Use PowerCenter to create a star schema of fact and dimension tables. You can create these definitions in the Target Designer, or you can use the mapping wizards. When you export relational target definitions in a star schema to a third-party tool, by default, MIMB does not store the dimensional role of each definition, such as fact or dimension.

You can create user-defined metadata extensions in the source and target definitions to define the dimensional role of each definition. When you export source and target definitions with these user-defined metadata extensions, MIMB converts the information in the metadata extensions to dimensional role information in third-party tools that work with dimensional metadata, such as IBM DB2 Cube Views.

Also, when you import metadata into PowerCenter from a third-party tool that works with dimensional metadata, MIMB converts the dimensional information into user-defined metadata extensions in PowerCenter.

The following table lists the metadata extension names and values that MIMB uses when you export and import dimensional metadata:

For example, you have the following relational target definitions with metadata extensions in PowerCenter:

You export the target definitions to IBM DB2 Cube Views. You import the PowerCenter metadata into Cube Views. Cube Views imports the Customer table as a fact table, and the CustAddress and CustPhone tables as dimension tables.