Monitor and Manage Your MicroStrategy BI Environment Using Enterprise Manager and Health Center

Transcription

1 Monitor and Manage Your MicroStrategy BI Environment Using Enterprise Manager and Health Center Presented by: Dennis Liao Sales Engineer Zach Rea Sales Engineer January 27 th, 2015

2 Session 4 This Session is Part of MicroStrategy World Track 6: Enterprise BI I

3 MicroStrategy s Administration Product Suite MicroStrategy Leads with a Comprehensive Set of Administration Tools Source Cindi Howson, BI Scorecard Strategic and Product Summary

4 Presentation Agenda MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Introduction Enterprise Manager Project Best Practices MicroStrategy Health Center Introduction Products Features and Applications Benefits

5 Need for Usage Analysis of BI Applications How successful is my BI Application? Based on number of Users created / Logging in Based on number of Jobs run Based on returning user frequency What maintenance does my project require? Delete unused objects Project Growth Trends How can I improve end user experience? Analyze User wait times Analyze Success vs. Error Jobs Perform error analysis to reduce errors How can I improve my application performance? Optimize Database Design Adjust Product settings

6 INTRODUCING MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager allows administrators to log usage statistics of their environment and provides out of the box Reports & Dashboards to enable them to report on these collected statistics. Analysis can be carried out in areas such as PROJECT, OPERATIONS, USER and PERFORMANCE.

7 Enterprise Manager Architecture Setup one or multiple projects to log Statistics Setup Enterprise Manager to monitor one or multiple projects Intelligence Server Statistics Tables Fact Tables A data load process first reads project metadata and populates lookup tables Look up Tables Then it moves data from usage statistics tables Into the fact tables Project 1 Project 2 Project 3 Project 4 Enterprise Manager Enterprise Manager Project reports analyze the warehouse data Metadata

8 Presentation Agenda MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Introduction Enterprise Manager Project Best Practices MicroStrategy Health Center Introduction Products Features and Applications Benefits

9 Enterprise Manager Project is organized into 4 areas of analysis

10 1. Project Analysis Quantify & Improve Project ROI Provides overview of current project content indicating project complexity and value Find frequently executed reports and objects Action Item: Should be cached? Find frequently executed end user designed reports Action Item: Should they be made publically available? Find and delete unused objects to save resources Resource Planning & Maintenance Report on project growth trend Who contributes to the project by building objects? Over what period? Use existing project analysis as a model to plan for new projects

11 1.a Analyze content of MicroStrategy Projects How many reports/attributes/metrics currently exist in the metadata? Who owns the most objects in profile folders? Ensure that users use shortcuts to shared objects to reduce unnecessary duplicates.

12 1.b Find Unused Objects Objects that have not been used for a long time* and exist in the metadata are candidates for deletion Similar reports for many other objects in the project metadata exist in the Enterprise Manager project * This report shows existing reports not used since Jun

13 2. Operational Analysis Analyze historical usage trends By clients (Scheduler vs. Web), by day, etc. Capacity planning based on trends Optimize workload Monitor concurrency, queue and response time trends by hour/minute/etc. Insights on scheduling, caching, prioritization, clustering, etc. Distribution Services Analysis Analyze Weekly Subscription Trends by Delivery Type Find Top Subscribed Reports / Documents / Contacts Find Longest Running Subscriptions Actions performed on History List Messages Find users who utilize History List feature often Find users with unread History List Messages

14 2.A Weekly Summary of Project Activity Counts summarizing usage Comparison to historical usage Percentages indicating the nature of load on the system Averages measuring performance

15 2.B Determine Maintenance Windows Identify peak times for report execution and determine if queue and execution times are acceptable Schedule batch jobs outside the peak time periods to distribute the load evenly Used in an internal reporting environment to determine maintenance windows

16 2.C Enhanced Workflow for Troubleshooting Errors Identify the cause of reporting errors Drill to Template, Error Analysis Template

17 3. User Analysis Report on project success & justify BI investments How many users regularly connect to this project? How many reports do they run and how frequently? User adoption curve over time Monitor user session and reporting activity Feature usage: drilling, ad-hoc reports, etc. Cancellations, Timeouts: educate users if necessary Assign costs to customers / Business Units / Bill for usage Database cost in terms of Result rows Session Durations, number of users logging in etc.

18 3.A Track User Activity Identify feature usage patterns Which users execute the most reports/dashboards? Market project to inactive users Who executes the longest running jobs? Educate them Assign costs based on jobs and duration.

19 3.B Manage User Accounts Which users have not logged on since a specified date? Have they changed roles? Reassign licenses to other users

20 4. Performance Analysis Provide supportive information to DBA to improve query performance Improve OLAP Services usage by adding attributes and metrics to report designs that cause database hits Understand number and performance of datasets for frequently run documents

21 4.A Quantify Performance and Find Problems Report used to measure throughput & average response times over a given week. Charts such as this were used by a large logistics company to understand overall system performance, adjust governing parameters and stabilize the system.

22 4.B Identify Tuning Candidates Customers target warehouse table optimizations to achieve performance improvements of 100% to 5000% per report Columns used frequently in the WHERE clause are good candidates for indexing

23 Organization of the Enterprise Manager Project Multidimensional warehouse 7 Hierarchies 115 Tables >350 Metrics Document Processing Analysis Object Analysis Report Processing Analysis - Averages - Counts - Percentages User / Session Analysis >150 Out of the box Reports Project analysis Operational analysis User Analysis Performance Analysis 115 Attributes Application Objects Configuration Objects Data Load Document Job Indicators & Flags Report Job Schema Objects Session Time

24 Drilling Hierarchies constitute the Ad-Hoc Drilling Experience

25 Drill Maps Constitute the Guided Drilling Experience Drill maps using drill to templates constitute the guided drilling experience. Workflows indicating use cases are outlined in project documentation.

26 Interactive Dashboards designed for each Area of Analysis Newly created Dashboards provide introduction into the respective analysis area

27 Enterprise Manager goes Mobile The Enterprise Manager Phone Dashboard is a collection of MSTR Documents which simulate an application. Available on both ios and Android. Allows Administrators to monitor environment on the go!

28 New level of Statistics Client Statistics Available only for Mobile Client at this point Allows administrators to collect statistics about: Client rendering time Network time Number of manipulations by user View time of each report / document Offline executions Executions hitting device cache Type of Executions: User, Back Button, System Recovery, Report Queue

29 Presentation Agenda MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Introduction Enterprise Manager Project Best Practices MicroStrategy Health Center Introduction Products Features and Applications Benefits

30 Best Practices for Creating Statistics Tables P P P Intelligence Server P P Intelligence Server P P P P P Intelligence Server 1. Do not create Statistics Tables & Metadata tables in the same database space 2. Take advantage of parameterized inserts Statistics Tables 3. Start collecting statistics now even if you plan to use Enterprise Manager a few quarters later Metadata Tables

31 Choose Level of Statistics Basic statistics are sufficient for most reports & dashboards Advanced statistics are usually recommended for troubleshooting specific issues Negligible effects on performance from checking all statistics

32 3. Create and populate the Enterprise Manager Repository in 3 simple steps Initialization Configuration Schedule Transfer the Enterprise Manager project Metadata and Warehouse tables to your destination database Choose which Servers and projects you wish to monitor Specify the frequency of the dataload process The Enterprise Manager console guides you through these steps

33 Enterprise Manager Console provides several data load options Schedule the data load process to run as often as you like Configure data load options according to your needs Update Folder Path Update Object Deletions Repopulate Relationship Tables Update Database Statistics With scheduled data loads, the migration window is automatically determined Use custom time window data-loads only if you need to control the migration window Custom time window data-loads can be run from the command line Basic data load log is automatically generated Advanced data load log which includes SQL used to carry out the data load should be turned on only for troubleshooting purposes

34 Statistics Tables Maintenance/Retention Recommend keeping only 5-6 months of statistics data Statistics Tables can be purged as follows: Via MicroStrategy Developer by manually providing the time range of statistics to purge Via MicroStrategy Developer by scheduling purging of Statistics Via MicroStrategy Command Manager If statistics must be retained for longer periods, for better system performance Replicate records to a carbon copy statistics database Purge old data from run-time statistics tables after copy Set up Enterprise Manager on the carbon copy database

35 Summary With Enterprise Manager you get all you need to monitor your BI environment Interactive Dashboards Out of the box reports for detailed analysis Attributes, Metrics, Filters, Prompts etc enable you to create your own reports Enterprise Manager provides insight into the decision making process Capacity Planning Feature usage Project adoption Predictive Analytics and so on.. Start collecting Statistics as soon as you create new projects Create your own Reports & Dashboards to suit your requirements. If modifying existing ones, make a copy and modify them

36 Presentation Agenda MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Introduction Enterprise Manager Project Best Practices MicroStrategy Health Center Introduction Products Features and Applications Benefits

37 A Single MicroStrategy Environment Generates Dozens of Logs, Configuration Files, and Settings MicroStrategy BI Platform LOG FILES CONFIGURATION FILES SETTINGS 5-10 files generated per product 1 or 2 files generated per product 100 s of different settings Stored on each server in registry or databases Files contain details on: Errors Events Installations Product History 1000s of rows of data Many configuration settings Files contain details on: Configuration Settings Server Information

38 Identifying, Diagnosing, and Solving Issues Can Consume Significant Resources BI Users Identify Issues Administrators Scan Large Log Files Support Requests Log And Configuration Files Users Complain To Administrators Administrators Contact Support Support Recommends A Solution Problem BI Users This process can take days and sometimes even weeks!

39 MicroStrategy Provides a Simpler and More Efficient Way to do this!

40 Health Center Console Provides a Centralized View and Control for the Entire MicroStrategy Environment Monitor all Servers from a single interface. Facilitates log collection when access control is restricted Health Center Console

41 Health Center Automatically Discovers Machines in the MicroStrategy Environment Find and add machines running MicroStrategy using the Machine Discovery Wizard Manual addition is also supported. MHA

42 Health Center s Architecture Ensures that all Components in Your MicroStrategy Environment Are Working Properly A A A A A 1. Health Agents run on each machine with MicroStrategy products. MH A 2. The Master Health Agent manages all agents in the configuration C C 3. Health Center Consoles provide a single interface to manage all the Health Center operations across all machines.

43 Presentation Agenda MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Introduction Enterprise Manager Project Best Practices MicroStrategy Health Center Introduction Products Features and Applications Benefits

44 1. Proactively Evaluate the Health of Your BI Environments MicroStrategy Health Center Pre-Coded Plug-Ins Enterprise BI Platform Prod Environment SCAN ALERT / FIX Enterprise BI Dev Environment Departmental BI Prod Environment Scan Log Files, Configuration Files, and System Settings across Multiple BI Environments A B C A B Diagnose Problems C Provide Action Links to Immediately Resolve Problems Identify Errors or Potential Problems Sends alert to Administrators

45 Health Center Can Diagnose Common Problems Across the MicroStrategy Platform MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Component Registration Memory Depletion Metadata Connection Warehouse Connection Network Port Detector LogPath Registry Key MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server DCOM Settings Object Repository Connection Path Environment Variable Network Port Detector Component Registration Path Environment Variable MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Data Load Failures MicroStrategy Web MicroStrategy Desktop Metadata Connection Component Registration LogPath Registry Key JVM Heap Size

46 Health Center Sends Alerts to Administrators when a Problem is Detected Error Details and Diagnosis

47 Health Center Provides a Centralized View of the BI System Allowing Administrators to Visualize Alert Details Visually Identify Alerts

48 Presents Action Links for the Administrators to Correct Common Problems Easily Fix Common Problems with a Single Click

49 2. Enable Administrators to Proactively Collaborate with MicroStrategy Technical Support MicroStrategy Health Center Pre-Coded Plug-Ins Enterprise BI Platform Prod Environment COLLECT DIAGNOSTIC PACKAGES Enterprise BI Dev Environment Departmental BI Prod Environment Zip File Scans Log Files, Configuration Files, and System Settings A B C Details Packaged and Sent to MicroStrategy Technical Support Identify Errors or Potential Problems Support Quickly Collaborates with Administrators

50 Diagnostic Packages Collect Files and Information Specific to Each Product as Well as Some Machine-level Information MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Intelligence Server Logs MicroStrategy Web Server Web Server Logs Diagnostic Package MicroStrategy Technical Support MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Enterprise Manager Logs

51 Collects Diagnostic Information and System Configuration Details across the Entire MicroStrategy Environment Data Collection Wizard simplifies collection of relevant information and files

52 Metadata Slice Collector Useful when Reproducing an Issue Simplifies the set up of a reproduction scenario Collects both Report/Documents and Cache files into a Diagnostic Package Technical Support will replicate customer s environment faster

53 Accelerate Problem Resolution through Enhanced Collaboration with MicroStrategy Technical Support The content of the package can be reviewed before sending it through FTP / FTPS to MicroStrategy Technical Support or exported to disk for later transmission.

54 Easily Review and Analyze Log Files Slice and dice MicroStrategy log files within Log Analysis Panel of Health Center Console

55 Health Center is Designed with System Security in Mind You can set up an Access Code to control the access to Master Health Agent You can control the access to Health Agent by using either an Access Code or Trusted IP list Action History keeps track of changes made through Health Center Communication between Master Health Agent and Tech Support uses HTTPS and FTPS protocols. Health Center uses the same encryption as the rest of the platform for: Communication between Master Health Agent Health Agents and among Health Agents Any password stored as part of configuration

56 Presentation Agenda MicroStrategy Enterprise Manager Introduction Enterprise Manager Project Best Practices MicroStrategy Health Center Introduction Products Features and Applications Benefits

57 Summary of MicroStrategy Health Center Benefits DECREASE NUMBER OF HOURS SPENT locating, collecting, and analyzing configuration files, log files, and system settings across MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENTS and MULTIPLE MICROSTRATEGY PRODUCTS Easily FIX common issues with a single-click Cut down user complaints by PROACTIVELY resolving current or potential problems Improve COLLABORATION with MicroStrategy Technical Support by providing immediate notification alerts and quickly gathering required files

58 QUESTIONS Dennis Liao Zack Rea