Refreshing against a replicated versus a transactional database

The database impact of a refresh depends on the volume of data involved, refresh frequency, and the design of the report “complexity”.

Depending on your requirements, you may have installed all IBM® Cognos® Analytics components on a single machine, 1 to 2 machines, or a distributed setup. See the Analytics information center for more information. Your transactional database may be co-located. You may need to refresh your database only during off-peak hours, or have a “24/7” requirement for your system.

Some ad-hoc reports may need to be run hourly. Therefore, you must analyze your deployment scenario and set up the refresh accordingly. It is recommended that you refresh reports against a replicated database instead of your transactional database. This allows you to configure and tune the replicated database for your reporting needs, such as creating indices, keys on the tables, or tuning your database parameters. You can replicate the transactional database using the standard database replicating tools in the market. If you need to refresh against a transactional database, keep in mind the performance impact on both the refresh and the transactions of the Sterling™ Order Management System Software that are occurring in the database during the refresh period.