Multiple Server Reporting

Hi There,
I got a generic DW question.
Let me preface this
I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
companies, Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each Branch
has their own distinct server and database. The schema is identical between
them, just
different data in each.
The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display the
report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
branch individually.
How can I design the report or setup the data source.
1) One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases, and
use that view as the datasource in the report.
2) Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from
that,
which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
Thanks!
S
Centralize data is the better solution.
maybe there is some data to copy, but any query is local, so the response
time is good.
also, you can retrieve data for your reports only instead-of detailed
information.
"ERS Developer" <ERSDeveloper@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C501637B-D71F-4F72-AF62-B06BBED83A8E@.microsoft.com...
> Hi There,
> I got a generic DW question.
> Let me preface this
> I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
> companies, Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each
> Branch
> has their own distinct server and database. The schema is identical
> between
> them, just
> different data in each.
> The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
> report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display
> the
> report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
> branch individually.
> How can I design the report or setup the data source.
> 1) One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
> Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases,
> and
> use that view as the datasource in the report.
> 2) Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from
> that,
> which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
> server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
> Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
> spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
> Thanks!
> S
>
|||Hi S,
the generic question is
'I have distributed data in operational systems, how do I perform
consolidated reporting?'
and the generic answer is:
'bring the data together and integrate it via ODS/DW style processing
system depending on what your needs are. Then, if the data needs to be
re-distributed from the centralised data store back out to various
areas then do that.'
You will almost certainly find that even though the systems are the
same the data in it will be different and will not 'automatically' line
up unless someone forced the user community to use some set of data
standards which almost never happens.
However, with todays line speeds and tools like RS presenting data in
web browsers the need for distributring that data back out has
dramatically reduced. I rarely re-distribute the data back out to so
called 'data marts'...I have been an advocate of 'if the data is
valuable and important it is worth centralising and managing it
properly' for over 20 years now... ;-)....I have seen many people talk
about 'fetch the data from the operational system when it is needed'
come and go....many are still coming along and selling that as 'the
way to do reporting and analysis'.....the folks who go that way
generally regret it very much and end up migrating to an ODS/DW style
solution sooner or later...especially as volumes increase...
Best Regards
Peter Nolan
www.peternolan.com
|||Hi Peter,
Thanks for the clarification always there has been a debate whether or not
to move the data around.Looks like unless we do that no way we can get
efficient reports Let me try the DW.
/
S
"Peter Nolan" wrote:

> Hi S,
> the generic question is
> 'I have distributed data in operational systems, how do I perform
> consolidated reporting?'
> and the generic answer is:
> 'bring the data together and integrate it via ODS/DW style processing
> system depending on what your needs are. Then, if the data needs to be
> re-distributed from the centralised data store back out to various
> areas then do that.'
> You will almost certainly find that even though the systems are the
> same the data in it will be different and will not 'automatically' line
> up unless someone forced the user community to use some set of data
> standards which almost never happens.
> However, with todays line speeds and tools like RS presenting data in
> web browsers the need for distributring that data back out has
> dramatically reduced. I rarely re-distribute the data back out to so
> called 'data marts'...I have been an advocate of 'if the data is
> valuable and important it is worth centralising and managing it
> properly' for over 20 years now... ;-)....I have seen many people talk
> about 'fetch the data from the operational system when it is needed'
> come and go....many are still coming along and selling that as 'the
> way to do reporting and analysis'.....the folks who go that way
> generally regret it very much and end up migrating to an ODS/DW style
> solution sooner or later...especially as volumes increase...
> Best Regards
> Peter Nolan
> www.peternolan.com
>
|||I think the answer depends on how much data, the query performance
requirement, and the frequency of the report. If there is a relatively large
amount of data that would need to be moved, the report is only run once per
month, and the user doesn't really care if the report takes 20 minutes vs. 2
minutes to run, then just setup a partitioned view.
If there are multiple reports that could make use of the localized data,
then the case for building a localized copy of the data would be somewhat
stronger.
"ERS Developer" <ERSDeveloper@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C501637B-D71F-4F72-AF62-B06BBED83A8E@.microsoft.com...
> Hi There,
> I got a generic DW question.
> Let me preface this
> I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
> companies, Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each
> Branch
> has their own distinct server and database. The schema is identical
> between
> them, just
> different data in each.
> The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
> report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display
> the
> report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
> branch individually.
> How can I design the report or setup the data source.
> 1) One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
> Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases,
> and
> use that view as the datasource in the report.
> 2) Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from
> that,
> which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
> server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
> Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
> spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
> Thanks!
> S
>

Multiple Server Reporting

Hi There,
I got a generic DW question.
Let me preface this
I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
companies, Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each Branch
has their own distinct server and database. The schema is identical between
them, just
different data in each.
The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display the
report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
branch individually.
How can I design the report or setup the data source.
1) One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases, an
d
use that view as the datasource in the report.
2) Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from
that,
which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
Thanks!
SCentralize data is the better solution.
maybe there is some data to copy, but any query is local, so the response
time is good.
also, you can retrieve data for your reports only instead-of detailed
information.
"ERS Developer" <ERSDeveloper@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C501637B-D71F-4F72-AF62-B06BBED83A8E@.microsoft.com...
> Hi There,
> I got a generic DW question.
> Let me preface this
> I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
> companies, Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each
> Branch
> has their own distinct server and database. The schema is identical
> between
> them, just
> different data in each.
> The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
> report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display
> the
> report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
> branch individually.
> How can I design the report or setup the data source.
> 1) One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
> Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases,
> and
> use that view as the datasource in the report.
> 2) Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from
> that,
> which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
> server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
> Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
> spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
> Thanks!
> S
>|||Hi S,
the generic question is
'I have distributed data in operational systems, how do I perform
consolidated reporting?'
and the generic answer is:
'bring the data together and integrate it via ODS/DW style processing
system depending on what your needs are. Then, if the data needs to be
re-distributed from the centralised data store back out to various
areas then do that.'
You will almost certainly find that even though the systems are the
same the data in it will be different and will not 'automatically' line
up unless someone forced the user community to use some set of data
standards which almost never happens.
However, with todays line speeds and tools like RS presenting data in
web browsers the need for distributring that data back out has
dramatically reduced. I rarely re-distribute the data back out to so
called 'data marts'...I have been an advocate of 'if the data is
valuable and important it is worth centralising and managing it
properly' for over 20 years now... ;-)....I have seen many people talk
about 'fetch the data from the operational system when it is needed'
come and go....many are still coming along and selling that as 'the
way to do reporting and analysis'.....the folks who go that way
generally regret it very much and end up migrating to an ODS/DW style
solution sooner or later...especially as volumes increase...
Best Regards
Peter Nolan
www.peternolan.com|||Hi Peter,
Thanks for the clarification always there has been a debate whether or not
to move the data around.Looks like unless we do that no way we can get
efficient reports Let me try the DW.
/
S
"Peter Nolan" wrote:

> Hi S,
> the generic question is
> 'I have distributed data in operational systems, how do I perform
> consolidated reporting?'
> and the generic answer is:
> 'bring the data together and integrate it via ODS/DW style processing
> system depending on what your needs are. Then, if the data needs to be
> re-distributed from the centralised data store back out to various
> areas then do that.'
> You will almost certainly find that even though the systems are the
> same the data in it will be different and will not 'automatically' line
> up unless someone forced the user community to use some set of data
> standards which almost never happens.
> However, with todays line speeds and tools like RS presenting data in
> web browsers the need for distributring that data back out has
> dramatically reduced. I rarely re-distribute the data back out to so
> called 'data marts'...I have been an advocate of 'if the data is
> valuable and important it is worth centralising and managing it
> properly' for over 20 years now... ;-)....I have seen many people talk
> about 'fetch the data from the operational system when it is needed'
> come and go....many are still coming along and selling that as 'the
> way to do reporting and analysis'.....the folks who go that way
> generally regret it very much and end up migrating to an ODS/DW style
> solution sooner or later...especially as volumes increase...
> Best Regards
> Peter Nolan
> www.peternolan.com
>|||I think the answer depends on how much data, the query performance
requirement, and the frequency of the report. If there is a relatively large
amount of data that would need to be moved, the report is only run once per
month, and the user doesn't really care if the report takes 20 minutes vs. 2
minutes to run, then just setup a partitioned view.
If there are multiple reports that could make use of the localized data,
then the case for building a localized copy of the data would be somewhat
stronger.
"ERS Developer" <ERSDeveloper@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:C501637B-D71F-4F72-AF62-B06BBED83A8E@.microsoft.com...
> Hi There,
> I got a generic DW question.
> Let me preface this
> I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
> companies, Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each
> Branch
> has their own distinct server and database. The schema is identical
> between
> them, just
> different data in each.
> The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
> report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display
> the
> report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
> branch individually.
> How can I design the report or setup the data source.
> 1) One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
> Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases,
> and
> use that view as the datasource in the report.
> 2) Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from
> that,
> which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
> server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
> Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
> spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
> Thanks!
> S
>

Multiple Server Reporting

Let me preface this
I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
companies,
Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each Branch has their
own
distinct server and database. The schema is identical between them, just
different data in each.
The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display the
report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
branch
individually.
How can I design the report or setup the data source.
I really don't want to create and maintain 3 identical reports, the only
difference being the data source.
One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases, and
use that view as the datasource in the report.
Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from that,
which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
Thanks!
SHi There,
I was under impression that there are expertise here who has implemented a
valid and reliable solution to my similar issue. Now it makes me to beleive
that none has gone through such a senario.
Any help or suggestion are welcome
/
S
"ERS Developer" wrote:
> Let me preface this
> I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
> companies,
> Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each Branch has their
> own
> distinct server and database. The schema is identical between them, just
> different data in each.
> The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that the
> report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to display the
> report data for that Company as an aggregated view and Also data for each
> branch
> individually.
> How can I design the report or setup the data source.
> I really don't want to create and maintain 3 identical reports, the only
> difference being the data source.
> One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
> Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3 databases, and
> use that view as the datasource in the report.
> Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report from that,
> which would cause data redundancy both at local branch and at centralized
> server and huge vloume of data movement and keeping track of data.
> Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so I don't
> spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
> Thanks!
> S|||ERS,
The simplest solution is linked servers (if you have high
availability), have one report and use IF statements based on a
parameter to decide the query to use.
The parameter would be the branch, so you could have;
If @.Branch = 'A'
Select * From BranchAServer.MyDB.dbo.MyTable
If @.Branch = 'B'
Select * From BranchBServer.MyDB.dbo.MyTable
If @.Branch = 'C'
Select * From BranchCServer.MyDB.dbo.MyTable
So the user could select their branch. This is very basic and could be
made more efficient placing the query in a stored procedure. Also there
is aperformance issue with distributed queries like this pulling all
data to the calling server before processing. Ideally you'd use an
OPENQUERY, check BOL for info on that.
Letting the user select a branch is obviously a security issue, but you
could deny access to the main report but create 'linked' reports for
each branch and set the branch parameter in properties of the linked
report and set it not to prompt the user. 'Linked' reports are merely
shortcuts, so when you change the main report, it's reflected in the
linked reports as well, but the parameter settings remain independant.
There is another option which we use here, which is to create a simple
form of data warehouse. This is more useful if you have disparate
datasources. Basically, create jobs that copies data from the branches
into a central database periodically, say every 20 minutes. To reduce
redundancy, just take the fields you need. You could use replication to
do this also. Not only will this make your report quicker, but it
should reduce the overhead on your OLTP servers.
Chris
ERS Developer wrote:
> Hi There,
> I was under impression that there are expertise here who has
> implemented a valid and reliable solution to my similar issue. Now it
> makes me to beleive that none has gone through such a senario.
> Any help or suggestion are welcome
> /
> S
> "ERS Developer" wrote:
> > Let me preface this
> > I need to design a report that displays data for 3 branches of same
> > companies,
> > Branch A ,Branch B and Branch C. The problem is that each Branch
> > has their own
> > distinct server and database. The schema is identical between them,
> > just different data in each.
> >
> > The report is identical for each Branch, the only different is that
> > the report needs to pull data from all the three Databases A,B,C to
> > display the report data for that Company as an aggregated view and
> > Also data for each branch
> > individually.
> >
> > How can I design the report or setup the data source.
> >
> > I really don't want to create and maintain 3 identical reports, the
> > only difference being the data source.
> >
> > One possible option I guess would be to create a Linked Server and
> > Distributed view that combines data from identical tables in 3
> > databases, and use that view as the datasource in the report.
> >
> > Other option is moving data to the centralized server and report
> > from that, which would cause data redundancy both at local branch
> > and at centralized server and huge vloume of data movement and
> > keeping track of data.
> >
> > Just looking for what others have done in similar circumstances so
> > I don't spend multiple days architecting the wrong approach.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > S|||Hi S/All,
just to let viewers here know the generic answer to the generic
question...
Lots of people, tens of thousands of them, have faced the issue of
reporting from multiple different oprational systems and the Corporate
Information Factory is one rather comprehensive solution to the
pervasive issue of consolitated analysis/reporting...
Best Regards
Peter Nolan
www.peternolan.com
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/microsoft.public.sqlserver.datawarehouse/browse_frm/thread/473404688a753292/64024bd1636f02e9?hl=en#64024bd1636f02e9