Jet Enterprise Frequently Asked Questions

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1 Pg. 1 03/18/2011 Jet Enterprise

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 2008 (Standard 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 data warehouse for Microsoft Dynamics NAV (versions 4.0SP1 and later). 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 Cubes and data warehouse for Microsoft Dynamics GP coming soon! 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 operating system is recommended if an ODBC driver is going to be used. Pg. 2 03/18/2011

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 3GB 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 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 NAV database hosted on a SQL server in order to run Jet Enterprise? No. Jet Enterprise is compatible with NAV databases hosted on either a SQL Server or on a Native NAV Server. What components are installed with Jet Enterprise? The Jet Data Manager is 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 database to create an adapter for transferring data from the NAV database to the Jet Data Manager. The latest version of Jet Reports 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 Essentials customers current on AEP. Pg. 3 03/18/2011

4 Do I need to have a dedicated server for the data warehouse and cubes? No, you do not have 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. 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? Jet Reports will be able to report out of the Data Warehouse through the addition of the Data Warehouse connector in Jet Reports itself. This connector is specially designed for reporting out of the Data Warehouse that is utilized 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. 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. Pg. 4 03/18/2011

5 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) 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 lag in 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. 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). Pg. 5 03/18/2011

6 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 six cubes that are built around core functionality in Dynamics NAV and constitute the vast majority of reporting tables. The tables in NAV that are accessed are listed below. 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 most customers will want to contact their partners for this type of work. Pg. 6 03/18/2011

7 Cube Sales Purchasing Finance Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Inventory Dimensions (may be used across multiple cubes) Tables accessed: Sales Line Sales Header Sales Invoice Line Sales Invoice Header Sales Credit Memo Line Sales Credit Memo Header Purchase Line Purchase Header Purchase Invoice Line Purchase Invoice Header Purchase Credit Memo Line Purchase Credit Memo Header GL Entry GL Budget Entry Company Currency Exchange Rate General Ledger Setup Vendor Ledger Entry Detailed Vendor Ledger Entry Customer Ledger Entry Detailed Customer Ledger Entry Value Entry Value Entry Relation Item Ledger Entry Company Customer Vendor Item Currencies Salesperson/Purchaser Location Currency Exchange Rate GL Budget Name Dimension Value General Product Posting Group GL Entry Gen. Posting Type General Business Posting Group Inventory Posting Group Purchase Inv. Line Type Pg. 7 03/18/2011

8 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. 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. You can backup the project from the Jet Data Manager 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. Does the data warehouse recognize custom tables and fields? One of the first things that the Jet Data Manager does upon initial installation and registration 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 NAV 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 NAV data source so that the changes will appear. The synchronization process will generally take only a few minutes. Does Jet Enterprise use a NAV license? Since the Jet Data Manager goes directly to the Dynamics NAV database without using the NAV client or C/Front, a session is not taken up from the NAV 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. Contact your Dynamics NAV partner for more information on this topic. Pg. 8 03/18/2011

9 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, denormalized, 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 Dynamics NAV: 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 endusers 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. 9 03/18/2011

10 What can a Designer do that a Viewer cannot do in Jet Enterprise? In the Jet Enterprise product any user can utilize 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 Reports 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 offer training to enable this. How does Jet Enterprise handle NAV dimensions? Both Global Dimensions have been automatically added into the data warehouse and cubes in the standard project that comes with Jet Enterprise. We understand that many clients will utilize Advanced Dimensions within their production environment, so the ability to add these additional dimensions into the data warehouse and cubes has been documented. There will be a video available on our website that will illustrate a step-by-step process to add these additional dimensions into the project in order to customize Jet Enterprise to meet the client s needs. In addition, we are currently pursuing an addition that would automatically add the Advanced Dimensions that the client wishes to utilize from a form in the NAV client itself. Please look for this in a future release. 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 Dynamics NAV (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 /18/2011