PowerPivot Client/Server Architecture

PowerPivot for Excel Analysis Services Clients Browser-Based Clients

Excel Services gives users the ability to view shared PowerPivot workbooks · Similar performance and most of the features as the Excel client.

Workbook File Excel Client Workbooks as a in a Web browser, any time and at any place with network connectivity:
· Users cannot modify PivotTables or PivotCharts, but can sort,
filter, and expand or collapse areas of PivotTables and
·
·
PowerPivot database is a custom binary part within the workbook file.
When opening the workbook, Excel reads connections.xml, discovers the embedded
Data Source ·
PivotCharts and work with Slicers.
Excel Services requests processing from a PowerPivot server in
data source (Data Source=$EMBEDDED$), and streams the PowerPivot database to · Clients can access shared PowerPivot workbooks the farm, and renders the workbook directly on the
the PowerPivot In-Proc Engine via the Microsoft OLE DB for Analysis Services like an Analysis Services cube by specifying the front-end server.
(MSOLAP) provider.
Po workbook URL as the data source. · SharePoint users do not require high-bandwidth network
· When saving the workbook, Excel reads the stream from the PowerPivot In-Proc Engine we connections because these users retrieve only HTML-rendered
· With SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services and
via the MSOLAP provider and writes the PowerPivot database to the workbook.
Ex t en Loa
ds
rP PowerPivot for SharePoint installed in the same processing results when accessing shared PowerPivot workbooks.
ds U Po iv
Ove r r i d I SharePoint farm, users can use the New Report · Workbooks can be locked down for server-only viewing by adding
e s t h t h r ou we
rP o
ed g
efa h c l i iv t option in a PowerPivot Gallery to launch Report the users to the SharePoint Viewers group or a custom group with
I mp ul t en o t f Builder and start a new report that uses a shared View Only permissions.
l em
en
Pi
v
t w in
t
o PowerPivot workbook as a data source.
i
t s o t Ta ndo o E · If multiple browser users work with the same PowerPivot

r
AM ad b w, · SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) can workbook, they all access the same workbook loaded once
O v a le

xc

E p l i mi z ent i t r e s .
n c ie f connect to a shared PowerPivot workbook, which on the server.

e l n cu i mp
r ib

x c c a t at i on s own
t I n- P
ed can be helpful for troubleshooting and diagnosing

bo

a p s t o l em f e a t u
ld
vo r oc connection problems, but Microsoft does not

l is

e l i o n p r s , a nd t e t a s k p a n e .
i

da

tt
P support the use of SSMS for administration of

ta

o
er E Analysis Services on a SharePoint server.

an

A d o c e s s . mp l at es .
A
AMO ADOMD.NET MSOLAP Provider

al
D
PowerPivot · Excel clients access shared PowerPivot workbooks

y
O
w

s
Part

d-
Excel Features

ng
in the same way by using the MSOLAP provider.

is
M
XML for Analysis (XMLA) Mi
Po

D.
cr

In
os

i ne
NE
To explore a PivotTable PivotChart Custom Code of
Column-Based Query Parsing
PowerPivot workbook, Compression and Preparation Mo t I

T
change the .xlsx file Excel handles PowerPivot as an external data AP zi nt
SO Ap l la er
name extension source accessible via MSOLAP provider. ple ne
to .zip. T TPS Fi
P/H Sa re t
VertiPaq Analysis Services HT
T fa f ox Ex
wi r i 4 pl
Storage Engine Formula Engine
e Excel th . x 3 or
In addition to traditional OLAP rv i c
Serv Web
l i m an
i te d
d oth
. 5
( or
er Operating Systems
Se
Sh e
ice r

7.
C:\Users\<user name>\ Temporary Block connections via TCP and HTTP data
ices
, ar hi
eP s t a
rt

r v
s

0
Se
eb
AppData\Local\Temp\ Data Cache Computation pump, MSOLAP supports PowerPivot oi n
) int Suppo r t s se r v
po

i ce - o r i e n t dar Windows 7 Windows Server 2008 R2

(o
A o s

gh
VertiPaq_<GUID> connections via in-process transport eP ces n t ed
L c c a f u ds
an a rce. r ch i t H

r
and HTTP.
W

er
h
ns

M m i t o u ec t u T nc -
s

hi
X r w r es T
rfo ata ti Windows XP Windows Server Windows Server

)
ts P
(
t ( SO

ba na l
· n d Windows Vista

gh
ra

P e /H
The size of each P ie s a
A) .
E

se i t y
SP3 2003 2008
is
o cl

o
A S , a T
P r

d .
VertiPaq_<GUID> folder

er
xc
T

Shared PowerPivot Workbooks s

s O T
v ld
e
ce ook
s
e n t Pow
T

br
Re P
corresponds to the S T
i i i
m

ly

)
(Data Source=http://site/wbk.xlsx)
e S Apple Mac OS X
c

rv

ow
u b nd
/H B rk
g erP UNIX/Linux 8.1
ro

PowerPivot data in memory. e er

e

a
rP a A Snow Leopard

se
P r t S o s

n
· The Temp folder structure -P T
po si
s w
n wo

rs
Workbook-Local Data t
iv c l
A
corresponds to the native In
T
e
e ly iv
o
a rk

H
(Data Source=$EMBEDDED$) R
M ot bo
c
r
rd
a
·
Analysis Services data folder structure.
IDF files correspond to the tables and columns fo
w
l ,
e r A we
n r P
t a
ok
e W
c o
o o G da
L
x e Pre
E th P
b ta
s
i v sh
that the user has imported into PowerPivot.
M

vie
al

o
d

Timer Jobs, Health and

· s o ws a
X

e
XML files correspond to object definitions for re ort
s n
MSOLAP e d p as wo d

P
r P Da
a
measure groups and measures. n h r e
le

id
th rk

s
b
s ed on um bo c

a
v
d d ati bn ok

ro
e r Su

h
t
e b s t. ai s
ry

to
pp

a
em m i n i i vo

P
l i
Temporary Files OLE DB Provider pre an

rt
r P or
d d e se ts m d

s
w an l A ow

Usage Data Collection

P nta mu a ge re

in
s a ge tio
rt ntr a n
lti s. po
a st ple

H
n rt
C e ma

o
P

TM
eb in to Web Applications yl
es
s

P
.

L.
W

Data Import Running under IIS Application Pools

PowerPivot Setup Extension
PowerPivot Data Refresh Timer Job
The Table Import Wizard communicates with the PowerPivot for Excel add-in to create the

PowerPivot for SharePoint

measure groups, measures, and other database objects for the selected tables, and then triggers Timer Job Verifies that installed PowerPivot components
the PowerPivot In-Proc Engine to load the data from the specified data sources. Determines if a data refresh job needs to be are up-to-date and running and checks for
scheduled and executed. PowerPivot components that need to be
Users can choose to import data from any OLE DB or ODBC data source and, in many cases, patched after SQL Server patching runs.
PowerPivot for Excel can establish the table relationships automatically. However, PowerPivot will
not automatically install all supported data providers:
· Analysis Services, PowerPivot workbooks and data feeds are supported out of the box.
PowerPivot System Service Service Applications Excel Calculation
·
·
SQL Azure connectivity is available via ADO.NET Data Provider for SQL Server.
Connectivity to Access, Excel workbooks, and data files is available via Microsoft Office 14
SharePoint-Integrated Services MSOLAP SharePoint
·
Access Database Engine OLE DB provider as part of the Office installation.
Third-party data sources require additional ODBC or OLE DB providers on the client.
Uses Microsoft ADOMD.NET to communicate with an Analysis Services instance.
Also performs the following tasks:
· Manages the application database.
OLE DB Provider
Services Timer Usage and Health
· Monitors server health.
· Coordinates client requests for load balancing.
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)-based Channel Transport
for communication with PowerPivot System Service in local SharePoint farm.
Local Workbooks
(Data Source=$EMBEDDED$ or
Data Source=http://local_site/wbk.xlsx) Service Tracking
· Collects usage data.

art
y D ata P
roviders *
Da · Performs automatic data refreshing for PowerPivot workbooks. Runs built-in and custom jobs to
automate farm maintenance.

ta
P IP
rd
- For Data Refresh to succeed the required data providers must be present on the P/ HTTP Transport for communication with
PowerPivot adds timer jobs to collect
Th
i
ata
S e rvices * f o Data Refresh PowerPivot application server and the data sources used in the workbooks T
C

Ser vi ces traditional SQL Server Analysis Services Remote Workbooks and process PowerPivot usage data,
T D r
i m must be accessible from the SharePoint farm.
i s S
as well as PowerPivot Web Service in (Data Source=http://remote_site/wbk.xlsx)
refresh data in shared workbooks,

P
remote SharePoint farms.
O.
N E
p · s e
gather health statistics, and update the By default,

ly
PowerPivot Data Refresh timer job determines if a data
D P r o v i de r * Mi c r osof
t Of f i ce
o Management Dashboard workbook.
A e d r t refresh job needs to be scheduled and executed PowerPivot

ro
F e 14 A i n
t a cce by the PowerPivot System Service. tracks query
Da a (Windows Service)

rv
s sD g usage as well
OM ·
An
T a A PowerPivot workbook can have multiple schedules TCP Transport for
t
eeds
A ab a as load,

i ce
as (overridden at the data source). communication with

a F eE n
d · Column-Based Query Parsing traditional SQL Server
Traditional Analysis Services Cubes
(Data Source=SSAS_Server_Name)
SharePoint
unload, and

t Da
ng
i ne
Refresh credentials are stored in Secure Store Service:
Analysis Services.
connection

Da
Compression and Preparation events.
OL o Per job for Windows authentication
r

ta Tracing
v

E
e

D o Per data source for non-Windows

f

authentication (e.g. SQL authentication) ·

r

Loads PowerPivot workbooks in much the same way as

B

F Service
e
Pr

VertiPaq Analysis Services

id

other Excel workbooks.

Microsoft SQL Server ternal D
ov

Ex
s

i (Web Service) Storage Engine Formula Engine

a · Calls user-defined functions if necessary.
i

Reporting Services
de

t
·
r

Refreshes external data as needed, such as when a user

i n

PowerPivot uses the Unified Logging

*

a
Provides secure storage and PowerPivot uses Secure Store Service
le

interacts with PivotTables or PivotCharts via slicers. Service (ULS) API to collect usage and
mapping of credentials for to store:

So
g

Temporary Block Shared

· Requests data from the PowerPivot System Service via trace information in SharePoint usage
er

connecting to external · Unattended data refresh account. PowerPivot

s

Data Cache Computation MSOLAP according to the connection information. and trace logs. The Tracing service

urces
Shared systems. · Personal Windows user credentials Workbooks
d

Excel maintains these logs.

·
Mi

PowerPivot Unattended Data for data refresh. Passes the item URL and IsHosted flag to the
a t

Files
cro

Workbooks Refresh Accounts · Database (non-Windows) credentials Microsoft SQL Server MSOLAP provider.
Analysis Services C:\Program Files\Common
a

for external data sources.

so f

Files\Microsoft Shared\
in e
s

Secure Store Service Web Server Extensions\14\Logs

t O

Text
Files (Web Service)
Ve r o d (Web Service) (Windows Service)
LE

Microsoft
t i Pa q M
DB f

Access
Mi c ros

PowerPivot Management SharePoint Usage

Databases

(Wi nd )
ows Se r v i ce
o r Ana

Clipboard Dashboard Processing Data Import

(Copy&Paste) Timer Job Timer Job
o f t SQ L S e r v e r N a t i v e C

Updates each PowerPivot Management

l y s i s Se r v i c e s (M

Collects usage information from PowerPivot

Sybase IBM DB2 Dashboard workbook b based on the data components and imports the data into the

Microsoft
PowerPivot maintains a separate database per service application to store: Stores
Databases Content databases store the data, documents, and
in the PowerPivot application database a . SharePoint logging database.

SharePoint SQL Server 2008 R2 workbooks associated with SharePoint lists, libraries,
SQL Server · An Instance Map of state information for loaded or cached databases. Shared PowerPivot Health SharePoint Usage
Central Administration b PowerPivot and sites. SharePoint maintains all PowerPivot Statistics Collector Data Processing
· Data refresh schedules and refresh history per workbook.
site content, including farm administrator groups and workbook workbooks in content databases.
·
Timer Job Timer Job
OD B C

Microsoft Usage information about connection statistics, query response PowerPivot Management Dashboard workbooks.
SQL Azure times, and server health. PowerPivot Collects CPU and memory utilization Processes the usage data from the
Management
PowerPivot Central Administration SharePoint
S

Teradata statistics for PowerPivot components and SharePoint logging database and
O

Dashboard imports the data into the imports the normalized data into the
P
L

Application Database Content Database workbooks Content Databases

rov i d
AP )

PowerPivot application database. PowerPivot application database.

l i en

a
Oracle
t *
er

Others
s *

(OLE DB/ODBC)
Stores configuration and site mapping information for the entire server farm, including PowerPivot settings for service configuration and data refresh parameters.
Aggregates usage and health data from SharePoint log files as well as from Windows Event Log,
Informix performance counters, SQL Server, and other sources and provides a variety of pre-defined
* Requires separate SQL views for querying and reporting.
Microsoft SQL Server manual installation on
Analysis Services SharePoint application SharePoint Configuration Database SharePoint Logging Database
Da e s servers.

ta Sourc
© 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
About PowerPivot Poster

Authors: Kay Unkroth

Technical Reviewers: Dave Wickert, Denny Lee, Heidi Steen, Lee Graber

Published: 04/2010

Applies to: SQL Server 2008 R2

Summary: This poster illustrates the PowerPivot client and server architecture. It shows how PowerPivot integrates with Microsoft Office Excel 2010
on the client and with SharePoint on the server, provides details about how various client types can access shared PowerPivot workbooks
in a SharePoint farm, and describes how the SharePoint and PowerPivot Web applications and services interact with each other. It gives a
detailed overview of the processes running on front-end servers, application servers and required databases. This poster also lists the
various OLE DB providers that PowerPivot can use to import data from a data source and that SharePoint administrators may have to
install on servers to support automatic data refreshing.

Copyright
The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because
Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the
accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.

This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN
THIS DOCUMENT.

Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced,
stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any
purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as
expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks,
copyrights, or other intellectual property.

Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are
fictitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be
inferred.

© 2010 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Microsoft, Access, Azure, Excel, PerformancePoint, SharePoint, SQL Server, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista, are trademarks of the Microsoft group
of companies.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.