Working mode for mining flows

You can work in online mode or in offline mode to create mining flows. In online mode, you are working against a database. In offline mode, you are working against an existing data model.

Online mode

In online mode, the Design Studio is connected to a database. You can design the mining flow by accessing the database to retrieve required data, for example, for a Model Source operator. The connection is used to dynamically build a physical data model that you can use when you design the flow.

Use online mode if you need to retrieve data from the database to design the mining flow.

Note: If you are working with an online flow and close it, you will be prompted to connect to the database for that flow when you reopen it. If you choose offline mode when you reopen the flow (or when you restart the Design Studio), you can access a cached version of the database model from the previous session, and any manually created physical data models that are in your project or referenced by your project.

By default, the data model associated with an online flow is not refreshed when the flow is reopened because the refresh process can be very time-consuming if the database is very large. You can set a preference to enable the automatic refresh behavior. In the Window menu, select Preferences > Data Warehousing > Flow Editor > Database Refresh and mark the check box.

When you take any action that moves a mining flow into the online mode, the database model is refreshed. You will see a status bar in the lower-right corner of the Design Studio when the model is being created or updated.

Restriction: Do not rename or delete a dynamic data model. You can use these models for standard operations such as accessing metadata for database objects, impact analysis, and so on, but deleting or renaming a model can cause unpredictable results, including corruption of the .dbm file.

Offline mode

In offline mode, the Design Studio is not connected to a database. You can only access metadata of database objects such as tables or views.

You can use offline mode, if you want to use an existing physical data model to design the flow, or if you want to create a new model.

If you work in offline mode, you might not be able to complete the design of a mining flow because the access of data in the database is required, or you might need to test data in the database.

Refresh Database, Connect/Disconnect, and Set Database options

Refresh Database

To refresh the physical data model that was created dynamically when you chose the online mode for a mining flow, click the Refresh icon in the toolbar above the mining-flow canvas:

If the database is very large, the refresh process can be time-consuming.

Connect/Disconnect

To connect or disconnect a database that is associated with an online flow, click the icon in the toolbar above the mining-flow canvas, which toggles between two actions: connect (

) and disconnect (

The main purpose of this icon is to provide a means of reconnecting to a database when the connection is closed or lost for some reason. The editor reports the error, then puts the flow in the disconnected state. In this state, you can still work with the flow by using the dynamically generated data model, but the model cannot be refreshed until the database connection is restored.

You can also use the Mining Flow menu to take the same actions by choosing Switch to online mode or Switch to offline mode.

Set Database

To attach the data flow to a different database or detach the current database, right-click the mining flow in the Data Project Explorer and select Set Database.

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