COMPLETE newbie to the tool

[mynameiso]

Hello.

This may seem as a naive question (and probably is), but where exactly do I start after downloading and installing the Pentaho BI Server System? (I installed the complete, downloadable - pentaho-1.7GA-windows-opensource-installer.exe) file. It seems that there is no "Beginners / Just Starting / etc." documentation out there.

Being somewhat technically inclined, having a basic understanding of BI/DW/ETL, etc concepts and knowing Java, I was able to install, start up MySQL and JBoss, figure out the basic higherarchy / tree of the file system, log-in as every one of the default users. (Joe Admin, Sue, Tiffany, etc.) by running the Pentaho BI Platform index file in the jboss directory, etc. I get the whole Dashboards, Analytics, Reports, etc. concept (having used these before as the end user.) I know what ETL is and the concept behind it.

But where do I start with platform? I guess my main questions are:

- where would I "start" with learning the actual system
- is there relevant "complete beginner" documentation
- data sources and how they work (I know that the underlying DB is MySQL......oh, and Hyperion......how are they used differently?)
- is Mondrain OLAP server a separate server or is it a part of what I have installed
- has nyone seen my keys? I seem to have mis-placed them :-)

Many, many thanks in advance for your help!

[bugg_tb]

good to hear you're up and running, on the downside 2.0 should be released in the next few days and it has a lovely new UI :) Anyway back to the question in hand...

My advice is to start slowly and concentrate on one tool at a time, I guess you want to generate reports with your own data so you have to learn how to add jndi datasources to jboss/tomcat, you may want to do some ETL stuff in which case download Kettle. Once you have your data in place then you need to learn reporting, so grab a copy of report designer and play around with it. Once you have learnt how to create reports, you may want to add prompts and things to them so learning Pentaho Data Integration would be the next step, then there's metadata, and on it goes.

So there really is no starting point and there is no beginners documentation as such, but there is plenty of help on the wiki and with the help of the samples included with Kettle and Report designer there should be enough there to get you going and keep you occupied :)

Hope thats a start

Tom

[mynameiso]

Many thanks Tom.

OK, I will begin with:

>>>>generate reports with your own data so you have to >>>>learn how to add jndi datasources to jboss/tomcat,

Could you (ahem) will point me to how to just begin do that? (Believe it or not, I know what JNDI is... :-)) How do I actually access MySQL to create a sample DB so that I cab access it from the BI Platform (via JNDI)

Thanks again!


good to hear you're up and running, on the downside 2.0 should be released in the next few days and it has a lovely new UI :) Anyway back to the question in hand...

My advice is to start slowly and concentrate on one tool at a time, I guess you want to generate reports with your own data so you have to learn how to add jndi datasources to jboss/tomcat, you may want to do some ETL stuff in which case download Kettle. Once you have your data in place then you need to learn reporting, so grab a copy of report designer and play around with it. Once you have learnt how to create reports, you may want to add prompts and things to them so learning Pentaho Data Integration would be the next step, then there's metadata, and on it goes.

So there really is no starting point and there is no beginners documentation as such, but there is plenty of help on the wiki and with the help of the samples included with Kettle and Report designer there should be enough there to get you going and keep you occupied :)

Hope thats a start

Tom

[bugg_tb]

This guide takes you through talking to a db:
http://wiki.pentaho.com/display/PentahoDoc/Configuring+JNDI+Datasources+for+use+in+the+Pentaho+BI+Platform

Once thats up and running you will be able to use it with the pentaho server, obviously you will need some data in the database before hand.

[mynameiso]

I thank you from the bottom of my black, nicotine filled lungs. :-)


This guide takes you through talking to a db:
http://wiki.pentaho.com/display/PentahoDoc/Configuring+JNDI+Datasources+for+use+in+the+Pentaho+BI+Platform

Once thats up and running you will be able to use it with the pentaho server, obviously you will need some data in the database before hand.