Creating Metadata, History List, and Statistics Repositories

You can create metadata, History List, and statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories using the MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard. Repositories for your metadata, History List, and statistics tables are created in the data source specified by the DSN(s) you connect to.

It is recommended that you create the metadata, History List, and statistics repository tables in different databases to ensure enhanced performance.

As you complete the configuration process, messages may be displayed. For details on system messages displayed during the configuration process, see Configuration messages.

You can choose to create metadata, History List, and statistics repositories using a response file with the Configuration Wizard. This lets you provide users with a configuration file to complete the configuration tasks rather than requiring users to step through the Configuration Wizard. Creating and using a response file can be done using the Configuration Wizard interface or a command line tool available for Linux.

Required database permissions to create metadata, History List, and statistics repositories

To create metadata, History List, and statistics repositories in a database, you need a database user account to associate with the tables created for the repositories. MicroStrategy recommends that the database user account used to create these repositories is granted full permissions for the database.

If the database user account cannot be granted full permissions to the database, be aware that this account requires Select, Insert, Update, Create, Drop, and Delete permissions. These permissions are required for various database objects depending on the database type you are using. For example, the following database object permissions are required where applicable for your database type:

Database Object	Type of Permissions Required
Tables	Select, Insert, Update, Create, Drop, Delete
Indexes	Create, Drop
Triggers	Create, Drop
Functions	Create, Execute
Packages	Create
Procedures	Create, Execute

While creating metadata, History List, and statistics repositories, the Configuration Wizard provides an option to preview the SQL statements that will be executed. You can review this SQL preview to have a better understanding of the tasks that will be required as part of creating metadata, History List, and statistics repositories.

Refer to your third-party database documentation for specific names and details on database permissions and database objects.

Creating a metadata repository

The metadata repository is a collection of tables that contain the definitions for nearly all MicroStrategy objects including database logins, server definitions, database instances and connections, reports, metrics, facts, and so on. It is mandatory to have a metadata repository to which Intelligence Server can connect.

You can create the metadata repository in the database location of your choice. Additionally, a default configuration is created in the metadata tables. This populates the tables with the basic data required for the MicroStrategy metadata, such as the default project folder structure and some basic connection information.

If the Intelligence Server is not installed on the same machine as Configuration Wizard, you can only create a metadata repository using the 32-bit Configuration Wizard.

If you are upgrading your metadata from a previous version of MicroStrategy rather than creating a brand new metadata, see the Upgrade Help.

Before you create a metadata repository, you should ensure that you are storing it on a certified database, ODBC driver, and operating system combination. For a list of certified metadata repository environments, see the MicroStrategy Readme.
A database user account to associate with the metadata tables. MicroStrategy recommends that the database user account used to create a metadata repository is granted full permissions for the database. If the database user account cannot be granted full permissions to the database, refer to Required database permissions to create metadata, History List, and statistics repositories for additional details on the database permissions required for this configuration.
While metadata creation errors are rare in general, you can review a list of potential errors in Metadata and Other Repository Creation Errors to prepare for or avoid specific scenarios that can cause errors.

To create a metadata repository

Open the MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard.
Select Metadata, History List and Statistics Repository Tables and click Next.
Select the Metadata Tables check box and click Next. The Repository Configuration: Metadata tables page opens.
You can also select to create a History List and a statistics repository immediately after creating a metadata repository. If you create a History List or statistics repository as part of the same configuration routine as creating a new metadata repository, and the configuration is being done on a Windows environment, database instances are automatically created for the History List and statistics repositories.
From the DSN drop-down list, select the DSN for your metadata repository.
If a DSN for your metadata repository does not exist, you can click New to open the Connectivity Wizard and create a new DSN. The steps to create a new DSN with the Connectivity Wizard are described in Creating a DSN for a data source.
Although it is possible to use the Microsoft Access database for the metadata repository, it is not a suitable metadata repository for a production project. You should not use Microsoft Access for anything other than a proof-of-concept or demonstration type of application.
Type a User Name and Password that can connect to the data source.
The database user that you provide becomes the owner of all metadata tables and objects. The database user is required to have the Select, Insert, and Update permissions. Intermediate tables are created in the metadata for recursive search queries, which requires Create and Drop permissions as well. Updating the schema requires the Delete permission.
After providing a valid user name and password, you can click SQL Preview to open the SQL Preview dialog box. This dialog box provides the SQL statements that will be executed on your data source to create the metadata tables. Click Close.
If you use the advanced options to change the SQL script, you can click SQL Preview after selecting the new script to see an updated listing of the SQL statements that will be executed.
Click Advanced.
In the Table Prefix field, you can specify a prefix to be used when metadata tables are created in the database you select. This is an optional configuration. However, you must use different prefixes for your metadata tables and your History List tables if you store them in the same database.
Most databases use a prefix of two characters. However, you can supply as many letters, numbers, underscores (_), and periods (.) as required to support your database prefixes. To determine character limits for a prefix, refer to your third-party database vendor documentation.
In the Script field, a SQL script to create metadata tables optimized for your database is selected. If you want to select a different script, click ... to browse to and select a customized script.
Click Next. The next configuration page that opens depends on your configuration scenario:
- If your metadata repository does not need to be upgraded and you did not select to create History List or statistics tables, the Summary page opens.
- If your metadata repository does not need to be upgraded and you selected to configure History List or statistics tables, you are prompted to configure these options as described in Creating a History List repository and Creating statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories to maintain and monitor system activity.
- If your metadata repository needs to be upgraded, cancel this metadata creation process. If you continue with this process of creating metadata tables, your current metadata will be overwritten with a brand new metadata. For information on upgrading your metadata and suite of MicroStrategy projects, refer to the Upgrade Help.
Review the summary information.
You can click Save to save the configuration as a response (.ini) file to configure metadata repositories on other systems or to run silent configurations at a later time.
Click Finish .

Creating a History List repository

A History List repository stores users' report and document results for future use. History Lists can be stored on file systems of a server machine. The History List tables provide an alternative option to store History List information in a centralized database.

If you create a History List repository as part of the same configuration routine to create a metadata repository, and the configuration is being done on a Windows environment, a database instance is automatically created for the History List repository. If you create the History List repository separately, you create it for an existing metadata repository, or you create it on a Linux environment, you must create a database instance for the History List repository. For information on creating a database instance, see Creating a database instance.

If you are upgrading your History List repository from a previous version of MicroStrategy rather than creating a brand new History List repository, see the Upgrade Help.

Before you create a History List repository, you should ensure that you are storing it on a certified database, ODBC driver, and operating system combination. For a list of certified History List repository environments, see the MicroStrategy Readme.
A database user account to associate with the History List tables. MicroStrategy recommends that the database user account used to create History List Tables is granted full permissions for the database. If the database user account cannot be granted full permissions to the database, refer to Required database permissions to create metadata, History List, and statistics repositories for additional details on the database permissions required for this configuration.
The steps below are specific to creating a History List repository. If you also select to create a metadata repository, you must first complete the steps described in Creating a metadata repository.
While History List creation errors are rare in general, you can review a list of potential errors in Metadata and Other Repository Creation Errors to prepare for or avoid specific scenarios that may cause errors.

To create a History List repository

Open the MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard.
Select Metadata, History List and Statistics Repository Tables and click Next.
Select the History List Tables check box and click Next.
From the DSN drop-down list, select the DSN for your History List repository.
If a DSN for your History List repository does not exist, you can select New to open the Connectivity Wizard and create a new DSN. The steps to create a new DSN with the Connectivity Wizard are described in Creating a DSN for a data source.
Type a User Name and Password that can connect to the data source.
The database user you provide becomes the owner of all History List tables and objects. The database user is required to have the Select, Create, Insert, and Drop permissions.
After providing a valid user name and password, you can click SQL Preview to open the SQL Preview dialog box. This dialog box provides the SQL statements that will be executed on your data source to create the History List tables. Click Close once you are done reviewing the SQL statements to return to the Configuration Wizard.
If you use the advanced options to change the SQL script, you can click SQL Preview after selecting the new script to see an updated listing of the SQL statements that will be executed.
Click Advanced.
In the Table Prefix field, you can specify a prefix to be used when History List tables are created in the database you select. This is an optional configuration. However, you must use different prefixes for your metadata tables and your History List tables if you store them in the same database.
Most databases use a prefix of two characters. However, you can supply as many letters, numbers, underscores (_), and periods (.) as required to support your database prefixes. To determine character limits for a prefix, refer to your third-party database vendor documentation.
If you use a table prefix for your History List tables, you must also define this table prefix when you create a database instance to connect to the History List tables. For information on creating a database instance, see Creating a database instance.
In the Script field, a SQL script to create History List tables optimized for your database is selected. If you want to specify a different script, click ... to browse to and select a customized script. For more information on the default SQL scripts, see SQL scripts.
Click Next. The next configuration page that opens depends on your configuration scenario:
- If you did not select to create statistics tables, the Summary page opens.
- If you selected to configure statistics tables, you are prompted to configure these options as described in Creating statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories to maintain and monitor system activity.
Review the summary information.
You can click Save to save the configuration as a response (.ini) file to configure History List repositories on other systems or to run silent configurations at a later time. For information on running the Configuration Wizard with a response file, see Configuring MicroStrategy with a Response File.
Click Finish to apply the configuration and create the History List repository.
Once you are finished configuring Intelligence Server and your project sources, a database instance to connect a project to a History List repository must be created. If you created the History List repository as part of the same configuration routine to create a metadata repository and the configuration is being done on a Windows environment, a database instance is automatically created for the History List repository. For information on creating a database instance, see Creating a database instance.

Creating statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories to maintain and monitor system activity

The statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories are collections of database tables used to maintain and monitor system activity and performance. You can run MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager against the statistical information to analyze and interpret the statistics.

For a detailed description of the statistics tables used in the Enterprise Manager Statistics database, the fields that each table contains, and the data types associated with each field for MicroStrategy Intelligence Server, refer to the Enterprise Manager Data Model and Object Definitions chapter in the System Administration Guide.

For details on how to configure projects to log statistics, refer to the Monitoring System Usage chapter in the System Administration Help.

If you create statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories as part of the same configuration routine to create a metadata repository, and the configuration is being done on a Windows environment, a database instance is automatically created for the statistics repository. If you create the statistics repository separately, you create it for an existing metadata repository, or you create it on a Linux environment, you must create a database instance for the statistics repository. For information on creating a database instance, see Creating a database instance.

If you are upgrading your statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories from a previous version of MicroStrategy rather than creating a brand new statistics repository, see the Upgrade Help.

Before you create statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories, you should ensure that you are storing them on a certified database, ODBC driver, and operating system combination. For a list of certified environments, see the MicroStrategy Readme.
A database user account to associate with the repositories. MicroStrategy recommends that the database user account used to create the tables is granted full permissions for the database. If the database user account cannot be granted full permissions to the database, refer to Required database permissions to create metadata, History List, and statistics repositories for additional details on the database permissions required for this configuration.
The steps below are specific to creating statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories. If you also select to create a metadata repository or History List repository, you must first complete the steps described in Creating a metadata repository or Creating a History List repository, respectively.
While statistics creation errors are rare in general, you can review a list of potential errors in Metadata and Other Repository Creation Errors to prepare for or avoid specific scenarios that may cause errors.

To create statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories

Open the MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard.
Select Metadata, History List and Statistics Repository Tables and click Next.
Select the Statistics & Enterprise Manager Repository check box and click Next.
From the DSN drop-down list, select the DSN for your statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories.
If an applicable DSN does not exist, you can select New to open the Connectivity Wizard and create a new DSN. The steps to create a new DSN with the Connectivity Wizard are described in the section Creating a DSN for a data source.
Type a User Name and Password that can connect to the data source.
The database user you provide becomes the owner of all tables and objects. The database user is required to have the Select, Create, Insert, and Drop permissions.
After providing a valid user name and password, you can click SQL Preview to open the SQL Preview dialog box. This dialog box provides the SQL statements that will be executed on your data source to create the statistics and Enterprise Manager tables. Click Close.
If you use the advanced options to change the SQL script, you can click SQL Preview after selecting the new script to see an updated listing of the SQL statements that will be executed.
Click Advanced.
In the Script field, a SQL script to create statistics and Enterprise Manager repositories optimized for your database is selected. If you want to specify a different script, click ... (the browse button) to browse to and select a customized script. For more information on the default SQL scripts, see SQL scripts.
Click Next.
Review the summary information.
You can click Save to save the configuration as a response (.ini) file to configure statistics repositories on other systems or to run silent configurations at a later time. For information on running the Configuration Wizard with a response file, see Configuring MicroStrategy with a Response File.
Click Finish. The summary information is updated as the configurations are completed, providing a way to track the progress of the configurations.

Once you are finished configuring Intelligence Server and your project sources, a database instance to connect a project to a statistics repository must be created. If you created the statistics repository as part of the same configuration routine to create a metadata repository and the configuration is being done on a Windows environment, a database instance is automatically created for the statistics repository. For information on creating a database instance, see Creating a database instance.

SQL scripts

MicroStrategy has database-specific SQL scripts for creating metadata, History List, and statistics tables. The scripts for each certified database platform are shipped with the product. The MicroStrategy Configuration Wizard automatically selects a default script based on your ODBC driver's database platform.

By default, all the scripts reside in the directory where you installed MicroStrategy and are identified by the .sql extension. It is highly recommended that no edits be performed on these scripts, except on rare occasions and only by skilled database personnel.

Configuration messages

Depending on the selected ODBC database, different messages might be displayed prompting you to complete the configuration successfully. Two examples are described below:

Metadata tables already exist at this location. Would you like to recreate them? (This will drop all existing information in the Metadata)
This message is displayed if the Configuration Wizard detects an existing metadata repository in the database location you specified.

If you continue, all information in the existing metadata repository is overwritten.
No Metadata Tables were found at this location, do you wish to create them now?

This message is displayed if there is no existing metadata repository and you have not chosen to create one.