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Today I discovered that you can have a working AS2000 database without repository data relative to structure internals to that database (cubes and dimensions).
Just to explain how it works.
- You have a "Foodmart 2000" database
- Into the Olap Data directory, you create a "Foodmart Copy" directory
- In Analysis Manager, create a database "Foodmart Copy"
- Stop Analysis Services service
- Into Olap Data directory, copy "Foodmart 2000" content into "Foodmart Copy" directory
- Start Analysis Services service
- From an olap client (like Excel) you can navigate all cubes into "Foodmart Copy" as you were in "Foodmart 2000"
- From Analysis Manager, you see that "Foodmart Copy" is an empty database (it has no metadata in repository)
I know at least one customer who currently use this "undocumented feature" (can we say that?) to support the distribution of a processed database so queries scale on a multi-server architecture. If they update the "master" database changing some metadata, adding a level to a dimension or a measure to a cube, the distribution is a simpe XCOPY deployment.
I didn't know that AS2000 is able to query a processed cube even without metadata...
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About Marco Russo (SQLBI)
Marco Russo is a consultant, writer and trainer specialized in Business Intelligence with Microsoft technologies.
He runs the SQLBI.EU website, which is dedicated to distribute resources useful for BI developers, like Integration Services components, Analysis Services models, tools, technical information and so on.
Marco is certified as MCT, MCDBA, MCSD.NET, MCSA, MCSE+I.