Introduction

This chapter discusses various processing options available with dimensions and cubes. As discussed in the previous chapters, all commands sent to Analysis Services use XMLA language—the same holds true for processing commands. You will start by learning the basic processing commands and work your way up to more complex options.

If you use ROLAP storage for any of your SSAS objects, processing simply defines metadata; ROLAP does not copy relational data into multidimensional format. You can reference Chapter 3, Creating Analysis Services Cubes, for more information about various storage options. For the remainder of this chapter, we will discuss processing for MOLAP objects.

Processing loads the data from the relational database tables into the Analysis Services objects. The easiest option allows the processing of the entire Analysis Services database, including all dimensions and all partitions. This option is suitable for tiny sample databases or for a proof of concept type...