SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services

Essentials
1. What is SSAS?

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) delivers online analytical
processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for business intelligence
applications. Analysis Services supports OLAP by letting you design, create, and
manage multidimensional structures that contain data aggregated from other data
sources, such as relational databases. For data mining applications, Analysis
Services lets you design, create, and visualize data mining models that are
constructed from other data sources by using a wide variety of industry-standard
data mining algorithms.

2. Unified data Model: The role of a Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) is to

provide a bridge between the user and the data sources. A UDM is constructed
over one or more physical data sources, and then the end user issues queries
against the UDM using one of a variety of client tools, such as Microsoft Excel.
At a minimum, when the UDM is constructed merely as a thin layer over the data
source, the advantages to the end user are a simpler, more readily understood
model of the data, isolation from heterogeneous backend data sources, and
improved performance for summary type queries. In some scenarios a simple
UDM like this is constructed totally automatically. With greater investment in the
construction of the UDM, additional benefits accrue from the richness of metadata
that the model can provide.

The UDM provides the following benefits:

• Allows the user model to be greatly enriched.

• Provides high performance queries supporting interactive analysis, even

over huge data volumes.

• Allows business rules to be captured in the model to support richer

analysis.

• Supports ‘closing the loop’, where the user acts upon the data they see.
3. Data source: A data source in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services
(SSAS) represents a connection to a data source and contains the connection
string that defines how Analysis Services will connect to a physical data store
using a managed Microsoft .NET Framework or native OLE DB provider. The
connection string contains server name, database, security, timeout, and other
connection related information. You manage access to information stored in a data
source by using roles, and the granularity of such access is limited. Analysis
Services stores the metadata for a data source in an XML file, in Analysis
Services Scripting Language (ASSL) format.

4. Data Source Views: A data source view is the metadata definition of the schema
elements used by the UDM and by mining structures stored in an XML format. A
data source view contains the logical model of the schema used by database
objects—namely cubes, dimensions, and mining structures. A data source view:
• Contains the metadata that represents selected objects from one or more
underlying data sources, or the metadata that will be used to generate an
underlying relational data store

• Can be built over one or more data sources, allowing a cube and
dimension to be defined that integrate data from multiple sources

• Can contain relationships, calculated columns, and queries that are not
present in the underlying data source and which exist separate from the
underlying data sources

• Is not visible to client applications

5. Cube: A cube is defined by its measures and dimensions. The measures and
dimensions in a cube are derived from tables and views in the data source view on
which the cube is based. A cube consists of measures based on one or more fact
tables and dimensions based on one or more dimension tables. Dimensions are
based on attributes, which are mapped to one or columns in the dimension tables
 or views in the data source view, and then hierarchies are defined from these
attributes.
6. Types of relationships that can be created in the data source view designer

• A relationship from one table to another table in the same data source.

• A relationship from one table to itself, as in a parent-child relationship.

• A relationship from one table in a data source to another table in a different

data source.

7. What is a named calculation?

You can use the Create Named Calculation dialog box in Data Source View
Designer to add a named calculation to a table in a data source view. A named
calculation is a SQL expression represented as a calculated column. This
expression appears and behaves as a column in the table. A named calculation lets
you extend the relational schema of existing tables in a data source view without
modifying the table in the underlying data source.

8. What is a named query?

A named query is a SQL expression represented as a table. In a named query, you

can specify an SQL expression to select rows and columns returned from one or
more tables in one or more data sources. A named query is like any other table in
a data source view with rows and relationships, except that the named query is
based on an expression. The expression appears and behaves as a table in the data
source view. When you create a named query, you specify a name, the SQL query
returning the columns and data for the table, and optionally, a description of the
named query. The SQL expression can refer to other tables in the data source
view. named query lets you extend the relational schema of existing tables in a
data source view without modifying the underlying data source. For example, a
series of named queries can be used to split up a complex dimension table into
smaller, simpler dimension tables for use in database dimensions.

9. What are the roles of a Analysis Services Information Worker?

The role of an Analysis Services information worker is the traditional "domain

expert" role in business intelligence (BI) someone who understands the data
employed by a solution and is able to translate the data into business information.
The role of an Analysis Services information worker often has one of the
following job titles: Business Analyst (Report Consumer), Manager (Report
Consumer), Technical Trainer, Help Desk/Operation, or Network Administrator.

10.What are the roles in SSAS?

• The server role, a fixed role that provides administrator access to an instance
of Analysis Services.

• Database roles, roles defined by administrators to control access to objects and

data for non-administrator users.
 Server role: The Analysis Services server role defines administrative access of
Windows users and groups to an instance of Analysis Services. Members of this
role have access to all Analysis Services databases and objects on an instance of
Analysis Services, and can perform the following tasks:

• Perform server-level administrative functions using SQL Server

Management Studio or Business Intelligence Development Studio,
including creating databases and setting server-level properties.

• Perform administrative functions programmatically with Analysis

Management Objects (AMO).

• Maintain Analysis Services database roles.

• Start traces (other than for processing events, which can be performed by a
database role with Process access).

Database role: An Analysis Services database role defines user access to objects
and data in an Analysis Services database. A database role is created as a separate
object in an Analysis Services database, and applies only to the database in which
that role is created. Windows users and groups are included in the role by an
administrator, who also defines permissions within the role. The permissions
allow members to access and administer the database, in addition to the objects
and data within the database. Each permission has one or more access rights
associated with it, which in turn give the permission finer control over access to a
particular object in the database. For more information about the permissions and
access rights available to database roles.

10.Explain the SSAS architecture?

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) uses both server and client
components to supply online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining
functionality for business intelligence applications:

• The server component of Analysis Services is implemented as a Microsoft

Windows service. SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services supports multiple
instances on the same computer, with each instance of Analysis Services
implemented as a separate instance of the Windows service.

• Clients communicate with Analysis Services using the public standard

XMLfor Analysis (XMLA), a SOAP-based protocol for issuing commands
and receiving responses, exposed as a web service. In addition, client
object models are provided over XMLA, including both a managed
provider (ADOMD.Net) and a native OLE DB provider.

Query commands can be issued using: SQL; Multidimensional Expressions

(MDX), an industry standard query language orientated towards analysis; or Data
Mining Extensions (DMX), an industry standard query language oriented toward
data mining. Analysis Services Scripting Language (ASSL) can also be used to
manage Analysis Services database objects.
 Server Architecture: The server component of Analysis Services is the
msmdsvr.exe application, which normally runs as a Windows service. This
application consists of an XML/A listener component and numerous internal
components that perform the following functions:

• Parse statements received from clients

• Management meta data

• Handle transactions

• Process calculations

• Store dimension and cell data

• Create aggregations

• Schedule queries

• Caching objects

• Manage server resources

The XMLA listener component handles all XMLA communications between

Analysis Services and its clients. The Analysis Services Port configuration setting
can be used to specify a port on which an Analysis Services instance listens.
Unless otherwise specified, Analysis Services uses the following default TCP
ports:

Port Description
2725 Existing Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services instances.
2383 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services default instance.
2382 Redirector for other Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services instances.

Client Architecture:

11.What are role-playing dimensions?

A role-playing dimension when there are multiple columns in a fact table that
each have foreign keys to the same dimension table.

12. What is a linked dimension in SSAS?

A linked dimension is based on a dimension that is stored in a separate

Analysis Services Database which may or may not be on the same server. You
can create and maintain a dimension in just one database and then reuse that
dimension by creating linked dimensions for use in multiple databases. Users
will not notice any difference between a regular dimension and a linked
dimension. As a developer, you will be able to browse the members of a linked
dimension in the Dimension Designer, but you can only modify the dimension
within its original Analysis Services database.

13.What is a server time dimension?

 A server dimension in SSAS is a dimension which does not come from a
dimension table in your data warehouse, but is generated by Analysis Services
and stored in a proprietary file structure on the server. You simply specify the
beginning date and end date of the dimension, select the time periods to include
such as year, quarter, month, or date, and choose the special calendars, if any, to
add to the dimension. When you create a Server Time dimension, no such table is
created. The data available to this dimension type is maintained solely by Analysis
Services. To use this dimension with a fact table, you will need to have a
date/time column instead of a dimension key in the fact table. Analysis Services
will use the date in this column to join the fact table with the Server Time
dimension.

14.What is a semi additive measure?

A semi additive measure is different from the additive measures because it

can be summed along some, but not all, dimensions in a cube. A common use of a
semi additive measure is a value for a fixed point in time (also known as a
snapshot), such as inventory quantity. Inventory quantity can be summed up along
the Product dimension to find out how many bikes are in stock on a given day, but
you can’t sum this measure across the Time dimension. For example, the number
of bikes you had in stock at the end of the first quarter can’t be added to the
number of bikes you had in stock at the end of the second quarter (at least, not if
you want the correct result!).

15.What is a partition?

A partition in Analysis Services is the physical location of stored cube data.

Every cube has at least one partition by default. Each time you create a
measure group, another partition is created. Queries run faster against a
partitioned cube because Analysis Services only needs to read data from the
partitions that contain the answers to the queries. Queries can run even faster
when the partition also stores aggregations, the pre calculated totals for
additive measures. Partitions are a powerful and flexible means of managing
cubes, especially large cubes.

16.What is the Auto build feature?

Auto Build is a feature that reviews the database metadata and structure to
makes recommendations about how to structure a cube or a dimension. When
using the Dimension Wizard with Auto Build enabled, you have the option for
the wizard to suggest attributes only or to suggest both attributes and user
hierarchies. Similarly, the Cube Wizard can examine the DSV, and identify the
fact and dimension tables and suggest new dimensions.

17.What is Multi Dimensional Expressions (MDX)?

Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) is a fully-featured, statement-based

scripting language used to define, work with, and retrieve data from
 multidimensional objects in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services
(SSAS). MDX provides the following language features:

• Data definition language (DDL) statements used to create, drop, and work
with multidimensional objects.

• Data manipulation language (DML) statements for retrieving manipulating

data from multidimensional objects.

• Scripting language statements for managing scope, context, and control of

flow within MDX scripts.

• A robust set of operators and functions for the manipulation of data

retrieved from multidimensional objects.

• The ability to extend MDX with user-defined functions.

18.Examples of a basic MDX select statement?

SELECT
{ [Measures].[Sales Amount],
[Measures].[Tax Amount] } ON COLUMNS,
{ [Date].[Fiscal Time].[Fiscal Year].&[2002],
[Date].[Fiscal Time].[Fiscal Year].&[2003] } ON ROWS
FROM [Adventure Works]
WHERE ( [Sales Territory].[Southwest] )

19.What are perspectives?

Cubes can be very complex objects for users to navigate in Microsoft SQL Server
2005 Analysis Services. A single cube can represent the contents of an entire data
warehouse, with multiple measure groups in a cube representing multiple fact
tables and multiple dimensions based on multiple dimension tables. This can
result in a very complex and powerful cube, but the prospect can be daunting to
users who often only need to interact with a small portion of a cube in order to
satisfy their business intelligence and reporting requirements.In Microsoft SQL
Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS), you can use a perspective to reduce the
perceived complexity of a cube in Analysis Services by defining viewable subsets
of the cube that provide focused, business-specific or application-specific
viewpoints on a cube. The perspective controls the visibility of objects contained
by a cube, including measure groups, measures, dimensions, hierarchies,
attributes, KPIs, actions, and calculations, to a business intelligence application.

20.What is metadata?

Information about how the data is stored and structured, and perhaps more
importantly, what the data means, is called metadata. For example, when you
create an OLAP cube, you define not only what the measures are, but also how
they should be aggregated, what the caption should be, and even how the number
should best be formatted. Likewise, in an OLAP cube, when you create a
 dimension with many attributes, you define which attributes are group able, and
whether any of the group able attributes should be linked together into a
hierarchy.

21.What is a measure group?

A measure group is simply the group of measures that share the same grain. When
you go to build your data warehouse, you would create a separate fact table for
each measure group. Conversely, if you already have a data warehouse with
several fact tables, you simply create a measure group for each fact table.

22.What does processing in Analysis service means?

Processing is the step or series of steps that turn data into information for business
analysis. Processing is different depending on the type of object, but processing is
always part of turning data into information. Before you can process a local object
or project, you must deploy it by sending it to the server. During deployment, a
script is sent to the Analysis Services instance to re-create the project and
automatically run it. By default, deployment includes processing all of the objects
in the database. The Analysis Services objects that you have to keep up-to-date
through processing are measure groups, partitions, dimensions, cubes, mining
models, mining structures, and databases. When an object contains one or more
objects, processing the highest-level object causes a cascade of processing all the
lower-level objects. For example, a cube typically contains dimensions and
measure groups, each of which contains partitions. Processing any cube causes
processing of all the constituent dimensions and measure groups within the cube.

23.What are the three dimension that can be created using SSAS?

• Standard dimension
• Time dimension
• Parent-child dimension

24. What is a ragged hierarchy?

Under normal circumstances, each level in a hierarchy in Microsoft SQL Server

2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) has the same number of members above it as any
other member at the same level. In a ragged hierarchy, the logical parent member
of at least one member is not in the level immediately above the member. When
this occurs, the hierarchy descends to different levels for different drilldown
paths. Expanding through every level for every drilldown path is then
unnecessarily complicated.

25.What are the two ways we can use MDX?

MDX is used in two different ways within Analysis Services. First, it is a query language
—the tool for retrieving reports from an OLAP cube. In other words, MDX is the tool
used by client applications to retrieve values. Second, MDX is an expression language—
the tool used to calculate single values. For example, MDX is what you use to add
calculations to a cube. values. For example, MDX is what you use to add calculations to a
cube.

26.What is the difference between a derived measure and a calculated measure?

The difference between a derived measure and a calculated measure is when the
calculation is performed. A derived measure is calculated before aggregations are created,
and the values of the derived measure are stored in the cube. A calculated measure is
calculated after aggregations are created, and the values of a calculated measure aren’t
stored in the cube. The primary criterion for choosing between a derived measure and a
calculated measure is not efficiency, but accuracy.

27. While creating a new calculated member in a cube what is the use of property
called non-empty behavior?

Nonempty behavior is an important property for ratio calculations. If the denominator

Is empty, an MDX expression will return an error just as it would if the denominator
Were equal to zero. By selecting one or more measures for the Non-Empty Behavior
property, you are establishing a requirement that each selected measure first be evaluated
before the calculation expression is evaluated. If each selected measure is empty, then
The expression is also treated as empty and no error is returned.