Differentiating Between Symmetric and Asymmetric Reports

Essbase reports can contain symmetric or asymmetric column and row groups. Essbase determines the symmetry of column and row groups automatically, based on the members you select:

Symmetric reports—Characterized by repeating, identical groups of members
Asymmetric reports—Characterized by groups of nested, or subordinate, members that differ by at least one member in the nested group; the number of members or the names of members can differ

Note:

If you retrieve into asymmetric reports, Essbase must perform additional operations to maintain the asymmetric layout, which may increase the retrieval time on large reports. See the Oracle Essbase Database Administrator's Guide.