Getting Started with Azure Analysis Services

Welcome to Azure Analysis Services! This guide will walk you through the initial steps to get your first tabular model up and running in the cloud.

What is Azure Analysis Services?

Azure Analysis Services is a fully managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) that provides enterprise-grade data modeling capabilities. It enables you to define semantic models that can be queried by business intelligence tools like Power BI, Excel, and SQL Server Reporting Services, making it easier for users to explore and analyze data.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• An Azure Subscription. If you don't have one, you can create a free account.
• Permissions to create resources in your Azure subscription.
• Appropriate tools installed, such as:
  • SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
  • Visual Studio with Analysis Services Projects extension (for developing more complex models)

Step 1: Create an Azure Analysis Services Server

You can create an Azure Analysis Services server resource through the Azure portal.

1. Navigate to the Azure portal.
2. Click Create a resource.
3. Search for "Azure Analysis Services" and select it.
4. Click Create.
5. Fill in the required details:
   • Subscription: Choose your Azure subscription.
   • Resource group: Create a new one or select an existing one.
   • Server name: A unique name for your server.
   • Location: Choose a region close to your data sources or users.
   • Pricing tier: Select a tier based on your performance and scalability needs. Start with a Developer tier for testing.
6. Review the settings and click Create.

Step 2: Connect to Your Server

Once your server is deployed, you can connect to it using SSMS.

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio.
2. In the Connect to Server dialog, enter your server name. This will be in the format: yourservername.asazure.windows.net.
3. For Authentication, select Azure Active Directory - Universal with MFA or Azure Active Directory - Password if you are connecting with your Azure AD credentials. You can also use SQL Server Authentication if you've configured it.
4. Click Connect.

Step 3: Create a New Tabular Model

With SSMS connected to your server, you can create a new tabular model project.

1. In SSMS, right-click on your Analysis Services server name and select New Database.
2. Choose Tabular as the Database type.
3. Enter a Database name (e.g., "AdventureWorksDWTabular").
4. Click OK.

Step 4: Import Data

Now, let's import data into your tabular model. For this example, we'll use the AdventureWorksDW sample database.

1. In SSMS, right-click on your newly created database and select Import from Source.
2. Choose SQL Server as the data source.
3. Enter the server name and database name for your AdventureWorksDW database.
4. Select the tables you want to import (e.g., `DimCustomer`, `DimProduct`, `FactInternetSales`).
5. Click OK to import the data.

Step 5: Create Relationships and Measures

After importing data, you'll need to define relationships between tables and create calculations (measures).

• Relationships: In the tabular model designer in SSMS, you can visually create relationships between tables by dragging common columns.
• Measures: Right-click on a table and select New Measure to write DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) formulas for aggregations like Sales Amount, Quantity Sold, etc.

For example, a simple Sales Amount measure might look like:

Sales Amount = SUM(FactInternetSales[SalesAmount])

Next Steps