Aggregate Storage Outline conversion wizard

In this blog, I am going to be talking about the Aggregate Storage Outline conversion Wizard. This Wizard basically takes a BSO cube outline and converts it into as ASO cube outline (in the best case… there is a worst case scenario as well, but let us not get ahead of ourselves and spoil the fun). 

On a personal note, I have used this utility a couple of times but I find it easier to build the hierarchy from rules file than a wizard. Old school perhaps, but it is easier to do it using rules file that is my personal take.

To launch the Wizard, you need to login to EAS console and then go to File -> Wizards -> Aggregate Storage Outline Conversion as shown in the below snapshot.

The next step is to select the Source BSO outline. In the below snapshot, I have chosen BSOSAMP cube as my source. Once the outline is chosen, hit the next button.

 

The next step is the wizard shows the corrections that need to be done in the outline. It basically verifies that the outline conforms to the ASO outline guide. In short, it basically runs the outline verification and shows error if any. 

The thing to note is the errors that are shown in the below snapshot.

 

The reason for the outline verification errors is that ASO is slightly different from BSO cubes in that there can be three different types of hierarchies possible in ASO:-

• ·         Stored
• ·         Dynamic
• ·         Multiple Hierarchies Enabled

These hierarchies have their own set of rules and they lead to quite a few outline verification errors.

(The BSOSAMP is the most basic outline that I have created and I thought it would pass of without any outline verification errors when I am using the utility. But it did not. I had run this utility once on a huge outline and it just gave the verification failed and I had to fix it manually. So much for having a Wizard.)

The screenshot shows a high level summary of the members that were fixed. 

Once this is done and next is clicked, the wizard will ask for a destination for your converted outline. You can either choose an existing ASO application or you can create a new one. In the below snapshot, I have converted the outline and saved it to a new application called ASOSAMP.

 

The key points that I would like to highlight is as follows:-

The utility is used for converting BSO cube outlines to ASO outlines. However, I would put it in a broader way. The utility can show you which members and hierarchies would cause probable issues if you convert the application from BSO to ASO. This allows you to focus your efforts on these hierarchies so that they can be built easily. Once you know the pitfalls, you can easily design an ASO application in the traditional way.

For example, in the above example, I now know that my Account hierarchy is not ideal and I may have to look at it. But all the other dimensions can be easily migrated as is. This is quite useful when I have an actual system with thousands of members spread in eight to ten dimensions.

Do let me know what you think…