17. Click OK to
accept the selection.
The Insert
Measure dialog closes, and we see the new measure appear (default name of Customer
Id: the underscore character is removed) in the Measures folder.
18.
Click-select Customer_Id
in the Measures folder, if required.
19.
If necessary,
click the downward arrow beneath the Cube Tree to open the Properties
pane.
20.
Click the Basic
tab.
21.
Modify the
default Name of Customer Id to the following:
Distinct Customers
22.
Type the
following into the empty Description box, just below the Name
box:
Distinct Count - Customers
23.
Click the box
to the right of the Aggregate Function property label (at the bottom of
the Basic tab), to enable the selector.
24.
Select Distinct
Count in the Aggregate Function selector.
The Basic tab of the Properties pane
appears, with our modifications, as shown in Illustration 12.
Illustration 12:
Distinct Customers Measure - Properties Pane - Basic Tab
25.
Click the Advanced
tab of the Properties pane.
26.
Ensure that Big
Integer is selected for the Data Type property, as depicted in Illustration
13.
Illustration
13: Distinct Customers Measure -
Properties Pane - Data Type Tab
27.
Right-click
the Unit Sales measure in the Measures folder.
28.
Select Delete
from the context menu that appears, as shown in Illustration 14.
Illustration
14: Select Delete from the Context Menu
The Confirm
Measure Delete dialog appears, as depicted in Illustration 15.
Illustration
15: Confirm Measure Delete Dialog
The Unit
Sales measure disappears from the Measures folder.
30.
Perform steps 27
through 29 above for all members of the Measures folder, except
the new one we created above, Distinct Customers.
Our DISTINCT_CUSTOMERS
cube will have no measures except the DISTINCT COUNT measure we have
created. The idea here is that, once we have finished designing our new cube,
it will contain only this single measure and an identical set of dimensions to
those found in the cube whose performance we are intent upon improving (in the
case of our exercise, the Sales sample cube). It is far simpler, since
our Sales cube has already been designed, to clone it, as we have, and
eliminate the unwanted objects to achieve our ends, than to build a new
cube from scratch. We are also assured, using this approach, that the
dimensions will, indeed, precisely mirror those in the original Sales cube,
a requirement important to our achieving success.
Let's
clear out any remaining, unneeded objects in the DISTINCT cube.
31.
Expand the Calculated
Members folder below the Measures folder in the cube tree, if
necessary.
32.
Using the same
approach taken with each of the measures we deleted above, delete each of the
calculated members.
33.
Expand the Actions
folder below the Measures folder in the cube tree, if necessary.
34.
Using the same
approach taken with each of the measures we deleted above, delete any actions
that appear.
The DISTINCT_CUSTOMERS
cube is now prepared structurally for its intended use. Let's process the cube
to activate our changes, and to finalize its preparation for its role in
optimizing distinct count operations.
35.
Select Tools
--> Process Cube to initialize the processing
steps, as shown in Illustration 16.
Illustration 16:
Initiating Cube Processing ...
The Save
the Cube dialog appears, informing us that the cube must be saved before we
can proceed.
36.
Click Yes,
to allow processing to proceed, as depicted in Illustration 17.
Illustration 17: Save
the Cube Dialog
A message
box appears, stating that the cube has no aggregations, and asking if we wish
to design them at this time, as shown in Illustration 18.
Illustration 18:
Aggregations Message Box - Just Say "No"
37.
Click No
to skip designing aggregations at present.
The Select
the Processing Method dialog appears.
Full
Processing is the
default, and only, option, as the cloned cube has not been processed
since the structural changes we have made to it.
The Select
the Processing Method dialog appears, as depicted in Illustration 19.
Illustration 19: The Select
the Processing Method Dialog
38.
Leaving
settings at default, click OK.
Processing begins, and runs rapidly, as
evidenced by the Process viewer's presentation of processing log events
in real time. The Processing cycle ends and the success of the
evolution is indicated by the appearance of the Processing Completed
Successfully message (in green letters) at the bottom of the viewer, as
shown in Illustration 20.
Illustration 20:
Indication of Successful Processing
We are
returned to the Cube Editor. We can now browse the data and see our new
Distinct Customers measure in action.
40.
Click the Data
tab, if necessary.
On the
refreshed Data View, data appears in the default formation, ready for
manipulation and review, although we stop here only to view our handiwork. The
Data View, depicting the Distinct Customers measure, appears in Illustration
21.
Illustration 21: Our New
Distinct Customers Measure in the Data View
We now
have a processed cube, consisting of dimensions identical to those that exist
in the Sales cube, together with the single distinct count
measure, Distinct Customers, that we have created to store our distinct
customer count information. We are ready to leave the new cube, and to move to
the next step of integrating it into our overall solution for enhancing
performance of distinct counts in our Sales data.
41.
Select File
--> Exit from the main menu.
The Cube
Editor closes, and we are returned to Analysis Manager.
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