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Connecting to Pentaho Mondrian

NOTE: new features and further improvements are no longer released for the Mondrian data source.

Instead of Mondrian, our team highly recommends considering Flexmonster Data Server. Just like Mondrian, this tool aggregates data on the server side and can handle large datasets.

You can see the full list of available data sources here: Supported data sources.

There are two ways to connect to Pentaho Mondrian using Flexmonster Pivot:

  1. Via XMLA - an industry standard for data access in analytical systems.
  2. Via Flexmonster Accelerator - a special server-side utility developed by Flexmonster.

If you already have configured an XMLA provider it will be easier to start with option #1. If you do not have XMLA or if you need some advanced features (such as increased loading speeds, use of credentials, etc.) – option #2 is the better choice.

Connecting to Pentaho Mondrian via XMLA

XMLA (XML for Analysis) is an industry standard for data access in analytical systems such as OLAP and Data Mining. Follow the steps below to configure a connection to Pentaho Mondrian via XMLA.

Step 1: Embed the component into your webpage

If Flexmonster is not yet embedded, set up an empty component in your webpage:

In pure JavaScript

Complete the Integrating Flexmonster guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

let pivot = new Flexmonster({
  container: "pivotContainer",
  componentFolder: "node_modules/flexmonster/",
  toolbar: true
});

In React

Complete the Integration with React guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

<FlexmonsterReact.Pivot
 toolbar={true}
/>

In Angular

Complete the Integration with Angular guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

<fm-pivot
 [toolbar]="true">
</fm-pivot>

In Vue

Complete the Integration with Vue guide. Your code should look similar to the following example:

<Pivot
 toolbar
/>

Step 2: Configure XMLA access to the cube

Skip this step if you have XMLA already configured. Otherwise, refer to this article that explains how to configure Mondrian as an XMLA provider.

Step 3: Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS)

By default, the browser prevents JavaScript from making requests across domain boundaries. CORS allows web applications to make cross-domain requests. Here are some instructions for common Java servers:

Step 4: Configure the report with your own data

Now it’s time to configure the pivot table on the webpage. Let’s create a minimal report for this (replace proxyUrl, dataSourceInfo, catalog, and cube parameters with your specific values):

var pivot = new Flexmonster({
    container: "pivotContainer",
    toolbar: true,
    report: {
        dataSource: {
            type: "mondrian",

            /* Data source info */
            dataSourceInfo: "MondrianFoodMart",

            /* URL to XMLA provider */
            proxyUrl: "http://localhost:8080/mondrian/xmla",
            
            /* Catalog name */
            catalog: "FoodMart",

            /* Cube name */
            cube: "Sales"
        }
    }
});

Launch the webpage from a browser — there you go! A pivot table is embedded into your project.

Connecting to Pentaho Mondrian via Flexmonster Accelerator

Flexmonster Accelerator for Pentaho Mondrian cubes is a special server-side proxy that increases data loading speeds from the server to the user’s browser.

When working with OLAP cubes, a browser component communicates with the server via the XMLA protocol. The XMLA protocol is heavy and exchanges a lot of excessive information - it takes too much time and memory to load and process the data.

We replaced the XMLA protocol and use direct requests from the component to the server.

This is our solution to two major problems that many of those who work with big data face:

  • We made big data transfer from the server to the browser incredibly fast. Our tool allows you to transfer large multidimensional data super easily and quickly. Reporting becomes more enjoyable and prompt for your end users.
  • We greatly reduced the load on the browser memory.

Refer to the Getting started with Flexmonster Accelerator guide to find step-by-step instructions.