The Data Warrior

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Archive for the category “Data Vault”

31 Mar 2013

Data Vault Informatica Class is Live!

Just a quick note to let you all know that Dan has finally released the class on how to easily implement a Data Vault using Informatica.

I wrote about the class here.

I have gone through a few of the lessons already and can tell you the instruction is very clear and easy to follow (even for me!) and the audio and video is excellent. The audio seems to come on a bit load so just be sure you have your volume turned down a bit when you start the videos.

And there is a money back guarantee if for some reason you decide the class is not for you.

If you did not get on Dan’s early notice list you can still sign up by going directly here: http://learndatavault.com/kentdvi

And, since you are a reader of my blog, if you sign up in the next few weeks and enter the coupon code DATAWARRIOR13, you can get $100 off !

So if you use Informatica and plan to do a Data Vault, you owe it to yourself to take a look at this course.

Take care.

Kent

Posted in Data Modeling, Data Vault, Data Warehouse and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
10 Mar 2013
10 Comments

Data Vault and the Oracle Reference Architecture

Thanks to Mark Rittman and Twitter, I found out just before RMOUG that Oracle had published a new reference architecture.  It used to be called the Data Warehouse Reference Architecture, now it is called the Information Management Reference Architecture.

Oracle Information Management Ref Architecture

Oracle updated the architecture to allow for unstructured and big data to fit into the picture.

In my talks about Data Vault over the last few years I have been referring to the Foundation Layer of the architecture as the place where Data Vault fits. The new version of the architecture actual fits the definition of the Data Vault even better.

Now the Foundation Layer is defined as “Immutable Enterprise Data with Full History”.

If that is not the definition of Data Vault, I don’t know what is!

Immutable – does not change. Data Vault is insert only, no update – ever.

Enterprise Data – well duh! That pretty well fits any real data warehouse architecture. The model covers an enterprise view of the data not just a departmental views (like a data mart).

Full History – tracks data changes over time. That is one of the keys to the data Vault approach. We track all the data change history in Satellites so we can always refer to a view of the data at any point in time  That allows us to build (or re-build) dependent data marts whenever we need or whenever the business changes the rules.

So it is possible to do a Data Vault approach and be compliant with Oracle’s reference architecture.

Guess Dan was just a bit ahead of the game…

Later

Kent

Posted in Data Modeling, Data Vault, Data Warehouse, Oracle and tagged , , , , , , ,
04 Mar 2013
3 Comments

How to Use Informatica to Build a Data Vault

Yes, its true – you will soon be able to get online training on how to build a Data Vault data warehouse using Informatica.

Dan Linstedt has been working hard for several months now to put together some top notch training for all you who use Informatica.

Dan will teach you all his best practices for getting the job done quickly using Informatica for your ETL tool.

If you want in, it’s not too late to get on the VIP early notification (which entitle you some discounts). Get in on the list here.

Here are a few common questions that Dan recently answered:

Q. What are the pre-requisties?
A. You must know Informatica PowerCenter and Data Vault modeling basics. The training works with Informatica PowerCenter v8.x and v9.x, but the mappings will only import to version 9.x or higher.

Q. Do I need access to an Informatica installation?
A. You will, if you want to do any of the hands on portions. We can’t help you with this. They used to provide a limited developer edition with a devnet membership, but that seems to have been discontinued.

Q. Will I learn Informatica PowerCenter?
A. No! This course assumes, you have at least 3 months experience in Informatica and know the difference between mapping, session and workflow objects. If you’ve never worked with Informatica tools, then we recommend that you DO NOT invest in it.

Q. Do I need to know Data Vault Modeling?
A. Yes, and the knowledge in the book “Super Charge your Data Warehouse” is sufficient for the course. It’s better if you have  more hands on experience though.

Q. Would it benefit me if I’ve gone through  the Data Vault Implementation and Best Practices course?
A. Yes.

Want to know more? Check out this video that has more details about the class and what it covers.

That’s it for now.

Later.

Kent

Posted in Data Vault, Data Warehouse and tagged , , , , , ,
12 Feb 2013
1 Comment

RMOUG Training Days 2013 – Day 1

Unlike many conferences, today started off not with the keynote but with an actual session (probably some advanced psychology at work here). 🙂

I started off with John King’s session on Oracle 11g features that developers should know about. (He was going to talk about 12c but since it has not been released yet, he could not speak about it)

John King giving Session 1 at RMOUG 2013

John King giving Session 1 at RMOUG 2013

John is a great speaker and gave us some very detailed information.

One very interesting piece to me, as a data modeler and data warehouse designer, was the addition of Virtual Columns. With this you can declare a virtual, calculated/derived column to be part of a table definition. With this you can define a calculation once and have it appear when querying the table without actually physically adding a column to the table. Looks promising.

John told us about lots of new things like Pivot, Unpivot, Results Cache, PL/SQL Results cache and Nth Value functions. Some of them are shown in the following pictures.

SQL PIVOT Example

SQL PIVOT Example

Example of UNPIVOT

Example of UNPIVOT

Another cool SQL Function: Nth Value

Another cool SQL Function: Nth Value

All neat options I did not really know about.

Next up was the keynote speech by Mogens Norgaard from Denmark. Mogens is an ACE Director, CEO of his own consulting firm, and a brew master. Interesting guy.

He showed up in his bathrobe to talk to us all about how the smartphone is taking over  the world and all the cool apps you could build (and some he has built).

Mogens Norgaard in his keynote best.

Mogens Norgaard in his keynote best.

Next was my turn – my first session of the conference – 5 Ways to Make Data Modeling Fun (based on a blog post).

I was pleasantly surprised that I had 40-50 people attend and most stayed for the whole talk. It was a good, interactive session. My good buddy Jon Arnold assisted me in administering some of the activities. It was great fun getting the attendees to actually collaborate on activities during a session.

Great participant collaboration during my talk

Great participant collaboration during my talk

As promised, I did give out prizes for some of the activities (all branded Data Warrior LLC stuff).

Next was the ACE Director networking lunch where they put our names on tables so people could sit with us to ask questions (if they wanted too).

Networking Lunch

Networking Lunch

After lunch we some vendor sessions (which I skipped) and several panel discussions. These included the Women in Technology Panel and an Oracle Career Roundtable.

Women in Technology Panel

Women in Technology Panel

Oracle Careers Roundtable

Oracle Careers Roundtable

Anyone notice that the Women in Tech had one male on the panel but the Oracle Career panel had no women? Just sayin’ folks…

Next I sat in for part of a session on Oralce TimesTem database for real-time BI. It turned out to be the same stuff I heard at Oracle Open World so I did not stay.

Last for my day at RMOUG was my joint session with Stewart Bryson on Data Vault and OBIEE. Unfortunately due to the late slot (5:15 PM) we had a very low turn out. 😦 But is was a good session as I discovered all the things Stewart learned trying to use the data vault model for virtualizing the data mart layer (in OBIEE). It was all very good and reinforced my belief that Data Vault is a great way to model an EDW and that non-data vault people could understand it and apply it to dimensional modeling (or that Stewart is really exceptional).

Adios for now.

Kent

P.S. Forgot to mention again that I will be conducting another morning Chi Gung class at & AM above the registration area. Please join!

Posted in Data Modeling, Data Vault, Data Warehouse, ODTUG, Oracle, User Groups and tagged , , , , , ,
05 Feb 2013

Rocky Mountain High and Some Chi Gung

Are you ready?

Are you coming?

The annual Rocky Mountain Oracle Users Group Training Days kicks off next Monday, February 11 at the Denver Convention Center. I can hardly wait! I love the beautiful surroundings and vibe of Denver and the mountains. It is a great place to hang out, relax, and sharpen your skills.

I will be there attending sessions, networking with some old friends, and doing three presentations. Here they are:

Five Ways to Make Data Modeling Fun Tuesday, 11:15 – 12:15

Using OBIEE and Data Vault to Virtualize Your BI Environment: An Agile Approach Tuesday, 5:15 – 6:15 PM

Top 10 Cool Features in Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler Wednesday 2:45 – 3:45 PM

In addition to these officially scheduled sessions, I will be conducting  Morning Chi Gung sessions at 7 Am both Tuesday and Wednesday morning for those interested. Not sure yet where we will gather for this but probably in the Convention Center somewhere. (Keep an eye on my twitter stream @KentGraziano for details once I am on site next Monday).

The Chi Gung sessions are staring to be a traditon with me at various Oracle user events, so please come and join our growing tribe. If you are not sure what Chi Gung is, check out my post from last summer for a video introduction. For those of us coming from lower altitude, these morning sessions should help us adjust a little easier. Since the air is a bit thinner in Denver, learning to breathe deeply will be a useful skill. 🙂

If you are signed up and planning to attend, I look forward to meeting up with you. If not, get signed up soon and get yourself to Denver to enjoy a little Rocky Mountain high with 1,000 of the brightest Oracle minds in the world.

See ya!

Kent

 

Posted in Chi Gung, Data Modeling, Data Vault, Oracle, SQL Developer Data Modeler, User Groups and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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