Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services  This tutorial will guide you in using a multidimensional model to analyze your business data. As you go through the tutorial, you'll perform all the operations necessary for designing, processing several cubes and analyzing data with Analysis Manager. In the Advanced sections, you will also get to use some of the new features: data mining, actions, and drillthrough. For information about fully exploiting the power of Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services, see SQL Server Books Online.

Scenario: You are a database administrator working for the FoodMart Corporation. FoodMart is a large grocery chain with sales in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. With the three sample cubes (Marketing, Human Resources (HR), Expense Budget) you will build, you'll set up the connections you need to gain access to data, define your cubes, and position yourself to analyze your data in the most efficient way.

1. Quick Start (60 minutes) Set Up the System Data Source Connection Before you begin working with Analysis Manager, you must first set connections to the source of your data in the ODBC Data Source Administrator. Start Analysis Manager Analysis Manager is a snap-in program that runs on Microsoft Management Console (MMC). Set Up the Database and Data Source Before you design your cube, you must set up a database structure and connect to the data source you set up earlier in the ODBC Data Source Administrator. Build a Cube A cube is a multidimensional structure of data. Edit a Cube Make structural changes to the cube you created. Design Storage and Process the Cube Before you can query and view data at any level of the cube, the storage mode must be selected and the aggregation schema designed. Browse Cube Data Cube Browser enables you to query and view data in the cube. 3. Advanced Analysis (60 minutes) Set Dimension Custom Rollups, Write Back, and More (new!) Analysis Services now supports advanced dimension settings.  It enables you to define custom rollups, custom formulas for each members. It also permits a parent node to receive data. Define Advanced Calculations (new!) Analysis Services now supports calculation definition at amember or at a cell level. Add Parent Level Data (new!) Data can now be entered in the cube at any level of this dimension. A new dimension setting supports this feature. Create an Action (new!) An action is an end user-initiated operation upon a selected cube or portion of a cube. The operation can launch an application with the selected item as a parameter or retrieve information about the selected item. Drillthrough (new!) Drillthrough enables you to retrieve the detailed data, contained in the source table, from which the data in a cube cell was summarized. Establish a Remote Internet Connection (new!) Analysis Services enables you to connect to the server over the Internet using HTTP.

2. Basic Functions (60 minutes) Build a Cube with Parent-Child Dimensions (new!) A parent-child dimension is an organized hierarchy of members that is defined by its parent-child relationships. Browse Dimension Data (new!) The dimension browser enables you to view the dimension structure and the property values attached to its members. Create a Calculated Member A calculated member is a member of a dimension whose value is calculated at run time using an expression. Create Member Properties A member property provides end users with additional information about the members of a dimension level (for example, the color of a product). Create a Virtual Dimension A virtual dimension is a logical dimension based on the properties of members of a physical dimension. Add Roles to a Cube (new!) A role is a named set of security accounts based on Microsoft Windows NT® and Microsoft Windows® 2000 users and groups. View Cube and Dimension Meta Data Cube and dimension meta data are available to review in Analysis Manager.  4. Data Mining (90 minutes) Create an OLAP Mining Model with Decision Trees (new!) You can define a data mining model based on your cube data using the Microsoft Decision Trees algorithm provided by Analysis Services. Browse the OLAP Data Mining Dimension and Virtual Cube (new!) You can browse the virtual cube generated by the data mining model. Create an OLAP Mining Model with Clustering (new!) You can define a data mining model based on your cube data using the Microsoft Clustering algorithm provided by Analysis Services. Create Relational Mining Model with Decision Trees (new!) You can define a data mining model directly based on the source tables using the Microsoft Decision Trees algorithm provided by Analysis Services. Browse Dependency Network (new!) You can use the Dependency Network to analyze the dependencies between characteristics of a mining model.

5. Advanced Management (60 minutes) Create a Partition for Your Cube A partition is a storage container for data and aggregations of a cube. Every cube contains one or more partitions. Create and Process a Virtual Cube A virtual cube is a combination of multiple cubes in one logical cube, somewhat like a relational database view that combines other views and tables. Manage Dimension Member and Cell Security (new!) Database Role Manager enables you to administrate security by roles at various levels of granularity: dimension member, data cells, and so on. Schedule Cubes processing using DTS (new!) You can use Data Transformation Services (DTS) to schedule your cube processing. Archive the Tutorial Database (new!) Analysis Services can archive the database. It compresses all the files contained in this database in a .cab file. Remove the Tutorial Database Analysis Services enables you to remove a database and all of its cubes from Analysis Manager. Restore the Tutorial Database (new!) Analysis Services enables you to restore a database that was previously archived. Learn More About Analysis Manager (new!) You can explore additional areas of Analysis Manager. See SQL Server Books Online for more information about the following topics: Member grouping Distinct Count measure Incremental updates Linked cubes Remote partitions Merging partitions Named sets New MDX function (UpdateCube, IsGeneration, IsAncestor, ...) Performance Monitor counters Usage-based optimization Write-enabling a cube Real-time OLAP using SQL notifications Active Directory support © 1988-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.