Processing in Analysis Services

Processing is a critical step in Analysis Services that involves loading and organizing data from source systems into the Analysis Services cubes, dimensions, and partitions. This process makes the data available for querying and analysis. Understanding different processing types and methods is essential for optimizing performance and ensuring data freshness.

Understanding Processing Types

Analysis Services offers several types of processing, each suited for different scenarios:

• Full Process: This is the most comprehensive processing type. It deletes existing data and metadata (for objects like tables or partitions), then rebuilds them from scratch. Use this when significant schema changes occur or when data corruption is suspected.
• Process Add: This type adds new data to existing partitions without affecting the existing data or metadata. It's useful for incremental updates where new records are added to the source.
• Process Update: This type updates existing data and metadata. It can reprocess dimensions or facts, potentially recalculating measures based on updated source data.
• Process Recalc: This type recomputes measures without reloading data. It's useful when calculations might be affected by metadata changes or if a specific measure needs to be refreshed.
• Process Default: This is the most common processing type for regular data refreshes. Analysis Services analyzes the object and its related objects to determine the most efficient processing method required.

Processing Strategies

You can choose how to initiate and manage the processing of your Analysis Services objects:

• Object-Level Processing: Process individual dimensions, cube partitions, or measures. This is useful for targeted updates or troubleshooting.
• Database-Level Processing: Process all objects within a specific Analysis Services database.
• Scheduled Processing: Integrate processing tasks into SQL Server Agent jobs for automated, regular data refreshes.

Processing Dimensions

Dimensions should typically be processed before the cubes that use them. You can process dimensions incrementally or fully.

• Incremental Processing: Suitable for dimensions that only have new members added.
• Full Processing: Necessary when members are added, deleted, or attributes change.

Processing Cubes and Partitions

Cube and partition processing involves loading and aggregating fact data. The performance of this step heavily depends on the amount of data and the complexity of aggregations.

Performance Considerations

Optimizing processing performance is crucial for delivering timely data to users:

• Process in Stages: Process dimensions first, then fact tables and cube partitions.
• Incremental Processing: Utilize incremental processing for dimensions and partitions whenever possible.
• Minimize Full Processes: Reserve full processes for situations where they are absolutely necessary.
• Optimize Source Queries: Ensure that the queries used to extract data from source systems are efficient.
• Hardware Resources: Sufficient CPU, RAM, and I/O are critical for fast processing.
• Partitioning: Break down large fact tables into smaller partitions that can be processed independently.

Processing Methods

Processing can be initiated through various methods:

• SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS): A user-friendly interface for managing and initiating processing tasks.
• AMO (Analysis Management Objects): A .NET library that allows programmatic control over Analysis Services objects, including processing.
• XMLA (XML for Analysis): A protocol used to communicate with Analysis Services, enabling scripting and automation.
• SQL Server Agent: Schedule processing jobs to run automatically at defined intervals.

Example: Processing a Partition using AMO

The following C# code snippet demonstrates how to process a specific partition using AMO:

                    
using Microsoft.AnalysisServices.Tabular;

// ... connection setup ...

Database db = server.Databases.GetByName("YourDatabaseName");
Cube cube = db.Cubes.GetByName("YourCubeName");
Partition partition = cube.Dimensions.GetByName("YourPartitionName"); // Note: This would typically be for tabular, for multidimensional it's cube.Partitions

// For Multidimensional:
// Partition partition = cube.Partitions.GetByName("YourPartitionName");

// Assuming 'partition' is correctly identified for your model type
// The actual processing call depends on whether you are using Multidimensional or Tabular.

// Example for Multidimensional:
Microsoft.AnalysisServices.Multidimensional.Partition mdPartition = (Microsoft.AnalysisServices.Multidimensional.Partition)db.Cubes.GetByName("YourCubeName").Partitions.GetByName("YourPartitionName");
mdPartition.Process(Microsoft.AnalysisServices.ProcessType.ProcessDefault);

// Example for Tabular:
// Microsoft.AnalysisServices.Tabular.Partition tabularPartition = db.Cubes.GetByName("YourCubeName").Tables.GetByName("YourTableName").Partitions.GetByName("YourPartitionName");
// tabularPartition.Process(Microsoft.AnalysisServices.Tabular.ProcessType.ProcessDefault);

// The above are illustrative. Actual AMO code can be more detailed.