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IFS Analysis Models - Installation Checklist

This page provides an installation check list related to the IFS Analysis Models.

Note: The list is intended as a help when planning and performing the installation.

Note: The grouping of tasks into suggested roles is only an example, a possible scenario. One person could have several roles.

The abbreviation AM used on this page refers to IFS Analysis Models.

Step/Task Comments Suggested Role
Check SQL Server Sizing Info It is important to figure out the number of possible AM users in the installation and from that derive the necessary hardware in order to get a functional end-user environment. Technical Manager
Check 3rd Party Tool Licensing Make sure to lookup and consider 3rd party licensing for SQL Server. Technical Manager
Check Software Prerequisites In order to use the functionality delivered by IFS Analysis Models it is necessary to use supported software, like e.g. Windows Operating System, SQL Server version etc.  Read more about prerequisites. Technical Manager
Installation/Upgrade of Microsoft Software Install necessary software and/or update to supported Service Pack/Patch level. Systems Engineer
Security - IFS Cloud For a successful transfer of data from IFS Cloud to the database in SQL Server it is necessary to mange business related row level security. Read more about security related subjects. IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA
Language - IFS Cloud It is important to understand language handling and translations before extracting data from IFS Cloud to the the database in SQL Server. Read more about language and translations. IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA
Setup Basic Data in IFS Cloud It is required to set up some basic data in IFS Cloud to make sure that data is properly loaded to the database in SQL Server.
Note: Some basic data configurations are mandatory.

Read more about hoe to setup basic data in IFS Cloud.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA
Handling Information Sources that support Incremental Data Mart Load All Information Sources in IFS Cloud support online data access and this is also the preferred access type for a data load. However, some of the used Information Sources support incremental load of the internal IFS Cloud data mart.The Fact parts of these Information Sources will,in the data mart, be represented by ordinary tables that are updated via an incremental framework.
It is important to make sure that these Facts are setup in IFS Cloud to be refreshed on a regular basis before loading the information to the target database in SQL Server.
Please refer to the Configuration of Incremental Data Mart Load document but also to the general technical documentation for IFS Cloud for more information.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA
Create Access Views The transfer of information from IFS Cloud to database in SQL Server is dependent on so called Access Views. Make sure to generate the necessary Access Views before deploying DW objects and performing a data load.
Read more about how to create Access Views.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA
Define Target Servers and Accounts Setup of target SQL Server environment for IFS Analysis Models is important, making sure to decide on target servers (one or many), versions of SQL Server and also accounts to be used. Please go through the Setup Environment Assistant documentation for more details. Systems Engineer
Create IFS Analysis Models Environment Use the Setup Environment Assistant to create an environment hosting IFS Analysis Models DW and ETL Process. More information can be found in the Environment Setup documentation. Systems Engineer
Deploy DW Once the environment and necessary Access Views are in place, deployment of DW objects in the SQL Server database can be made.
The preferred way is to use the Tabular Model Setup assistant.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA + Systems Engineer
Deploy Models Once the DW objects related to a one or more Tabular Models have been deployed, the Tabular Model(s) need to be deployed to the target SSAS server.
The preferred way is to use the Tabular Model Setup assistant.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA + Systems Engineer
Data Configuration The data load process requires data configurations to be made, limiting the transferred data in some areas with the purpose to make the models useful for the end users.
Read more about load configurations.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA + Systems Engineer/td>
Plan Initial Load Loading the target database is a challenge. Dimensions can more or less without any problems be extracted fully, i.e. all records are transferred in each Dimension. There can be a few exceptions though, e.g. time related data. For Facts the situation is different. Facts relates to transactions and the referenced source tables might contain millions of rows. Extracting information from Facts is also in general rather time consuming, thus it is important to plan the first initial load.
The following strategies can be used:
  1. Load the facts fully
  2. Load the facts conditionally in one step, e.g. by reducing the transactions by adding a suitable column like year, making sure that only the last 2-3 years are extracted.
  3. Load the facts conditionally but in steps. One example is when the data spans over a set of years e.g. 2019-2021. A conditional load can then be done in three steps; first for year 2021, then for year 2020 and finally for year 2019.

It is important to plan how to do the initial load. It might even be necessary to first do test loads in a test installation to get an better overall idea.

Read more about how to configure a data load definition.
IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA + Systems Engineer
Setup and configure Data Load Options The initial load might require specific configuration parameters. Please refer to the Data Load Definition and Volume Configuration documentation. Systems Engineer
Perform Initial Load of DW The initial load to the target database can be handled either as a manually defined Data Load Definition or by a general Data Load Definition that is later re-configured. Keep in mind that all referenced entities, dimensions/facts, supporting incremental load must be initially loaded in IFS Cloud and then a schedule should be set up to keep the incremental specific snapshot tables up-to-date in IFS Cloud before starting the initial transfer to the database in SQL Server.
Read more about how to Handle Incremental Data Mart Load in IFS Cloud.
Systems Engineer
Check Data Load Always make sure that Data Load Runs have executed with success. Error details can be viewed in provided Logs. Systems Engineer
Setup Load Job Schedule When the ordinary data load is verified to work properly, it is suggested to set up a schedule that will run the data load via a scheduled task. Please refer to Scheduled Execution in the section about Data Load Definition and Volume Configuration. Systems Engineer
Check Tabular Models Once the data load transfer of required sources have been successfully executed, the Tabular Models needs to be processed. Processing can be done manually via the Tabular Model(s) page or as a scheduled job. Once the models are successfully processed, they should be tested. Open the models either in Excel or in Power BI Desktop by creating a connection to Analysis Services and choose the model to be tested. IFS Cloud Consultant / BSA