Site Server 3.0 Analysis FAQ

ID: Q187037

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Site Server Analysis version 3.0

Q. The names of the Site Server Analysis modules have changed from the previous version of the software. How do the new module names relate to the old software names?

A. The updated component names are:

Site Analyst is now called Content Analyzer.
Analysis is now called Report Writer.
Import is now called Usage Import.
Metadata is now called Custom Import.
DBSetup is now called Database Setup. (This is a new option for SQL Server users.)

Q. What is Database Setup and how should it be used?

A. Database Setup automates the process of configuring a database for use within the SQL Server version of the software. This wizard helps you create the devices and databases within SQL Server, creates an optional DSN (Data Source Name) for connecting to the database, and populates the new database with the respective tables that Analysis will need. After installation, this is the first thing that should be run before you attempt to work with the Analysis software.

Q. What should I select for my Log Data Source?

A. The new software now supports a large variety of the latest Web server log file formats. The AutoDetect feature will attempt to automatically match the format of your log file with one of the supported log file formats. If you are not sure which format to choose, try the AutoDetect option.

Note: For Proxy Server logs, you must select either the Microsoft or Netscape proxy log file format.

Q. What is a single-value query parameter?

A. A query string contains several elements: a URL, a separator, a parameter name, and one or more values. A single-value query string contains only one value (for example: /cgi-bin/getquote.cgi?term=1yr).

Q. What is a multi-value query parameter?

A. A query string contains several elements: a URL, a separator, a parameter name, and one or more values. A multi-value query string contains more than one value and is typically separated by a plus sign (+) (for example: /cgi-bin/getquote.cgi?term=1yr+2yr).

Q. After multiple log files are imported, they appear in the Import History window as one file; why?

A. If you import multiple log files at one time, the import is recorded as one line in the Import History Manager. You can view the log files that were imported together by double-clicking on the line, which causes an Import Detail window to appear.

Q. How do you delete one log file that was previously imported with multiple log files?

A. You may want to delete an import to reduce the size of your database or delete old data. If you delete an import, all of the data from that import is removed from your database. The only way to add it back to your database is to import the log file again. You can delete requests selectively as opposed to deleting an entire log file. When you delete requests, you must specify what requests you want to delete. To do this, you use a filter.

Q. How do you configure Usage Import to resolve IP addresses and Perform "Whois" queries from behind a firewall?

A. Both of these processes communicate on the standard Internet port number specified for the desired action. Whois uses port number 43 and DNS Lookup uses port 53. Your administrator will have to open these ports on your firewall for the software to function properly. If you are using a proxy server, you will need to install the Proxy client software.

Q. Can I import compressed log files?

A. Usage Import can import log files that have been compressed using the GZIP format (versions 4.1 to 4.3).

Q. Can I import my log files via an FTP connection?

A. Yes, Usage import allows you to import from one of three different Log Access types: file://, ftp://, or ODBC.

Q. What type of information can I import into the database using Custom Import?

A. Custom Import allows you to extend your database so you can run reports that are as meaningful to your organization as possible. You can extend the database by importing data from data sources other than your log files, after which the data is integrated with the usage data in your log files. This allows you to run reports that more accurately reflect usage at your site and that provide you with more detailed information. The types of data you can import and the sources of this data are as follows:

User data (from Personalization and Membership)
Content data (from Content Analyzer and Content Management or Tag Tool)
Enhanced advertising data (from Advertising Server)
Custom data files (created by you)
Document title files (created by you)

Q. What is the Calculation Inventory and how should it be used?

A. The Calculation Inventory is a collection of the most commonly used calculations that assist you in building custom reports. Simply use the drag and drop operation to move the calculation to a section heading, and then use the move up or down buttons to arrange the order of the calculations.

Q. How do I change the number of results that are shown for a particular calculation?

A. To change the number of results that are shown for a particular calculation, follow these steps:

Open the Report Definition you want to modify.

Click the dimension you want to modify, and then from the Edit menu, click Properties.

Click the Details tab. In the Limit Results To box, select Top or Bottom. Two boxes appear to the right.

In the middle box, type the integer you want (for example, 10). In the box on the right, select the measurement you want: Items or Percent. For example, you can choose to limit the dimension's results to the top 10 items, or the top ten percent.

In the Sort By box, select First Measure or Dimension.

Click OK.

Q. Can I customized the appearance of the HTML output?

A. When you have created the Report Definition that you want, you can create a template file, and then using a text editor you can modify the template file to add your own HTML formatting. The Create HTML template option can be found under Tools on the menu bar.

Q. How do I run the software from the command line?

A. The best thing to do is to open the command line help screens for each module and review the required syntax. For each module you can use the executable name and either /?, -?, or -help.


Content Analyzer  cacmd.exe -?
Custom Import     cimport.exe /?
Report Writer     report.exe -help
Usage Import      uimport.exe -?

Q. What special considerations do I need to look for when I use the Scheduler service?

A. Scheduler runs under the same account as the Scheduler service. By default, this service runs under the local system account. This account typically has very limited privileges. Because of this, tasks that can be successfully performed manually, may fail when run as scheduled tasks (mostly tasks involving remote system access). To resolve this problem, you can change the account under which the Scheduler service runs. On the Start menu, point to Settings, click Control Panel, double-click Services, double-click Scheduler, and click This Account. Type the name and password of a Windows NT account that has the privileges to perform the scheduled tasks. Click OK.

Note: Graphs can only be created using the local system account. Therefore, you should not schedule a job that involves both remote system access and the generation of graphs in a report.

Q. Why should I import user data?

A. By importing user data from Personalization and Membership, you can answer questions such as what are the most common attributes of users on your site. When you have imported user data, dimensions associated with the data will appear in Report Writer under the User dimensions category.

Q. Why should I import content data?

A. Importing content data from Content Analyzer and Content Management allows you to determine the most popular content authors. When you have imported content data, dimensions associated with the data will appear in Report Writer under the Requests Dimensions category, in the Content subcategory.

Q. Why should I import advertising data?

A. By importing enhanced advertising data from Advertising Server, you can calculate ad click rate statistics. Enhanced advertising data from Advertising Server is one of two types of advertising data you can import. The other type of advertising data supported by Analysis is called log file advertising data. When you have enabled and imported log file advertising data, you can edit and enrich the advertising data.

Q. What other Site Server components can I import data from?

A. You can also import data from Search, Commerce, Push, and NetShow. However, it is not necessary to use Custom Import to import this data. Review "Importing Data from Other Site Server Features" in the documentation for information on the steps you must take in Analysis to import data from these Site Server features.

Q. What is the Hyperbolic pane and how can it be used?

A. The Hyperbolic pane displays the site structure as an interactive map. It shows the relationships among pages and other resources. When you click a resource in this pane, the resource moves to the center of the pane (unless you specify otherwise), and the resources linked to it fan out accordingly. This helps you immediately grasp the layout of your site. You can rotate the map to bring any part of it into view by clicking and dragging resources.

Q. What do the different colors represent in the Hyperbolic view?

A. There is a legend for each of the three Hyperbolic color schemes. The legends show what the colors indicate. The Numeric color legend also shows the numeric ranges associated with colors when you use the Numeric color scheme or animate usage data.

Q. Can you explain animate usage data and how can I perform this task?

A. Usage data animation is a process in which Content Analyzer redraws the map in the Hyperbolic pane, using nine colors to show changing usage data across time. Animating usage data is a four-part process:

Select a usage query.

Run the query.

Load the usage data retrieved by the query.

After the query data is loaded into the current project, you can start the animation.

Q. How much log data can I store using the "typical" Database Setup configuration?

A. Log capacities vary based on the amount of information that is retained;, however, a good rule of thumb is that you can import 1 MB of log information for each 1/5 MB of space available in the database. The typical configuration option of Database Setup creates a 50-MB database (with 10 MB of log). You can import and retain approximately 50 MB of log data before you will need to expand this database.

Q. Why does Site Server Analysis 3.0 require more database space than previous versions?

A. The Olympus release of Site Server Analysis provides significant performance enhancements in the areas of both data import and data reporting. Some of these improvements have been attained by creating additional indexes for the underlying database information. While the additional indexes require more space within your Analysis database this additional space requirement will improve both the scalability and performance of your overall Analysis system.

Additional query words: UA SS3 Report Report.exe


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINNT:3.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: July 14, 1999