tips & tricks to monitor, manage & optimize microstrategy system

High ROI DW and BI Solutions

By: InfoCepts

Jan 2013

Tips and Techniques on how to better

Monitor, Manage and Optimize your

MicroStrategy System


Brief Overview of InfoCepts


Helping Our Customers Derive Value from Their Data since 2004

High quality global delivery model with

savings of up to 40%

Founded and led by ex-MicroStrategists

350+ people devoted to delivering BI, DW

and Integration Solutions

We have one of the largest Global pools of

MicroStrategy Consultants

8 years of growth driven largely by referrals

and increasing levels of responsibility

Focus on culture and excellence

71

111

167

250

355

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012


Our Services

Data Management BI Strategic Services BI Application Development

& Management

Data Governance &

Stewardship

Data Quality

Data Integration

Unstructured Data

Integration

Metadata Management

Master Data

Management

Data Analysis

Data Design

Enterprise Information

Strategy and Planning

BI Metrics

Management

BI Centers of

Excellence Program

Business Analytics

Text Analytics

Predictive Analytics

BI Application

Customization

Administration and

Technology – Managed

Services

Program/Project

Management


Our Capabilities Span across Industries and Technologies

Industries

Retail, Banking and Financial Services, Online Media, Telecom, Pharmaceuticals,

Hospitality, Healthcare, Education

MicroStrategy, IBM Cognos, Microsoft BI, Pentaho, TIBCO Spotfire,

Tableau, OBIEE

Informatica, SQL Scripts, Microsoft SSIS, Oracle Data Integrator, Talend

Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM Netezza, Teradata, DB2,

Greenplum, AsterData, Vertica, Par Accel, My SQL, PostgreSQL,

Essbase

MicroStrategy SDK, Cognos SDK, Java, .NET, Flex, Objective C, Yahoo

YUI, Ext JS

Hadoop, Hive, Map-Reduce, Cloudera, Riak, Apache Flume, Cassandra

TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks, SPSS, Clarabridge Text Mining

Platform, Rapid Miner, Rapid Analytics, CEP Platform Drool

Data Integration

Databases

Custom

Big Data

Specialized

BI

Technologies


Our Solution Programs

BI Application Support & Optimization

Mobile Application Design and Development

Dashboard and Data Visualization

Custom BI Development

Big Data

Data Quality

BI Testing

BI Application Migration to Cloud


Mobile App Snapshot


Our MicroStrategy Mobile App Development Program

Mobile App Requirements Questionnaire

App Storyboarding Guidelines

Mobile App Design Templates

Mobile App Design Guide

App Development Checklist

Test Case Document

Mobile Configuration and Deployment

Guide


Our Application Management and Optimization (AMnO) Program


Tips and Techniques on how to better

Monitor, Manage and Optimize your

MicroStrategy System


What are the important issues faced in managing MicroStrategy

environment?

Are my

MicroStrategy

reports secure?

Object Migration

takes away a lot of

my time!

Has Testing

Automation helped

me enough?

How are my

licenses being

used?

Why has my report

performance gone

down?

Why do my

reports get

delayed?


“My Critical Reports are Often Late!!”


# 1 Intelligence Sever or Narrowcast Server running

out of memory at the time of report execution

Avg. memory

required to

execute critical

reports

Pro-active alert to

Administrator for

freeing up memory

Performance Counter Notification e-mail

Reports Getting

Delayed

Required Memory

>

Current Memory?


# 1 Intelligence Sever or Narrowcast Server running

out of memory at the time of report execution

Reports Getting

Delayed


# 2 Delay in ETL Batch Load

Avg. ETL Batch

execution time

using ETL tool

statistics DB

Pro-active alert to

Administrator on the

possible delay

Free form SQL report Notification e-mail

Current Execution Time

>

Avg. Execution Time?

Reports Getting

Delayed


# 2 Delay in ETL Batch Load Reports Getting

Delayed


“Report Performance Degradation

Over Time”


#1 Unwanted Cross Joins in a report

Enable “Report Job SQL”

Are there reports

with cross joins?

Send the list to

developers to review the

necessity of cross joins

Remove unwanted cross

joins

Statistics DB

e-mail

notification

Report Performance

Degradation


#2 Fact table is referred more than once in a SQL

Pass

Enable “Report Job SQL”

Are there reports

with Fact Table count in

a SQL pass >1?

Identify and share the

reports with Developers

Modify wherever possible

Statistics DB

e-mail

notification

Report Performance

Degradation


#3 Too much processing on Intelligence Server to

execute a report

For Expensive Reports

Identify reports for which –

% Analytical Engine Time > Defined Threshold

Notify Developers to optimize, wherever possible

Total Report Execution Time

Database Analytical Engine

Total Report Execution Time

Database AE

Can also be done using Enterprise Manager

Report Performance

Degradation


“Inefficient Object Migration”


Manual Object migrations across environments

Developers/Leads create Object

Migration Package using MicroStrategy

Object Manager

Create a folder where all the migration

packages will be uploaded

Create a File Watcher script which

checks if new file is uploaded

When a new file is detected, object is

migrated to the new environment

Send notification of task completion or

failure

Inefficient Object

Migration


! !

Questions / Comments ?


“Security Breach in MicroStrategy ”


#1 Duplicate Attributes in a project

Check if duplicate attribute definition exist using a Command Manager

Script

Remove, if unauthorized duplicate attributes exist

Consider an example of Regional Sales Reports

Regional Manager East

• Region = East

Regional Manager East

• Region = East

• Location = East, West, North South

Region Region Region1

Security Breach


#2 Use of Pre – Post SQL VLDB Settings of

MicroStrategy

Use command manager

script to get list of reports

where VLDB setting – Pre-

Post Statement property is

used

Get SQL of the these reports

using Integrity Manager

Remove unauthorized Pre –

Post statements

28

Security Breach


#3 User is able to view reports that he/she is not

entitled to

First time Project

Migration

Object Migration

Ensure “Everyone” group is not

granted project access

Ensure Folder Access Control List

is not undesirably changed by

comparing with Baseline Access

Control List

Process Action

Command

Manager

Scripts

Security Breach


#4 Multiple user connection request to MicroStrategy

Servers in Enterprise environment

Breach of corporate “Password” security policy

Monitor the list of distinct IPs for user by executing command

manager script in Statistics Database

Automatically report suspicious activity

Security Breach


“Manual interventions required while

using Integrity Manager ”


#1 Manual Test Creation for multiple reports in

Integrity Manager

Create Tests using Test

Generator Excel

Basic input parameters to

create a test:

Report List

Server Connection Details

Processing Options

Output

MTC file is generated

automatically

Integrity Manager


#1 Manual Test Creation for multiple reports in

Integrity Manager

Using Perl Script


#2 Manual Creation of Baselines for Critical Reports

Integrity Manager Executable File

is used to run test MTC files to

automatically create baselines

Automate the process for multiple

reports using batch scripts

Integrity Manager


#3 Manual Monitoring of Test Results to

determine errors

Write a Batch script to parse

Integrity Manager summary XML

file

Automated mail alert in case of

Erroneous Test results

Integrity Manager


“Ineffective License Management”


Incomplete view of License usage and allocation

MicroStrategy License Manager Report

Number of Licenses by Product

Users by Product

Ineffective License

Management


Licence Management - How you would like it to be

Only 1 license being

used out of 10-

INVESTIGATE

All 11 licenses

being used- PLAN

Admin and Sales Depts

are Over utilizing –

REALLOCATE

User has not

logged in for a

month - CHECK

Over utilizing licences by

1 – IMMEDIATE ACTION

Ineffective License

Management


Let’s Summarize

39

Topic To-do steps

Reports Getting Delayed Proactively manage memory availability

Notify if ETL loads are behind schedule

Report Performance

Degradation

• Detecting Cross Joins

• Detecting Multiple Fact Table references in a

SQL pass

• Analytical Engine time optimization

License Management License Management Dashboard

Integrity Manager

Automate Test creation

Automate Baseline creation

Automate Error Detection

Security Breach

• Detecting Duplicate Attributes

• Detecting Unauthorized Pre-Post SQL

statements

• Manage unauthorized access to reports

• Preventing “password” sharing

Object Migration Automate Object Migration process


iManage

40


Presentation Giveaway

Giveaway: Key Metrics for MicroStrategy Administrators

Will be available on Feb 01, 2013 on:

Feel free to reach out to us for details of any of the scripts:

[email protected]

[email protected]

48

http://www.infocepts.com/microstrategyworld/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.infocepts.com/microstrategyworld/


Thank You

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