Category

OLTP

OLAP

Nature

Primary Point of data entry for business

Consolidation point of data, much of which is pulled from various OLTP databases.

Usage

Operational databases helping to control and run fundamental business tasks

Source of data and processes for planning, project/problem solving decision support

Viewpoint

Snapshot and/or ongoing status of business

Trend over time and multiviews of business

Processing

Most tasks follow standard pro9cedures and well-defined workflows.

Tasks and processing follow interesting leads and many refinements of models.

Type of Processing

Short, fast updates and queries of a few records

Primary queries of many records, few updates.

Time to Process

Consistently fast, often real-time processing

Fast, but varies widely with task and process

Database Size

OLTP is smaller in raw data than OLAP because historical data is archived.

Bigger due to historical data plus the indexes and aggregates needed to speed operations

Database Structure

Highly normalized, many tables

Fewer tables, simple star or snowflake design

Backup & Recovery

Critical to run the business, legal liability

Just do a reload of OLTP data and/or archives