Manageable SSAS Deployment Strategies Kerry L. Tyler SQL Saturday #410 Chattanooga

About Me  Recovering Sysadmin  Ten years of data—Varying degrees of SQL Server Engine & BI  Currently Senior BI Developer/Consultant in Nashville  Used to fly little airplanes 2 |06/27/20152 || SQL Saturday #410 CHA

Things We Will Talk About…  “Direct” deployment process review  Managed deployment Advantages/Rationale and Disadvantages  Likewise for direct deployments  Five steps to Managed SSAS Deployments  Demos 3 |06/27/20153 || SQL Saturday #410 CHA

Things We Won’t Talk About…  “This is a Cube…”  Tabular or Multidimensional design, use- cases, etc.  Version Control stuff 4 |06/27/20154 || SQL Saturday #410 CHA

DIRECT DEPLOYMENT REVIEW 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA5 |

Two Different Methods…  Open SSAS Database 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA6 |

Two Different Methods…  BIDS/SSDT-BI Project Deploy 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA7 |

Details… Open SSAS Database  BIDS/SSDT/SSMS is operating via a live connection to whatever system/database you connect to  Changes happen instantly to the DB—think about Processed status!  Super-risky Project Deployment  Developer is working with an “offline” copy of the DB  Changes deployed in batches/on demand  Not as risky as “Open Database”  Somewhat of a happy medium between “Open DB” and full-on 5-Step Process™ 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA8 |

MANAGED DEPLOYMENT ADVANTAGES 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA9 |

How Did I Get Here? 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA10 |

Separation of Duties  Separate Development activities from Deployment activities  Production access remains exclusively with applicable support personnel  Deployment doesn’t necessarily need to be done by someone with SSAS knowledge 06/27/ || SQL Saturday #410 CHA

Audit Worthiness  Separation of Duties  Repeatability  Better change history tracking/logging…  …at all steps of the development process  …at each SDLC level 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA12 |

Security Settings  Don’t have to deploy security settings  Means you don’t have to make them!  You don’t have to keep roles/ACLs up-to-date in the SSDT-BI Project  This makes it possible to keep the security situation different in various SDLC levels  Can be a separation of duties factor 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA13 |

Other Advantages  Multiple developers  Multiple in-process projects (maybe…)  Easier integration to Version Control  Better control of complex SDLC deployments 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA14 |

MANAGED DEPLOYMENT DISADVANTAGES 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA15 |

Managed Deployment Disadvantages  It’s a little cumbersome  If you’re a one-guy shop, it’s some extra overhead without all the advantages  More moving parts; more places for bugs  KBs & : Didn’t want those Aggregation Designs OR that uptime, anyway  Introduces the Human Factor into the process (but can be mitigated by scripting) 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA16 |

DIRECT DEPLOYMENT ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA17 |

Direct Deployment  Advantages  Quick & Easy  Low complexity due to its single-step option  Disadvantages  Pretty much the opposite of everything that’s good about a managed deployment  Strength of disadvantages range from bad to worse 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA18 |

FIVE STEPS TO BETTER SSAS DEPLOYMENTS 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA19 |

Overview 1.Create a Project based on current SSAS DB 2.Configure this Project for Development 3.Build the Project 4.Run Build output through the SSAS Deployment Wizard 5.Deploy to SSAS DB on target Instance 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA20 |

Step 1: Create a Project  Optional; Might not need to do this step  File | New | Project in SSDT  Configure just like creating any new project in VS 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA21 |

Step 2: Configure the Project  Project Properties  Specific settings depend on what you’re doing  Deployment strategy will affect some  Couple need to be set for project in SSDT to be fully functional  Deployment page will get the most attention 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA22 |

Deployment Properties 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA23 |

Step 3: The “Build” Function 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA24 |  Processes whole Project into single* file  Creates a “snapshot” of your Project  Default output location is bin\ within the Project’s folder  Menu option or command-line * There are some settings files for the deployment created, too

Step 4: The Deployment Wizard  Translates output from the Build process into something deployable to an SSAS Instance  Can execute the deployment itself or can output an XMLA script to deploy separately  Some of the best advantages of this whole deployment strategy happen here 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA25 |

The Deployment Wizard (con’t)  Don’t have to use the wizard more than once  Can call from command line to use input file settings, which can be modified manually, or…  Answer file mode (/a) bakes your choices into Build-generated input files Microsoft.AnalysisServices.Deployment.exe 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA26 |

Important Notes for the Wizard  Pay special attention to Data Source during/after deployment  Passwords aren’t included in Build config files  Aren’t included in XMLA script, either  Enter PW into Data Source post-deployment if not deploying from wizard  Server and DB configured in SSDT project will be deployed if not Retaining 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA27 |

Step 5: Deploy!  Open.xmla file in SSMS  Mash F5  Enter password in DS connection string  Process as necessary if wizard configured not to (have this scripted out, too) 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA28 |

Step 5: Deploy! (alternate scenario)  Hand.xmla off to Production DBA/support/etc  Go to bed early on roll-out night 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA29 |

DEMO! 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA30 |

Demo Scenarios  Project Configuration Overview  Standard “Promotion” to higher SDLC tier  Will include Development changes  Walk through process to promote changes to “Test” tier, including a run of Wizard in “Answer” mode 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA31 |

Final Remarks  If doing the “Open Database” thing… please stop  The Deployment Wizard is arguably most important piece; also most complex  Main thing to take away: Deployment Process  Work with team to define standards  Don’t leave out Production Support—they play important role 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA32 |

BOL Resources  Overview of Build output files  Overview of running the Deployment Wizard  Wizard command-line option details These are in the Tabular hierarchy on TechNet, but they apply to MD, too 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA33 |

Questions? 06/27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA34 |

Contact Kerry L. Tyler Blog: /27/2015| SQL Saturday #410 CHA35 |