Planual rules regarding Line Items in the Polaris engine.

Note: Rule numbers on this page may not be sequential. Our Planual uses a common index across Classic Hyperblock and Polaris Engines, which means some rules only appear on one page or may have been removed.

2.03-01 Keep Summary options off by default

Most line items don't require summary calculations, so it's good practice to keep summary options turned off by default when creating new line items. This is especially important within line items with very high cell counts. Only enable summaries when they are explicitly required for the model's logic or user-facing outputs and be conscious of their performance and memory use.

Engine Applicability: Classic Hyperblock and Polaris

exception

2.03-01a User-facing line items on pages


For Input or Output modules, specifically those line items displayed on Pages, summary options are likely to be needed.

relatedToRule

2.03-02 Avoid using TEXT formats

Anaplan is highly optimized for numbers and Booleans, making text the most memory-intensive format to store. Minimize the use of text formats wherever possible.

In Polaris use guards with "ELSE BLANK" to avoid populating unnecessary cells.

Engine Applicability: Classic Hyperblock and Polaris

relatedToRule

2.03-03 Format headers and separators as 'No Data'

Use empty line items as headers or separators to logically organize your module's Blueprint view. When creating these structural items, always set their format to "No Data". This prevents the Anaplan engine from allocating memory or performing unnecessary calculations on them.

Engine Applicability: Classic Hyperblock and Polaris

2.03-07 Review the Calculation Effort

The Calculation Effort column is an essential metric for evaluating which line items to focus on for optimization. The higher the number, the larger the percentage of calculation effort that specific line item requires. To achieve the highest impact on performance, start optimization efforts by investigating the line items with the highest calculation efforts. 

When you look at this data, remember that this value is calculated differently in the Classic and Polaris engines.

For Polaris models: The Calculation Effort metric dynamically measures CPU compute time over a rolling 10-minute window. To accurately capture a specific calculation chain, you should let the model sit idle for 10 minutes, perform your target action (such as a cell input or an import), and then review the effort. However, if you want to view the calculation effort for the entire model, you must close the model and re-open it.

For Classic models: The calculation effort displays the metrics for the entire model and is always applicable.

Engine Applicability: Classic Hyperblock and Polaris

2.03-08 Avoid Formula and Ratio summary methods at very high cell count

Formula or Ratio as summary methods aren't currently built to leverage on-demand calculation (ODC) and can lead to slower model open times, sluggish data entry, and high memory use at very high cell counts. To maintain optimal performance, avoid these summary methods in modules with high dimensionality.
Engine Applicability: Polaris Only