Workspace management
This article introduces basic workspace concepts, provides recommendations on how to structure workspaces, and offers tips to help organize and reduce workspace size.
Workspaces are a combination of a single or multiple models. Workspace size is the total of all models in a workspace, excluding archived models as archived models do NOT count towards workspace size.There are two types of workspaces, standard and HyperModel. The maximum amount of workspace that can be allocated for standard workspaces is 130GB and the maximum amount of workspace that can be allocated for HyerModel workspaces is 720GB. Workspace allocation can only be changed by Anaplan Support and requests should be coordinated with Business Partners.
Workspace governance
We recommend creating separate workspaces for the following:
- Data Hub
- Each LOB or use case (i.e., Finance, Sales, Supply Chain, etc.)
- DEV, TEST/QA, and PROD if using ALM (i.e., Sales DEV, Sales TEST, Sales PROD)
- Training
Creating separate workspaces provides a greater level of security because you have more control over access, and it helps with segregation of duties like user provisioning. It’s also best to create a training or sandbox workspace for courses like L1, L2, L3, and POC’s or test models. The need and size of these models will vary over time so it’s best to keep them in a separate workspace where they won’t impact production models.
Workspace reduction tips & tricks
Workspace size can be impacted at the model level before needing to buy more licenses (workspace). Below are some simple tips to help you optimize your models and reduce workspace size.
1. Model mode
Consider archiving old or unused models. Archived mode allows you to continue to store the model in Anaplan without it contributing to your workspace allowance. You can restore an archived model, including all its data, into the same workspace at a later date.
To archive a model:
Option 1: Log into Anaplan, go to Models, and then click Manage Models.
Option 2: If logged into a model, click Manage Models in the Contents section.
- Select the model you want to archive and click Change Mode:
- Click Archived
- Click OK
When the model has been archived, the model will no longer be listed with the other models unless you select the Show Archived Models check box.
To restore an archived model:
- In Model Management, select the model you want to restore and click Change Mode.
- Click Standard
- Click OK. The model display is active.
2. Production lists
Consider reducing the amount of production data in your DEV models. For development purposes you don’t need all your production data. This can be accomplished by reducing the number of items in your production lists because the number of items contributes towards your model size. For example, in a Projects list, only include the clients that individual projects roll up to. These reduced lists might be imported from a development version of a data hub.
Every Anaplan Model consists of structural information and production data. You can think of a model's structural information as its metadata. Metadata is of minimal concern to an application's end users, but very important for model builders and workspace administrators. Production data is operational data that changes often during day-to-day business operations, including:
- Values of cells in modules
- The contents of production lists and the values of any associated properties
- The configuration of imports and import data source (IDS) definitions marked as production data
- Production users
- Workflow states
3. Model optimization
Model cleanup or optimization can help reduce model size. Use the Model Optimization Checklist to ensure that your model aligns with best practices and Planual guidelines for optimal model performance. The checklist builds on what we’ve provided in the Planual and helps you identify issues that may impact performance, explains why, and includes the actions you can take to fix them.
Checklist items affecting model size:
- Does your list use Time as part of the key?
- What dimensions are used in the Module? Are they all necessary?
- What time dimensions are being used in the module? Can a time range be used?
- Which Line Items do not need a summary?
- Are Text formatted Line Items overused?
- Are there Line Items used as headers where the format is not set to “No Data”?
- Is the main timescale larger than it needs to be?
