Procedure: Prepare MSSQL Server Management Studio to Query Analysis Services

Objective:

Use
this procedure to prepare SQL Server Management Studio for writing, modifying and executing MDX queries, and examining
the results returned, within a practice session.

1. 
Click the Start
button on the PC.

2. 
Select Microsoft
SQL Server 2005
within the Program group of the menu.

3. 
Click SQL
Server Management Studio
, as shown in Illustration 1.



Illustration 1: Opening
SQL Server Management Studio

The Connect to Server
dialog appears, after the brief Management Studio splash screen.

4. 
Select Analysis
Services
in the Server type selector.

5. 
Type / select
the server name (server name / instance, if appropriate) in the Server name
selector.

6. 
Supply
authentication information, as required in your own environment.

The Connect to Server
dialog appears similar to that depicted in Illustration 2.



Illustration 2:
Connecting to the Server …

7. 
Click the Connect
button to connect with the specified Analysis Services server.

The SQL Server
Management Studio
opens.

8. 
In the Object
Explorer
pane (it appears by default on the left side of the Studio),
expand the Databases folder (click the “+” sign to its immediate left),
appearing underneath the Analysis Server within which we are working.

The Databases folder
opens, exposing the detected Analysis Services database(s), as shown
in Illustration 3.



Illustration 3: Exposing
the Analysis Services Databases in the Object Browser

NOTE: The Analysis Services
databases that appear will depend upon the activities that have taken place in
your own environment, and will likely differ from those shown in Illustration
3
above. For purposes of this practice session, the Adventure Works DW
database must be present. If this is not the case, consult the Books
Online
for the installation / connection procedures, and complete these
procedures before continuing.

9. 
Expand the Adventure
Works DW
database.

The Database expands,
exposing the folders for the various objects housed within the
Analysis Services
database, as depicted in Illustration 4.



Illustration 4: Exposing
the Object Folders in the Database …

10. 
Expand the Cubes
folder within the Adventure Works DW database.

The Cubes folder
opens. We may see multiple cubes here. Adventure Works is the sample
cube with which we will be conducting our practice exercises. The cubes appear
similar to those shown in Illustration 5.



Illustration 5: The
Cubes Appear …

11. 
Click the Adventure
Works
cube to select it.

12. 
Click the New
Query
button just under the main menu, in the upper left corner of the Management
Studio
, as depicted in Illustration 6.



Illustration 6: Click
the New Query Button with the Adventure Works Cube Selected

The Metadata
pane
for the Adventure Works cube appears, along with the Query
pane
to its right, as shown in Illustration 7.



Illustration 7:
Adventure Works Cube Metadata Appears …

We will
be using the Query pane to construct and execute MDX queries within our
practice session.

William Pearson
William Pearson
Bill has been working with computers since before becoming a "big eight" CPA, after which he carried his growing information systems knowledge into management accounting, internal auditing, and various capacities of controllership. Bill entered the world of databases and financial systems when he became a consultant for CODA-Financials, a U.K. - based software company that hired only CPA's as application consultants to implement and maintain its integrated financial database - one of the most conceptually powerful, even in his current assessment, to have emerged. At CODA Bill deployed financial databases and business intelligence systems for many global clients. Working with SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase and Informix, and focusing on MSSQL Server, Bill created Island Technologies Inc. in 1997, and has developed a large and diverse customer base over the years since. Bill's background as a CPA, Internal Auditor and Management Accountant enable him to provide value to clients as a liaison between Accounting / Finance and Information Services. Moreover, as a Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) - a Certified Public Accountant recognized for his or her unique ability to provide business insight by leveraging knowledge of information relationships and supporting technologies - Bill offers his clients the CPA's perspective and ability to understand the complicated business implications and risks associated with technology. From this perspective, he helps them to effectively manage information while ensuring the data's reliability, security, accessibility and relevance. Bill has implemented enterprise business intelligence systems over the years for many Fortune 500 companies, focusing his practice (since the advent of MSSQL Server 2000) upon the integrated Microsoft business intelligence solution. He leverages his years of experience with other enterprise OLAP and reporting applications (Cognos, Business Objects, Crystal, and others) in regular conversions of these once-dominant applications to the Microsoft BI stack. Bill believes it is easier to teach technical skills to people with non-technical training than vice-versa, and he constantly seeks ways to graft new technology into the Accounting and Finance arenas. Bill was awarded Microsoft SQL Server MVP in 2009. Hobbies include advanced literature studies and occasional lectures, with recent concentration upon the works of William Faulkner, Henry James, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, Honoré de Balzac, and Charles Dickens. Other long-time interests have included the exploration of generative music sourced from database architecture.

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