By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
IBM’s newest Cognos product recently launched, Cognos Insight, is an analytic solution that empowers you to independently explore, analyze, visualize and share your data.

Watch the below video training series for a demo on Cognos Insight to see the new product in action.
 

 

For more information about Cognos Insight, connect with us at info@performanceg2.com.

PerformanceG2 is a Premier IBM Cognos Business Partner.

 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
At IBM’s Information on Demand 2010, IBM launched its latest business analytics version, Cognos 10. New capabilities in Cognos 10 allowed enhanced collaboration and networking, enabled real time data monitoring, integrated statistical reporting and analytics and introduced new zero foot print studios. In addition, improvements in performance and an upgraded look and feel have been well received by the Cognos user community.

At IBM’s Information on Demand 2011 in October, IBM introduced yet another new addition to the business analytics arsenal, Cognos Insight – best described as a cross between Cognos Business Insight and Cognos Active Reports. This new application is designed for the IT independent user community – an end user community that has been expanding with every release of Cognos. As the applications get more and more user friendly, deep technical skills are not required to get the answer executives and management teams are looking for in order to share, collaborate and analyze data while in the office or on the golf course.

IBM Cognos Insight, which was released February 7, 2012, is a desktop application with a drag and drop functionality that transforms the most important spreadsheets on your desktop into an intelligent dashboard style report. Once the spreadsheet or current report data integrates into the canvas design, additional data can be manipulated to the canvas which then translates into OLAP members. With write-back ability for scenario planning and building budget plans, Cognos Insight can leverage the existing Cognos content (reports, queries and analyses) to enhance the spreadsheet into dashboard style reports, much like one would do in Cognos 10 Business Insight or Cognos 8 Go Dashboard.

The Cognos Insight files (cdd extension) are similar to the workability of Active Reports in Report Studio – true offline analysis with impressive graphics and charting options. You can take the Cognos Insight dashboard with you on an airplane, email as a file attachment, or share with peers while connected to the corporate network by publishing as a new Cognos package. The pre-assigned security setup allows the data asset to be shared only by authorized users.

In a nutshell, Cognos Insight is a true desktop application that minimizes IT support, reduces stress across network/data servers with offline analysis capabilities, and gives the end user the independence to serve the business community in a more accurate and timely manner.

For more information about Cognos Insight, connect with us at info@performanceg2.com.

PerformanceG2 is a Premier IBM Cognos Business Partner.

 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 

In this blog post, I will describe the step-by-step recovery of a corrupted or misplaced IBM Cognos Framework Manager model. These steps will create an XML file, then run a report against the package of the lost Framework Manager model or project. Next, as you create a blank new project, the necessary files that are created with this process can be replaced, and using the CQEConfig.xml file, the lost or corrupted Framework Manager model can be retrieved.

This method will work for Cognos 8 and Cognos 10.
 
In the current Cognos environment, modify the CQEConfig.xml file as shown here:

 
 
If the file does not exist in the location above, you can create an XML file with the following content:

 
 
Stop the Cognos services and rename the “RTModels” directory to “Original_RTModels”, as shown here:

 
 
Now, restart the Cognos services from Cognos Configuration:

 
 
Launch Report Studio from Cognos Connection and create a new report using the package for which the model needs to be recovered:

 
 

 
 
As the report runs, verify that a new “RTModels” folder has been created, as shown. This folder should also contain an XML file, which needs to be used in the next few steps:

 
 
Remove the CQEConfig.xml file created in the first step.

Stop the Cognos services.

Now, move the newly created “RTModels” directory to another location (desktop).

Now, rename the “Original_RTModels” folder back to “RTModels” and re-start Cognos services.

 
 

Once these steps have been accomplished, in the metadata modeling tool, Framework Manager, create and save a new empty project, as shown here:

 
 

Close this model.
 
Explore into the folder containing the newly created empty project and change the model.xml file to model.xml.origin.

 

Copy the XML file created in the previous step into the Framework Manager project directory and rename it to model.xml (Note: the model.xml.origin will still exist).

This will enable opening the lost Framework Manager model.
 

Want to learn more about Framework Manager?
Take advantage of our Online Cognos Training Framework Manager course available every month, through our easy-to-use remote training classroom, and taught by our certified Cognos instructors. Visit our online training course catalog, or email us at training@performanceg2.com for more information, and to register for your Framework Manager training.

 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
Some of the new features in TM1 9.5.1 and 9.5.2 are:

1>     Undo/Redo – This feature helps users to undo and redo changes made to data cells in their TM1 cubes. A useful feature when dealing with complex data spreading techniques.

2>     Pick List – TM1 now gives the ability to create pick lists per cell in cube views. Pick list contain a set of values that are menu driven and users select the values from a drop down list. These lists can be populated manually or by TM1 Rules.

3>     Sandboxes – A functionality that brings out the true “what-if” scenario feature in TM1.

4>     TM1 Contributor – A new interface that eases the transition for Cognos Enterprise Planning users to get familiar with TM1

5>     Data Reservation – An alternate method of dynamically controlling write-access to cube views instead of dynamically adjusting TM1 security to achieve the same

6>     Parallel Integration – Increasing concurrent read-write operations on cube objects

Of the new features, let’s take a look at using Sandboxes in TM1. Sandbox gives the data contributor the ability to create data layers on top of the base data, which is primarily used for “what-if” scenario testing. A much awaited functionality that saves development efforts, tightens the finance workflow process, brings trust & confidence in the submitted data and reduces strain on the TM1 server. Frequent direct write-backs to the TM1 cubes slow the overall performance whereas; sandboxes can be used to reduce the risks of a slow performing environment, when used correctly.
 

Here is how it works:

In a situation where modifications to cells in a cube were viewed by the entire user community, the sandbox plays a role in enabling users to modify cell values, work on budget processes and modify data without any other users being able to see the data changes until and unless the data changes were approved and intended for the entire user community – a commit action would send the modifications back to the TM1 server replacing the base data.

In this scenario – a data contributor is looking to create a sandbox off the base version to make data changes that calculate an impact by increasing the Quantity Sold for a certain product by region. As the numbers check out correct, the contributor then commits the changes to the base view.

The user creates a Sandbox by clicking on the drop down on the top right corner of the cube view window. Sandboxes can also be created in excel using the same methodology. Depending on the version of Microsoft Excel (2003, 2007, 2010) the Sandbox icon position changes but generally should be on the top left side of the Excel interface.

Click on Create Sandbox. This option will create a layer on top of the cube view data. This new data layer (or Sandbox) will be viewable by the creator and can be used for “what-if” scenario testing. The selected rectangle for the months of January, February and March for Indirect Stores are to be modified. Note the black font.

Appropriately name the Sandbox in the pop-up window.

 
 
Any changes made to the cells appear as a default blue font.

 
 
Click on Calculate to view the new scenario. The blue font cells denote changes made to the data within the Sandbox, keeping the base numbers constant and unchanged to the rest of the user community.

 
 
By selecting the drop down – one can switch between the base view and Sandbox view without affecting the cells or changing data on the base view.

 
 
Switching back and forth to the base view from any Sandbox, does not change the cell values in the base view, as shown below:

 
 
In situations where an existing Sandbox underdoes an approval process, a new Sandbox can be created from an existing Sandbox. Another use would be to ensure any new changes do not affect data modifications from another “what-if” version.

 
In the screenshot below, notice a new Sandbox with modified cell values, different from the base and Sandbox 1 view.
 

 
 
Let’s go back to the base view. Switching between any Sandbox and Base value does not change the data.

 
Deleting a sandbox can be accomplished by selecting “Delete Sandbox” from the drop down icon.
 

 
 
Select the view to delete and click “OK”

 
 
Upon confirmation and approval of the data changes by clicking on the “Commit” icon – changes the base view. The commit icon should be used when data changes need to be promoted to the entire user community, as shown.

 
 
These features are also available if you are using TM1’s excel interface. As you start creating Sandboxes, it must be noted that Sandboxes are not a copy of the base view but an overlay of the base data. Sandbox enables the data contributors to write back to the TM1 database in a personal workspace environment and commit the changes, when promoting versions to the user community.

From an Administration point of view – usage of additional RAM memory and hard disk space increases as Sandbox functionality is implemented. You can control the amount of memory used per Sandbox in the TM1s.cfg (TM1 configuration file located in the installation folder).

The parameter responsible for defining the sandbox size per user is: MaximumUserSandboxSize

The maximum size per user on a Sandbox is 100MB on a 32 bit environment and a 500MB on a 64 bit environment. To allow for maximum amount of memory allocation, set the value equal to “n”.

Enabling and disabling this feature is controlled within the TM1 configuration file under the parameter:
DisableSandboxing. By default this value is set to F (for False).

TM1 Sandboxes are stored in a sub-folder within the data directory of the TM1 server. It is always good practice to backup this subfolder, along with the TM1 data directory.
 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
 
I always find interest in situations where, as a full-service CPM organization specializing in BI, we make an instant difference to our clients by significantly improving their profitability and performance, while at the same time, helping them cut costs and go green.

A few weeks ago, one of our clients approached us with a situation where invoice reports that went our to their customers who bought products via a Web site, were eating up their budgeted office supplies allocations more than they had expected. In a way, this was good news as sales figures were up, however the sales numbers would look more attractive if internal costs were down too.

One solution that we proposed to our client to meet this challenge was to create invoice reports in IBM Cognos Report Studio and distribute them via an automated nightly email process rather than a daily chore of printing out invoices and analyzing and calculating shipments, which can be time consuming and cumbersome tasks, especially for invoices going to global clientele.

PerformanceG2 took upon the challenge of creating this highly customized and extremely detailed invoice report in Report Studio version 8.4. With the use of singletons, which are data items that can be placed anywhere on the pixel perfect Web based reporting tool, and with the use of blocks, tables and various conditional statements to customize the report to include business rules for specialized groups of customers (e.g., domestic versus international, currency conversions, changing address lines, etc.), we delivered to our client The Invoice Report.

Report delivery was decided to go out in PDF format as an email attachment. For this, we used a feature in Report Studio known as “bursting”. The burst feature is used to run a report and divide the output based on a burst key, in this case, unique invoice numbers, which then generate multiple outputs inclusive of security features for each of these invoices. Therefore, this one developed report was to generate thousands of invoices per month and email them out to their respective customers daily, eliminating human errors and postal delivery delays all while significantly reducing printing costs, paper and my favorite: terminating the extremely time consuming task of folding these paper invoices and carefully placing them into envelopes. In addition, in the event a scheduled job halts, or is not completed in the specified time, an alert is sent out to the concerned owners who can take appropriate actions to rectify any inconsistencies before they reach the far end.

In the end, the challenge was met, the project was a success, and the project is now in production to our client’s and their customers’ satisfaction. With the use of Cognos Event Studio, and some creative green thinking, we have handed ownership of this project to our client.

 
 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
 
Business Intelligence (BI) is a technology that helps support business decision making. BI helps decision makers in making better and faster decisions – better as data layouts are business specific, customized and highly organized; and faster with the efficiencies that come in building this technology.

Business reporting is the backbone of BI where not only C-level executives, but also managers and analysts, keep track of and can share their goals and key performance indicators (KPI) in daily operations; bringing better insight into their data and the outcome of decisions giving a direction to their organization all leading to efficiencies in business processes.

IBM Cognos has a set of business reporting tools each of which come with features aimed at specific business users. Query studio is one such Web based ad-hoc reporting tool. Query studio gives users the ability to create basic calculations with simple formatting options that run in multiple output formats and can be saved as ad-hoc queries for future references.

Analysis studio is another Web based or “zero foot print” tool that requires no installations other than a simple URL link, and it works with On Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Dimensionally Modeled Relational (DMR) data sources. This tool is used for slicing and dicing, drilling up (to summary level) and down into details so users can swiftly and seamlessly arrive at the analysis they are looking for.

Report studio is considered the mother of all Web studios from Cognos BI arsenal. Report studio has the features of all the other reporting tools and then some. It is considered as a “pixel-perfect” tool which lets professional authors write simple to highly complex reports and distribute them to hundreds of users via various options. Apart from OLAP data sources and its MDX functions, report studio can also use relational data sources in creating reports and dashboards. The drag and drop feature helps in developing dashboards with great ease by dropping lists, pivot tables or cross tabs and various charts that usually enrich the real estate on the page and do away with number crunching on clustered report pages.

IBM Cognos report studio offers the ability to drill up and drill down from a summary to a detailed view of data and also allows drill throughs, when a user can jump from one report to another report related by common columns. Delivering reports in report studio can be done by attaching report outputs in emails or simply storing reports in a repository for shared or secured access. Outputs in PDF, HTML, Excel (various versions), CSV and XML can be accessed by users connected to the Web portal Cognos Connection that launches the various reporting studios. Another option is the ability to “burst” a report, which is a popular choice among many customers as it saves tremendous amounts of development time – as one report is run and its output is divided and delivered to the respective recipients – making certain, the appropriate security settings are incorporated to the lowest row level. An example of a ‘bursted’ report would be developing one sales report that gets pushed out to various sales reps, who would view only the accounts they have access to, thereby delivering unlimited report outputs based on distinct sales rep ID or the burst key.

Other reports that have been created using report studio are employee and product performance reports. For the financial sector there are income statements, balance sheets and actual versus budget reports with complex calculations that span over time periods. For the retail sector, there are track of stock reports. And for the defense or property management industry, the use of highly visual charts that make use of geographical BI by providing maps based on political boundaries or customized regions, have been created as well.

These powerful yet user-friendly business reporting tools create industry standard as well as customized solutions, and by providing the right information to the right people make investigating sweet spots and troubled areas of an organization possible and making BI a top priority for CIO’s across the globe.

 
 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Senior Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
Are you deciding to set up TM1? Below is a list of considerations when installing a TM1 environment – an initial insight into the set up and architecture to fill your technical needs. These stats can help determine cube size, server topology and other settings for an upgrade or new TM1 install.
 
User Definition:
Power Users (PU)- These are TM1 users who would load data, update models and objects and create complex reports and views. Compared to the total number of users and power users, 1:1 can be considered as a close approximation (concurrent user) ration.

Read/Write Users (RWU)- These are TM1 users who would update data in a model on a regular basis. They would create and view complex reports and views. Compared to the total number of users and RW users, 3:1 can be considered as a close approximation (concurrent user) ratio.

Read Only Users (ROU)- These are TM1 users who do not input data. Instead, they only read data or use pre-defined reports in Microsoft Excel or TM1 Web and require fast data access. Compared to the total number of users and RO users, 10:1 can be considered as a close approximation (concurrent user) ratio.
 
Estimating RAM:

Total concurrent users = 16
RAM required: 16 x 20 (MB per user) = 320MB
 
Estimating Data:
In TM1, each data item loaded occupies on average 14 bytes of RAM. Each calculated item will proportionally increase the data, and adding more CPU’s will benefit readers more than TM1 users or writers.
Rule of Thumb: Per CPU, 25 power users and 100 RO users

Data- 1,000,000 rows with 12 data items in each row = 160MB
Model with 5 years of data = 801MB

Calculations- Calculations forecast is 1 year of extra data = 160MB

Users- 10 users = 10 x 12MB = 120MB

Total Model Size- 801MB + 10MB + 120MB = 1.1GB
 
Report Server:
In a TM1 environment, use a Report Server for the following:

• If the RW users require fast access to static reports while data is being uploaded
• If writers lock server to the detriment of the readers
• If the RO user community outweighs the RW user community by a factor of 5 and there is constant RW activity on the main server
• If the RO users request reports simultaneously and if reporting performance is important, then use Reporting Server/Multiple Processes

 
TM1 Web Server:
In a TM1 environment, if the majority are Web users, then consider a separate TM1 Web server. TM1 Web servers should always run on separate physical servers if possible.
Rule of Thumb: Up to 250 concurrent users per CPU

 
 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
There are multiple ways of enhancing the performance of TM1 using tools and techniques. This week for my 3-part blog series, I will be discussing Spreadsheet Techniques.

 
Spreadsheet Techniques

Following are techniques used on spreadsheets to enhance performance on TM1 servers:
 
DBR: This is a worksheet function valid only in worksheets. It retrieves a value from a specified TM1 cube and can be used to write values to the database when all the arguments are element values.
Syntax: DBR(cube, e1, e2,[...en])

 
DBRW: This is a worksheet function valid only in worksheets. This function is similar to the DBR function but is used to reduce network traffic and hence is extremely useful on Wide Area Networks. When implemented, DBRW function forces TM1 to use “bundles” rather than individual read/writes from/to the database.
Syntax: DBRW(cube, e1, e2,[...en])

 
ELCOMP: This is a worksheet function valid only in worksheets. It returns the name of a child of a consolidated element in a specified dimension. It is similar to the DBR function in that it retrieves a value from a specified TM1 cube but it also results in a round trip between the server and Excel.
Syntax: ELCOMP(dimension, element, index)
 
Dimension Ordering and Cube Optimizer: Dimension ordering can have significant impact on memory consumption as well as recalculation times in a TM1 server environment and its best to sort dimensions in 2 categories: Sparse & Dense Dimensions before creating cubes.

A sparse dimension would be Products & Regions, for example, where not every products is sold in every region. On the other hand, a Dense Dimension would be a month/time where you will always have a Budget amount in every month of the year.

As a general recommendation, the ordering of dimensions should be: smallest sparse to largest sparse followed by smallest dense to largest dense.

In practice, design the cubes with dimensions in “natural business” order and then use the Dimension Optimizer as necessary. Re-ordering does not break the “DB” references.

As a best practice, use the time and measures dimension at the end always.
 
Cube Optimizer: The Cube Optimizer feature in TM1 Server Explorer lets you optimize the created cubes to consume less memory and improve performance. Over time as Business needs and Dimensional priority change, cube optimization is useful especially as re-calculation in TM1 is RAM-based i.e. “on-the-fly”.

The internal re-ordering of cube dimensions in TM1 is valuable for tuning sparse cubes, large dimensions or simply large cubes. As a note, dimensional ordering and cube optimization require twice the amount of the cube size. For example, if a cube size is 50MB, 100MB must be available in memory to perform cube optimization.

 
Other TM1 Techniques

Calculations are defined implicitly by dimension hierarchies and are an order of magnitude faster than Rules and should be used whenever possible.

Rules on the other hand, allow defining any cell as an arbitrary calculation of any other cells in any cube.

For best practice, place calculations you expect to change often in rules, even though the “math” could be done faster with consolidations.

Reduce over-feeding by using Conditional Feeders when using TM1 Rules.

 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
There are multiple ways of enhancing the performance of TM1 using tools and techniques. This week for my 3-part blog series, I will be discussing Database Techniques.

 
Database Techniques

TM1′s in-memory or “on-demand” architecture is made possible with the way it handles memory management. TM1 uses algorithms which efficiently compress data to allow large data sets to fit in relatively small amounts of RAM which result in reduced storage and improved performance. This sparse memory management scheme allows the server to hold very large cubes in much less space compared to the same amount of data stored in a relational database.

Below are the Database Techniques you could use to improve performance:
 
1. ReadersBypassWriters: This is a manual addition that needs to be made to the configuration file (TM1s.cgf). When this value is st to TRUE, it causes a write to the TM1 database to wait until all prior read requests are executed. Any writing requests to the database only begin when no incoming read requests are detected.
 
2. Locking: This prevents other users from reading or writing to the server while a TI process is executing. This is done within Turbo Integrator (TI) so as not to corrupt memory or cause a server crash when updating server objects at the same time that users are trying to read from the server.
 
3. Batch Updates: A best practice, batch updates allow you to improve the performance of input-intensive applications by holding changes to cube data and saving those changes to cubes in a single batch. This would hold all edits to cubes residing on a selected server in a temporary storage structure until the batch update is saved. After the batch is sent, all edits are committed to the target server and the temp storage structure is destroyed. This process minimizes the impact on users who need to access the server when the TI process is running. Typically performance by a TM1 Administrator or a process creator and can be scheduled to run as a chore in TM1. All edits that are held in batch updates are not written to the servers log file until you save the batch updates. NOTE: If you lose connection to your TM1 server, or if the server shuts down abruptly, all changes/edits would be lost.
 
Check back next week for part 3 of Performance Enhancements to the TM1 Environment blog series where I will be discussing spreadsheets.
 
 
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By Sanjeev Datta, Consultant for PerformanceG2
 
There are multiple ways of enhancing the performance of TM1 using tools and techniques. In my new, 3-part, weekly blog series, I will be discussing performance enhancements to the TM1 environment.

Performance in TM1 can be increased within 3 areas: the server, the database and spreadsheets. For part 1 of my series this week, I will be discussing the server.

 
Server Techniques

The various techniques available for performance tuning TM1 under the server category are: Stargate Views (SGV), using the control cube “}CubeProperties” and tuning RAM.
 
Stargate Views (SGV): Stargate Views (SGV) are calculated and stored subsections of TM1 cubes that are created when you browse a cube with the cube viewer or create a slice using the slice button in the cube viewer. SGV’s contain only the data for a defined section of a cube and do not contain the formatting and/or browser setting information. This allows the views to be smaller than an entire cube, hence, requires much less server storage memory allowing it to be queried and manipulated much more efficiently because the dimensions occupying the title position of a view are limited to the single elements. SGV’s not only allow quicker access to cube data, they also persist in memory only as long as the browser view from which it originates remains unchanged. The TM1 engine creates and purges these views dynamically when necessary. In an instance when there are multiple views available, the oldest view is dropped from the temporary memory to allow room for the newer view. SGV’s could be best described as “sub-cubes” created in memory, based on title, row and column dimensions of a specific user view. SGV’s can also be setup by Turbo Integrator (TI) functions like the “View Construct”. This function is valid only in TI processes. It constructs, pre-calculates and stores the result in ofa SGV memory of a TM1 server. This function is useful for pre-calculating and storing large views so they can be quickly accessed after a data load or update.

Example:
ViewConstruct(CubeName, ViewName);
Where “ViewName” is a publicly share view
 
SGV’s with Excel Slices: When working with slices, a “view” function is created in Excel worksheets. The syntax for these “views” contains cube name and its elements (rows, dimensions, titles). The SGV created in this environment helps in performance tuning – but developers must be made aware that deleting or incorrectly modifying the “view” function may have profoundly negative effects on the worksheet recalculation times, server memory consumption and server stability if the cube you are referencing by the DB formula, is very large.

The above changes are manually added to the tm1s.cfg (TM1 configuration file). These changes can significantly improve performance as they are related to the use of stargate views.

The above screen shot represents the 2 manual changes made to the “tm1s.cgf” configuration file.

1. DisableWorkSheetViews set to TRUE
This addition disables any “view” functions contained in slice worksheets. Although, any worksheet containing a “view” function may still be functional but the function does not generate a stargate view (SGV).

2. UseStargateForRules set to TRUE
When set to TRUE, this manual addition to the configuration file allows TM1 to retrieve, by default, a calculated value from a SGV stored in memory. This can significantly improve performance since it is more efficient to retrieve a calculated value from memory than to request and retrieve a calculation from the server.
 
Using Control Cubes: There are various control cubes in a TM1 environment. Their uses range from Security, Administration, Performance Monitoring, Object Attribute and Property.

}CubeProperties- falls under the property category of TM1 system cubes and can be viewed in the Server Explorer: View->Display Control Objects

This control cube stores property values of all cubes and can be used to enhance the performance of existing cubes in an environment. Some of the definitions from this control cube determine how the cube is loaded on a TM1 server, what the measure and time dimensions are and if cube logging is enabled. In case you migrate cubes from one server to the other using replications – some of the properties define the source cube, replication status and sync information between views and rules.

View Maximum Memory (VMM) and View Minimum Time (VMT) are 2 properties which can help you performance tune your TM1 cubes.

VMM: This is the amount of memory the TM1 Server will allocate for all Stargate views for a given cube. The values are entered in kilobytes and the default value (if not specified otherwise) is 64KB. The more memory made available for SGV’s, the better the performance will be. However, one must keep in mind sufficient memory exists for the TM1 server to load all cubes.

Example: Consider 100MB allocated to a cube in memory. While the user opens views during an active session, the first Stargate view requires 60MB, while the 2nd SGV requires another 30 MB. This leaves 10MB or 10% remaining for any other views. Now, a thirdy view (SGV) requiring 70MB needs to be utilized. How does TM1 manage this? An intelligent memory management algorithm frees up another 60% of memory that was originally being used by the 1st SGV, hence allocating a total 70MB for the 3rd SGV. This is an example of how VMM is used to establish the amount of memory that will be used when dealing with SGVs.

VMT: This cube property defines the time threshold in seconds beyond which the algorithm that stores TM1 SGV’s is triggered. If the time requires calculating a cube view surpasses the specified threshold, TM1 attempts to store the SGV. If there is not enough memory available to store the SGV, TM1 purges the oldest SGV that is not currently in use and continues to purge views in this manner until sufficient memory is made available.
 
Tuning RAM in a 32-bit Environment: The following describes how to tune RAM so that 3GB is available to the TM1 server. NOTE: This procedure would require you to modify the “boot.ini” Windows system file and can have adverse affects if not performed correctly!

1. Verify that your operating system (OS) is one of the following that supports RAM tuning:
a. Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
b. Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
c. Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
d. Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition

2. Open C:/boot.ini in a text editor

3. Add the “/3GB” switch to the end of the last line of boot.ini

4. Reboot the physical server in which the TM1 server runs

 
Check back next week for part 2 of Performance Enhancements to the TM1 Environment blog series where I will be discussing database techniques.
 
 
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