Attribute Element Number Count Method

Attribute Element Number Count Method is an advanced property that is hidden by default. For information on how to display this property, see Viewing and Changing Advanced VLDB Properties.

The incremental fetch feature uses a SELECT COUNT DISTINCT query, introduced in MicroStrategy version 7.1.6. In some cases, this query can be costly for the data warehouse and make the element browse time longer than necessary for certain production environments.

To alleviate this problem, the Attribute Element Number Count Method controls how the total number of rows are calculated. You have the following options:

• Use Count(Attribute@ID) to calculate total element number (uses count distinct if necessary) (default): In this case, the database determines the total number of rows.
• Use ODBC cursor to calculate the total element number: This setting causes Intelligence Server to determine the total number of rows by looping through the table after the initial SELECT pass.

The difference between the two approaches is whether the database or Intelligence Server determines the total number of records. MicroStrategy recommends using the "Use ODBC cursor..." option (having Intelligence Server determine the total number of records) if you have a heavily taxed data warehouse or if the SELECT COUNT DISTINCT query itself introduces contention in the database. Having Intelligence Server determine the total number of rows results in more traffic between Intelligence Server and the database.

For Tandem databases, the default is Use ODBC Cursor to calculate the total element number.

Levels at Which You Can Set This

Database instance only