Lecture 13

Introduction of OLAP
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) is a critical component of the
field of data management and analysis, which plays a important role1.
What is OLAP?
OLAP, or Online Analytical Processing, is a computer-based
approach to extracting useful information and insights from large and
complex datasets. It is a technology that allows users to interactively
analyze multidimensional data in a way that facilitates decision-
making, business intelligence, and data reporting.
2. Multidimensional Data:
At the heart of OLAP is the concept of multidimensional data. Unlike
traditional relational databases that use tables with rows and columns,
OLAP systems organize data into multidimensional cubes or
structures. These structures can be thought of as hypercubes, with
each dimension representing a different aspect of the data. For
example, in a sales analysis, dimensions could include time, products,
geography, and customers.
3. Types of OLAP:
There are typically two main types of OLAP systems:
a. MOLAP (Multidimensional OLAP): MOLAP systems store data in
a multidimensional cube format, making them highly efficient for
complex analytical queries. Examples include Microsoft Analysis
Services and IBM Cognos TM1.
b. ROLAP (Relational OLAP): ROLAP systems store data in
relational database tables but use specialized techniques to provide
multidimensional query capabilities. Examples include Oracle OLAP
and SAP BW.
4. OLAP Operations:
OLAP operations are designed to help users navigate and analyze
multidimensional data efficiently. The primary OLAP operations
include:
a. Slice: Selecting a single "slice" of the cube by specifying a value
for one or more dimensions. For example, you could slice the cube to
view sales data for a specific product in a particular region for a
particular month.
b. Dice: Creating a smaller cube by selecting specific values for two
or more dimensions. For instance, you could dice the cube to analyze
sales data for a particular product category within a specific region.
c. Pivot (Rotate): Changing the orientation of the cube to view data
from a different perspective. This is particularly useful for drilling
down into data or looking at it from various angles.
d. Drill-Down and Drill-Up: These operations allow users to navigate
through different levels of detail within a dimension. For example,
you can drill down from the "year" level to the "quarter" level to
examine data at a more granular level.
5. Benefits of OLAP:
OLAP provides several advantages, including:
a. Faster Query Performance: OLAP systems are optimized for
analytical queries, allowing users to retrieve insights from large
datasets quickly.
b. Interactive Analysis: Users can explore data interactively, making it
easier to discover trends, anomalies, and patterns.
c. Enhanced Decision-Making: OLAP supports better decision-
making by providing a holistic view of data across multiple
dimensions.
d. Scalability: OLAP systems can handle large volumes of data and
are scalable to accommodate growing datasets.
Conclusion:
OLAP is a crucial technology in the world of data management and
analysis, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions
effectively. As an MCA student, understanding the principles and
operations of OLAP will be invaluable in your future career,
especially if you plan to work in fields like business intelligence, data
warehousing, or analytics. OLAP technology continues to evolve, so
staying current with the latest developments in this field will be
essential for success in the data-driven world.
Online Analytical Processing Server (OLAP) is based on the
multidimensional data model. It allows managers, and analysts to get
an insight of the information through fast, consistent, and interactive
access to information. This chapter cover the types of OLAP,
operations on OLAP, difference between OLAP, and statistical
databases and OLTP.
Types of OLAP Servers
We have four types of OLAP servers −
 Relational OLAP (ROLAP)
 Multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP)

 Hybrid OLAP (HOLAP)

 Specialized SQL Servers

Relational OLAP
ROLAP servers are placed between relational back-end server and
client front-end tools. To store and manage warehouse data, ROLAP
uses relational or extended-relational DBMS.
ROLAP includes the following −
 Implementation of aggregation navigation logic.
 Optimization for each DBMS back end.
  Additional tools and services.
Multidimensional OLAP
MOLAP uses array-based multidimensional storage engines for
multidimensional views of data. With multidimensional data stores,
the storage utilization may be low if the data set is sparse. Therefore,
many MOLAP server use two levels of data storage representation to
handle dense and sparse data sets.
Hybrid OLAP
Hybrid OLAP is a combination of both ROLAP and MOLAP. It
offers higher scalability of ROLAP and faster computation of
MOLAP. HOLAP servers allows to store the large data volumes of
detailed information. The aggregations are stored separately in
MOLAP store.