Last post of a serie about Auditing Vanilla Requests, using Hypervision to analyse FreeMetadata requests and Mdx Requests sent to UnitedOlap engine (by the way, I will post later on Vanilla Platform process Audit)

After connecting to your Vanilla server with Hypervision, you have the following interface where you have specific PlugIn to analyse your performance

Hypervision interface

Running the FreeMetadata Requests Analysis (item 1) will display this interface – with a filter on date to reduce the number of entries – where you can view the convert sql statment issued against the database (understanding the document is based on a Metadata datasource).

You can even detect some errors in the generated sql statment : this can occurs when you burst a report with groups that are not allowed on the document, when you have an issue in your filter strategy (you forget to set a where clause) or if your database has changed and a column is not available anymore). For each item, you can view which group ran the request and how much times it took to get the result from database.

FreeMetadata Requests Analysis

The second interface (item 2 from main Hypervision interface) is about UnitedOlap requests performance. A simple screenshot is worth than thousand words : you can select your cube, and from the cube you can view the most popular requests and see the response time evolution (outside cache strategy)

UnitedOlap Requests Analysis

Running analysis makes sense only if you can manage the potential issues. Using the Vanilla Admin interface, Bi developer and Admin person can enhance the Metadata document to improve sql statment, modify some join path with additional aggregate tables or even play with the cache manager to pre-cache the most popular dataset or datagrid.

Vanilla Analysis features is a must, look around in your commercial experience … and think about a move to Vanilla, its time now !

Have Fun !

Patrick

Even it’s not yet visible to forever blind people (turned blind after beeing slamed by marketing noise !), and even if the Vanilla project still suffer from the low investment of its promoter in the media (dont forget we want to keep Vanilla Open Source, which means we are not willing to follow the us marketing companies in terms of marketing campaign!), Vanilla v4 is a true real success.

Number of download is above our expectation (more than 350 downloads in 2 weeks, including more than 95 full server & designers download) and message sent by developer are really nice.

Number of declared bugs is really minimum : as date of this writting, we fixed a Java7 Vanilla version, and all other declared bugs are cosmetics enhancement. There was also some issues in relation with database type for repository (example with postgresql, to manage external Url), which has been fixed at database level. As we have improved our internal methods to delivere version 4 (compare to version 3), we are really happy with the result, and we believe we have found methods and people to apply our strategy in term of version management.

Deployment of version 4 has started for some of our customers, under control of our integration team. New partners have joined us, and important to notice is the size of the partner : new large system integration have adopted Vanilla, not specialised in Open Source or Bi, but simply looking for a ready-to-use Bi platform to use in request for proposal (Trend, Bid … name can change).

Future is bright for Vanilla, don’t miss the move to the Only True Open Source Bi Platform

Have Fun !

Patrick

Something usefull with Vanilla v4 is the possibility to manage weight for requests, and prevent the request to be issued against the database - based on predefined rules – if the weight exceed the predefined limit.

What is the interest ?

Using FreeWebReport, user are able to build complex report that contain crosstab elements and various grouping strategy. Some user need “assistance” when it comes to build complex reports, and sometimes, putting too many element in a report is not effecient. Purpose is to stop the request a user may raise before it goes to the database if Bi admin think the request is too heavy (simple example : too many tables in the sql statment).

How does it works ?

Each table in the Metadata document is set with a predefined weight. We all understand its not a database admin feature, but more a datawarehouse features : tables have different behaviour – fact tables, dimension tables, aggregate table – different number of records and different index strategy. – Using Enterprise Services, each group of the Vanilla Group Table is set with a global limit. – When a user run a request, the Vanilla platform calculate the sum of weight for all the tables included in the requests. If the sum is superior to the limit set to the group, the request is stopped and a message raised in the interface.

FreeMetadata – Setting Weight for Tables

Enterprise Services – Setting limit for Groups

This feature is very flexible, and allow you to set a strategy outside of the database landscape. This can be an explanation, as we will see in next post in another audit & control interface, why a request can’t run for a specific group

Have Fun !

Patrick

Something interesting with a Bi platform is the presence of audit function to analysis the query issued through the platform (to any kind of destination, such as sql database, olap database …). This post is the first of a serie talking about Audit, Performancance Audit & Platform Management.

With Vanilla, using Enterprise Services (an Open Source … thanks to the French Government initiative !), you can easilly control the different requests issued – per report & per group of user – using the Audit Perspective. Usage is so easy : you select one or more reports from the repository treeview – zone 1 - and drag & drop those reports in zone 2. Then, you select the groups for which you want to audit the different request statment – in zone 3.

Zone 4 of the image is the result : you can easilly view for a specific report the differents statments per groups, then control your security policy, detect a mistake in your Metadata join strategy, or even seea “no statment issued” if the group is not allowed to issue the request that built the report.

Enterprise Services – Audit Perspective

As usual, we focus on making the life easier to Bi developer and Bi Admin, by providing tools that reduce the development, validation & production cycle

Have Fun !

Patrick

Over the last few days, I gave some Vanilla presentation to potential customers and potential system integrators. Its always nice to receive real-time feedback … especially when the feed-back is good, and that’s the situation after Vanilla presentation.

Based on their previous professional experience with commercial products, attendees focus more on the Bi area (if they have experience with commercial product, they always like FreeMetadata, and our Designer (Reporting, Olap, Dashboard, Kpi) have also great recognition), on Etl area (they like the integration with the Bi side and with our workflow, the clean usable interface (not an old fashion Ide interface), on workflow area (they like again the integration with the Bi side, integration of Bi resources, support for different forms engine and visual deployment of Workflow) and even on document management area (indexation of Vanilla reports with access to an integrated search engine is a must !) … everyone with an experience of a commercial product find himself immediatly confident with Vanilla modules, its really a great message and great indication for the Vanilla Team : we meet our public !

In parallel, some new Vanilla Fans coming from different countries (Brazil, Chili, Irland, Poland, France, India, Philippines) can witness the quality of our support, when it comes to show that we are ready to help starting with Vanilla version 4 (along with solving some issues like Java 7 support). On my side, I was also surprised with the origin – countries – of the requests : it’s coming from all over the world …

Those who still confuse Open Source & Free, joined by those who confuse the natural motivation from Bpm-Conseil to help on first demands, may disagree with this … well, every game has a limited time, and we all need the same rules, right ? pre-sale is not support without limit, I’m not shy to claim we are in Open Source area, I’m not shy we are also doing business, to invest on further development and to maintain a support team.

Have Fun !

Patrick

Those who already read my previous posts know already I dont take attention to commercial & marketing “analyst firm”, like the “.G” company (at least, without telling about the whole company activity, I focus on the Bi marketing hero who run analysis by sending survey to editors … those editors are filling the answers themself … Great Summer student Job). This has led to “analyst results” completly out of the reality (you can just read some comment about their first Open Source study, and the same ‘study’ one year after !!!)… who take benefit of this ?

As opposed to .G, I will mention Forrester … because we had clear exchanges with the Bi Analyst. He did a great job, and is open to discussion. Our view of the situation may be different, because we have different position and are running different objectives, but at least, communication is “On”.

You may have heard France has just lost its AAA rating (1 Analysts firm only … which lead to more confusion) … well … who are the person who issue rate ? What do they know of France ? Our way of life, social security, retirement funds, security, safety hospital & good education … we are building our next generation of winner, in peace. We dont have to focus on those US notation for our long term situation … even if this event will have direct impact on some financial subject.

Funny to notice that now France is AA+ … 2 ‘A”, same number of “A” you can find in vAnillA … looking at the spelling of our Us competitor, I’m now a little worried about the evolution of the US rating ! … Analyst : I just offered you a new way of rating, which is at least an open and official method to rate … because your internal methods are too dark, we dont understand how you rate now, considering how we manage the current situation (I’m pretty certain readers from Canada will like my method, I just apologize for my Belgium friends)

Have Fun !

Patrick

Even with a crash from our hoster yesterday, we are “on time” for version 4 (hardware versus software … ever-lasting dispute !).

Bpm-Conseil, the company behind the Vanilla project has made available Win/Linux/Mac version today. You can access it from Bpm-Conseil Web Site.

Most of new subjects have been addressed in previous posts … its time now to move to Vanilla Version 4

Have Fun !

Patrick

Smooth launch … all under control … upload of version are ok, new Web site is soon published … What else ? : First customer with Vanilla v4 deployed TODAY … and everybody is relax, happy … proud of Version 4 ! What will you find tomorrow ? New features for Version 4 include :

• Architecture evolutions, more Service oriented and based on Osgi
• UnitedOlap, the first true Open Source Olap Server
• Vanilla Viewer, a viewer able to run any kind of Bi documents, such as reports, dashboards, cubes or even Etl transformations
• FreeWebReport, Wysiwyg edition : Web interface to create Reports using secured Metadata documents
• BiPortal, Web 2.0 collaborative portal to manage user access to documents and provide collaborative functions 
• Wms support, to deploy KPIs on any Wms compliant geo server 
• Update of Vanilla Apps, with a new edition of Hypervision, our cluster manager, and more than 15 packages ready to deploy using Vanilla Place

Tomorrow, friday 13th … a nice day for Vanilla … a nice day for Open Source also, because we are still there, competing now with major commercial platforms. Just a little sad that some other “said Open Source” are no more Open source, still old-fashion and out of features … which give a bad focus for Open Source Bi. I personally wish some of those actors will go soon out of business, to clarify what is Open Source and what is not …

I read some weeks before a note about French IT Manager, now pushing Open Source in general and claiming IT Manager have to justify now if they go for commercial products. Soon, I hope it will be same situation for the Bi area … why you still invest in commercial Bi platform ? … I know there are many justification … but relax, take a long breath and try to put any old justification in front of the reality …. and review your position now with Vanilla v4

Have Fun !

Patrick

Its an evidence FreeMetadata is a must  in Open Source area ! Just ask JasperSoft … they dont have any document like that (how do you secure your dataset again : ok, I need to insert sql into a table … wow !) … Just ask Pentaho … ok, they have one … but who is using it … with which designer ? Again, I’m not talking about the Italian Slide xxx … because even the slide are crashing !!!!!!!!!

Its an evidence since 2008, we didn’t pushed enough FreeMetadata, because …. its running well ! Package is available since the first version of Vanilla and has proven to be robust, bug free, and completly Open Source (yes, its possible !)

Let’s be serious : FreeMetadata compete with major commercial products : integration with Dashboard, Olap Designer, Reporting (java & Web), Kpi Designer and even BiGateWay (Etl) … we provide security for groups, at row level, and at column level (column suppression and hide of content). Just walk through the different methods, with 2 groups : Default & Designer. Below, we show the result inside FreeMetadata – Designer Preview … in all the other designers, you just get the same resultset (yes, its ok with Birt … no, its not possible with IReport, simply because the IReport Eclipse development is just a marketing announcement !)

Group “Default” has a filter on “France”, and can’t see the “name” column

Filter definition on dateset

Very easy to definer simple or complex filter for a group … just imagine what you can use !

Column Management : we remove access for the group

Result

you dont have the column available for selection, and data are automitically filtered on ‘France’ 

Group “Designer” has no filter, and content of column “name” is dynamically hidden (we can call it “anonymisation”)

Column Management : we hide column content for the group

Result

We can see the column … but not its content !

What’s the interest to hide the content ? Just suppose you need to hire an external consultant to build report on sensitive data (yes, it happen in bank, financial department, police & military department, telco ….) and you dont want this consultant to read the value. This person need access to the colum to build the report, but you need to hide the column content …. just imagine how much you can save, because until now, you need to anonymise your database …. its a heavy job …

Have Fun !

Patrick

With version 4, we will also make first access to Vanilla more easy. We still delivere the Open Source production version (MySql & PostGreSql), available since the origin, along with the h2 version. In past version, the h2 version had some limitation (no demo for cube, or limited number of report). With Vanilla version 4, h2 version has the same features & samples than version mysql and postgresql.

Using h2 version, you can run a Vanilla server along with all the development studio, without any additional installation (such as creation of the Mysql catalog). Those “sql” version can be view as “stand alone installation”, and only require a java JDK 1.6 (we dont embed it in the h2, simply because most of you have a JDK 1.6 on your workstation, to make the bundle lighter). In addition to those version, we provide 2 additional bundle :

- a VirtualBox version : its so easy to run Virtual Box image (just the download may be a little long, but you run it over night !). Its a Debian/PostGreSql platform, running Vanilla v4. Only the server (you need to download the development studios in parallel). With this VirtualBox bundle, without any additional installation, you have a full Vanilla platform already configured. The only thing you need is a machine to run your virtual box.

2 instances of VirtualBox (Vanilla3.4/Mysql,Vanilla4/PostGreSql) running on my laptop

- An Amazon Machine Image : if you have no server available, but you have a credit card, you can subscribe to Amazon EC2 cloud offer and run a Vanilla instance within a second. Its the perfect method to test Vanilla features and discovere the beauty of Vanilla, with any local installation (still you need to download the studio if you want to develop, and also connect your database).

Also, we have installed a Vanilla server on the cloud, for those who don’t want to pay Amazon instance … but for some good reasons, we open this instance to only identified contacts …

H2 version, VirtualBox and our own cloud instance will be available this coming friday, 13th january. For the Amazon AMI, we just need a couple of days to configure and load the image. We hope those new bundle will make the first Vanilla usage more easy for new adopters

Have Fun !

Patrick