Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Manage Distinct Count with a Virtual Cube

We will now combine the cubes with which we have been working in this session within a virtual cube. The intent will be to create a "logical" cube that appears, from a browsing and reporting perspective, as a standalone physical cube. We will thus combine functionality into a single logical cube, accruing benefits that we will discuss as we encounter them.

As many of us know already, a virtual cube allows us to broaden both the scope and capabilities of the OLAP data contained within the participating MSAS cubes, while incurring no additional physical storage space requirement. Virtual cubes can be useful in many applications, one of which is the combination of standard cubes for the purposes upon which our practice example is focused.

Let's take the following steps to create the virtual cube to complete the assembly of our solution.

The Virtual Cube Wizard Welcome Dialog appears as depicted in Illustration 23.

The Select the cubes to include in the virtual cube dialog appears.

The dialog appears as shown in Illustration 24, after our selections.

The Select the Measures for the Virtual Cube dialog appears.

The Select the measures for the virtual cube dialog appears as depicted in Illustration 25, with our selections appearing in the Selected measures list.

The Select the dimensions for the virtual cube dialog appears. We will select all dimensions for purposes of this lesson.

The Select the dimensions for the virtual cube dialog appears as shown in Illustration 26, with our selections appearing in the Selected dimensions list.

The Finish the Virtual Cube Wizard dialog appears.