ETL refers to the methods
involved in accessing and manipulating
source data and loading it into target
database. During the ETL process, more often,
data is extracted from an OLTP database, transformed to match the data warehouse schema, and loaded into the data warehouse
database.
(Extract, Transform, Load)
–
 |
| ETL Process |
EXTRACTION :
- Data Capturing: The ETL extraction
element is responsible for extracting data from the source system. During
extraction, data may be removed from the source system or a copy made and the
original data retained in the source system.
 |
| Data Capturing |
- Data Transmission: Legacy systems may
require too much effort to implement such offload processes, so legacy data is
often copied into the data warehouse, leaving the original data in place.
Extracted data is loaded into the data warehouse staging area (a relational
database usually separate from the data warehouse database), for manipulation
by the remaining ETL processes.
 |
| Data Transmission |
- Data extraction is
generally performed within the source system itself.
- Data extraction
processes can be implemented using Transact-SQL stored procedures, Data
Transformation Services (DTS) tasks, or custom applications developed in
programming or scripting languages.
Transformation:
The ETL
transformation element is responsible for data validation, data accuracy, data
type conversion, and business rule application. An ETL system that uses inline
transformations during extraction is less robust and flexible than one that
confines transformations to the reformatting element. Transformations performed
in the OLTP system impose a performance burden on the OLTP database.
- Data Validation: Check that all rows in the
fact table match rows in dimension tables to enforce data integrity.
- DataAccuracy : Ensure that fields contain
appropriate values, such as only "off" or "on" in a status
field.
- Data Type Conversion : Ensure that all values for
a specified field are stored the same way in the data warehouse regardless of
how they were stored in the source system. For example, if one source system
stores "off" or "on" in its status field and another source
system stores "0" or "1" in its status field, then a data
type conversion transformation converts the content of one or both of the
fields to a specified common value such as "off" or "on".
 |
| Transformation |
- Business Rule Application: Ensure that the rules of
the business are enforced on the data stored in the warehouse. For example,
check that all customer records contain values for both FirstName and LastName
fields.
Loading :
- The ETL loading element is responsible for loading transformed data into the data warehouse database.
- Data warehouses are usually updated periodically rather than continuously, and large numbers of records are often loaded to multiple tables in a single data load.
- The data warehouse is often taken offline during update operations so that data can be loaded faster and SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services can update OLAP cubes to incorporate the new data. BULK INSERT, bcp, and the Bulk Copy API are the best tools for data loading operations.
- The design of the loading element should focus on efficiency and performance to minimize the data warehouse offline time.
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