Data Warehouse Models in Data Mining

From the perspective of data warehouse architecture, we have the following data warehouse models –

1. Virtual Warehouse

2. Data mart

3. Enterprise Warehouse

Virtual Warehouse

The view over an operational data warehouse is known as a virtual warehouse. It is easy to build a virtual warehouse. Building a virtual warehouse requires excess capacity on operational database servers.

Data mart

Data mart contains a subset of organization-wide data. This subset of data is valuable to specific groups of an organization. In other words, we can claim that data mart contains data specific to a particular group.

Characteristics of Data mart

1. Window-based or Unix/Linux-based servers are used to implement data marts. They are implemented on low-cost servers.

2. The implementation data mart cycles are measured in short periods, i.e, in weeks rather than months or years.

3. The life cycle of a data mart may be complex in the long run if its planning and design are not organization-wide.

4. Data marts are small in size.

5. Data marts are customized by the department.

6. The source of a data mart is a departmentally structured data warehouse.

7. Data marts are flexible.

Enterprise Warehouse

An enterprise warehouse collects all the information and the subjects spanning an entire organization.

i. It provides us with enterprise-wide data integration.

ii. The data is integrated from operational systems and external information providers.

iii. This information can vary from a few gigabytes to hundreds of gigabytes, terabytes or beyond.