MicroStrategy Intelligence Server delivers world-class monitoring, reporting, and analysis on a single integrated platform, offering next generation BI capabilities for the full range of BI applications. MicroStrategy Intelligence Server is the architectural foundation of the MicroStrategy platform. It performs the following critical tasks for the MicroStrategy BI platform:

• Runs queries, performs calculations, and formats reports
• Significantly improves user-perceived query performance
• Efficiently manages thousands of end-user requests (jobs)
• Serves as a central point for the MicroStrategy metadata

The following optional add-on capabilities are integrated into and run on the same machine as the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server:

• MicroStrategy Distribution Services monitors data and automatically sends critical business performance information to users via email, file servers, and networked printers. Distribution Services is fully integrated with MicroStrategy Intelligence Server. Therefore, it is optimized for subscription by, and delivery to, thousands of users.
• MicroStrategy OLAP Services allows users to analyze data by slicing and dicing, inserting new metrics and filters, and manipulating reports in-memory without executing queries against the data warehouse. MicroStrategy provides In-memory BI capabilities that leverage 64-bit operating systems to improve the overall performance of a Business Intelligence system, regardless of the amount of data or number of users involved. MicroStrategy OLAP Services delivers this technology via Intelligent Cubes.
  
  For information on OLAP Services, see the OLAP Services Guide. Additional performance tuning best practices for OLAP Services are provided in the System Administration Guide.
• MicroStrategy Report Services, the enterprise reporting engine of the MicroStrategy BI platform, enables the creation and viewing of pixel perfect, highly formatted documents, scorecards, and dynamic dashboards.
• MicroStrategy Transaction Services lets you embed write-back functionality into documents and dashboards for the purposes of decision-making or initiating a transaction. Using either SQL for databases, or XQuery for Web Services applications, transactions trigger new business processes, re-allocate resources, and accelerate business activity. These transactions can include one-click approvals and denials, notes for tracking and directing business activity, and write-back to data sources in real time.
  
  Users of MicroStrategy Web, MicroStrategy Mobile for iPhone, and MicroStrategy Mobile for iPad can employ these transaction capabilities from documents, dashboards, and MicroStrategy Mobile applications.
• Clustering Option enables higher system availability and faster performance through load balancing and automatic failover.
• MultiSource Option allows users to seamlessly report, analyze, and monitor data across multiple sources through a single relational schema. MultiSource Option employs a multi-source ROLAP architecture that pushes calculations and data joins down to the database level. It extends the capabilities of the MicroStrategy BI platform by facilitating deployment of BI applications and setting a solid foundation for enterprise-wide BI.

All products in the platform work in conjunction with MicroStrategy Intelligence Server and benefit from its broad functionality. You can refer to the following documentation resources for information related to MicroStrategy Intelligence Server:

• Installation and Configuration Guide: Provides information on how to perform the initial installation and configuration of MicroStrategy Intelligence Server, including steps to make a connection to your data sources. This guide also provides information on the different editions of Intelligence Server.
• System Administration Guide: Provides information on how to configure, administer, and fine tune MicroStrategy Intelligence Server. For example, setting up LDAP authentication and other user and system security measures are covered in this guide.
• Functions Reference: Provides information on the library of over 150 sophisticated mathematical and statistical functions provided by MicroStrategy Intelligence Server.
• MicroStrategy 9 General Information Readme: Provides information on certified and supported RDBMS platforms for warehouse, metadata, and statistics as well as the recommended ODBC drivers to use with each RDBMS platform.
  
  

  Note: MicroStrategy ODBC Drivers shipped for Windows, Solaris, AIX, and Linux run in a 32-bit mode. However, this alone should not affect the amount of data that the Intelligence Server can retrieve from the database. The Intelligence Server is configured by default to run all database connections as "out of process", or "multi-process" mode, using a fetching mechanism to retrieve the data. This results in optimized memory usage and improved performance when connecting to the database.

  Although MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Universal in HP-UX ships with 64-bit ODBC drivers only, its behavior is consistent with all of the other supported OS platforms.