Cognos Analytics 12 Interview Questions

Q. What is a Sparse Cube?

A cube in which number of populated cells as a percentage of total cells is too low

Q. What is the use of advanced windows in Turbo Integrator?

Using the Advanced window you can create your own custom scripts.

Q. What are the data sources available with TI?

• Comma delimited text files including ASCII files
• Relational databases using ODBC Connectivity
• Other Cubes and Views
• Microsoft Analysis Services
• SAP via RFC
• IBM Cognos Packages

Q. Where is Portlet used?

Portlets are used in Cognos.

Q. What are the basic features of Cognos TM1?

• Real-time, interactive multidimensional database also with write-back functionality.
• 64-bit, in memory OLAP server capable of concentrating huge volumes of data.
• Enterprise level planning and analysis capabilities.
• Guided modeling environment to facilitate planning, analysis and forecasting.
• Rapid development of flexible models, including profitability models, without batch processing.
• Integrates with IBM Cognos Business Intelligence, to establish a single view of performance.

Q. How do you use TM1 cubes in Framework Manager?

TM1 v10.1 has the interoperability function configured to allow packages to be published from TM1.

Q. How to run Turbo Integrator Process from Command Line?

To initiate the TI process TM1RunTI is a command line interface tool.

Q. Define Data Tab?

Series of statements that manipulates values for each record in data source.

Q. What are sub-tabs in advance tab of TI?

• Prolog
• Metadata
• Data
• Epilog

Q. What is the logic of Sparsity in cubes?

On average, the more dimensions a cube has, the greater the degree of sparsity.

Q. What is Under Feeding?

Failing to feed cells that contain rules-derived values. This always results in incorrect values and must be avoided at all costs.

Q. How does SKIPCHECK help TM1?

SKIPCHECK forces TM1 to use the Sparse Consolidation algorithm in all cases.

Q. What are FEEDERS?

It creates a placeholder on cells so that cells will not be skipped during the consolidation

Q. What is FEEDSTRING?

• If the rule defines string values for any cells, then FEEDSTRINGS must be inserted as the first line of rule.
• FEEDSTRINGS declaration ensures that cells containing rules-derived strings are fed.
• Every calculation statement in a rule should have a corresponding feeder statement.

Q. What are simple FEEDERS?

FEEDERS that are applied to calculation within one dimension of one cube.

Q. Define TM1 package connector?

TM1 package connector helps to import data from packages/dimensions and custom queries.

Q. What is Epilog Tab?

Series of statements that is to be executed after the data source is processed.

Q. Name the function which is used to serialize the TI process?

Synchronized () function can be used to serialize TI processes so they can be processed sequentially.

Q. What are the functions required to be called for enabling or disabling the bulk load of mode?

EnableBulkLoad Mode() = Enable
Disable Bulk Load Mode() = Disable.

Q. What is the limit of string length in Turbo Integrator?

The limit of string length in Turbo Integrator is 8000 single byte character. If the length will become more than 8000 bytes then it gets truncated.

Q. How Many Numbers Of Cubes Can We Create On A Single Model? How Can We Navigate Between Those Cubes?

Using a single Model, we can create as many numbers of cubes u want. By using the dimension views…etc. Regarding the navigation, when we save cubes, these act as separator multidimensional databases. There won’t is any relations. Navigate means opening the cubes separately.

Q. What Are The Limitations Of the Cognos Report?

• In CRN we can’t view multi-dimensionally,
• we cant’ see a report in excel,
• we can’t format a report in CRN

Report net does not support drill through and also bursting of reports is no possible in report net. Also, it does not support dimensional analysis.

Q. What Is Loop In Framework Manager?

Loop is a very dangerous exception in framework manager we can resolve the loop create alias table. loop Display wrong results in the reported net. A Loop is a Closed Path Circuit.

Avoid loops: using shortcuts. We have ambiguous relationship types: Hierarchical relationships Recursive relationships Multi-valid relationships. To avoid these relationships using shortcuts.

Q. What are the materialized views?
Answer: A view that is physically stored in a database. Materialized views allow query performance to be enhanced by pre calculating costly operations.

Q. What is the folder?
Folder contains repository objects such as sources, targets, mappings, a transformation that helps logically organize our data warehouse.

Q. What is the pivot?
The pivot (or rotate) operation rotates the axes of a cube to provide an alternative presentation of the data.

Q. What is the Cognos Reporting tool?
Cognos is a reporting tool from IBM which helps in reporting and analysis of various data from a data warehouse.

Q. What is the metrics designer?
Metrics Designer is a development tool used to model and deploy scorecards and related data loading procedures.

Q. Define data mining?
A data mining dimension provides support for dimensions that result from data mining models.

Q. What Are Slowly Changing Dimensions? Why We Are Used Scd?

Slowly Changing Dimensions are those whose data are not fixed.

SCD types:

• SCD type 1: Whose data is not fixed.
  Historical data are not saved. Data keeps on changing.-> Current Data
• SCD type 2: Whose data is fixed and also save historical data.
• SCD type 3: Like SCD type 2 only but save historical data in another table. In one table data will update and in another table, historical data will be there.

Q. What is Cognos 8 BI?
Cognos 8BI is a powerful suite of products that focuses on transforming raw data into powerful information for business decisions. Cognos 8 BI can be used across all levels in an organization, from users looking for pre-defined reports to analysts with complex data requirements.

Q. What is the package folders?
This folder is similar to a Standard Folder, but internally it contains pre-defined business rules and metadata related to sources of information. It is used by the Studios to create new queries, reports, analyses, etc. A dark blue icon specifics Package folders.

Q. What is the metrics studio?
Metrics Studio is a powerful scorecard tool that allows for the creation and monitoring of goals through an organization.

Q. What are the types of the studio?
There are five types of the studio are:

• Query Studio
• Metrics Studio
• Analysis Studio
• Report Studio
• Event Studio

Q. What is meant by drill through?
The drill–through operation allows one to move from data at the bottom level in a cube to data in the operational systems from which the cube was derived.
Drill-through allows the user to navigate from summarized information to detailed information.
For example Year Data item. The year contains Quarter Quarter contains Month Month contains weeks and so on.

Q. What are the dimensions?
Dimensions define the structure of a cube. A dimension must have at least one key attribute and other attributes that may define hierarchies.

Q. What are the types of framework manager?

There are two types of framework manager are:

• Presentation layer
• Physical layer

Q. What is schema?

A schema is composed of a set of dimensions and a set of fact relationships.
A schema is a collection of database objects which includes tables, views, procedures, synonyms, etc.

Schema is the user’s object. It can be a table, view, synonym, etc.,

Q. What are the packages?
The package is a subset of query subjects defined in a project. packages are published to report authors and query users. the package is stored in the content store.

The package is a collection of all objects like namespaces, related query subjects with query items. Which is published to Cognos connection on top of it BI Author can prepare the reports.

Q. What is Cubes?
A cube consists of a set of ordered dimensions and measures. A cube may have one or several dimensions.

Cube is an N-dimensional array entity. It is mainly used for Adhoc reporting. We can also build report studio reports from Cube using MDX functions.

Q. What is the query items?
Query items are mainly used in Reporting and for BI Authors it is the most essential object from the framework manager. These have a lot of properties associated with them and are present in query subjects. Query items are similar to subsets of query subjects.

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