Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services Step by Step [With CDROM]

by Scott Cameron

Book Overview

Teach yourself to use SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services for business intelligence one step at a time. You'll start by building your understanding of the business intelligence platform enabled by SQL... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0735626200
• ISBN13: 9780735626201
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Microsoft Press
• Length: 418 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 7.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Outstanding...

I just finished this book and I am really impressed with it -- It was very well written: the chapters are very organized from beginning to end; it is very easy to follow and you get to practice in each sub-section as you go, steps by steps just like the title said; when you are done with it, it gives you a good foundation of basic knowledge to intermediate level of SSAS 2008; and every explanation it has in the book is just right (not lengthly) and neccessary for you to understand. What struck me the most is the book has no error -- can you believe it? It's a miracle. Most of the technical books I bought so far I was so frustrated because not only they are not organized, but errors appear left and right in the code and in the exercises. I read this book and followed every step to the T, and everything works as it said (I have SQL Server 2008 Developer Edition and VS Team System 2008 Development Edition, but if you have the basic system requirements requirements said in the book, it should work as well).

Easy and breezy - excellent introduction to SSAS OLAP

This is an excellent starter for the OLAP portion of SSAS. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a great introduction to some of the initially quirky concepts that SSAS uses. (A proper understanding of fundamental things like attribute hierarchies is crucial, especially if you come to SSAS with dangerous baggage from non-MDX-based BI platforms. If this describes you, make sure you understand these 2 chapters implicitly before proceeding). Each of the following chapters has the same format - a conceptual overview followed by some exercises. The overview pieces are usually short (yet fairly complete, for overviews), very readable and can absolutely stand on their own - in other words, you can return to the material months later and clarify a concept in 60 seconds without having to wade through pages of rambling blather. I find this quite unusual for what is nominally an exercise-oriented book. Chapters 8 and 10 contain nuggets regarding Scenario Dimensions and Writeback - personally I would really like to have seen the discussion on Planning applications developed a bit further, but it's probably of fairly narrow interest. Chapter 13 contains the best conceptual overview of Aggregation Design that I have yet seen. If you find SSAS OLAP the most exciting part of the MS BI stack, and want to focus solely within that area, this is the best place to start. It's an easy (and at only 400 pages, quite breezy) read - you won't be a master when you get through it (specifically, MDX), but you will understand all of the major SSAS concepts, and that's an achievement in itself. Note to SSAS OLAP newbies: Do NOT use the MSFT Books Online to start with. The tutorials there are adequate when it comes to button-pushing, and the technical reference sections are excellent when you have achieved a level of competency ... however, neither addresses the CONCEPTS properly ... start with this book and save yourself 3-6 months of pain!

Excellent book

I bought this book and started building cubes in a very short time frame. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is new to SSAS 2008.

Great book to get you going

Excellent step by step setup, configuring, creating, and so forth. Get this book if you need a guided example so you don't waste your time troubleshooting procedures.

Good value

Very useful book. Easier to comprehend than online help. Well organized with detailed explanations. Also includes CD with example databases and projects.