Query Performance Tuning - Expert Cube Development with SSAS Multidimensional Models - page 226

The small tick at the top of the list of dimensions in the Status row shows that this
aggregation has passed the built-in validation rules that SSDT applies to make sure
this is a useful aggregation. If you see an amber warning triangle here, hover over it
with your mouse and in the tool tip, you'll see a list of reasons why the aggregation
has failed its status check.

If we then deploy and run a ProcessIndex , we can then rerun our original query and
watch it use the new aggregation, running much faster as a result:

The problem with the native SSDT aggregation design functionality is that it
becomes difficult to use when you have complex aggregations to build and edit.
The functionality present in BIDS Helper, while it looks less polished, is far more
useable and offers many benefits over the SSDT native functionality, for example:

• The BIDS Helper Aggregation Design interface displays the aggregation
granularity in the same way (that is using 1s and 0s, as seen in the following
screenshot) as the Query Subcube event in Profiler does, making it easier to
cross reference between the two.
• It also shows attribute relationships when it displays the attributes on each
dimension when you're designing an aggregation, as seen on the right-
hand side in the following screenshot. This is essential to being able to build
optimal aggregations.
• It also shows whether an aggregation is rigid or flexible.
• It has functionality to remove duplicate aggregations and ones containing

redundant attributes, and search for similar aggregations.

• It allows you to create new aggregations based on the information stored in

the Query Log.

• It also allows you to delete unused aggregations based on information from a

Profiler trace.