Jet Enterprise Frequently Asked Questions Pg. 1 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

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1 Pg. 1 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

2 Regarding Jet Enterprise What are the software requirements for Jet Enterprise? The following components must be installed to take advantage of Jet Enterprise: SQL Server 2005 or later (Standard, Business Intelligence or Enterprise Edition), updated with the most recent Service Pack. The following components must be installed: Database Engine Integration Services Analysis Services Microsoft.NET Framework version 4.0 or later. Which data sources are supported with the Jet Data Manager? Jet Enterprise includes six cubes and a pre-defined data warehouse for Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Microsoft Dynamics, GP or Microsoft Dynamics AX. Connectors are also available for the following data source types: Microsoft Dynamics CRM Microsoft Dynamics GP MS SQL Server MS Excel Single Text File Generic ODBC Application Specific ODBC Is Jet Enterprise compatible with a 64-bit operating system? Jet Enterprise is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. There is a download package for both that is available on the download page. One thing to note, however, is that many ODBC drivers do not currently support 64-bit operating systems. Compatibility of an ODBC driver with your own computer platform should be tested first as this is outside of the scope of Jet Enterprise. Because of this possible compatibility issue the 32-bit version of Jet Enterprise is recommended if an ODBC driver is going to be used. Pg. 2 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

3 If I want to set up Jet Enterprise in a non-production (demo) environment what hardware and software would be required? It is recommended that the machine have at least 4GB of RAM. A solid-state drive and 4GB+ of RAM will provide even better performance. Software requirements are the same as noted above. How many data sources can I connect to with the Jet Data Manager? There is no limit to the number of data sources that can be used. The pre-defined Jet Data Cubes are based on a single Dynamics NAV, GP, or AX data source. Additional data sources can be purchased (see Jet Reports Price Sheet for details). Merging multiple data sources into the pre-defined Jet Data Warehouse and Cubes will generally require customization. Contact your Jet Reports salesperson for information about licensing with multiple data source platforms. Do I need to have my database hosted on a SQL server in order to run Jet Enterprise? No. Jet Enterprise is compatible with databases hosted on either a SQL Server, Oracle or on a file system that can be accessed through an ODBC connector. What components are installed with Jet Enterprise? The Jet Data Manager is most commonly installed on a server. This application is used to create, schedule and customize the Jet Cubes and Data Warehouse. This can be installed on the same server as your production database or on a separate server altogether. If installed on a different server than the production database, it must be able to communicate with the production database. A set of business objects is installed in the NAV or AX database to create an adapter for transferring data from the database to the Jet Data Manager. Importing these business objects is not required for GP. The latest version of Jet Essentials needs to be installed on each client machine in order to access the Data Warehouse. This is an Excel add-in and serves as the user interface. Updating to the latest version is free for all Jet Reports customers current on AEP. Pg. 3 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

4 Do I need to have a dedicated server for the data warehouse and cubes? No, you do not need to have a dedicated machine for the Jet Enterprise components to reside on. It is possible for these to reside on the same server as your production database. Execution of the Jet Enterprise package to update the components can be memory intensive, however, so it is recommended that these components reside on a server that is different than the one hosting the production database. This configuration will allow the data to be quickly transferred out of the production environment to another server where the remainder of the processing can be done. This will result in a minimal impact to the production environment. An overview of the most common configurations can be viewed at the link below: Server Environment Configurations Can the Cubes be purchased separately from the Data warehouse? The Data Warehouse is required to create the Cubes. Both the Data Warehouse and Jet Data Cubes are included as part of Jet Enterprise. Do I need to purchase any additional connections for Jet Reports to connect to the Jet Enterprise Data Warehouse or Cubes? Jet Reports will be able to report out of the Data Warehouse and Cubes through the addition of the Data Warehouse or Cube connectors in Jet Reports itself. This connector is specially designed for reporting out of the Data Warehouse and Cubes that are created by the Jet Enterprise platform. This connector is included with Jet Enterprise. If Jet Reports adds a cube in the future, will it become available to existing customers? The latest data warehouses and cubes are available to customers that are current on the Annual Enhancement Plan (AEP). If customizations have been made to the Jet Data Warehouse or Jet Data Cubes, they will need to be re-implemented by the customer or partner on new versions of the cubes. An extensive change log of project changes is published to our Knowledge Base. Pg. 4 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

5 Does the cost of Jet Enterprise include installation? The client and server components of Jet Reports are designed so that they can be easily installed by a system administrator with no special knowledge of SQL Server Analysis Services or SQL Server Integration Services. Because of this, most partners and customers should be able to install the product without special assistance. Installation documentation and videos are available on the Jet Reports website to facilitate making this process easier. The Jet Reports Services team is also available to answer general installation questions and provide assistance. Topics such as modifying the data warehouse to support multiple connections, adding custom data, etc. are available through our Professional Services team. Can the cubes be partially refreshed to speed up the process? It is possible to segment the scheduled transformations although this is not generally required or recommended except for very large databases. What is the Staging Database? The Staging Database is a database on the SQL server that acts as an intermediary for data between the data source (i.e.: Dynamics NAV, AX, GP or any other source database) and the Data Warehouse. Raw data is extracted from the data source directly into the Staging Database so that it can then be transformed, cleansed, and passed on to the Data Warehouse. Using the Staging Database to process the data allows data source database to be freed up as quickly as possible to eliminate performance impact to the production environment. At this point in the data extraction process the data is still in the same native table format as the production database. What is the Data Warehouse? The Data Warehouse allows for further consolidation of data prior to the data being executed into the cubes. At this level the data can be aggregated into summary tables, multiple transaction tables can be consolidated into a single transaction table, and necessary information can be brought in to each transaction record from separate dimension tables in the Data Warehouse. The primary purpose of the Data Warehouse is to provide the final step in organizing the data so that it is assembled in the most efficient manner for reporting.. Pg. 5 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

6 What are Cubes? A cube is a data structure that allows for extremely fast reporting on large quantities of data. The Jet Data Manager utilizes MOLAP (Multidimensional Online Analytical Processing) Cubes to provide a highly efficient method to retrieve data. The cube contains summary information on many different dimension combinations that have been pre-defined within the cube itself. Upon execution of the Jet Data Manager project the information that has been populated into the Data Warehouse is then analyzed and brought into the cube environment on the SQL Server Analysis Server (SSAS). What is the maximum size of a cube or warehouse? The maximum size of the cube or warehouse is limited by the size of the hard drive. How does Jet Enterprise work with highly customized databases? Jet Enterprise includes cubes that are built around core functionality in Dynamics NAV, GP and AX and constitute the vast majority of reporting tables. The tables that are included in the standard projects cover the most common tables used in reporting. If these tables have been customized, the custom fields can be added to the standard warehouse tables and cubes using the Jet Data Manager. This work is generally very straight forward. Adding entirely new cubes is also possible; however this does require some design and implementation effort and customers may want to contact Jet Reports for this type of work. How is security handled in the Data Warehouse and Cubes? Security is administered using Windows based authentication. OLAP Security can be implemented on a project, cube, dimension, or value level. OLAP Security is set using the Jet Data Manager. Security to the Data Warehouse can be set using SQL Server Management Studio. Pg. 6 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

7 Is documentation available about my project? Yes. Complete documentation about the content of your project (data ware house and cubes) is available through the Jet Data Manager. This is available in.pdf or.xps format. Is there any form of disaster recovery available for the Jet Data Manager? Yes. The contents of the project and all customizations are stored in a SQL database referred to as the Project Repository. You can add this database to your standard SQL maintenance plan so that a backup of the project repository is regularly made so that you always have a saved copy of your project. It is recommended that you keep this file on a separate server or, ideally, backed up offsite. If something should happen to your main project you can simply re-install the Jet Data Manager, import the copy of the project, and then deploy and execute the project to easily recreate the Data Warehouse and Cubes. Does the data warehouse recognize custom tables and fields? One of the first things that the Jet Data Manager does upon initial installation and activation is to look at the database that it has been connected to. It will then synchronize the tables and fields that are available in the data source so that any custom tables and fields that have been added or changed will be available. Once this initial synchronization has been done the additional fields can easily be added to the data warehouse or the cubes. If objects in the database change in the future and these changes need to be reflected in the project then the project simply needs to be re-synchronized with the data source so that the changes will appear. The synchronization process will generally take only a few minutes. Does Jet Enterprise use an ERP license? Since the Jet Data Manager goes directly to the source database without using the ERP client a session is not taken up from the ERP license. Per Microsoft, a DCO license will be required since we are pulling data directly from the database without reducing the number of sessions available. This scenario will most likely be the same across all BI solution providers. Pg. 7 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

8 Is data no longer live once it s in the data warehouse and cubes? One of the key components in any Business Intelligence platform is the data warehouse. Information is transferred here from the production database and is then reorganized, de-normalized, and optimized for reporting purposes. Because of this the data in the data warehouse is current as of the last time that the data was updated. An execution package is scheduled which will pull information from the production environment into the data warehouse and subsequently into the cubes. This is generally done on a daily basis but can be scheduled more frequently if the client has specific needs with regards to the timeliness of data extraction. Is the data warehouse pre-built? The Jet Enterprise product comes with a pre-built and optimized data warehouse that extracts information from six of the core modules within your DynamicsERP: Sales, Purchasing, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Finance, and Inventory. There is no additional charge for this data warehouse and set of cubes as they are included in the Jet Enterprise package. The client is also able to modify the existing data warehouse to match their unique reporting needs. Are the cubes standard OLAP cubes? The six cubes that come with Jet Enterprise are standard OLAP cubes. There are several different kinds of OLAP cubes and the Jet Enterprise product uses what we feel is the most versatile and widely used type: Multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP). This type of cube allows for extremely fast processing of information across very large data sets. Can I use a front-end tool other than Excel? Excel is the primary front-end of the Jet Enterprise product because it offers an intuitive and familiar interface for end users. Due to the fact that the data is stored in standard SQL OLAP cubes, however, any front-end that allows a connection to an OLAP cube can be used. Because of this the end-user can utilize the Best of Breed approach to use the third-party front-end tool that they feel best suits their needs if they do not wish to use Excel. We feel that this is very important because some other Business Intelligence platforms lock the end-user into using their proprietary front-end; we allow our end-users to use the front-end that they feel is best for them. How many viewers can access Jet Enterprise? Jet Enterprise includes unlimited viewer licenses. This also applies to Jet Essentials. Pg. 8 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.

9 What can a Designer do that a Viewer cannot do in Jet Enterprise? In the Jet Enterprise product any user can utilize Microsoft Excel to quickly and easily build the reports that they need utilizing the data in the OLAP cubes. Those individuals who are licensed as Designers, however, also have the ability to use Jet Essentials to create reports from the Data Warehouse or directly from their database. Can I build a custom cube on my own? The Jet Data Manager greatly simplifies the task of modifying the cubes that are included in Jet Enterprise as well as adding more cubes that are tailored to the client s unique needs. We encourage our partners and end-users to build custom cubes that address their unique reporting needs and Jet Reports offers training to enable this. Can I use the Jet Scheduler to automatically generate reports from the cubes and distribute them? Yes, the Jet Scheduler can be used to distribute reports written from both the Jet Reports product and the Jet Enterprise product. There is functionality built into the Jet Scheduler that will automatically refresh all PivotTables in the workbook. Because of this the report will update and pull in the most recent values before being distributed. How much available space do I need for the Data Warehouse and Staging Database? The Data Warehouse and Staging Database will hold much of the transaction information that exists in the six core modules of your Dynamics database (Finance, Sales, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Inventory, and Purchasing). Because of this a general guideline is to ensure that the available space for the Data Warehouse and Staging Database is roughly 60% of the size of your production database. For example, if your production database is 30 gigabytes then you should plan on having 18 gigabytes of space available to accommodate these components. Pg. 9 03/18/2011 JEFAQ - 02/13/ Copyright Jet Reports International, Inc.