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Data Warehouse

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8 views

Data Warehouse

Uploaded by

Gayathri M
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Data Warehouse

A data warehouse (DW) is a collection of corporate information and data


derived from operational systems and external data sources. A data warehouse
is designed to support business decisions by allowing data consolidation,
analysis and reporting at different aggregate levels. Data is populated into the
Data Warehouse through the processes of extraction, transformation and loading
(ETL tools). Data analysis tools, such as business intelligence software, access
the data within the warehouse.
A Data Warehouse is separate from DBMS, it stores a huge amount of
data, which is typically collected from multiple heterogeneous sources like
files, DBMS, etc. The goal is to produce statistical results that may help in
decision-making.
Need for Data Warehouse
An ordinary Database can store MBs to GBs of data and that too for a specific
purpose. For storing data of TB size, the storage shifted to the Data
Warehouse. Besides this, a transactional database doesn’t offer itself to
analytics. To effectively perform analytics, an organization keeps a central
Data Warehouse to closely study its business by organizing, understanding,
and using its historical data for making strategic decisions and analyzing
trends.

Key Features of a Data Warehouse:

1. Subject-Oriented: Organized around key subjects like sales, customers,


or products, rather than day-to-day operations.
2. Integrated: Combines data from different sources into a unified format,
resolving inconsistencies in naming, formats, and codes.
3. Time-Variant: Maintains historical data, enabling trend analysis and
comparisons over time.
4. Non-Volatile: Once data is entered, it is not changed, ensuring stable
records for analysis.

How It Works:

1. Data Collection: Data is gathered from various sources (databases,


applications, external feeds).
2. ETL Process: Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) tools process the data:
o Extract: Pull data from source systems.
o Transform: Cleanse and format data for consistency.
o Load: Store the data in the warehouse.
3. Storage: Data is stored in a structured format, often optimized for
querying.
4. Analysis & Reporting: Users access the warehouse using tools like SQL
or specialized software for generating reports, dashboards, and insights.

Data warehouse architecture refers to the overall design and structure of the data
warehouses. There are different architectural approaches and design
considerations in data warehouses, each with benefits and drawbacks.

Architectural approaches to Designing a Data Warehouse:


 Single-tier architecture is the most traditional data warehouse architecture.
The data warehouse consists of a single server with all the warehouse
components. This approach is suitable for smaller organizations with a
limited amount of data.
 Two-tier data warehouse architecture splits the data warehouse into two
levels: a back-end server that houses the data and a front-end server that
provides the user interface. This approach is appropriate for larger
organizations with a substantial amount of data.
 A three-tier architecture divides the data warehouse into three environments
or levels: a back-end server that accommodates the data, a middle-tier server
that performs data analytics and processing, and a front-end server that
provides the user interface. This approach is suitable for organizations with
complex data demands.
 A virtual data warehouse involves creating a virtual view of the data
warehouse without a physical environment or physically storing the data in a
central location. This approach is suitable for organizations with distributed
data sources.

Applications:

 Business intelligence (BI)


 Decision-making
 Trend analysis
 Performance monitoring

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