A linked partition connects two databases with a data cell. When you click the linked cell in the data target, you drill across to a second database—the data source—and view the data there. If you are using Spreadsheet Add-in, for example, a new sheet opens, displaying the dimensions in the second database. You can then drill down into these dimensions.
Unlike replicated or transparent partitions, linked partitions do not restrict you to viewing data in the same dimensionality as the target database. The database that you link to can contain different dimensions than the database from which you connected. With linked partitions, data is not physically transferred from the source to the target. Instead, a data cell or range of cells on the target provides a link point to a cell or range of cells on the source.
To prevent users from seeing privileged data, establish security filters on the data source and the data target. See Security for Partitioned Databases.
There are no performance considerations for linked partitions, beyond optimizing the performance of each linked database.
For example, if TBC grew into a large company, it might have several business units. Some data, such as profit and sales, exists in each business unit. TBC can store profit and sales in a centralized database so that the profit and sales for the entire company are available at a glance. The DBA can link business unit databases to the corporate database. See Case Study 3: Linking Two Databases.
A user in such a scenario can perform these tasks:
View the general profit and sales at the corporate level in a spreadsheet at the data target.
Drill across to individual business units, such as East (this action opens a new spreadsheet).
Drill down in the new spreadsheet to more-detailed data.
For linked partitions, the spreadsheet that the user first views is connected to the data target, and the spreadsheet that opens when the user drills across is connected to the data source. This setup is the opposite of replicated and transparent databases, in which users move from the data target to the data source.
Use a linked partition to connect databases with different dimensionality.