Database Reference
In-Depth Information
are released. In addition to PowerPivot, you will hear names such as the
following:
uu BI Semantic Model (BISM): new in SQL Server 2012
uu BISM tabular: new server version of PowerPivot
Each of these is accurate in its own way. So let's explore them before we
move forward.
PowerPivot
PowerPivot is the correct name for the client-side tools. This functionality is
installed from a free add-in that you can find at http://www.powerpivot.com .
Choose your add-in version (32- or 64-bit) and install. The installation is very
simple with no options, and the functionality is then added to Excel. You will
know you succeeded when you see the POWERPIVOT tab and its options shown
in Figure 5.1.
FIguR e 5-1 The POWERPIVOT tab in the Ribbon
BI Semantic Model (BISM)
BI Semantic Model (BISM) is the name Microsoft gave to its OLAP suite in the
new SQL Server 2012 release. The tools, features, and applications were all
enhanced to align them with modeling the way a business needs to see data,
adding flexibility and functionality to support it. PowerPivot is a part of this
new feature set, but it is not all of it. BISM tabular is another feature, and so
are other enhancements such as Power View, which you learn more about in
Chapter 6. Figure 5-2 shows the BISM architecture.
BISM Tabular
BISM tabular is the new server version of Analysis Services that supports models
created in PowerPivot. Now that PowerPivot has been available for a while, we
can upload these models to a production Analysis Services Server and share
them across the company, taking advantage of the extra memory on a server
to process and collaborate on larger, more intensive models. Figure 5-3 shows
some of what this new interface looks like.
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