Troubleshooting OLAP Problems

Should you have problems with Analysis Services, review this troubleshooting
checklist to find potential solutions.

1. Check that you use the latest SQL Server service pack.

Because many Analysis Services bugs were fixed in SQL Server service
packs, you should use the latest service pack.
To check what SQL Server service pack are you running, see this link:
How can I check what SQL service pack am I running?
To download the latest SQL Server service pack, see this link:
Where can I download the SQL Server service packs?

2. You might get an error message indicating “Cannot connect to the registry on the server computer (server2000),” when attempting to register an OLAP server running on Windows 2000 from an OLAP server running on Windows NT.

To work around this problem, start the remote registry service on the computer running Windows 2000. To start the remote registry service, do the following: Click Start -> Programs -> Administrative Tools -> Services -> right-click Remote Registry Service, and click Start.

3. The MSSQLServerOLAPService service fails to start after the
server computer name has been changed or the network card has
been replaced.

In this case, you should reinstall Analysis Services.

4. The MSSQLServerOLAPService service fails to start when the
first word in the name of the root folder for Analysis Services
is duplicated among root folder names on the same disk.

To work around this problem, you should rename the folder that
does not contain Analysis Services.

5. You will get an error message that indicates, “Cannot obtain server’s start directory from registry,” if the path of the Analysis Services data directory contains more than 102 characters.

To work around this problem, you should change the path of the Analysis
Services data directory by using the Data folder box in the Properties
dialog box for the server.

6. A change made to a Windows NT 4.0 user’s permissions does not
take effect.

This happens when the change was made while the user was logged on to
Windows NT 4.0. To apply new permissions, the
user should log off and then log on again.

7. An error message indicating that insufficient disk space
for temporary files is displayed.

To work around this problem, release space on the disk where
the Analysis Services store the temporary file folder, or
specify a temporary file folder on another disk with more space.

8. You can get an error message indicating that you do not have permission to administer the Analysis server.

To work around this problem, log on to Analysis server using
an account that is a member of the OLAP Administrators group.

9. If the cubes use new SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services features,
the SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services client applications cannot see
these cubes in the list of cubes in a database.

To work around this problem, upgrade SQL Server 7.0 OLAP
Services client applications to the SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services
client applications.

10. If you change the data source provider for an existing cube,
an error can occur the next time the cube is processed.

Use Decision Support Objects (DSO)
or Cube Editor to correct the problem. Microsoft does not recommend
changing the data source provider for an existing cube, because different
providers can use different SQL syntax.

11. The users view an old version of a cube or virtual cube when the
cube or virtual cube was changed but not processed, or when the
cube or virtual cube was processed during the users browse session.

To work around this problem, the Analysis Services administrator
should process the cube or virtual cube, and the users should log off
and then log on again.

12. A program using ADOMD may hang with 100% CPU if there is no BeginTrans corresponding to CommitTrans.

Always pair BeginTrans with CommitTrans.

13. If a virtual dimension is based on a column that has more than
760 rows, it is not possible to drill down data for this dimension
when you browse the cube.

Create a regular dimension
instead of a virtual dimension. This is an SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services
bug; SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services do not contain this problem.

14. The SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services Manager is unable to browse
a cube when the ‘All Caption’ property for the dimension matches
the name of any level in the dimension.

Change the name selected for the
‘All Caption’ property.

15. If SQL Server authentication is used to connect to SQL Server ROLAP cubes, the incremental updates of ROLAP cubes may fail with an error message that indicates, “There is already an object named ‘tableName’ in the database.”

The tables containing the aggregates data are dropped when incremental
updates on ROLAP cubes are performed for the second time. OLAP server
attempts to drop tables that have dbo as the owner. If the tables were
created using another owner, the above error will occur. To work
around this problem, create all objects with the user as dbo.
This is an SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services bug; SQL Server 2000 Analysis
Services does not contain this problem.

16. When the OLAP repository is empty, the OLAP repository migration wizard fails with an error message that indicates “Error copying repository data.”

Prior to migrating the OLAP repository, you should create at least
one OLAP Services database.

17. If SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services is installed in the root
directory, the user connecting remotely gets an error message.

Microsoft recommends installing OLAP
services in the default path (..Program FilesOLAP Services).
This is an SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services bug; SQL Server 2000 Analysis
Services does not contain this problem.

18. You can get an error when processing all shared dimensions either
from SQL Server 7.0, OLAP Manager, or from a SQL Server 7.0 DTS package.

To work around this problem, process each shared dimension one by one,
instead of trying to process all dimensions. This is an SQL Server 7.0
OLAP Services bug; SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services does not contain
this problem.

19. You can get an error during the processing of a cube, if the cube has
more than 128 levels.

Microsoft recommends limiting the number
of levels per cube to 128. This is an SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services bug;
SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services does not contain this problem.

20. After an incremental processing of the cube, the date fields display
incorrectly when a time dimension is based on the fact table.

This is an SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services bug. To resolve this problem, incrementally update or refresh the time dimension before you process
the cube, or apply Service Pack 2 for SQL Server 7.0.

»


See All Articles by Columnist
Alexander Chigrik

Alexander Chigrik
Alexander Chigrik
I am the owner of MSSQLCity.Com - a site dedicated to providing useful information for IT professionals using Microsoft SQL Server. This site contains SQL Server Articles, FAQs, Scripts, Tips and Test Exams.

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Cloud Insider for top news, trends & analysis

Latest Articles