Azure Analysis Services Quickstart

Learn how to create and configure your first Azure Analysis Services server.

Quickstart: Create an Azure Analysis Services server

This quickstart guides you through the process of creating an Azure Analysis Services (AAS) server instance using the Azure portal. AAS provides enterprise-grade data modeling capabilities for cloud analytics and business intelligence solutions.

Prerequisites

  • An Azure subscription. If you don't have one, create a free account before you begin.
  • Permissions to create resources in your Azure subscription.

Step 1: Create an Azure Analysis Services server

Sign in to the Azure portal

Open your web browser and go to the Azure portal. Sign in with your Azure account credentials.

Create a new resource

  1. In the Azure portal search bar, type Analysis Services and select Analysis Services from the results.
  2. Click Create.

Configure server settings

On the Basics tab:

  • Subscription: Select the Azure subscription to use for your server.
  • Resource group: Select an existing resource group or create a new one. A resource group is a logical container for your Azure resources.
  • Server name: Enter a globally unique name for your Analysis Services server. The name must be between 3 and 63 characters, contain only letters, numbers, and hyphens, and start with a letter.
  • Location: Choose the Azure region where you want to deploy your server. Select a region close to your users or other Azure services.
  • Pricing tier: Select a pricing tier based on your performance and scalability needs. For this quickstart, you can choose a development tier (e.g., Developer) which is cost-effective for testing and evaluation.

On the Networking tab, configure your network settings. For this quickstart, you can leave the default settings (Public endpoint enabled). In production environments, consider using private endpoints for enhanced security.

On the Tags tab, you can add tags to categorize your resources. This is optional.

Click Review + create.

Review and create

Review your configuration. If everything looks correct, click Create.

Deployment can take a few minutes. You can monitor the deployment progress in the Azure portal notifications.

Tip

After creation, you can access your server's endpoint from the server's overview page in the Azure portal. This endpoint is needed to connect to the server using client tools like SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Power BI.

Step 2: Connect to your Analysis Services server

Once your server is deployed, you can connect to it using tools like SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or Visual Studio with Analysis Services projects.

Using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

  1. Launch SSMS.
  2. In the Connect to Server dialog, enter your server name. You can find this on the server's overview page in the Azure portal (e.g., your-server-name.asazure.windows.net).
  3. Select the authentication method (e.g., Windows Authentication if your Azure account has access, or Azure Active Directory).
  4. Click Connect.

Security Note

Ensure that the user account you are using for connection has the necessary permissions (e.g., Administrator role) on the Analysis Services server.

Next Steps