Hands-On Procedure
We will get started by
creating a new project within the Business Intelligence Development Studio,
wherein we will create a Data Source pointed to a database sample
provided with MSSQL Server 2005. This way, anyone with access to the
installed application set and its samples can complete the steps in the
practice session.
Preparation
Create
a New Analysis Services Project
We begin our preparation
within Business Intelligence Development Studio, where we will create a
new Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services (SSAS) Project.
As we have noted in other articles, those of us who have worked within earlier
versions of Reporting Services, or within the Visual Studio
development environment under other circumstances, will recognize the general
look and feel of the Studio. Under this new style of development for Analysis
Services, to which much of the documentation refers as "project
mode," we create an Analysis Services Project, which houses a
set of Analysis Services objects. The object set typically includes Data
Sources, Data Source Views, Dimensions, Cubes, and
other components.
As we have noted in other articles,
using an Analysis Services Project template affords us many
benefits, such as helping us to
organize
and manage the items that are required to build, debug, and deploy an Analysis Services database. The
development of an Analysis
Services
cube, a preparatory step to support our primary objectives within this session,
as well as one of the most common tasks in Analysis Services, can be accelerated though the use of the
Analysis Services 2005
Cube Wizard, which both guides and simplifies the process (as is the way of
wizards).
In an
effort to remain focused on the essentials of working with Perspectives,
we will not go into the myriad processes and structures that surround and
underlie the UDM / cube in general. As we have noted previously,
however, it is useful to make a mental note that all the objects that we create
and store within an Analysis Services project are defined as files
(using an XML representation) that eventually are deployed to an Analysis
Services database. We will see how this transpires when we deploy the
project within which we work in our practice session.
1.
Click the Start
button.
2.
Select Microsoft
SQL Server 2005 within the Program group of the menu.
3.
Click SQL
Server Business Intelligence Development Studio, as depicted in Illustration
1.
Illustration 1: Opening
SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio
The Microsoft Visual
Studio 2005 development environment opens, beginning with the Start page,
as shown in Illustration 2.
Illustration 2: The
Start Page, Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Development Environment (Compressed
View)
4.
Close the Start
Page tab.
5.
Select File
-> New on the Visual Studio main
menu.
6.
Select Project
from the cascading menu, as depicted in Illustration 3.
Illustration 3:
Beginning a New Project ...
The New
Project dialog appears.
7.
Select Business
Intelligence Projects in the Project types pane of the dialog.
8.
Select Analysis
Services Project in the Templates pane, as shown in Illustration
4.
Illustration 4: Select
Analysis Services Project
NOTE: The
templates that appear in your template pane may differ, depending upon which SQL
Server 2005 components are installed in your environment, as well as upon whether
additional templates (for Business Intelligence Projects or other types
of projects that can be created) have been defined in Visual Studio.
9.
Change the
project Name (currently displaying a default) to the following:
ANSYS050 Perspectives
The Solution Name
changes to match the project Name by default.
10. Navigate to a convenient location
to store the Project and Solution files, modifying the Location
box accordingly (Visual Studio will create a directory based upon our
input here).
The relevant section of
the New Project dialog appears similar to that depicted in Illustration
5.
Illustration 5: The New
Project Dialog (Relevant Section), with our Input
11. Click OK to accept our input and to create
the new Analysis Services Project.
The New Project dialog
closes. Visual Studio creates the project, which appears underneath solution
ANSYS050 Perspectives, within the Solution Explorer as shown in Illustration
6.
Illustration 6: The New
Analysis Services Project Appears
Having created a new Analysis
Services Project, we are ready to define a Data Source and Data
Source View.
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