Database Reference
In-Depth Information
We cover all of the different pages of this wizard in Chapter 10, but here is a quick overview:
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The first page of the wizard is a welcome page.
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The second page allows you to use existing tables or create new tables similar to the
Dimension Wizard.
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On the third page, the wizard allows you to select which tables represent your fact tables.
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The fourth page allows you to select your measures.
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On the fifth page of the wizard, you are allowed to select your existing dimensions.
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The final page of the wizard allows you to name the cube and finish the wizard.
Deploying and Processing
With the completion of this wizard, all of the code needed to create the cube, dimensions, data source views,
and data connection will be in a set of Visual Studio XML files. Analysis Server projects use an XML-based
programming language that is similar to Integration Services. Each SSAS object created using the wizard creates
XML files that represent those objects.
For the XML code to be translated into something that the Analysis Server can understand, you must build
the Visual Studio solution. This building process creates a master XML file that can then be uploaded to the
Analysis Server.
To upload the file to the Analysis Server, you need to deploy it. This act of deploying is effortlessly
accomplished using Visual Studio's menu options. When the XML code deploys to the Analysis Server, the data
source, data source view, dimensions, and cubes are all created on that SSAS server.
The cubes and dimensions will not have any data yet. To fill the cubes and dimensions with data, you must
process both of them. The act of processing copies data from the data warehouse to the SSAS objects. This is
accomplished from the Visual Studio's menu options.
We realize that was a very fast overview and that you likely have many questions, but we discuss all of this
again in Chapter 10 in more detail. For now, let's have you add the SSAS project we created for this chapter to
your current BI solution in this next exercise.
eXerCISe 2-4. aDDING aN SSaS prOJeCt tO YOUr SOLUtION
in this exercise, you add the authors' completed Analysis Server project to your own visual Studio solution.
You verify that the connection in the data source is valid for your machine and then review the data source
view, dimensions, and cube. You then build the XML code in project files into a master XML code file, deploy
the master XML code file to your SSAS server, and finally process the data from the data warehouse into the
SSAS objects.
Completion of this exercise is required to complete the other exercises throughout this chapter.
1.
visual Studio should still be open from the previous exercise, but if not, open it
running as administrator (right-click the visual Studio menu item, select Run as
Administrator, and answer Yes to close the uAC pop-up window), and access the
weatherTrackingProject solution from the File
➤
Recent Projects and Solutions
menu.
