MDX Cube Mapping Requirements and Techniques

Mapping MDX cubes in MicroStrategy includes mapping and configuring objects in MicroStrategy as well as supporting various objects and data structures from MDX cube sources within MicroStrategy. Before you can perform any of the MDX cube mapping requirements and techniques, you need to import MDX cubes from your MDX cube source into MicroStrategy.

Below is a list of MDX cube mapping requirements as well as various MDX cube mapping techniques you can perform (with references to sections for further instruction) from the Cube Mapping tab of the MDX Cube Catalog:

An ID form must be mapped for each attribute.

MicroStrategy uses the ID form to map to the primary ID column for an attribute, which contains attribute element identification codes.

Only the ID and DESC forms are displayed and automatically mapped by default

By default, only the ID and DESC forms are displayed and automatically mapped for each attribute. MicroStrategy uses the DESC form to map to the primary description column for an attribute, which commonly contains descriptive information for the attribute. From the View menu, select Display All Columns to display or hide the additional attribute forms. Once displayed, you can then map these additional forms as required.

Source objects can be manipulated depending on how their related objects are defined

The MDX cube structure within the MDX cube source is represented in the Physical View left-hand column. This column is primarily to display the structure of the MDX cube data within the MDX cube source, as most manipulations can only be made on the related MicroStrategy objects. However, there are MDX cube source objects that can be manipulated in ways that affect how their related MicroStrategy objects are defined:

• Dimensions in MDX cube sources are not directly mapped to MicroStrategy objects. However, the levels within a dimension in an MDX cube source are mapped to hierarchies and attributes in MicroStrategy.

  The MDX cube source dimension is also where you define whether to preserve the order of MDX cube source data mapped to attribute elements in MicroStrategy. See Preserving Attribute Element Orders from MDX Cube Sources for details.

• MDX cube source objects mapped to MicroStrategy hierarchies can be manipulated in the following ways:

  Unbalanced or ragged hierarchies: MicroStrategy's data modeling conventions do not support unbalanced or ragged hierarchies. However, your MDX cube source may support and contain unbalanced or ragged hierarchies. To support these types of hierarchies in MicroStrategy, you must define these hierarchies as unbalanced or ragged. See Defining Unbalanced and Ragged Hierarchies for details.

  Including hierarchies directly on MDX cube reports: Report designers can include MicroStrategy hierarchies directly on MDX cube reports. The set of attributes that are displayed in place of a hierarchy on an MDX cube report by default is defined for MDX cube source objects mapped to MicroStrategy hierarchies. See Displaying Hierarchies on MDX Cube Reports for details.

  Grouping related attributes: MDX cube source objects mapped to MicroStrategy attribute forms are integrated into MicroStrategy as a string of characters. You can modify the data type used to map MDX cube data to attribute forms. This allows the MDX cube data to be correctly represented in MicroStrategy and facilitates the grouping of related attributes as the same attribute in a Report Services document. See About Defining Column Data Types for MDX Cube Data for details.

• SAP BW variables are mapped to MicroStrategy prompts. If an MDX cube contains key date variables, you must define them as key date variables to distinguish them from characteristic variables on date.

  For information on how SAP BW variables are converted into MicroStrategy prompts, see Relating Objects from SAP BW to MicroStrategy.

MicroStrategy objects can be managed like other objects

An MDX cube's equivalent structure and objects in MicroStrategy are represented in the Logical View right-hand column, with the standard MicroStrategy symbols for hierarchies, attributes, metrics, and so on.

For MicroStrategy objects, you can perform the following manipulations by right-clicking the object in the Logical view column and using the various options:

• Edit the attribute, metric, or prompt.

• Rename the attribute, metric, prompt, or hierarchy. If you want to map the object to an existing MicroStrategy object, you should use the Map feature rather than this Rename feature.

  During the import of MDX cubes, you can choose to have the MicroStrategy objects' names synchronized with their associated objects in the MDX cube source.

• Map the attribute, metric, or prompt to an existing attribute, metric, or prompt in the MicroStrategy project.
  • Attributes mapped to MDX cube data can be mapped to attributes in the MicroStrategy project that are part of the relational schema. See Mapping MDX Cube Data to Project Attributes for details.
• Metrics and prompts in MDX cubes can only be mapped to other managed object metrics and prompts that are mapped to MDX cube source data. See Mapping SAP BW Variables to MicroStrategy Prompts for details.
• Check the Properties of the attribute, metric, prompt, or hierarchy. The properties displayed when accessed from the Logical View column relate to MicroStrategy-specific properties such as the access control list, owner, and long description for the object.

Related Topics

Mapping MDX Cubes

Importing MDX Cubes