• Article

Before you start (Monitoring Server)

Updated: 2009-04-30

Designing a topology should begin at the back end and move towards the front end. Define the number of users. Define the number of applications. Then determine the number of databases and cubes needed. Then build the topology plan from back end to front end.

Monitoring Server

Before you install Monitoring Server and build a dashboard, you should first plan your development process.

Begin by defining performance management goals. Decide if you want to build one dashboard or a set of dashboards. Define the scorecard and any related key performance indicators (KPIs) that you require to build those scorecards, and determine whether those scorecards will share a set of common KPIs. Design any reports that contribute to the information provided in the scorecard or that might help in understanding the KPIs.

Next steps include:

  • **Identify contributors and users   **In particular, identify the contributors who will participate in dashboard development.

  • **Identify information technology resources   **Locate existing databases and documents that can provide business data for KPIs, and determine whether existing SQL Server or Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies installations can be used. Determine if you require new databases in order to develop and deploy dashboards.

The business intelligence technology stack

The following diagram illustrates how PerformancePoint Server integrates with other Microsoft products within the business intelligence technology stack.

Current Microsoft BI technology stack

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This diagram is an excerpt from The Rational Guide to Monitoring and Analyzing with Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, by Nick Barclay and Adrian Downes, and is property of Mann Publishing Group (978-1-932577-41-9), copyright November 2007, all rights reserved. No part of this diagram may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, electrostatic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

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This topic is included in the following downloadable book for easier reading and printing:

See the full list of available books at Downloadable content for PerformancePoint Monitoring Server.