Understanding MOLAP Architecture: Advantages, Examples, and Tools
What is MOLAP?
Multidimensional Online Analytical Processing (MOLAP) is a method for storing and analyzing data in a multidimensional cube structure. It offers high performance for complex analytic queries through its use of pre-computed aggregates, making it ideal for operational business intelligence (BI) reporting needs.
Advantages of MOLAP
Fast Query Performance: Pre-calculated summaries and aggregates improve query performance significantly compared to ROLAP (Relational OLAP).
Data Integrity: MOLAP ensures data integrity since it uses pre-computed aggregates rather than generating them on the fly.
Scalability: MOLAP databases are designed to be scalable, allowing for the efficient management of large amounts of data in a multidimensional cube structure.
Ease of Analysis: MOLAP provides an intuitive way of analyzing complex data by offering features like slicing and dicing, drill-down, and roll-up capabilities.
Example of MOLAP Architecture
A typical example of a MOLAP cube structure is shown below:
|------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
| Time | Product | Region | Measure |
|------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
| 2019-Q1 | A | North America | Sales |
| 2019-Q1 | B | Europe | Sales |
| 2019-Q1 | C | Asia | Sales |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
|------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|
In this example, the data is organized into a multidimensional cube with dimensions like Time, Product, Region, and Measure (Sales in this case). The pre-calculated aggregates for each combination of these dimensions can be easily accessed for fast query performance.
Tools for Implementing MOLAP
Microsoft Analysis Services: Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is a powerful tool for implementing MOLAP architectures. It offers features like data mining, data drilling, and the ability to deploy analytic applications as well-managed solutions on the Microsoft platform.
Oracle OLAP: Oracle OLAP (OLAP Services for Oracle Database) enables users to create, manage, and query multidimensional structures for business intelligence and analytics purposes. It provides support for MOLAP, ROLAP, and hybrid architectures.
SAP BW (Business Warehouse): SAP Business Warehouse is an enterprise data warehousing solution that supports MOLAP as one of its OLAP options. It allows users to perform analysis across various dimensions and measures with ease.