9.

4 Analyzing queries
This section introduces Dynamic Query Analyzer.
9.4.1 What is Dynamic Query Analyzer
Dynamic Query Analyzer provides a graphical flow representation of the dynamic
query run tree. This feature allows for a better understanding when it comes to
important query decisions, rather than looking through text-based log files.
Modelers and professional report authors can use this tool to tune and improve
the model and reports that they build.
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9.4.2 Working with Dynamic Query Analyzer
As a prerequisite, you need to configure Dynamic Query Mode to log the run
trees to a file for every query that it handles. You can find more information about
enabling this query execution trace in 9.3.3, “Query Service settings” on
page 421.
After this setting is applied, a new folder is created in the ../logs/XQE/ folder for
every report that is executed using this query mode. The new folder is labeled
according to the <date>_<time>_<reportname> template, shown in Example 9-4,
and contains the trace files that can be interpreted with Dynamic Query Analyzer.
Example 9-4 Query plan trace folder
20100901_16h56m243s_Quantity_Per_Year
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The tool can open these file types either from the local file system or remotely
using the HTTP protocol. In the case of a web server, create a virtual directory
pointing to the ../logs/XQE folder, and amend Dynamic Query Analyzer Remote
Log Access preferences as shown in Figure 9-17. You can launch the
Preferences dialog box by clicking Window Preferences.
Figure 9-17 Dynamic Query Analyzer preferences
Note that in case the remote location is secured, you can also specify credentials
to use for authenticating to that remote location.
Other than the Remote Log Access, you can also specify IBM Cognos version 10
server and authentication information. Supplying this information enables
Dynamic Query Analyzer to browse the content manager and run reports from
within the tool.
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By default, the Content Store view does not display. You can add this view by
opening the Show View dialog box:
1. Click Window Show View.
2. Expand Navigation (Figure 9-18), and double-click Content Store to add the
view.
Figure 9-18 Show View dialog box
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A new view is added to the Dynamic Query Analyzer interface. This view is
similar to the view shown in Figure 9-19. If you entered the server information in
the Preferences dialog box (Figure 9-17 on page 426) correctly, the view displays
the packages and reports that are available in the Content Store.
Figure 9-19 Content Store view
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Expanding reports entries that have been run with the Query execution trace
enabled will display the trace entries found in logs folder as shown in Figure 9-19
on page 428. Double-clicking the Runtree entry opens the trace (Figure 9-20) in
the same way as when using File Open log.
Figure 9-20 Query run tree
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Apart from the Tree Graph view, which can be exported by clicking File
Export Graph, there two more views that can be of great interest when
analyzing report queues. The first view is the Graph Navigation view, shown on
the left side in Figure 9-21, which displays the same run tree in another graphical
tree that is easily expanded or collapsed.
Figure 9-21 Graph Navigation and Query views
The second view is the Query view, shown on the right side in Figure 9-21, which
displays the data source specific query in a conveniently formatted syntax.