Commerce Server DTS Tasks
You use Commerce Server Data Transformation Services (DTS) tasks to import and change data in the Data Warehouse. The Commerce Server tasks are loaded into SQL Server when you unpack a site. You add the Commerce Server tasks to a SQL Server package and then run that package to make changes to the Data Warehouse. For detailed information about how the DTS tasks work, see Extract, Transform, and Load Process for DTS Tasks.
You can manually configure the Commerce Server DTS tasks to import data, or you can use the Data Warehouse Import Wizard. For more information about the wizard, see Data Warehouse Import Wizard.
The following table lists the tasks that Commerce Server provides for the Data Warehouse. The tasks are listed in the order in which they must be run.
| DTS task | Description |
|---|---|
| Configuration synchronization | Synchronizes the Data Warehouse with your Commerce Server application after you make changes to configuration settings. If the site configuration changes, this task should be performed before any other task. |
| Web server log import | Imports Web log file data generated by your Web site. Web log file data is obtained when users visit your site and click links to site pages. The data includes the length of time a user spent visiting your site, the referring site, ad clicks, ad reach, click frequency, and the "path" the user takes through the site, including entry and exit pages.
You use the Web server log import task to provide information about what log file to import and where it is located. The Web log files must be in the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) extended Web log file format. |
| Transaction data import | Defines and imports transaction data. Transaction data is created on your Web site when a user adds and removes items from a shopping cart, or makes a purchase. You can run reports to analyze transaction data. |
| Product catalog import | Imports product data from your catalogs. Importing product data provides your transaction reports with more descriptive product information than is available in transaction data. You can also run reports to analyze the sale of products. |
| Profile data import | Imports the four types of profile data that Commerce Server collects when users visit your Web site:
|
| Campaign data import | Imports data about campaigns. You use campaign data to analyze the success of your campaigns. You use the Campaign module in Commerce Server Business Desk to set up and run campaigns. |
| Data deletion | Deletes data from the Data Warehouse. You can select to delete detailed log file data for a specified site, or for all of the sites in the Data Warehouse. You can also select to delete all data (detailed and summarized) in the Data Warehouse. |
| Model Builder | Rebuilds prediction and segment analysis models. Archives existing models or overwrites them. |
| IP resolution | Resolves Internet Protocol (IP) addresses from the imported user data. IP resolution converts IP addresses, imported from your log files, into domain names. For example, 198.105.232.4 becomes www.microsoft.com. This helps readers of your reports understand the data in the reports more easily. |
| Report preparation | Prepares data for OLAP cube processing and SQL reporting, and refreshes the cubes after a deletion. This task must be performed after every import and delete task. |
| Report caching | Pre-executes dynamic OLAP reports stored in the SQL Data Warehouse to get the query results cached on the Analysis server. When this is done, subsequent execution of the reports can be two orders of magnitude faster than the original report execution. |
You can also use scripts to run the Commerce Server DTS tasks. For more information about using scripts to run the Commerce Server DTS tasks, see Scripting DTS Tasks.
In addition to using the Commerce Server DTS tasks to import Commerce Server data into the Data Warehouse, you can extend the logical schema and the functionality of the Data Warehouse to import custom data.
For information about extending the logical schema of the Data Warehouse and importing custom data into the Data Warehouse, see Extending the Data Warehouse.
For information about creating new DTS tasks, see SQL Server Books Online.
See Also
Extract, Transform, and Load Process for DTS Tasks
Configuring the Default Web Site Properties for Import
Configuring the Web Server Log Import DTS Task
Adding a Non-Commerce Application to a Site
Adding a Non-Commerce Web Server to an Application
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