Project REAL and Tips for Migrating from SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services to SQL Server 2005 & Deploying, Securing and Managing AS in SQL 2005 Dan Weinstein BSCS,MCSD, MCDBA, MCT Chief Technology Officer Tenix Connections Ask me for a Crossbow demo! DAT212

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Overview Managing AS 2005 Overview of Project REAL AS Migration Product Demo Questions

Managing Analysis Services Tools SQL Server Management Studio Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) Profiler works against AS events now ASOSecuring

Management Tools SQL Server Management Studio is used to manage all SQL Server databases Server console management Query analysis (SQL and MDX)

SQL Server Management Studio Fully integrated management environment for administrators and developers, replacing the Administration functionality of Enterprise Manager, Analysis Manager and Query Analyzer Used for managing server instances and databases, and for executing queries (SQL, MDX and DMX)

BIDS Fully integrated development environment built on top of Visual Studio 2005 Used for creating end-to-end business intelligence solutions

BIDS Features Solution Explorer Designers and Code Windows Non-modal dialog boxes ConfigurabilityExtensibility Provides for enhanced: Project Management DeploymentTemplates

Solutions and Projects A Visual Studio Solution manages a collection of one or more related Projects Project templates: Integration Services Analysis Services (project and import database) Reporting Services (project and wizard) Report Model

Analysis Management Objects (AMO) AMO replaces DSO DSO is still provided for backward compatibility DSO does not contain new features (like the ability to script an object’s creation or modification)

Improved Security Design Analysis Services is secure by default Administrative permissions are fine-grained Local cubes can be encrypted Analysis Services runs with the lowest possible level of permissions Client/server communication can be encrypted and signed Encryption is enforceable on the server Meta data is just XML files on the HD, so secure using File System permissions.

Project REAL Reference Implementation (Retail) Phase 1 – Migrate packages and cubes Phase 2 – Build out cubes as best practice Analysis Services 2005 cubes Role of AS Migration in Project REAL

AS Migration Introduction to UDM Building up vs. building down Migration wizard Migration vs. redesign Known issues

The UDM is a Bridge

Unified Dimension Model (UDM) Combination of relational and analytical worlds Attributes and attribute hierarchies Data source views Measure groups Perspectives

Attributes and Hierarchies Attributes are first class citizens Hierarchies are created from Attributes Related attributes provide for aggregations May have hundreds or thousands of attributes in a cube.

Data Source Views Provide a layer of abstraction. If you add/modify underlying source, need to update DSV Rename cryptic table/column names Allow you to write the query No inner join to Filter out data Slow processing Better able to connect to non-SQL Server data sources – i.e. optimize for ingress or whatever. Used as the basis for the cube

Measure Groups Allow measures from multiple fact tables in a single cube Provide a security mechanism Can be grouped in perspectives

Perspectives Used to provide context for the users Combination of any attributes, hierarchies, actions and measure [group]s Not a security mechanism. Need to manage both security (via Management Studio) and context (via perspectives) separately as they can be different. MDX can still access anything an a perspective.

Building Up vs. Building Down AS2K Building Up Many cubes per DM/DW Small cubes 6-12 dimensions 6-12 Measures Member Properties to help with reporting issues Deep dimensions were a killer Virtual Cubes to deal with large scenarios Virtual Cubes to deal with granularity issues (measures from different fact tables with differing levels of granularity). AS2K5 Building Down (Adding Context) Large Cubes; with many dimensions; with many hierarchies Data Source Views provide an extraction layer to effectively present one or more data sources Less Cubes per DW / DM Reporting issues are solved with attributes Perspectives are used to make sense of cube data

Migration

Migration Wizard Does the best it can to recreate the same cube in AS2K5. Data Source views are automatically created as all tables in use from underlying data sources. Cubes are migrated to new cubes not perspectives Virtual Cubes are migrated to cubes, duplicate underlying cubes and may require some attention End Result is not “Best Practice” AS2K5 cube Does not take advantage of most new features; Perspectives, KPIs, and Translations are not created. Items not migrated include; drillthrough settings; remote partitions; linked cubes Scripting Option

Known Issues Additional Member Properties are added for next level up in the hierarchy. Don’t delete them they are required for aggregations. Multiple Hierarchies translate to multiple dimensions and named differently. In example Time.Calander and Time.Fiscal will most likely turn into Time and Time 1. Dim may be added to deal with duplicate name issues. For our example if there was also a dimension hierarchy named Time then the First would be named Time and the hierarchies will translate to TimeDim and TimeDim 1.

Known Issues Virtual Cubes will duplicate underlying cubes. I.e. they are no longer Virtual. Virtual Dimensions convert to hierarchies and data is loaded into cube. I.e. they are no longer Virtual. Virtual Cubes do not always pick up associated Data Source Views (if multiple have been created). Almost all columns of dimension tables are added as attributes. Unary operators and custom rollups are written as MDX expressions and the column is ignored from 2k5 on.

Migration vs. Redesign Is the Migration Wizard end result what you want? Is it a starting point that you can alter later? Questions to ask yourself: Do I have multiple data sources I want to incorporate into the process? Do I have multiple virtual cubes for granularity, security, and / or data set size issues? What is the current relationship between my DW/DM and number of cubes? How many member properties do you currently use?

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