Metadata management for data warehousing: An overview

Metadata has been identified as a key success factor in data warehouse projects. It captures all kinds of information necessary to design, build, use and interpret the data warehouse contents. This gaper gives an overview about the role metadata plays for data warehousing and reviews existing standards, commercial solutions and research actions relevant to metadata management. It turns out that an overall solution for managing all metadata in a central or federated repository is still missing regarding a global metadata schema as well as system aspects and interoperability among involved tools producing metadata. The divergence of proposed standards will probably prevent a breakthrough within the near future.