1. Database Administrator's Guide for Oracle Essbase
  2. Intelligent Calculation for Block Storage Cubes
  3. Limitations of Intelligent Calculation

Limitations of Intelligent Calculation

Consider the following limitations and situations when using Intelligent Calculation:

  • Intelligent Calculation works on a data block level and not on a cell level. For example, if you load a data value into one cell of a data block, the whole data block is marked as dirty.

  • A CALC ALL that requires two passes through the database may calculate incorrectly. The problem occurs because blocks that are marked clean during the first pass are skipped during the second pass. To avoid this problem, turn Intelligent Calculation off or perform a CALC DIM for each dimension (rather than a CALC ALL for the database). A CALC ALL requires two passes through the database in either of these situations:

    • When the accounts dimension is sparse

    • When the accounts dimension is dense, the time dimension is sparse, and there is at least one more dense dimension in the outline

  • Changing a formula on the database outline or changing an accounts property on the database outline does not cause Essbase to restructure the database. Therefore, Essbase does not mark the affected blocks as dirty. You must recalculate the appropriate data blocks. See Changing Formulas and Accounts Properties: Impact on Block Status.

  • Whenever possible, Essbase calculates formulas that are tagged as two-pass and in the dimension tagged as accounts as part of the main calculation of a database. You may, however, need to use a calculation script to calculate some formulas twice. When you use a calculation script, disable Intelligent Calculation before recalculating formulas.

  • When SET CREATENONMISSINGBLK is set to ON in a calculation script, Intelligent Calculation is turned off, and affected blocks are calculated whether they are marked clean or dirty.