MicroStrategy ONE
About personal Intelligent Cubes
To understand how reports work with a personal Intelligent Cube, a comparison is made between a report cache and a personal Intelligent Cube.
A cache is a recently used result set that is stored on a system to improve response time in future requests. In the MicroStrategy environment, a report cache is a file created by Intelligence Server based on the data definition and the caching properties of the report. The report cache contains pre-calculated and pre-processed report data that is saved on disk and in Intelligence Server memory. All subsequent requests for the same report are processed using the saved report cache, given that certain criteria are met such as matching report ID, filter ID, security ID, and so on. For more information on report cache matching, see the Caching chapter in the System Administration Help.
It is faster and more efficient to retrieve the same report results from the report cache than re-executing queries against the data warehouse. Report caching shortens the database processing time and also enhances user scalability, resulting in improved throughput. One drawback with any cache is that if the report is manipulated in such a way as to change the data definition, the report cache is invalidated and re-execution against the data warehouse is necessary to update the report cache.
The personal Intelligent Cube is similar to the report cache; however, it acts as a layer between the report cache and the report itself. This copy of report data is stored in Intelligence Server memory only. Whenever a report executes against a data warehouse and returns a new set of data, a personal Intelligent Cube is created automatically. You do not have to manually create personal Intelligent Cubes, whereas Intelligent Cubes are always manually created. For procedures to create Intelligent Cubes, see Creating Intelligent Cubes.
Subsequent requests for the same report take advantage of the personal Intelligent Cube without having to re-execute the report against the data warehouse. The logic to match subsequent report requests with the appropriate personal Intelligent Cube is automatically handled within the MicroStrategy platform. Management of a personal Intelligent Cube is handled automatically, and there is no need to specify which personal Intelligent Cube to connect to. The Analytical Engine then uses this set of data to render different report views. These views are created by processing manipulations using OLAP Services features, such as dynamic aggregation, derived metrics, view filters, derived elements and so on. OLAP Services features are handled within the personal Intelligent Cube, and therefore no re-execution against the data warehouse is necessary.
While a report cache is saved in memory and on disk, the personal Intelligent Cube is only kept in Intelligence Server memory. A combination of the complete data definition and the view of the data is stored in the personal Intelligent Cube and displayed on the report.