Introduction to MSSQL Server 2000 Analysis Services: Actions in Virtual Cubes - Page 2

April 19, 2004

MSAS Actions in Virtual Cubes

We learned in our last article that an MSAS Action is an operation upon a selected cube (or portion of a cube), initiated by an information consumer, while performing analysis within the cube in which the Action exists. We discovered that, for the item upon which it is initiated, the Action can retrieve information about the item that is selected, can start an application with the selection as a parameter that is fed to the application to accomplish its function, and so forth.

Actions afford the consumer-analyst the capability of accessing valuable relative information in a non-disruptive manner, by allowing him / her to access the information without leaving the point of analysis at which the Action is initialized (the "target," in the parlance of MSAS architecture). In this article, our examination of MSAS Actions will include:

• A brief introduction to Actions from the perspective of MSAS virtual cubes;
• Creation of a virtual cube through the "cloning" of a FoodMart2000 sample, to save time;
• A review of the characteristics of virtual cubes, where appropriate to the current objectives;
• A hands-on practice example of the creation of an Action within our newly created virtual cube;
• A review of the use of Actions within the Cube Browser;
• A hands-on practice example of the import of an Action within our newly created virtual cube;

Create a Clone of a Virtual Cube for this Article

Our server(s) appear. Mine is shown in various illustrations as MOTHER1.

Our database(s) appear, in much the same manner as shown in Illustration 1.

The sample cubes appear, as shown in Illustration 2.

Because our lesson will involve making changes to the cube we use, let's make a copy of the Warehouse and Sales cube. This sample that accompanies installation of MSAS is a virtual cube. Working with the copy will allow us to maintain our existing sample cubes in their original condition.