Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting

Transcription

1 [MU-IT-2-A] [MU-IT-7-A] Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting Munis-Suite: System Administration CLASS DESCRIPTION Organizations continuously create extremely valuable data for decision making and direction planning. Business intelligence satisfies the need to translate data into useful information in a manageable and easily consumed manner. This course explores how Munis Office Cubes provides business intelligence through familiar Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables and Charts. After completion of this course, the participant will understand how to quickly and easily display different views of information without complex formulas or programming expertise, including the direct application of key performance indicators, with no impact on users performing transactions in the system. WHAT ARE CUBES? Munis data cubes allow you to use Microsoft Excel to view and manipulate data in a dimensional style. Once you have connected to the data, use standard Microsoft Excel options to organize the data for analysis. Previously available cubes include Project Accounting, General Ledger GL Revenue and Expense, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll Accumulators, and Work Orders. For Munis Version 10.3, the Permits and Utility Billing Consumption cubes are available. For Munis Version 10.4, the Employee, Position, and Purchase Order cubes are available. The Payroll Accumulators Cube is retired with Version 10.4; it is replaced by the Employee Cube. All information previously available in the Payroll Accumulators Cube is available in the Employee Cube. In simple terms, a cube aggregates numbers by various categories of data. Numbers, for example, like those found in General Ledger Account Inquiry Original Budget, Revised Budget, Transfers, Actual, Encumbrances, and Requisitions. These numbers are called Measures.

2 The categories, called Dimensions, are how we look at the numbers. Using the same example of Account Inquiry, we look at the chart of accounts in an organized way by full account or org-objectproject, account type, or fiscal period. The Dimensions, or categories, contain Hierarchies to facilitate information review. The Hierarchies are logical groupings of categories that allow the user to start at a high level and drill down to a more detailed level. For example, a time dimension for the general ledger expense and revenue accounts includes a fiscal year hierarchy, allowing the user to drill down from year to quarter to period. The result is aggregated measures by every possible combination allowing information to be displayed quickly and in a familiar form. CUBE REQUIREMENTS Server: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SQL Server Analysis Services SQL Server Integration Services User: Microsoft Office 2007 or above Microsoft Excel Munis Version 9.3/10.1 or higher For disk space and performance considerations, you may decide to house cubes on a server other than the production Munis database server. Installing SSAS and SSIS on a separate server other than the Munis database server will require a second SQL Server license. SSAS can have different default collations just as the SQL Server DB engine can. The SSAS instance must have the same default collation as the Munis DB instances (ex: case sensitive, case insensitive). BENEFITS OF USING CUBES When using Cubes, the data is named in familiar terms and logically grouped in folders. The objective is to use the same language you would see in Munis. A user can go into Account Inquiry, look at the screen, and then create a report in Cubes using the exact same names to provide a report that presents that same information for analysis. Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 2

3 This is accomplished without the need to be familiar with the underlying views or table structure of the Munis database. Users also do not need to know complicated formulas or formatting instructions, nor do they need to be familiar with database programming terms (like join ). All presentation and calculation is performed automatically for the user. The user can pick the numbers and categories from a list, place them wherever desired in the pivot table, and the report presents. Another nice feature of Cubes is the design and execution of a report occurs simultaneously. Add something to the report and it instantly shows. Remove a measure and the report is immediately updated. Real-time feedback makes this quick and easy to use. When users create a report, there is no impact on users performing transactions in the system. Cubes access a separate reporting database. Data populates the spreadsheet and/or graph quickly without impact on production users. ACCESS TO MUNIS DATA In summary, here s how it works. SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) moves and transforms the data from Munis. This happens in two steps: 1. The data needed to create the cube is moved from the Munis database to the TylerStagingDB; 2. The data in the staging database is then transformed into a star-schema database called TylerReportingDB This process sets up data to make it easy to create the cubes. For example, let s look at vendors in the Accounts Payable cube. Instead of looking at six or eight different database tables to access invoices and checks for a vendor, everything is in one dimension or table within the star schema database. SQL Analysis Services (SSAS) creates the cube using the star schema database. A job is scheduled once per night or week to update the databases and generate the cubes. The job runs both the SSIS and SSAS jobs. This can be scheduled to run more frequently depending on the site requirements and servers. The data presented in the cube is frozen as of the last scheduled job. How much information is presented? For the General Ledger, the Revenue and Expense cube is loaded with three prior years of history plus the current fiscal year. This cube will load all available history if desired. To make prior years available in cubes, run Financials > General Ledger Menu > Miscellaneous Set Up > Load Historical Tables: Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 3

4 The standard installation for all other cubes defaults to four years of history. If more information is required, Cubes can be reinstalled to pull additional history into the reporting database. SECURITY ACCESS Each user must be granted access to a Cube to use it. The first step is to grant access to the cube at the database level. Once connected to the analysis services server using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), expand the database for cube, navigate down to Roles and expand that folder. Double-click on Access; in the Edit Role Access window, under Membership add users or groups of users that have access to a particular cube. This is the first level of security. For General Ledger and Payroll, Cubes also uses Munis security. The GL cube uses GL Account level security specified in Munis; the Payroll cube uses the Location, Org, Deduction and Pay Type security Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 4

5 specified in Munis. The objective is for the user to only see in Cubes what they have access to in Munis. For the other cubes, access granted in SQL Server Management Studio grants access to all of the data in the cubes. The Munis KnowledgeBase offers several documents with specific instructions for granting data access to cubes. REPORTING WITH CUBES The connection to each cube must be set up once in Excel for the user. After the initial setup, that cube is available to select each time the user is in Excel. 1. Click the Data tab on the Excel Ribbon 2. Click the From Other Sources drop down arrow and select Form Analysis Services 3. Enter the server name for Analysis Services Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 5

6 4. Select the Cube database from the drop down list 5. Select the Cube 6. Enter a friendly name Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 6

7 7. Click Finish Once the connection has been established, it is available on the Data tab under Existing Connections for easy future reference: When you report on a cube, you are using an excel pivot table. Instead of your data being stored in underlying sheets within the spreadsheet, the data is stored on a server. Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 7

8 The pivot function works exactly the same. You can either click a field (in the check box) to add it to the report, or drag a field to a specific location to add to the pivot table. Each time a field is selected or removed, the pivot table is immediately updated, providing real time access and reporting. Filters can be added or removed using the drop down arrow or filter button next to column or row labels. The button next to column or row that allows you to add filters provides a list of available values. The user can control if and where subtotals and/or grand totals appear in the pivot table using the design tab. Subtotals and grand totals can be put on columns, rows, or both. Headers and color options can also be found on the design tab. For additional formatting options, right-click within the pivot table to see options and make changes. Exploring SQL Cubes for Reporting 8