Operational Database - Data Warehouse Terminology

Data Warehouse Terminology

In data warehousing, the term is even more specific: the operational database is the one which is accessed by an operational system (for example a customer-facing website or the application used by the customer service department) to carry out regular operations of an organization. Operational databases usually use an online transaction processing database which is optimized for faster transaction processing (create, read, update and delete operations).

The contents of the data warehouse are deleted from the operational database, but not necessarily updated in real time (if the machines are separate). Data warehouses tend to be optimized for faster read-only queries as an online analytical processing database to be used for back-office applications like business intelligence.