Building a Data Warehouse

Building a data warehouse involves deciding:

• Where it should go.
• What technology to use.
• How it will be filled.

The questions a warehouse developer must answer:

• Are current technologies OK for the warehouse?
• Do we require new technologies?
• In particular - could the warehouse occupy an existing database?

A data warehouse is normally developed separately in a database of its own for the following reasons:

• Varied nature of source systems
• Conflict between application oriented operational systems and the subject oriented requirement of a DSS
• Operational systems do not hold historical data. Response time would be impaired.
• Modifying existing systems would have a severe disruptive effect on operations that need the system.

Relational databases are popular for data warehouses. There are numerous components used in a data warehouse. One of these involves getting data out of an existing data source - the extraction component.

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Stuart Banner