IDS (or Internet Data Services) allows for data to be transferred between modeler and server over the internet. IDS depends on the use of HTTP and a licensed PowerOLAP® web server.
IDS uses the HTTP protocol to communicate to a web server. This convention is much like standard web servers. When you use web browser to view websites, concatenations of actions and parameters appear at the end of the URL.
These actions and parameters are usually separated by ampersands '&' and question marks '?' and have various strings of x = y or various combinations of symbols.
PowerOLAP® takes advantage of the same interface to request data from the PowerOLAP® server.
The IDS feature is embedded in the PowerOLAP® client and allows PowerOLAP users to transfer and otherwise move data over the internet.
IDS uses HTTP protocol to communicate to a web server to make requests to retrieve data—much like standard web servers. These calls to the web server over HTTP enable end users to query certain pieces of data from PowerOLAP®. Retrievable data might include Meta Data, like Members of Dimensions or Hierarchies, or it could be Fact Data, which are detailed data points.
It also allows the use of PowerOLAP modeler via IDS to transfer, export and move data by leveraging upon a standard interface unto an HTTP server or via any application that can represent or make calls to an HTTP or HTTPS server using the URL interface.
REST Architecture
By leveraging the REST architecture and the standard interface of an HTTP server, IDS can also be utilized outside of the PowerOLAP® client (via HTTP, HTTPS, or through a URL in a web browser). REST is an acronym of the Representational State Transfer. It is an architectural style and system that utilizes many of the current web standards, like HTTP, XML, HTML, GIF, JPEG, etc., to transfer the "state" of a webpage or data or link. For example, in a normal web browser, you may see at the end of the URL that there are concatenations of actions and parameters. These actions and parameters are usually separated by ampersand characters, question marks, and have various strings of x=y, or various combinations of those things.
IDS, using REST, allows PowerOLAP® to take advantage of these same common web interfaces to request data from the PowerOLAP® server. IDS allows users to retrieve data via any application that can represent or make calls to an HTTP or HTTPS server using the URL interface.
Example of REST
The Web is comprised of resources. A resource is any item of interest. For example, the Boeing Aircraft Corp may define a 747 resource. Clients may access that resource with this URL:
http://www.boeing.com/aircraft/747
A representation of the resource is returned (e.g., Boeing747.html). The representation places the client application in a state. The result of the client traversing a hyperlink in Boeing747.html is another resource is accessed. The new representation places the client application into yet another state. Thus, the client application changes (transfers) state with each resource representation --> Representational State Transfer!
Boeing Example From: Costello, Roger L. Building Web Services the REST Way