Issue: Dashboard PDF Export Takes a Long Time
Error:
No specific error is reported.
The complete dashboard PDF export takes significantly longer than expected. However, individual reports from the same dashboard may be exported within a considerably shorter time.
The issue is observed specifically when all the views in the dashboard are exported together as a single PDF.
Prerequisite:
Before proceeding with the analysis and optimization, verify that the Analytics Plus server meets the recommended system requirements mentioned in the prerequisite document.
Check the following:
1. Verify that the server has the recommended amount of RAM based on the Analytics Plus deployment and data volume.
2. Verify that the available CPU and other system resources meet the recommended requirements.
3. If the server does not meet the recommended system requirements, upgrade the required resources and re-test the dashboard PDF export.
Note:
In cases where the server resources were increased to meet the recommended requirements, verify whether the export performance improves after the upgrade before proceeding with further analysis.
Reason:
This issue can occur due to one or more of the following reasons:
1. Multiple views are based on a large Query Table
If multiple Pivot Views and Summary Views in the dashboard use the same Query Table containing a large volume of records, exporting the complete dashboard requires Analytics Plus to process data for multiple views together.
Check the Query Table record count and verify how many dashboard views are based on the Query Table.
2. Query Table is built using large underlying tables
If the Query Table is created using multiple tables with a large number of records, JOIN operations, or UNION ALL queries, a significant amount of data may need to be processed during dashboard PDF export.
Check the Query Table definition and the record count of the underlying tables.
3. Unnecessary Lookup relationships are used in reports
If the required data is already available in the Query Table, but the reports are still retrieving the same information through Lookup relationships with the underlying tables, additional processing may occur during report generation and dashboard export.
Check whether the reports are using columns from Lookup-related tables even though the corresponding columns are already available in the Query Table.
Resolution:
Review and optimize the reports and Query Table as follows:
Step 1: Identify the reports using the Lookup relationship
Identify all reports that are dependent on the Lookup relationship.
Step 2: Replace Lookup-based column references
For each dependent report, verify whether the required columns are already available in the Query Table.
If the required columns are available, remove the Lookup-based column references and use the corresponding columns directly from the Query Table.
Step 3: Remove the unnecessary Lookup relationship
After updating all dependent reports, verify that no reports are using the Lookup relationship.
Once the dependency is removed, delete the unnecessary Lookup relationship.
Step 4: Review the Query Table
Review the Query Table for unnecessary JOINs, UNION ALL queries, or other operations that may result in processing a large volume of data.
Step 5: Check server resources
Monitor the Analytics Plus server's RAM and CPU utilization during the dashboard PDF export.
If the server resources are insufficient for the volume of data being processed, evaluate whether additional resources are required.
Step 6: Re-test the dashboard export
After completing the above changes, export the complete dashboard again and compare the export time with the previous results.
Note:
When troubleshooting slow dashboard PDF exports, the number of Pivot Views alone should not be considered. The Query Table size, underlying data volume, number of views using the Query Table, Lookup relationships, and available server resources should also be reviewed.
Example Observation:
In one such case, the Analytics Plus server RAM was previously increased from 16 GB to 32 GB based on the recommended system requirements. A noticeable improvement in report export performance was observed after the RAM upgrade.
Therefore, ensure that the Analytics Plus server meets the recommended system requirements before proceeding with further analysis.