Types of repositories

Types of repositories you can use include no repository, a file-based and an SDE repository. Descriptions of each are provided below so that you can choose what is best for your organization.

No repository

A No Repository option is available to perform business analysis without storing outputs from the analysis operations performed. With the no repository option, you can't upload from Business Analyst Desktop because there is no storage for the projects and supporting files. The OutputReportItem parameter and OutputAnalysisItem parameter aren't available for use. However, this option can be used to run reports.

File-Based Repository

In a file-based repository, the root corresponds to a shared folder on a file server accessible by ArcGIS for Server machines. Each successive lower repository level contains subfolders of its next-highest folder. For example, tasks such as customer layers, analyses, and reports have file folders that correspond to repository folders contained within project folders. For the purpose of platform independence, the repository stores output feature classes and tables in shapefile format. Repository roots, workspaces, projects, folders, and items folders contain metadata.xml files which have additional information about folder contents. Workspace metadata contains information about data in the workspace, such as the selected dataset. Project metadata and lower-level metadata contain information such as creation and modification time and comments. Metadata for certain types of items may contain additional information about data inside the folder item. For instance, multilayer metadata keeps references to the main layer file and a list of references to additional layer files.

SDE Repository

Some organizations store their data in RDBMS tables, such as Oracle or SQL Server. ArcSDE provides easy access to such tables, allowing ArcGIS products, such as Business Analyst Desktop and Business Analyst Server, to access the information indirectly. An SDE repository accesses the data tables on one end and on the other end simulates workspaces for different users and multiple projects in a single ArcSDE workspace. For these purposes, Business Analyst adds several additional system tables to an SDE repository.

SDE Repository System Tables

The SDE repository system tables are as follows:

  • The Workspaces table contains workspace information, including GUID, and metadata contained in an XML field that has additional information. For example, such metadata might contain information about selected dataset, last access time, or modification time.
  • The Projects table contains information about all projects in the repository. The WsGUID field is used to keep reference to the workspace that logically contains the project. The Metadata field contains project comments and creation/last modification time.
  • The Folders table and Items table are similar. They contain information about project elements and reference parent items for logical structure purposes. The Name field of the Items table consists of an identifiable name for each feature class or table containing Business Analyst analyses. For example, if you define a simple ring trade area and assign it the name Simple_Ring_01, the Items table stores this definition in the Name field.
  • The Binary Data table stores all additional item information. For example, it may contain target group data for target group items or segmentation profile data for segmentation profile items.

6/20/2013