Using ODS objects for reporting purposes in BW

Using ODS objects for reporting purposes in BW

Our BW team uses ODS objects for most reporting purposes, which causes our database to grow at an alarming -- and probably unsustainable -- rate. Query performance is terrible, since many of these ODS objects are around 30 million rows in size -- yes, really 30 million. The team feels that they must use ODSs as they record data at the line-item level rather than at a more aggregated level.

Is there a better way to store and report on such detailed information? Personally, I feel that they are using BW in the manner which they used Business Objects and have applied the same logic. We really need to move them away from such large objects.

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Usually, it is recommended that all reporting occur off of InfoCubes, as performance will be better. It is still necessary at times to look at line item details, but you're going to have performance issues, as you've identified.

There are many architectural considerations to your question as you may want to look at how you've modeled your data and how you have rolled up InfoProviders from a level of ODS objects to InfoCubes and again up to MultiCubes. With the right data architecture, you can push most reporting to a cube level and use jump targets or report-report-interfacing to access line item data is a controlled manner when required.

This was first published in December 2006