performance PFA views

[John WgM]

Hi,

I have a question concerning views in the Portfolio Analyzer and its
performance. We defined several views in the pfa and they are working fine.
But, when we add enterprise outline codes as a row in the view, then the
performance of the view drops dramatically.

I was wondering if this is a known issue and more important; is there a way
to prevent this?

We are working in a project server (project server 2003 sp2) environment,
with 2000 projects in the database and 20 enterprise outline codes in use.

Thanx in advance...

John WageMaker

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

John:

When you move a dimension into the view, the system has to call all the data
totals for the fact fields along the dimension. This can take a while if
you've got lots of fact table data, which you do, and large dimensions. I
can't comment on the size and depth of your dimensions. For best performance
you should make sure that you have the latest Windows Service Packs as well
as the latest SQL service packs.

 

[John WgM]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your reply. We have quite a number of outline codes and for some
the size and depth is quite big. We are using the latest SP for Project
Server 2003, but our servers themselves are (still) running on Windows 2000.
A few weeks ago I read an article saying that the performance of the PFA is
much better on Windows Server 2003. Do you know If that is really true? If
so, then It might be an option for us to migrate to 2003.

Best regards,

John Wagemaker

 

[Gary L. Chefetz [MVP]]

John:

It's really true. Windows Server 2003 is much faster.

 

[John WgM]

Hi Gary,

Thanks. We'll try to start the migration as soon as possible.

 

[Jan M.]

John

I've once had that performance drop during a meeting with directors where we
were suppose to do a live resource analysis. I hope it was not your case!

After that moment of "glory", I made a lot of simulations to improve the
performance of my views. Here are some observations I made that could prove
useful:

1) If possible, try not to mix "Resources" and "Projects" dimensions in the
same view. In my case, performance improved when I removed one of these two
from the view.

2) If you have filters applied, remove filters before adding or moving
dimensions around (especially if you are making more than one change). After
you are satisfied with your changes, then you reapply the filters. It may
take some time to refresh the page when you apply the filters, but it should
be easier to make your changes without filters (it worked for me ...) To
quickly remove and apply your filters, click on the "Automatic filters" on
the pivot table toolbar.

Hope this helps.

Jan M.

 

[John WgM]

Hi Jan,

Nice to hear from you again.... Still going strong on MS EPM or have you
moved to other projects?
We tried your suggestions. Our problem is that users of the cube apply
filters to only see their relevant project information. When developing the
views it helps to remove the filters. But, when using them the performance
drops again when using the filter.

John WgM