly Sales.vcd using Notepad.
Notice that each member cube is referenced by a line of text in the .vcd file.
Delete the lines of text for all member cubes pertaining to the year 2004.
There will be 4 lines of text to delete.
Save the file and exit Notepad.

PARTITION
5.
6.
7.
POWERCUBE
In Windows Explorer, double-click the Quarterly Sales folder.

Member cubes that are no longer needed should be deleted to exclude them
from the time-based partitioned cube.
Delete the 4 member cubes for the year 2004.
In Transformer, in the PowerCubes list, expand Quarterly Sales.
Notice that all of the original member cubes are still displayed. The data is still
archived for all time periods in the data source, but because the occurrences
were removed from .vcd file, the time-based partitioned cube will no longer
reference the information of those member cubes.
Task 4. Explore the changes made to the time-based

partitioned cube.
1.
2.

Package: Quarterly Sales
You can no longer see information for 2004.
Expand the Time folder, and then expand Time.
There is no longer a reference to 2004.

19-13
COGNOS
3.
4.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
In Transformer, close the model without saving, and then leave Transformer
open.
Results:
You created a time-based partitioned cube, and made modifications
for the financial advisor to use for reviewing quarterly sales for
2005, 2006 and 2007.
19-14

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Automatically Partition a PowerCube

The two controls used by the auto-partitioning
algorithm are:
desired partition size
number of partitioning passes
The partition size determines the tradeoff between

cube build time and query response time.
The number of passes is the number of times
Transformer reads the source data for the cube
during partitioning.
Auto-partitioning is the default optimization strategy for a PowerCube.

There are some modeling factors that can affect the auto-partitioning strategy:
Wide, flat dimensions offer poor consolidation for partitioned categories.
Data that does not consolidate well and unbalanced hierarchies cause levels to
be disqualified as partitioning candidates.
Instructor Notes
You can specify one or more dimensions that lend themselves to partitioning; however, if you do not
indicate your preference, Transformer automatically chooses the best candidates. Experience has
shown that it is possible to improve on auto-partitioning in some situations. This might be achieved by
starting with the partition points already selected by the Auto-Partition feature. When partitioning level
numbers are assigned manually, Auto-Partition is not available.
19-15
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 2: Auto-Partition
Purpose:
You want to increase PowerCube performance for your users by
using the default auto-partition strategy determined by Transformer.
This will result in faster access to information.
Components:
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Verify the Partition Status.

1. Open a model.
Transformer8\EN
2. Insert a new PowerCube called Optimize.
3. Right-click Optimize and then click Create Selected PowerCube.
The Progress dialog box indicated that it required 10 steps to create the Optimize
PowerCube that contains all 376433 rows.
4. In the PowerCubes list, right-click Optimize, and then click PowerCube
Partition Status.
The PowerCube Partition Status box indicates that a summary partition exists
indicated by Level 0. However, there is no further partitioning of the
PowerCube. Also displayed is the Record Count, showing the total number of
records in the PowerCube.
5. Click Close.
19-16

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Task 2.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Determine when an auto-partition is devised in

Transformer.
View the PowerCube properties.
Click the Processing tab.
In the Optimization box, ensure that Default (auto-partition) is selected.
This method specifies the optimization option that Transformer uses during
PowerCube creation.
Click the Auto-Partition tab.
In the Estimated number of consolidated records box, type 376433.
This option identifies the number of records in the PowerCube. It specifies the
estimated number of consolidated records the cube will contain. After the cube
is generated, the number is updated to reflect the actual number. The default is
10,000,000 records. If there are more than 30,000,000 records, the cube will
automatically be spread over multiple files.
In the Desired partition size box, type 125477.
This number determines the maximum size of each partition in the PowerCube.
Notice that the slider in the gauge has moved to the middle. Desired partition
size - limits the size of each partition. The default is 5% of the estimated
number of consolidated records.
Instructor Notes
Instructor may modify numbers to be more realistic. Numbers will be verified for Production release of
course.

19-17
COGNOS
7.
8.
9.
19-18
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
On the Faster cube creation Faster cube access gauge, click the slider.
The slider's Tooltip indicates that 33% of the PowerCube is the preferred size
for a partition that Transformer's partitioning strategy designed. This means
that three partitions will be created based on the decision of where and when to
partition. You can also move the slider to determine the relative size of
partitions for the PowerCube.
The Maximum number of passes sets the number of times that Transformer
reads the source data while partitioning. You can use this setting to prevent too
many passes from occurring.
Click OK.
Create the PowerCubes.
Notice that it took 16 steps to create the PowerCube. Earlier in this demo, it
took only ten steps. It takes longer to process the PowerCube because
Transformer is devising and applying the auto-partitioning strategy to the
PowerCube.

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
10. Right-click the Optimize PowerCube, and then click PowerCube Partition
Status.
Notice that the status of the PowerCube indicates that a partitioning strategy
has now been applied to the Optimize PowerCube.
In the status box, Level displays the partitioning details of the PowerCube.
Transformer has determined a partitioning strategy based on the Retailers
dimension. The Category Code determines the category in which the
partitioning is occurring. The Record Count indicates the number of records
contained in each partition.
11. Click Close.
An auto-partitioning strategy does not change the results in the Cognos 8
Studios. It only arranges the information to ensure that speed of access to the
information increases.
Results:
You specified the size of the partitions for which you want
Transformer to apply an auto-partitioning strategy during the
PowerCube generation process.

19-19
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Manually Partition
You can use manual partitioning to:
try to improve the auto-partitioning strategy
deal with large cubes or unusually structured data
tune for the top 10 reports used in the client

environment
If you are very familiar with your source data and your users' requirements, you may
want to manually define your partitions.
You can assign partition-level numbers to the categories in specific dimensions with
large numbers of categories and levels and with similar category-to-level ratios.
Instructor Notes
Discussion of this topic is optional, and may be determined by the class needs. You should avoid
partitioning dimensions that contain special categories. Do not specify partition numbers to leaf
categories, drill categories, or the main root category. You can use the PowerCube Partition Status or
the Reset Partitions commands to test your partitioning strategy.
If you change cube partitioning, you must then re-create the cube. A single partition level cannot
include categories from more than one dimension. You are not required to partition the entire level, and
you can include categories from different levels in the same partition level. You cannot partition a
suppressed category.
19-20

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Manually Partition (cont'd)

Tips:
Select dimensions with the highest number of

categories.
Select dimensions that contain a large number of

levels.
Avoid exceeding two levels of partitioning.
Monitor the partition status:
Navigate through the PowerCube to test the

strategy.
Instructor Notes
These steps provide a strategy to follow when you manually partition a model:
1. Select dimensions that contain a high density of record counts. In addition, consider dimensions
that contain many levels in comparison with other dimensions in the model. Such dimensions most
often offer the greatest potential for row consolidation during PowerCube processing.
2. Choose a preferred partition size expressed as the number of records. This size is chosen to
optimize run-time performance against the PowerCube.
3. Use the number of rows in your data source to calculate the number of partitions you will require to
obtain the preferred partition size. This becomes the set of partitions in a partition level. A formula
you can use is: number of partitions = number of rows in data source/preferred partition size.
4. In the selected dimension, choose a level that contains approximately as many categories as the
number of partitions determined in step 3. If this level is the first partition level, assign partition level
1 to each category in the chosen level.
5. Build the PowerCube and review the partition status. Navigate the PowerCube, drilling down into
the partition with the largest number of records.
Repeat as necessary.
19-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 3: Manually Add One Level of Partitioning

Purpose:
You want to determine a partitioning strategy for an existing
PowerCube. You will start by adding one level of partitioning to the
Products dimension, which makes it faster for users to access data
for each of the product lines.
Task 1. Verify the Partition Status.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Insert a new PowerCube called Manual Partition.

Right-click the Manual Partition PowerCube, and click Create Selected
PowerCubes.
Right-click the Manual Partition PowerCube, and then click PowerCube
Partition Status.
There is a summary partition, which contains 376433 records.
Click Close.
Task 2. Add one level of partitioning to the Line dimension.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
On the Dimension Map, click the Products dimension label.

Click Show Diagram.
Expand Golf Equipment, and then double-click the Woods category.
Set the Partition number to 1, and then click OK.
Repeat step 4 for Irons, Putters, and Golf Accessories.
Instructor Notes
Remind participants that we would usually use auto-partitioning. We are demonstrating manual
partitioning for the rare occasions when you would need this method (as described earlier in the
module).
19-22

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Task 3. Check the Partition Status.

1.
2.
3.
Right-click the Manual Partition PowerCube and the click Create Selected
PowerCube.
In the PowerCubes list, right-click Manual Partition, and then click
PowerCube Partition Status.
Conceptually, this partitioning scheme is like having a set of nested PowerCubes.

Requests for summary Products transactions are serviced from the summary
partition, and requests for lower-level product transactions are serviced from the
detail partitions.
By setting up partitions in this way, data is returned faster. If you require
detailed data, for example, how many Hailstorm Titanium Woods Sets were
sold in January 2004 in San Diego, you can obtain the results from the Woods
partition.
Click Close to exit the PowerCube Partition Status dialog box, and then close
Transformer without saving the model.
Results:
You partitioned the Products dimension and reduced the size of the
summary partition so that data can be returned faster.

19-23
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Multifile PowerCubes
Multifile PowerCubes override the previous 2GB size
limit on single file cubes.
Transformer automatically determines the number of
output files needed and spreads the cube partitions
evenly across multiple files (.mdp).
An .mdc file holds the PowerCube metadata. All .mdp
files and the .mdc file must be stored in the same
location.
By default, a cube is automatically built into multiple files when it contains more than
30 million data records.
Transformer determines the number of output files needed, taking the number of data
records in the cube, dividing by the threshold, and rounding up.
Cube partitions are spread evenly across these multidimensional partition files (.mdp),
and an additional multidimensional cube file (.mdc) is added to hold the PowerCube
metadata.
Instructor Notes
You can change the threshold for data records in a cube by adjusting the MultiFileCubeThreshold
setting in the [PowerPlay Transformer] section of the Trnsfrmr.ini file: replace 30000000 with a larger
(unscaled) integer, if your cube of 30-million-plus records is still less than 2GB. Replace 30000000 with
a much smaller number if you want to test or use the multifile feature on smaller cubes. The
Trnsfrmr.ini file is in the \bin folder where the product is installed. Multifile PowerCubes cannot be used
with time-based partitioned cubes.
19-24

PARTITION
POWERCUBE
Summary
identify the pros and cons
develop a partitioning strategy
create a Time-based partitioned cube
automatic vs. manual partitioning
Understand multifile PowerCubes

19-25
COGNOS
19-26
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

20
Maintain Models and

PowerCubes
Cognos 8 BI
COGNOS
20-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Objectives
maintain models and PowerCubes
understand data source, model, cube updates
synchronize the model and data source
incrementally update PowerCubes
describe model types and data entities
define members and member unique names
address changes that Impact a MUN

20-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Maintain Models and PowerCubes

Respond to:
the evolving needs of your report users
changes in your data
or reorganizations in the workplace.
Whenever you make changes to your model and cubes:

Run Check Model to ensure that the updated data is consistent and error-free.
Update security objects and related custom views as needed, before recreating
your cubes.
Update data source connection information for PowerCubes accessed by your
OLAP report users.
Instructor Notes
If category code values in the PowerCube change, advise your cube consumers of the categories, or
members, that changed so that they can better handle the impact on their reports.
20-4

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Source Data Updates

For example:
reordering columns
renaming columns
switching to a new data source type
If you change the structure of your data, you may need to redesign a portion of your
model before recreating your cubes.

20-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Data Source Maintenance

Transformer data source definitions may require
periodic updates or modifications to reflect changes in
the actual data source.
Updates are required primarily to add new data to the
data source for inclusion in the application.
Structural changes can also be made to the data
source, for example, adding, deleting, re-ordering, or
renaming columns.
Your models and PowerCubes require ongoing maintenance to respond to the evolving
needs of the consumers and changes in the data.
When you create a model, the columns in each data source are saved as part of the
model definition.
If you re-order, add, delete, or rename the columns in the source file, you must update
the data source by using the Modify Columns command.
Instructor Notes
Changes to the model might include:
adding new transactional records. In this case, you do not have to change your model, and you
can incrementally update your cubes.
changing the structure of your data, such as re-ordering or renaming columns, or reorganizing
the data hierarchy. For these modifications, you may have to redesign a portion of your model.
adding new source data to meet the requirements of your users. In this case, you will have to
use the Modify Columns command.
20-6

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Synchronize the Model and Data

Source
The Modify Columns command is used if structural
changes are made to the data source.
Transformer recognizes that the columns in the data
source no longer match those currently available in
the model.
As the modeler, you must ensure that the columns in your model reflect the current
state of your source files. If you reorder, add, delete, or rename the columns in any data
source or Transformer model, you must update the model by running the Modify
Columns command.
Use the Match command to manually associate a column selected in the Sources list
with a column selected in the Model list.
Use Auto Match to automatically update all columns in the model with the columns of
the same name in the Sources list.
Instructor Notes
The Modify Columns window shows the original name of the column in the data source in the Sources
pane and the name of the column in the model in the Model pane. Match is especially useful if individual
columns have been renamed, re-ordered, deleted, added, or changed.
You can quickly resynchronize your model columns after a data update, provided that your model uses a
single query based on a text data file, an IQD, or a Cognos 8 package or report, you can invoke the
Modify Columns command from the Tools menu.
20-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 1: Modify the Model Based on Source Files

Purpose:
The PowerCube must contain all the data requested. You will add
the extra required columns into the data source and modify the
model in Transformer to include data from the modified .csv file.
Components:
Report Studio, Transformer, Microsoft Excel
Package:
User ID:
admin
Password:
Education1!
Task 1. Create a Report Studio report to use as a Data

Source.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
20-8
Open Cognos Connection.

Username: admin
Launch Report Studio.
Package: Go Data Warehouse (query)
Create a new list report.
Expand Sales and Marketing (query) > Sales (query).
Insert the following items into the list:
Time dimension > Day key
Product > Product line, Product type
Sales fact > Revenue, Unit cost, Quantity, and Gross margin

MAINTAIN
6.
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Save the report.

Name: Sales Report
Location: Public folders > GO Data Warehouse (query)
Task 2. Save the report as a .csv file.

1.
2.
3.
4.
Run the report.

View it in CSV format.
Save the report as CSV (Comma delimited)(*.csv).
Name: Sales Report
Location: C:\Edcognos\C88382
Close Sales Report.csv, Cognos Viewer, and then close Report Studio.
Task 3. Create a new Transformer model using the .csv as a

data source.
1.
2.
Open Transformer, and create a new model.

Model name: Sales
Data source name: Sales Report
Data source type: Delimited-field text with column titles
Data source location: C:\Edcognos\C88382
Source file: Sales Report.csv
Hint: Do not use AutoDesign
Change the data class for Day key to Date.

20-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
3.
Create the following Dimension map:
4.
Add Revenue, Unit cost, Quantity to the measures list.
8.3)
Task 4. Modify the .csv file.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
20-10
Navigate to Public Folders > Go Data Warehouse (query).

Beside Sales Report, click Open with Report Studio.
Expand Sales and Marketing(query) > Sales(query) > Employee by
region.
Add Region and Country and to the right of Day key.
You are ready to update the .csv file to include the additional columns.
Run the report.
View it in CSV format.
Save the report as CSV (Comma delimited)(*.csv).
Name: Sales Report
Location: C:\Edcognos\C88382
Replace the existing file.
Close Cognos Viewer, and close Report Studio.

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 5. Ensure the columns in the model reflect the current

state of your source files.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Maximize Transformer.
Expand the Data Sources list.
Notice that Region and Country are currently not in the Data Sources list. You
need to update the list so that the model reflects the change in the source data.
Right-click Sales Report and then click Modify Columns.
The Source list contains all the columns in the .csv file. Region is listed as
Offset 1. Country is listed as Offset 2. The Model list is missing these 2
columns and the Offset values to not match the Source values as shown below:
Click Auto Match.

Auto Match automatically matches columns in the model with the source.

20-11
COGNOS
5.
6.
7.
8.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click OK to confirm the message "Automatic column matching is complete."

The new source columns are added to the Model list.
Click OK to add the new columns to the Data Sources list.
demo.
Log off Cognos Connection.
Results:
The PowerCube must contain all the data requested. You added the
extra required columns into the data source and modified the model
in Transformer to include data from the modified .csv file.
20-12

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Model Updates
prevent Transformer from adding unwanted
categories
periodically clean up fragments that can cause
generation errors
remove categories that are not used
When your source contains records for time categories that are outside the range
specified for the time dimension, Transformer creates the placeholder category: Early
Dates, Late Dates, or Invalid Dates. To prevent Transformer from adding unwanted
categories, you can prohibit the automatic creation of new categories.
You should periodically clean up fragments that can cause generation errors by saving
your model as an .mdl file rather than a .pyj file.
Once categories are present in a model, they remain until you manually remove them
or, with caution, remove them by using the Clean House command.

20-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Delete Inactive Categories

Active category: has been created, updated, moved,
or had its properties changed after a specified date.
delete inactive categories that are no longer needed
in your model.
Manually
Clean House
Clean House is used if your organization changes and leaves your model with inactive
categories that are no longer needed. Use Clean House with caution as it may cause
problems with consumers' reports in Cognos 8.
If you intend to delete inactive categories, advise your consumers so that they can
remove those categories, or members, from the reports when they are directly
referenced. Otherwise, they may receive an error the next time they run their reports.
Instructor Notes
For example, last year your department was responsible for inspecting 40 homes for the elderly. After a
consolidation of facilities, you now inspect and report on the operations of only 30 homes. You delete
the categories for the 10 homes that have been closed since the start of your fiscal year.
You cannot delete inactive categories if incremental updates are defined for the cubes in your model. If
you do, an error message will appear when you try to create the cube.
20-14

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Cube Updates
You should alert your report users whenever you
change a cube object, because the change may not
be obvious when they look at the report.
You can
fully rebuild a cube
incrementally update

20-15
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Update Cubes Incrementally

reduce build times.
adds new data without having to re-create the entire
PowerCube.
A large cube build can be followed by incremental
builds such as in period adjustments, which contain a
small number of records.
When incremental updates occur, you must make sure that all data sources contain only
new data. If data is duplicated in the data source, it will be duplicated in the PowerCube
as well.
The Transformer model must remain synchronized with the PowerCube that you are
incrementally updating. If the model changes, you must rebuild the PowerCube.
Time-based partitioned cubes are an alternative approach to incremental update. Timebased partitioned cube build times can be faster than incrementally updated cubes, as
new data is added in the form of a single well-partitioned cube, rather than adding data
to a large existing.
Instructor Notes
It is good practice to recreate your PowerCube after a number of incremental updates or after a certain
time period to remove unnecessary categories. Depending on the frequency and number of updates,
PowerCube creation time will increase until the entire PowerCube is re-created.
For performance reasons, we recommend that you periodically recreate the entire cube.
20-16

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Check for Open Cubes

Transformer automatically detects if a cube is in use
before rebuilding it.
At the beginning of the cube re-build, Transformer
performs a check to see if the cube is in use.
If the cube is open, Transformer warns you that the
cube is locked and in use.
Transformer will prompt you to perform an alternative action: Retry, use a temporary
name, or Quit.
Instructor Notes
Retry - close the application using the cube, and then click Yes.
Use a temporary name - click No, and a PowerCube temporary file name dialog box displays,
prompting you for a name and location to save.
Quit - click Cancel, to end the cube build process.
For unattended builds, you can automate the redirection to ensure the cube is saved.

20-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 2: Detect an Open PowerCube During Rebuild

Purpose:
The Inventory Director wants to have up-to-date information before
releasing his end-of-quarter report. He needs to rebuild the cube,
but has previously encountered an issue with other users accessing
the cube at the same time, making it difficult to refresh the cube as
needed.
1.
Open the model.

Transformer8\EN

1.
2.
3.
4.
20-18
Check the model.

Insert a new PowerCube called OpenCube.
Right-click OpenCube, and then click Create Selected PowerCube.
Publish PowerCube as Data Source and Package.

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 3. Create an Analysis based on the Sales and Marketing

Package.
1.
2.

Username: admin
Package: OpenCube
The OpenCube PowerCube is now in use.
Task 4. Attempt to rebuild the PowerCube in Transformer.

1.
2.
You want to update the cube with the latest information.
Right-click OpenCube, and click Create Selected PowerCubes.
A warning box displays, indicating that the cube is in use.
You want to continue with the cube rebuild, but may not know who is
accessing the cube. You will proceed by using a temporary name.

20-19
COGNOS
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click No.
In the PowerCube temporary file name dialog box, ensure the save location is
C:\Edcognos\C88382.
Click Open.
Click OK when prompted with the message indicating cube creation with the
temporary file name.
The cube rebuilds to a temporary file even though it is being used by another
application.
demo.
Close Analysis Studio, and then click Log Off in Cognos Connection.
Results:
Even when the cube was in use, you were able to rebuild the
PowerCube using a temporary name.
20-20

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Overwrite a Published PowerCube

You can also use the Cognos 8 PowerCube
Connection Utility to enable, disable, or view the
current state of a PowerCube.
To overwrite a PowerCube, disable it first.
When a PowerCube is disabled, end users cannot use any package that references it. If
they attempt to use it, they receive an error indicating that the data source cannot be
found.
If the PowerCube is in use when you attempt to disable it, you will receive a file lock
error. To avoid this situation, it is recommended that when you disable a data source,
you also stop the Report and Report Batch services.
Instructor Notes
Stopping the Report and Report Batch services affects not only the data source that is disabled, but all
the data sources in the Cognos 8 configuration. As a result, use this approach only during periods
when your end users will not require access to the data sources.

20-21
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Update Data Source Connection

Information
After a PowerCube is rebuilt or updated, you can
update the data source connection information to
point to the newer version of the cube.
little to no impact on your Cognos 8 users
reports that reference the updated data source
connection continue to run and end users begin
seeing new cube data
You can run the Cognos 8 PowerCube Connection Utility to update PowerCube data
source connections interactively, or as part of a batch script.
Before you update published cube connections, ensure that your published PowerCube
data source appears in Cognos Administration.
Instructor Notes
Unlike Framework Manager, Transformer only requires packages to be published once for
PowerCubes. The metadata in a PowerCube package is not contained in the package itself but in the
data source. Therefore, when a PowerCube is updated or rebuilt - it is only the data source connection
string that needs to be updated to reflect the new PowerCube version. Cognos 8 puts a filelock on the
physical PowerCube MDC file while users have active queries against it - to protect end users query
results. So in order to allow users to access the newer PowerCube version, the PCConn utility allows
you to quickly change the connection string to point from the cube being currently used to the newer
updated cube. This allows any new requests to go to the newer version and older requests to complete
without disruption.
Datasource connection changes may not always switch automatically to the newer PowerCube version.
Using the PowerCube Updated Date in the report, your users will see when the report is using newer
data.
20-22

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Demo 3: Overwrite a Published PowerCube

Purpose:
You want to overwrite an existing PowerCube. You can stop and
start the reportService and batchReportService to release the lock
on the .mdc file, and update the PowerCube using the PCConn
utility.
1.
Open the model.

Transformer8\EN

1.
2.
3.
Insert a new PowerCube called Great Outdoors PcConn.

Right-click the Great Outdoors PcConn cube, and then click Create Selected
PowerCube.

20-23
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 3. Open an Analysis.

1.
2.
3.

Package: Great Outdoors PcConn
Save the analysis as Product Line Revenue.
You initiated an open user session. You will use the pcconn utility to stop and
restart the reportService and batchReportService to release the lock on .mdc
file. You will also disable the data source to update it. End users will be
interrupted when the services are stopped. As a result, use this approach only
during periods when the end users will not require access to the data sources.
Leave Analysis Studio open.
Task 4. Overwrite an existing .mdc file using the PCConn

Utility.
1.
2.
3.
20-24
Launch the command prompt.

Change the directory to: C:\Program Files\cognos\c8\webapps\
utilities\PCConn
Enter the following credentials (pressing Enter after each entry).
pcconn
connect localhost:9300
user ID: admin
password: Education1!
disable Great Outdoors PcConn
stop reportService, batchReportService
Wait for confirmation that the services are stopped.

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
4.
5.
6.
7.
Exclude Camping Equipment and Personal Accessories.
Right-click Great Outdoors PcConn PowerCube, and click Create Selected
PowerCube.
The lock is released because the services are stopped. The cube should build
successfully. You must restart the services and enable the data source.
8. Return to command prompt.
9. Enter the following:
Start reportService, batchReportService
enable Great Outdoors PcConn
exit
Wait for confirmation that the services have started.
10. Open the Product Line Revenue analysis in Analysis Studio.
Camping Equipment and Personal Accessories are no longer available. The
PowerCube was updated successfully.
11. Close Analysis Studio without saving, and then click Log Off.
12. Close the model without saving and leave Transformer open for the next demo.
Results:
You overwrote an existing PowerCube by stopping services and
disabling the PowerCube. You then verified that the updates were
successful.

20-25
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 4: Update the Data Source Connection, without

Impacting Cognos 8 Users
Purpose:
After you rebuild a PowerCube, you want to update the data source
connection information to point to the newer version of the cube.
You can update the data source connection information, with little to no impact on
your Cognos 8 users. You can manually update the path of a data source connection to
an updated cube. When data source connection strings are changed, reports that
reference the updated data source connection continue to run and end users begin
seeing new cube data.
Task 1. Publish a cube to Cognos Connection from
Transformer.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open the model.

Transformer8\EN
Insert a new PowerCube called GO pcconn (location: C:\Edcognos\C88382).
Right-click GO pcconn and click Create Selected PowerCubes.
Instructor Notes
You re-opened the model to use an unmodified version. In the previous demo, you excluded
Categories etc. If we used the same model, students would have to run pcconn again to update the
cube and data source in Cognos Connection. It is quicker and easier to close and re-open the model.
20-26

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 2. Build the report in Report Studio.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Launch Report Studio.

Package: GO pcconn
Create a new list report.
Add Product line, Product type, Product to the list report.
Expand Measures, and then drag Revenue to the list report.
Group Product line and Product type.
Total Revenue.
Run the report and navigate to the Outdoor protection product line.
Insect Repellents Total Revenue is 36,822,842.52

Close Cognos Viewer, and leave Report Studio open.
Task 3. Modify the model and create a new PowerCube.

1.
2.
In Transformer, click the Products dimension label, and then click Show
Diagram.
Expand Outdoor Protection and Insect Repellents.

20-27
COGNOS
3.
4.
5.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Exclude Bugshield Lotion Lite and Bugshield Lotion.

Insert a new PowerCube called GO pcconn2.
Right-click the GO pcconn2 PowerCube, and click Create Selected
PowerCube.
You will manually update the path of GO pcconn data source connection to
reference the GO pcconn2 cube. The reports that reference the updated data
source connection continue to run and end users begin seeing new cube data
with little or no impact.
Task 4. Use the PCConn utility to update the path of a data

source connection.
1.
2.
3.
20-28

utilities\PCConn
Enter the following credentials (pressing Enter after each entry):
pcconn
user ID: admin
password: Education1!
set GO pcconn
windows path for GO pcconn: c:\Edcognos\C88382\GO pcconn2.mdc
Unix path: press Enter
exit

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 5. Re-run report and view the updated report.

4. Return to Report Studio, and run the report.
5. Navigate to Outdoor Protection.
6.
7.
8.
Insect Repellents Total Revenue is 28,971,665.69. The Bugshield Lotion Lite

and Bugshield Lotion were excluded from GO pcconn2.mdc. The pcconn data
source connection points to this updated cube. Note no message indicates that
cube has been updated.
Close Cognos Viewer and Report Studio, and then click Log Off.
Close the command prompt.
Close the model without saving but leave Transformer open for the next demo.
Results:
After you rebuilt a PowerCube, you updated the data source
connection information to point to the newer version of the cube
without impacting users.

20-29
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Recover a Failed Model

the existence of a .qy? file indicates that Transformer
terminated unexpectedly.
causes:
power failures
processing interruptions
Transformer adds checkpoint entries after each major stage in the cube creation
process. These checkpoints are written to a temporary .qy? file.
The .qy? file is deleted when processes end normally.
The next time you start Transformer, you will be asked if you want to see the list of
suspended models. You can open the model at the last checkpoint before failure and
continue to develop it from that point, or continue from the point where you last saved
the file.
Instructor Notes
Transformer also writes messages to a log file (location: Directories tab, Preferences property sheet). It
has the same name as your model, with a .log extension. If Transformer is unable to recover
automatically from the processing failure, or if you choose to ignore previous processing and begin
again, you can read the log file to find and correct the cause of the failure.
Recovery from a checkpoint file is not supported if auto-partitioning is enabled.
20-30

MAINTAIN
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AND
POWERCUBES
Model Types in Cognos 8

Cognos 8 lets you work with three model types:
relational
dimensionally modeled relational (DMR)
OLAP
Relational models have a basic metadata structure that looks like tables and columns in
a database.
DMR and OLAP models display metadata in a multidimensional structure which is
comprised of dimensions, hierarchies, and measures.
Instructor Notes
This slide is intended as a review to re-focus students on the difference between a relational model and
those that are intended for OLAP-style queries.
Making this distinction will make it easier for them to understand the difference between the data
entities that they will be dealing with, especially when performing drill-through operations.

20-31
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Data Entities in Cognos 8

Two data entity types:
values (relational)
members (OLAP and DMR)
OLAP/DMR
Relational
Product
TrailChef Water
Bag 1110
Product name
Aloe Relief
Values
Bear Edge
Bear Survival
Edge
Members
TrailChef
Canteen 2110
TrailChef Kitchen
Kit 3110
When an author creates a report with a relational model, the data values are retrieved
from rows and columns from a table in the data source.
Members are entities from a multidimensional data structure. Each member has certain
properties such as a member key and member caption. The values presented to authors
and consumers are the member caption.
Members also come with additional context that describes their position in the
multidimensional structure. This context is presented in the member unique name
(MUN) of each member.
Instructor Notes
In the slide example, Aloe Relief is a value taken from a row of the Product name column in the
Products table.
MUNs are discussed later in this module.
20-32

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Work with Members

Dimension
Hierarchy
Level
Members are located

in levels of an OLAP or
DMR model.
Member
Child
members
Members used as data items

for a report
A dimension contains one or more hierarchies. Each hierarchy contains one or more
levels. Each level contains one or more members. Each member can have child
members, which are also found as members of the next lower level in the hierarchy.
Report Studio and Analysis Studio have members in their metadata trees and let
authors work directly with the members. These studios are "member-aware". Query
Studio is not "member-aware" and does not have members in its metadata tree.
All studios let authors create reports using levels, which return all members of that
level. If the studio in which you create reports is "member-aware", members can be
used independently as data items.
The metadata items (member attributes) from the multidimensional model can also be
used for report creation.

20-33
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What Makes Up a Member?

Framework Manager DMR source
member key = _businessKey (role)
member caption = _memberCaption (role)
OLAP source (PowerCube)
member key = Category code
member caption = Category label
OLAP source (MSAS)
member key = Member Key Column
member caption = Member Name Column
The member key is used to identify a particular member in a multidimensional

structure.
The member caption is the name that is displayed for the member.
Members may also have attributes such as alternate member names or other descriptive
information.
Instructor Notes
Each source may use a different naming convention for the items used to describe the member key
and member caption as seen in the slide example. The end result, however, is the same. A unique
identifier is used for the member key and a user friendly name can be used for the member caption.
The OLAP source could also be a Cognos Contributor cube. In this case, the member key = IID
(internal identification), and the member caption = display name.
MSAS stands for Microsoft Analysis Services.
20-34

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
What is a Member Unique Name (MUN)?

Used to locate a member
Referenced in an expression when a member is used:
in a report
in a filter or calculation
for drill-through
Modelers do not create a MUN for a member, but they do specify what will be used as
the member key and member caption. The member key will be used in the MUN when
the MUN is generated.
MUNs ensure that members are unique within the multidimensional structure.
Instructor Notes
MUNs are similar in concept to business keys which can be used to find records within a relational
table. For example, where Product line code is 1, Product line is Camping Equipment.
Why are MUNs important for drill-through? The MUN or a portion of the MUN is passed as a parameter
from multidimensional source reports.
MUNs also identify a measure because a measure is part of a measure dimension.
20-35
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What Makes Up a MUN?

MUN from a PowerCube data source:
[great_outdoor_sales_en].[Products].[Products].[P
roduct type]->:[PC].[@MEMBER].[101]
MUN from a Framework Manager DMR data source:
[Sales].[Product].[Product].[Product type]
->[all].[2101].[101]
The MUN for the PowerCube data source in the slide example can be identified as
follows:
Level unique name:
[great_outdoor_sales_en].[Products].[Products].[Product type]
dimension
hierarchy
level
cube
Type of cube: ->:[PC] This represents a PowerCube data source.
Vendor specific MUN: [@MEMBER].[101]. Used by the data source to locate
the requested member.
Instructor Notes
The 2nd part of a DMR MUN is a key path (all business keys of the parents down to the member).
We will focus on Cognos-specific MUNs.
MUNs differ among OLAP vendors. However, MUNs are typically defined as:
LEVEL UNIQUE NAME ->: [TYPE OF CUBE].[Vendor Specific MUN]
20-36

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Changes that Impact a MUN

MUNs can change when:
hierarchies or levels change
member keys change

category
codes in PowerCubes
Member
Key Column in MSAS cubes
_memberKey
role in DMR models
members no longer exist in the data source
a production environment has more members than

in the test environment
When MUNs change they impact the reports that directly reference the members they
point to. Those MUNs must be identified and fixed in the report.
For drill-through scenarios, once a broken MUN reference is fixed, there is potential
for the report to pass the wrong parameter to the target report. This can occur when
the member key changes.
If you understand what changes MUNs, you will be able to model the metadata so that
reports created in the test/development environment will run without problems in the
production environment.
If a report references a level, which returns all members, then a changed MUN will not
affect the report. Levels are not members and therefore do not have a MUN.
Instructor Notes
Some of the changes described on the slide are outside the realm of Framework Manager (i.e.
changing category codes in Transformer). As such, the upcoming demo focuses on a MUN change
resulting from modeling performed in Framework Manager.

20-37
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 5: How Changes to MUNs Impact Reports

Purpose:
Before you move to your production environment, you will use your
test environment to identify how changes to a model impacts
reports that use members. You will publish a cube, then create a
report using members as data items, and then identify the MUN for a
member in the report. You will then make a change to the model that
will impact the MUN, re-publish the package, and then re-run the
report. You will identify how the report is impacted, and
subsequently how the MUN is impacted. You will then fix the report.
Task 1. Build the PowerCube.
1.
2.
3.
4.
20-38
Open the Model.

Location: Samples
Name: Great Outdoors MUN test
Right-click Great Outdoors MUN Test, and then click Create Selected
PowerCube.

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 2. Create a report using members.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Username: admin
Open Report Studio.
Package: Great Outdoors MUN Test
Click Create a new report or template, and then double-click Crosstab.
In the Insertable Objects pane, expand the Great Outdoors MUN Test >
Measures.
Drag Revenue to the Measure drop zone in the report.
Expand Products > Products > Product line > Members.
Click the first member, Shift+click the last member, and then drag the selected
items to the Rows drop zone.
Expand Time > Time.
Drag Year to the Columns drop zone.

20-39
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
10. On the toolbar, click Run Report .

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
The report contains the values of the member items that you added during
design.
Close Cognos Viewer.
In the Insertable Objects pane, right-click the Golf Equipment member, and
then click Properties.
Notice the Member Unique Name property:
[Great Outdoors MUN Test].[Products]. [Products].[Product line]->:[PC].
[@MEMBER].[2105]
At the very end of the MUN, the member key for this member is [2015]. This
value is based on the Product line code in the data source.
Click Close.
Save the report as Module 20-Demo 5.
Close Report Studio, and click Log off.
Instructor Notes
If the MUN does not appear as shown, from the Tools Menu, click Options, and on the Report tab
deselect Alias member unique names.
20-40

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 3. Change the MUN for a level within a dimension.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Double-click the Product line level.
Change the source association to Product line.
From Tools menu, click Clean House.
In the Date box, enter tomorrow's date, and then click OK.
All the categories are removed.
6. Generate the categories, and then click OK to accept the warning.
7. Click the Products dimension label, and then click Show Diagram.
8. Double-click Golf Equipment.
A new category code of Golf Equipment is generated for Golf Equipment. You
will examine the effect of having the category code change.
9. Click OK and close the dimension diagram.
10. Right-click Great Outdoors MUN test, and click Create Selected
PowerCube.

20-41
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 4. OPTIONAL: Update an existing .mdc file using the

PCConn Utility.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
20-42
If the cube is locked because of the open user sessions, you can stop and start
the reportService and batchReportService to release the lock on the .mdc file.
utilities\PCConn
Enter the following credentials (pressing Enter after each entry).
pcconn
user ID: admin
Stop reportService, batchReportService
Wait for confirmation that the services are stopped, and then maximize
Transformer.
Right-click Great Outdoors MUN test, and click Create Selected
PowerCubes.
When the cube is built successfully, return to command prompt, and enter the
following:
Start reportService, batchReportService
Wait for confirmation that the services have started.

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Task 5. Examine the impact of a modeling change on the

MUN for a member.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Click the Great Outdoors MUN Test folder.
Beside Module 20-Demo 5, click Open with Report Studio - Module 20Demo 5.
In the Insertable Objects pane, expand Products > Products >
Product line > Members.
Right-click the Golf Equipment member, and then click Properties.
Notice the Member Unique Name property. At the very end of the MUN, the
member key is Golf Equipment. This MUN is now different based on the
change you made to the model. The current Product line members in the report
layout are associated with MUNs that no longer exist.
To correct this you must replace the existing members in the report layout with
the current members from the Insertable Objects pane.
Delete the members in the report layout and then add the same members back
into the report layout from the Insertable objects pane.

20-43
COGNOS
7.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Run the report.

The results appear as follows:
The rows are now returned appropriately.

Note: If you have calculations based on members in the report and their
MUNs change, you will need to go into the query and manually delete
the members referenced in the calculation before adding the new
members to the report. This way your calculations will continue to work
by referencing the new members.
8. Close Cognos Viewer, save the report, and then close Report Studio.
9. Close Internet Explorer, and then close Transformer without saving the model.
10. Close the command prompt.
Results:
Before you moved to your production environment, you used your
test environment to identify how changes to a model impact reports
that use members. You published a cube, then created a report
using members as data items, and then identified the MUN for a
member in the report. You then made a change to the model that
impacted the MUN, re-published the package, and then re-ran the
report. You identified how the report was impacted, and
subsequently how the MUN was impacted. You then fixed the report.
20-44

MAINTAIN
MODELS
AND
POWERCUBES
Conform Values
In order to relate information between data sources,
values and types must match.
Cognos Transformer
Framework Manager
Category code
for Camping Equipment = 1
DMR
_businessKey
or
Source value
Relational
Product line code

Conformed values for like dimensions
If the values are not conformed for like dimensions (dimensions that represent the
same data), then tasks such as creating master/detail reports and drill-through
definitions will be restricted since data cannot be related on common values.
You should ensure that values are conformed and the data types match early in the
modeling process to avoid future changes that impact reports and drill-through
definitions.
It is ideal to have these conformed values in the data source and optimized for
reporting so they are available to all modeling tools and reporting environments.
Instructor Notes
In Cognos Transformer, it is a best practice to ensure that each Category code across all levels of a
dimension is unique. If not, then Transformer will generate a unique value which is subject to change
when the cube is rebuilt. A changed Category code changes the MUN, which will impact reports and
drill-through definitions that reference the MUN.

20-45
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Summary
20-46
maintain models and PowerCubes
understand data source, model, cube updates
synchronize the model and data source
incrementally update PowerCubes
describe model types and data entities
define members and member unique names
address changes that Impact a MUN

21
Model for Drill-Through in

Transformer
Cognos 8 BI
Instructor Notes
User ID: admin
COGNOS
21-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Objectives
define a report drill-through
identify drill-through combinations
identify conformed drill-through values

21-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
What is Drill-Through?
Source Report
Revenue
Camping Equipment
2004
2005
2006
$20,471,328.88
$31,373,606.46
$37,869,055.58
$9,642,674.54
$11,248,676.06
Mountaineering Equipment
$7,144,797.52
$10,955,708.04
$13,793,960.30
Outdoor Protection
$1,536,456.24
$988,230.64
$646,428.04
Golf Equipment
$5,597,980.86
$9,598,268.88
$10,709,215.84
Target Report
Year
Month
Product line
Product type
Product name
2005
Mountaineering Equipment
Climbing Accessories
Firefly Charger
Firefly Climbing Lamp
Granite Belay
$15,367.16
$6,064.14
$29,334.24
Granite Carabiner
$4,024.90
Granite Chalk Bag
$2,306.82
Granite Pulley
Climbing Accessories
Revenue
$12,538.96
$69,636.22
Drill-through lets a report consumer move from one report to another in order to
focus on a specific area of interest.
Drill-through is accomplished by passing parameters from one report to another and
using those parameters to filter the results. These values must be conformed to get
expected results.
Instructor Notes
In the slide example, the source report passes two values to the target report, product line code and
year. The target report then uses these values to filter the results to Mountaineering Equipment for the
year 2005.
21-4

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Cognos 8 Drill-Through Definition Types

Two commonly used types of drill-through definitions:
report-based
package-based
Add parameterized filters in target reports to focus

results.
There are two distinct types of drill-through available within Cognos 8. These are not
the only ways of performing a drill-through; however, they are the most common ways.
A report-based drill-through definition is specific to a source report in which one
or more drill paths are defined to one or more target reports. This type of
definition is created in Report Studio.
A package-based drill-through definition lets a consumer perform a drill-through
from any report based on a package to any other report in Cognos 8. This type of
definition is created in Cognos Connection.
Parameterized filters ("Go To" parameter in Analysis Studio) are not required, but they
are useful in returning a customized and focused view of the data based on your source
drill-through value(s). Otherwise, the report is run without context from the source
report.
Instructor Notes
In this module, we will focus on report-based drill-through definitions in the demos. The key to this
module is to understand drill-through parameter values and how we can model for successful drillthrough. We can best accomplish this in Report Studio.
Additional notes can be found in the notes section of the PowerPoint slide.
21-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 1: Create Drill-Through Definitions

Purpose:
As a modeler, you need to understand basic drill-through
functionality, so you will create a simple report-based drill-through
definition to drill from one report to another.
You will create a target report with a prompt value filter, and then a
source report with a report-based drill-through definition. You will
also use the target report in a package-based drill-through
definition.
Task 1. Create the target report.
1.
2.
3.
21-6

Username: admin
Launch Report Studio selecting the GO Data Warehouse (query) package.
Create a new List report.

MODEL
4.
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Expand Sales and Marketing (query)>Sales (query), and then add the
following items to the report:
Query Subject
Query Item
Time dimension
Current year
Month
Product line
Product type
Product name
Revenue
Product
Sales fact
5.
In the work area, click the Current year column header, and then Ctrl+click
Month, Product line, and Product type.
6.
On the toolbar, click Group

21-7
COGNOS
7.
21-8
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Click the Revenue column header, on the toolbar click Aggregate

then click Total.
, and

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Task 2. Create filters to be used as drill-through parameters.

1.
On the toolbar, click Filters
2.
Click Add
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
, and then, under the Available Components pane, click the
.
Data Items tab
In the Available Components pane, double-click Current year to add it to the
Expression Definition pane.
In the Expression Definition pane, at the end of the expression, type =
?Year?.
[Current year] = ?Year?
You will create another filter.
Click OK, and then click Add.
Expand Sales and Marketing (query)>Sales (query)>Product, and then
double-click Product line code to add it to the Expression Definition pane.
At the end of the expression, type = ?Product line code?.
[Sales (query)].[Product].[Product line code] = ?Product line code?
Click OK, and then under Usage, click Optional.

21-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
9.
Click the [Current year] = ?Year? filter, and then under Usage, click
Optional.
By making the filters optional, users are not forced to provide a value when
running the report. This makes the report more flexible by giving consumers
the choice to see all records or focus their results.
10. Click OK.
11. From the File menu, click Save.
12. Save the report as Revenue by Year and Product (Detail).
Task 3. Create the source report.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
21-10
You will now create a source report based on the GO Data Warehouse
(analysis) package which is modeled dimensionally (regular and measure
dimensions).
From the File menu, click New, and then double-click Crosstab.
From the File menu, click Report Package, under Public Folders, click GO
Data Warehouse (analysis), and then click OK.
Click OK.
tab, and then drag a
In the Insertable Objects pane, click the Toolbox
Query Calculation to the Rows drop zone on the report.
In the Name box, type Product line, and then click OK.
In the Available Components pane, expand Sales and Marketing
(analysis)>Sales>Product>Product, and then drag the Product line level to
the Expression Definition pane.
Click OK.
Click the Source tab, expand Sales and Marketing (analysis)>Sales> Time
dimension>Time dimension, and then drag the Year level to the Columns
drop zone on the report.

MODEL
9.
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Expand Sales fact, and then drag Revenue to Measures drop zone on the
report.
10. In the crosstab, double-click the Product line row.

11. In the Expression Definition, change the expression as shown below:
roleValue('_businessKey',[Sales].[Product].[Product].[Product line])
Using the roleValue function, you will ensure that the businessKey value is
returned and pass in a drill-through. This step is not required for Year since the
member caption and business key are based on the same value.
12. Click OK.
Task 4. Create and test a report-based drill-through.
1. Right-click one of the Revenue cells in the crosstab report, click Select Fact
Cells, and then on the toolbar click Drill-Through Definitions
2.
, beside the Report box, click the

Click New Drill-Through Definition
ellipsis, and then double-click Revenue By Year and Product (Detail).
Instructor Notes
In task 3, steps are done as a result of a product issue. The business key should automatically be
passed on drill through from the member but does not for DMR sources. This is a workaround.

21-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
3.
Under Parameters, click Edit

items as shown below:
4.
Click OK, and then click OK again.
5.
On the toolbar, click Run Report

21-12
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
, and then select the Method and Value

MODEL
6.
7.
8.
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Click 107,099,659.94 at the intersection of Mountaineering Equipment and

2005 to drill through to the detail report.
The report is filtered on the year 2005 and Mountaineering Equipment.

Close Cognos Viewer, and then save the source crosstab report as Revenue
by Year and Product (Summary).
Close Report Studio.

21-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 5. Create a package-based drill-through.

You can also create a package-based drill-through definition in order to allow any
report from a package to drill through to a target.
1. In Cognos Connection, from the Launch menu, click Drill-through
Definitions.
2. Click the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.
.
3.
On the toolbar, click New Drill-through Definition
4.
In the Name box, type Revenue by Year and Product (Detail), click Next,
and then click Select the target.
Click Public Folders, click GO Data Warehouse (query), and then select
Revenue by Year and Product (Detail).
Click OK, click Next, and then under Prompt values, for the Product line
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
21-14
.
code prompt value, click Set the value
Expand Sales and Marketing (analysis)>Sales>Product, click Product
line, and then click OK.
For the Year prompt value, click Set the value, expand Sales and Marketing
(analysis)>Sales>Time dimension, and then click Year.
Click OK, and then click Finish.

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Task 6. Test package-based drill-through in Query Studio.

1.
2.
Launch Query Studio selecting the GO Data Warehouse (analysis) package.

Expand Sales and Marketing (analysis)>Sales, and then add the following
items to the report:
Query Subject
Query Item
Time dimension
Product
Sales fact
Year
Product line
Revenue

21-15
COGNOS
3.
4.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Right-click Personal Accessories beside 2005, point to Go To, click Related

Links, and then click Revenue by Year and Product (Detail).
The report is filtered on the year 2005 and Personal Accessories.

Close Cognos Viewer, and in Query Studio click Home to return to Cognos
Connection without saving the report.
Results:
By creating and testing simple drill-through definitions, you can see
how parameters are passed from one report to another in order to
focus the results of the target report.
21-16

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Considerations for Drill-Through

Definitions
Things to consider before creating drill-through
definitions include:
conformed drill-through values
supported drill methods
The value passed from the source report to the target report must match.
If the values are not conformed then the filter in your target report may return no
records or records that are not expected.
Instructor Notes
Supported drill methods are covered on the next page.
If your OLAP source (source report) uses a code of 1 for Camping Equipment and your relational
source (target report) uses a code of 1 for Mountaineering Equipment, then the target report would be
filtered on Mountaineering Equipment instead of Camping Equipment. This would be unexpected by
the person performing a drill-through. If the relational source had no value of 1 for its Product line code,
then no records would be returned.
With Cognos 8, you have the ability to use the Category code or Source value from a PowerCube
generated by Cognos Transformer. If the cube is enabled for drill-through (not required for drill-through
in the Cognos 8 environment) then the Source value instead of the Category code will be used when
drilling through from the PowerCube to a relational data source. If the OLAP source is a PowerCube
and the category code has a tilde in it, such as 1~25, then the value will not match the value found in
the relational source. Again, it is important for the category codes to be unique throughout the
dimension in order to avoid the tilde.
21-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Supported Drill-Through Combinations

Source
Report
Value
Passed
Target Report
Parameter
Expected
Relational
Value
Relational
Value
DMR
Member
Key
Relational
Value
MUN
DMR
MUN
Member
Key
Relational
Value
MUN
DMR
MUN
OLAP (must be same

vendor as source)
MUN
OLAP
Cognos 8 provides several supported drill-through combinations from one model type
to another.
When you implement any of these drill-through combinations, you need to ensure that
the values passed from the source report to the target report are compatible and
conformed.
Instructor Notes
Values must match in type and content. For example, with relational to relational drill-through the value
that is passed must be the same data type (integer, string, and so on) and actually exists in the data
source. If you pass a value of "Americas" to a target report that was expecting an integer, there would
be a mismatch. Also, if you passed a code of 1234 that represents the Americas but the target data
source uses a code of 1 for the Americas, you would return either no results or the wrong results.
When drilling from DMR or OLAP to relational, the member key of the member will be used to match to
the business key in the relational source. The target report needs to filter on the business key not an
attribute of the business key such as Territory Name. The member key and the business key values
must be conformed (be the same in both data sources).
When drilling from OLAP to OLAP or DMR, MUNs are passed and expected and must match. Again,
the member keys must be conformed.
21-18

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Demo 2: Identify Drill-Through Values

Purpose:
You will create a package-based drill-through definition to test
values passed from an OLAP source to a relational source. By
testing these values, you can obtain MUN values and compare them
to the values expected in the target report.
Components:
Cognos Connection, Analysis Studio, Report Studio
Packages:
GO Data Warehouse (query), GO Data Warehouse (analysis)
Task 1. Create a package-based drill-through for an OLAP

package.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
In Cognos Connection, on the Drill-through Definitions page, if necessary,

click Public Folders.
Click the Sales and Marketing package.
This package is based on a Cognos PowerCube as the data source.
.
On the toolbar, click New Drill-through Definition
In the Name box, type OLAP to Relational Test, click Next, and then click
Set the scope.
You will set the scope of this drill-through definition at the Product line level of
the Products dimension so that users can only drill through to the target report
when at that level.
Expand Products, click Product line, and then click OK.
Click Select the target.

21-19
COGNOS
7.
8.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
(VERSION
8.3)
Click the Public Folders link, click the GO Data Warehouse (query)
package, and then select Revenue by Year and Product (Detail).
Click OK, click Next, and then under Prompt values, for the Product line
code prompt value, click Set the value
9.
MODELS
Expand Products, click Product line, and then click OK.
10. For the Year prompt value, click Set the value
click Year, and then click OK.
11. Click Finish.
, Expand Time>Time,
Task 2. Test package-based drill-through in Analysis Studio.

1.
2.
3.
4.
21-20
From the Launch menu, open Analysis Studio selecting the Sales and
Marketing package.
Click OK, and then from the Insertable Objects pane, drag Products to the
Rows drop zone in the report.
Expand Time, and then drag Time to the Columns drop zone in the report.
Expand Measures, and then drag Revenue to the Measure drop zone in the
report.

MODEL
5.
6.
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Right-click Golf Equipment, point to Go To, and then click Related Links.
Click OLAP to Relational Test.
By drilling through directly on Golf Equipment, you are only passing one
parameter to the target report, in this case the member key value for the
Product line member Golf Equipment.
The report is filtered on the Product line code 2105 which represents Golf
Equipment. However, if you page through the report, you will see values are
returned for all years.

21-21
COGNOS
7.
8.
9.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Close Cognos Viewer.

In Analysis Studio, at the intersection of Golf Equipment and 2004, rightclick 153,553,850.98, point to Go To, and then click Related Links.
Click View passed source values.
This option is only available if you have been granted access. See your
administrator if you require this option.
Notice the member key values in the MUNs. 2105 for Golf Equipment and a
date range value of 20040101-20041231 for 2004. 2105 is a conformed value
between the OLAP source and the relational source, but 20040101-20041231 is
not.
10. Click OLAP to Relational Test.
An error message appears.
21-22

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
11. Click Details.

The message indicates that the query contains one or more unresolved prompts
and that there is an invalid format for the numeric prompt 'Year'.
The target report is expecting a numeric value such as 2004. This is why you
received the prompt error. The data types do not match. There are few
solutions.
You could change the filter in the target report to accept a date range.
You could ask the Transformer modeler to change the value used as the
member key for Year in the PowerCube to match that in your relational
source.
You could create a calculation in Framework Manager to match the date
range value found in the PowerCube. Because it is a calculation, the target
report would be filtered on a non-indexed value in the database, which
could degrade performance for large data sets.
In the interest of time, you will alter the target report filter in order to make this
drill-through work. Before you do that, let's examine a MUN for a Product line
member.
12. Close the browser window displaying the error.

21-23
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Task 3. Change target report filter to accept a date range.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
21-24
In Cognos Connection, from the Launch menu, click Cognos Connection.

Click GO Data Warehouse (query), and then open the Revenue by Year
and Product (Detail) report in Report Studio.
On the toolbar, click Filters.
Double-click the [Current year] = ?Year? filter.
In the Expression Definition pane, delete [Current year].
In the Available Components pane, expand Sales and Marketing
(query)>Sales (query)>Time dimension and then drag Date to the left of
=?Year? in the Expression Definition pane.
Replace = with in_range.
The expression definition appears as shown below:
[Sales (query)].[Time dimension].[Date] in_range ?Year?
Click OK, click OK again, save the report, and then close Report Studio.

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Task 4. Retest the drill-through definition in Analysis Studio.

1.
2.
3.
In Analysis Studio, at the intersection of Golf Equipment and 2004, rightclick 153,553,850.98, point to Go To, and then click Related Links.
Click OLAP to Relational Test.
The report is now filtered on both a date range for the year of 2004 and the
product line of Golf Equipment because all drill-through values are conformed.
Close all browser windows.
Results:
By testing values passed from an OLAP source to a relational
source, you observed techniques to obtain MUN values and
compared them to the values expected in the target report.

21-25
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
When Can Category Codes Change?

The category codes in your Transformer model can
change when:
you add / remove dimensions or levels to your

model
you add / remove values to your data source

(source column)
the sort order has been changed
clean house has been performed
If you use a column in your data source as your source value, and you have a different
number of values in your production and test environments, your category codes may
change.
Also note, if you create cubes with the same dimensions, but based on different
models, their category codes may be different.
Instructor Notes
This may seem like review of the material on the previous slide, but it is important for students to
recognize actions that can change category codes.
21-26

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Use Transformer to Create Unique

Category Codes
In Transformer:
create a calculated column in the data source to

make codes unique across levels
set the calculation to be the category code
Although you can create calculated columns to ensure unique codes throughout the
levels, the optimal approach is to have these unique codes created and indexed in the
data source.
By having the unique codes across levels in the data source, you can ensure they are
available and conformed across all reporting applications. You can also ensure optimal
performance since runtime calculations are not involved.
Instructor Notes
It is important to point out to the students that this is a workaround, when you can not create unique
codes across levels in the data source. It is not a recommended solution.
Point out that the calculations are created by preceding the existing code with a 'PL' or 'PT' and
concatenating it with the numeric code. The calculations have to be defined as text.

21-27
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Demo 3: Create a Unique Category Code in Transformer

Purpose:
Your category codes in a cube do not match the business keys in
the relational model. You have been asked to make the category
code for the Product line column match the business key for
Product line, so that eventually you can set up drill through. The
Product line in the relational data source has a business key of the
form PL+"Product Line Code".
Task 1. Insert a column, add a calculation, and set the
column to be the category code.
1.
2.
3.
4.
21-28
Open the Sales and Marketing model in Transformer.

Insert a new column.
Column name: PLCode
Select Calculated, click Calculation, click Text, and then click OK.
In the column calculation box, type 'PL'+.

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
5.
Expand Columns, drag Product line code to the Expression definition, and
select Text.
6.
7.
8.
Click OK twice.
In the Dimension map, right-click Product line, and then click Properties.
Add a new Association:
Association role: Category code
Column: PLCode
Task 2. Test that the new category code was generated.

1.
2.
3.
From the Tools menu, click Clean House, and then enter tomorrow's date to
get rid of the existing category codes.
Click Show Diagram.

21-29
COGNOS
4.
5.
6.
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
In the left pane, click Products, and then double-click Camping Equipment.
You can see that the category code PL1 was generated successfully, as shown
below:
When you build the cube, drill through on Product line will now be successful
because the category code matches the business key.
Click OK.
Close Transformer without saving changes to the model.
Results:
You made the category code for the Product line column match the
business key for Product line. Both are of the form PL+"Product
Line Code".
Instructor Notes
It is important to point out that the technique described on this page is a workaround when creating the
unique codes across levels in the data source is NOT an option. It is not a recommended solution.
Point out that the calculations are creating a string version of the code by preceding the existing code
with a 'PL' or 'PT' and casting the existing code to a string.
Framework Manager allows for the creation of .iqd files for use in Transformer. Typically these are
created using Cognos Impromptu and stand for Impromptu Query Definition file. This functionality has
been extended to Framework Manager but the recommended approach to bringing Cognos 8 content
into Transformer 8 is through Cognos 8 packages and reports.
21-30

MODEL
FOR
DRILL-THROUGH
IN
TRANSFORMER
Modeling Recommendations
If possible, ensure that you have unique category
codes, without tildes.
Dont clean house between cube builds.
Use .pyj files instead of .mdl files, but always keep
an .mdl file as a backup.
If your category codes have tildes, enable drill
through on the cube to drill through on the source
code, and make sure that your source code is
conformed for any models that have the same
dimensions.
For OLAP to relational drill through to be successful, ensure that the unique category
codes in the dimensions match the relational business keys.
For OLAP to OLAP drill through to be successful, the MUNs must match.
When you cannot ensure unique category codes, and the source code in your cube
matches the business key, enable drill through on the cube.
Instructor Notes
To summarize,
1) Ensure that your source code is unique within a dimension. If this is the case, your source code and
Category code will match.
2) Know what you are passing, if you have drill-through enabled or not.
3) Conform the value you are passing, so that that like levels have the same value in different models,
cubes or data sources.
21-31
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Summary
21-32
define a report drill-through
identify drill-through combinations
identify conformed drill-through values

Blank Model Plans
Cognos 8 BI
COGNOS
A-2
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

10
Dim 1
Dim 2
Dim 3
Dim 4
Dim 5

Measures
Levels
Question to be
answered:
TRANSFORMER MODEL PLANS:
Dim 6
Dim 7
BLANK
A-3
PLANS
Dim 8
MODEL
BI
TRANSFORMER:
A-4
Measures
Levels
10
Question to be
answered:
Dim 1
Dim 2
Dim 3
OLAP
8.3)
Dim 5
(VERSION
Dim 4
MODELS
Dim 7
Dim 8

Dim 6
DESIGNING
COGNOS
10
Dim 1
Dim 2
Dim 3
Dim 4
Dim 5

Measures
Levels
Question to be
answered:
Dim 6
Dim 7
BLANK
Dim 8
MODEL
A-5
PLANS
BI
TRANSFORMER:
A-6
Measures
Levels
10
Question to be
answered:
Dim 1
Dim 2
Dim 3
OLAP
8.3)
Dim 5
(VERSION
Dim 4
MODELS
Dim 7
Dim 8

Dim 6
DESIGNING
COGNOS
10
Dim 1
Dim 2
Dim 3
Dim 4
Dim 5

Measures
Levels
Question to be
answered:
Dim 6
Dim 7
BLANK
Dim 8
MODEL
A-7
PLANS
COGNOS
A-8
BI
TRANSFORMER:
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

Identify Common Data

Structures
Cognos 8 BI
COGNOS
B-2
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Objectives
At the end of this module, you should be able to :
examine the characteristics of operational

databases and databases designed for reporting
examine relationships and cardinality
identify different data traps
examine OLAP data sources
Instructor Notes
If you intend to teach this module, students should be familiar with:
Cognos 8
This module is focused on industry standard data source structures and not modeling in Framework
Manager. When referring to a modeler in this module, we are referring to a data modeler, not a
metadata modeler.

B-3
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine the Role of a Cognos 8

Metadata Model
A Cognos 8 metadata model is a business
presentation view of your data sources.
BI users use the model to analyze and report on their
data sources.
Reporting Layer
Cognos 8 Metadata Model
Relational
Files
Cubes
Other
A Cognos 8 metadata model can hide the structural complexity of your underlying data
sources. By creating a Cognos 8 metadata model, you have more control over how your
data is presented to Cognos 8 end users. You can also choose which data to display to
your end users and how it will be organized. The overall goal of modeling the metadata
is to create a model that provides predictable results as well as an easy-to-use view of
the metadata for authors.
Instructor Notes
Your underlying data sources may be very diverse. For example, you may have operational or
reporting data in one or more relational databases. You may also have legacy data in various file
formats, such as text, comma separated values (.csv), and extensible markup language (XML). Online
analytical processing (OLAP) sources can include cubes (such as Cognos PowerCubes), as well as
other sources (such as SAP BW).
B-4

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Distinguish Between Operational and

Reporting Databases
Relational databases are typically either:
Operational
Customer
Type
Sales
Area
Reporting
Product
Line
1..1
1..1
1..1
1..n
1..n
Customer
0..n
Product
Type
1..1
Customer
1..1
0..n
Order
Fact
1..1
1..n
1..n
1..1
1..n
Sales
Rep
1..1
Sales
Rep
1..n
Order
Header
Product
1..1
0..n
Product
0..n
1..1
Date
1..1
1..1
1..n
Order
Detail
1..n
Operational databases are:

used to track the day-to-day operations of a business
usually normalized or part of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor
package
Reporting databases are:
typically a copy of the operational data
structured differently from operational databases to make reporting faster and
easier
usually dimensional, taking the form of a star schema design
Instructor Notes
ERP is a business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning,
manufacturing, sales, and marketing. Examples of ERP vendors include PeopleSoft and SAP.

B-5
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Identify Features of an Operational

Database
Operational databases:
are designed to maximize accuracy and minimize

redundancy
are optimized for writing/updating data rather than

reading data
often result in monolithic designs with multiple

joins
Large queries can perform slowly.
It can be difficult to report from an operational database because:

reading the data can impact the performance of the system
the number of tables that must be joined to satisfy a business question can be
prohibitively large
a more complex database requires more modeling effort to make it consumable
by business users
Instructor Notes
Operational systems are designed with one goal in mind: to get data into the database quickly. These
databases are normalized to reduce redundancy. Having little to no redundancy ensures that there is
data integrity and that database triggers function properly, so that the right data is captured.
B-6

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Identify Issues with Operational

Databases
"Show all customer types
that bought from a product
line."
The query must check data
in seven tables before
returning a result set.
Customer
Type
Sales
Area
1..1
Product
Line
1..1
1..1
1..n
1..n
Customer
1..n
Sales
Rep
Product
Type
1..1
1..1
1..1
0..n
0..n
1..n
Order
Header
Product
1..1
1..1
1..n
Order
Detail
0..n
Operational databases may be too complex for general reporting. As a result, reports
that are generated against these structures may take a long time to run. They may also
have unpredictable results.
As shown in the slide example, a report may need to access many tables in order to
retrieve all the necessary data.

B-7
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine Reporting Databases

(Star Schema Design)
Transactional data is stored in a fact table.
Reference data is stored in separate dimension tables.
Sales
Rep
1..1
0..n
Customer
1..1
0..n
Order
Fact
1..1
1..1
0..n
Product
0..n
Date
same information, but five tables instead of nine
A star schema is a design with two basic components:

a central table, known as the fact table (typically numeric data)
satellite tables, known as the dimension tables
A star schema is the simplest type of design that you are likely to find in a data
warehouse.
Instructor Notes
You cannot create this database structure in Framework Manager. However, you can create it using an
extract-transform-load (ETL) tool, such as Cognos Data Manager.
B-8

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Create a Star Schema

Collapse the relationships to form dimensions
(perspectives).
Customer
Type
Sales
Area
1..1
1..n
1..1
1..1
1..n
0..n
1..1
Order
Fact
Product
Type
1..1
1..1
0..n
0..n
1..1
0..n
1..n
Sales
Rep
Customer
Customer
1..1
1..1
1..n
Sales
Rep
1..1
0..n
Product
0..n
Product
Line
Order
Header
Product
1..1
1..1
1..n
Order
Detail
0..n
Date
Each table in a star schema database will contain an expanded set of data.
Extract Transform and Load (ETL) tools can be used to create a star schema data
warehouse, or you may use a metadata modeling tool to emulate a star schema structure
by generating the appropriate SQL at report design time. The second option will not
improve performance, but will yield predictable results.
Instructor Notes
Cognos Data Manager is our ETL tool. Framework Manager cannot create a warehouse, but it can
emulate a star schema structure by collapsing query subjects to simplify the view and generate the
appropriate SQL.

B-9
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine Operational Data

Data is normalized
Product Line Table
Product Type Table
Product Table
PL#
PL_Desc
PL#
PT#
PT_Desc
PT#
Prod#
Prodders
Classic Tents
Pup Tents
101
Green
Moose Boots
Family Tents
102
Black
11
Child Boots
201
Yellow
12
Adult Boots
203
Brown
11
1101
Blue
12
1102
Blue
2 rows
4 rows
6 rows
Before collapsing into a star schema dimension
The slide example shows three normalized tables that represent three hierarchical levels.
Products roll up into product types, and product types roll up into product lines.
The Product Line table has two rows that indicate two lines of products sold by the
company.
The Product Type table contains four rows to indicate the four types of products that
fall under the previous two product lines (two types per product line).
The Product table contains the greatest level of detail. It holds 6 rows to represent the 6
products that fall under the four product types.
B-10

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Examine Reporting Data

Data is de-normalized
Product Dimension Table
PL#
PL_Desc
PT#
PT_Desc
Prod#
Prodders
Classic Tents
Pup Tents
101
Green
Classic Tents
Pup Tents
102
Black
Classic Tents
Family Tents
201
Yellow
Classic Tents
Family Tents
203
Brown
Moose Boots
11
Child Boots
1101
Blue
Moose Boots
12
Adult Boots
1102
Blue
6 rows
After collapsing into a star schema dimension
The slide example shows a de-normalized dimension table created from the three
normalized tables shown on the previous slide.
The Product Line table forms the first two columns of the new dimension table (PL#
and PL_Desc), the Product Type table forms the next two columns (PT# and
PT_Desc), and the Product table forms the last two columns (Prod# and Prod_Desc).
The main characteristic of this table is its redundancy. Note that each product line
(Classic Tents and Moose Boots) is repeated, once for each product that the product
line contains. The same applies for product type.
This type of table is unsuitable for a normalized system, but is ideal for a reporting and
querying structure.

B-11
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine Fact Tables

Fact tables contain the (usually additive) numbers by
which a company measures itself:
Standard Selling Price - not additive
Sale Amount - additive

Dimension Tables
Fact Table
Measures
Foreign Keys
Product
Sales Revenue
Quantity
.
Product Key
Customer Key
Time Key
Customer
Time
Facts in a fact table are also known as metrics, measures or key performance indicators.
These tables are the focal point of any star schema, and typically contain the most rows.
There are typically no descriptive attributes in a fact table. Instead, there are foreign
keys that relate to the dimension tables, which contain descriptive attributes.
Because a star schema database contains fewer tables than a fully normalized database,
query performance is much faster.
A typical query against a star schema database focuses on the central fact table
and makes integrity checks against the related dimension tables.
If the query is to retrieve information about a specific subject area only, such as
all the products that belong to a particular product line, then the query will be
even faster.
B-12

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Examine Dimension Tables

Dimension tables provide descriptive information.
Dimension tables may be "conformed" so that they
are applicable to multiple fact tables.
Dimension
Dimension
Warehouse
Product
Dimension
Customer
Fact
Fact
Sales
Inventory
Dimension
Time
Conformed Dimensions
Conformed dimensions prevent "islands of information" by providing context to

multiple potential queries. A conformed dimension is one which is common to several
fact tables; it has the same meaning and content when being referred to from several
fact tables.
In the slide example, you can query either sales or inventory data through the Product
dimension table, the Time dimension table, or both. For example, Product acts as a
context when you want to compare quantity sold with stock count.
Instructor Notes
Conformed dimensions allow Cognos 8 to create a stitch query that will bring back all required data
(correctly aggregated) for each of the facts that are specified in the query.
Cognos 8 Data Manager can be used to create conformed dimension tables in a data warehouse.

B-13
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Identify Issues with a Star Schema

Data is only as current as the last data load.
Structural issues:
the distinct count problem
very large dimension tables
snowflakes
Fact issues:
different levels of granularity (detail) in fact tables
Unlike an operational database, the data is not live. Data is periodically loaded from an
operational system into the reporting database (star schema layout). Therefore the data
is only as current as the last time it was loaded.
When reporting against a star schema database, you may encounter difficulties in
counting the exact number of items in the dimension, such as separate products.
The star schema may also include large dimension tables that result in reports that run
too slowly. These tables may be broken out into smaller tables through a normalization
process, which in turn creates snowflake tables.
Granularity: is the data in the fact table recorded at the daily level, or the monthly level?
Does this granularity differ based on the dimensions referenced in the fact table?
B-14

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Define Relationships
Specify how data in one table is linked to data in
another table.
are implied in the physical data (modeler explicitly
declares these relationships)
Modeler formulates the reality of the business by
configuring the relationships.
A relationship states a connection or an operational business rule, such as:

a sales representative sells a product
an employee is assigned to a department
Relationships work in both directions. You often have to examine both to fully
understand the relationship. For example:
a branch is composed of employees
an employee may work directly for a branch

B-15
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine Relationships: Cardinality
Employee
1..1
1..1
Security
Number
One-to-One: One employee

holds exactly one security
number.
Order
Header
1..1
1..n
Order
Details
One-to-Many: Each order

header must have one or more
order details.
Part
1..n
1..n
Supplier
Many-to-Many: Each part may

be provided by many
suppliers, and each supplier
may provide many parts.
One-to-many relationship example: an order is taken and an Order Header table is

populated with data such as date, customer name, and sales staff name. This table is
related to an Order Details table that contains data about individual items sold in that
one order, such as order detail code, product number, and quantity. Therefore a
relationship exists between Order Header and Order Details, whereby each Order
Header must contain one or many Order Details, and each Order Detail must appear
on one and only one Order Header.
B-16

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Examine Relationships:
Optional vs. Mandatory
Relationships may be mandatory or optional.
For example, a product may exist even if it has

not been ordered, but an order must refer to at
least one existing product.
It is important to determine if certain relationships

are optional.
For example, is there a reporting requirement to

list sales representatives who have sold nothing?
A relationship is mandatory when a row of data in one table must exist in order for a
row of data in another table to exist.
A relationship is optional when a row of data in one table does not have to exist in
order for a row of data in another table to exist.

B-17
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Examine Relationships: Data Traps

There are four basic data traps:
chasm trap (many-to-many relationship)
transitive relationship trap (more than one path

between two tables)
connection trap (an optional path through

different entities)
fan trap (multiple one-to-many relationships that

fan out from a single table)
A trap does not necessarily indicate a problem, only that an area is worth inspection
and possible refinement.
The data modeler must carefully examine any area that does not appear to represent the
data completely.
Instructor Notes
These are data modeling traps, not metadata modeling traps, so we cannot fix them in Framework
Manager. However it is useful to know of them so that we can make metadata model designs which
can handle them. There are additional hidden slides you may choose to use to illustrate each of the
traps above. (Extra notes are found in the notes section of the extra slides.)
B-18

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Examine OLAP Data Structures

Products
Order Methods
Camping Equipment
Dimension
Golf Equipment
Cell
Fax
Outdoor Protection
Telephone
Members
Mountaineering
Equipment
Mail
E-Mail
Jan
Feb
Q1
...
Q2
2005
Web
Start
April 1
...
2006
...
Attributes
Time
Hierarchy/Levels
2005 Q1
Q2
End
June 30
Q3
Q4
The OLAP structure consists of the following elements:

dimensions - contain members, which may be structured into hierarchies and
levels
members - data entities that provide context to cell values
hierarchies - provide context to the level structures they contain
levels - provide structure for the members of a hierarchy
attributes - provide additional information for members
cells - are intersection points containing values (measures) for various members
from different dimensions (also referred to as tuples)
Instructor Notes
This is a build slide. On the Cell build, you can give an example that the cell is the intersection value of
Camping Equipment, Telephone, and Q3 from the dimensions. On the last build, state that you can
return one tuple or multiple tuples depending on your query.
Tools that can be used to build an OLAP data structure include Cognos PowerPlay Transformer and
SAP BW. The reporting traps just discussed should already have been modeled out in this kind of
structure. The data is not live but rather a snap shot in time and must be periodically updated.
B-19
COGNOS
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)
Identify Data Access Strategies

Consider using a cube to analyze data sets that are
not prohibitively large.
Consider creating a star schema to improve
performance over an operational system.
If you need to access live data, you may have no
choice but to go with an operational system.
The method(s) that you use to access your data for reporting purposes will be
determined by your needs and by the structure and content of the data itself.
Remember that reporting directly against a normalized operational system may slow
down the writing of data to the database.
B-20

IDENTIFY
COMMON
DATA
STRUCTURES
Summary
At the end of this module, you should be able to :
examine the characteristics of operational

databases and databases designed for reporting
examine relationships and cardinality
identify different data traps
examine OLAP data sources

B-21
COGNOS
B-22
BI
TRANSFORMER
DESIGNING
OLAP
MODELS
(VERSION
8.3)

W W W. C O G N O S . C O M

Cognos 8 BI Transformer Designing OLAP Models (Part 2)

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Cognos 8 BI Transformer Designing OLAP Models (Part 2)

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Cognos Training

Cognos 8 BI Transformer: Designing OLAP

Copyright 2008 Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos

Portions of Cognos(R) software products are protected by

Part Number: 60557

While every attempt has been made to ensure that the

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

apply and use currency conversion techniques

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

adding a data source containing conversion data

manually defining new currencies and conversion

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

How is Currency Converted?

Currency conversion tables are based on the time dimension.

Default Currency Settings

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Demo 1: Import Currency Data Using a Data Source

Transformer, Analysis Studio

Task 1. Verify regional settings in Control Panel.

Open Control Panel.

Task 2. Add Currency Conversion data source.

Open a Transformer model.

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Insert the Currency Conversion data source.

Task 3. Set up a currency table.

From the File menu, click Currency Table.

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Click Load Table.

Task 4. Format and specify the measures that can have

Modify the Revenue and Product cost properties:

Task 5. View and modify the Currency Record.

From the File menu, click Currency Table.

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Task 6. Publish the PowerCube directly to Cognos Connection.

Insert a new PowerCube called Currency Conversion.

Task 7. Create a basic Analysis.

Log on to Cognos Connection.

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Expand Currency and drag <Euro> to the Context filter.

Under Currency drag United States to the Context filter.

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

apply and use currency conversion techniques

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Workshop 1: Currency Conversion

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Workshop 1: Task Table

File menu >

3. Format and specify

Allow currency conversion for

4. Add the South

File menu >

Add a new currency for the South

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

7. View the result.

Insert a PowerCube called New

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Workshop 1: Workshop Results

2008, Cognos ULC (formerly Cognos Incorporated)

Workshop 1: Step-by-Step Instructions

Transformer, Analysis Studio

GO Data Warehouse (query)

Task 1. Open the model and add Currency Conversion data

Open a Transformer model.