I am a novice in SSAS with some theoretical knowledge in it.
I would like to do the very first and the simplest of all implementation in that.
I searched in Google but the one's I found are a bit high enough for me to grasp.
Could you please suggest me some good links/articles(Step by Step [ would be better if diagrams are given]) to start with.
I mean no inbuit AdventureWorks SSAS db. I like to say not the examples given in Microsoft Press book entitled SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Step By Step (0735621993). Though it is good and basically helps to learn but I fell (after completing first 3 chapters) that there I need to install some already given DW's which I am not looking for
Everything should be from scratch so that I will learn properly though it may take a bit time.
Also it would be of great help to me and also for peoples like me if someone can tell direct the sequential steps to follow from start to end (like create dimensions, measures then cube etc. ) for creating a SSAS project.
You can find some step by step articles here.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms170208.aspx
I recommend you Applied Microsoft Analysis Services 2005 and Practical Business Intelligence with SQL Server 2005
See this question for more info.
Related
I am interested in creating a map of my database, so that I may understand it better. I am having difficulties understanding which tables relate to other tables, and I think a map, or flowchart would help me greatly. Has anyone done this? If so, how did you accomplish it?
You can try SQL Server Management Studio Express. Just right click on Database Diagrams and create a new diagram. You can select existing tables that you desire.
You can follow an excellent guide step by step here.
If you have Microsoft visio, that's a good software in creating a flowchart.
I use Lucid Chart (www.lucidchart.com) occasionally because we don't have Visio either. They offer a free account, which works pretty well, apart from the limit on the number of items you can put in one document (I want to say it's a limit of 60 entities).
yesterday i went for an interview to be a sql / .net developer. my experience with sql is limited to basic pl/sql with oracle. they drilled me "do you know ssrs, do you know tsql, etc" well i kept saying no because i havent worked with them.
question: what do i have to learn in order to be able to work with microsoft sql? is it really that much different than oracle?
Grab a copy of SQL Server Express (see here) and start playing with it. There are sample databases that you can download to get you started.
SQL is the same, as it's a standard. T-SQL is an add on that has some flavors that are helpful to know. The way you setup procedures, functions, etc. is also different than PL-SQL, so that would be good to read up on. Outside the SQL Server engine and the various built-in tools, there are a lot of other MS products:
SSRS - SQL Server Reporting Services features a reporting engine, which are developed in Visual Studio.
SSIS - SQL Server Integration Services is a data import/export, etc. process, it's very handy to use for data import/export and other batch processing
SSAS - Analysis Services for OLAP
And so on. I don' tknow that SSAS helps you in this regard, but SSRS is pretty big so as a developer, reporting is a key feature and that would be handy to know something about. SSIS is good to know a little bit about, but might not be that handy, depending on what the org's needs are.
HTH.
SQL is pretty much SQL. There are some engine-specific differences but for most apps they're not significant. The management tools are obviously different. The OOB tools are vastly different.
SSRS is a reporting package (think Crystal reports on double steroids and you'd be close) not a DB engine. That should be listed as a separate job requirement.
I'd say get an MSDN license OR the free trial for SQL Server and install them all and try them out. Bookstore is a fairly generic app that you can extend forever and tryout new things.
Just keep in mind that someone hiring you is still going to want actual app experience, not your trials. If you can't get it at work, volunteer at an organization.
A good place to start is reading the MSDN SQL Server resource page. You'll find good information there about the whole MS SQL Ecosystem.
Then get a trial license, a virtual machine and start playing around.
It's kinda limited to their knowledge, as if you know basic ANSI sql then you can get almost all the basics running on SQL Server as they have a common base. As for SSRS, that is specific and will require reading and playing with it to learn. The SQL2008 Express with Advanced services should help you out.
With .net developer interviews I've been to they expect you to know the basics at minimum and be able to do joins and stuff in sql. Learning how to do temp tables and stored procedures as well as updates/selects/deletes and stuff should get you a bit further.
Potentially if they want that kinda experience either they are aiming the roll too low, or you've managed to slip through the net for a higher level role (which is sometimes a good thing) :-)
I'm looking for some decent examples/samples using SSIS to do some ETL from one SQL Server database to another not necessarily within the same instance.
The idea is to migrate rows of data with their heirarchies (relationships) from one OLTP database to another.
There are some advantages SSIS offers us which makes it a good choice as the migration/ETL platform (amongst other things it needs to be fully configurable and able to be executed on an automated schedule).
Does anyone know of any decent samples/examples besides the MS community samples (on Codeplex)?
Edit: I've also had a look at http://www.sqlis.com/ though I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for..
There are Microsoft Tutiorials on how to use each Task Component and concept available here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms141767.aspx
You will likely need to review several tutorials in order to aquire the knowledge to create a solution for your specific scenario.
Another excellent source of SSIS tips is Jamie Thomson's Blog. The man is a bit of wizard with SSIS:
http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/
Once you have had a look over the material, if you require specific assistance then feel free to drop a line.
Here are some good articles/tutorials from Microsoft on ETL:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms169917.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc671624.aspx
Check out the Sql Server Central and Sql Server World Users' Group (SSWUG) sites. If you can't find the examples/tutorials/experts you need in those two places, give up coding and take up cooking, because those sites are treasure troves!
One of the aspects of computer science/practical software engineering I am weaker at is actually doing significant work in database systems. That is to say, I can do simple queries on smaller datasets, no problem. However, working with complex queries on large datasets invokes a level of understanding of databases beyond me right now. For example, I built an amusing query some time ago that computed a join using a n^2 size where n=20,000- the hosting server suspended my account for blowing the CPU. Shocking.
I am interested in bringing myself up to speed on how to design schema and queries that, well, don't bring down the server. Pursuant to that end, what materials do you recommend that discuss professional database/SQL design and writing?
I would go to the bookstore and pick out some books on performance tuning for the database of your choice (it is very differnet depending onteh database backend). This will help you understand what not to do which is critical to designing databases.
Here's a site with a lot of good info
http://wiki.lessthandot.com/index.php/Category:Data_Management
For generic SQL I would go for Celko's books. For vendor specific, it depends on the platform of your choice. I know the SQL Server platform well and for that my praise go to the Inside series.
Blogs are also usefull, look at the all time SQL tag right here on SO and check the top answerers info, some have personal blogs that are very usefull. Eg. go through Quassnoi's blog, it has a LOT of useful info on MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server.
Looks like my data warehouse project is moving to Teradata next year (from SQL Server 2005).
I'm looking for resources about best practices on Teradata - from limitations of its SQL dialect to idioms and conventions for getting queries to perform well - particularly if they highlight things which are significantly different from SQL Server 2005. Specifically tips similar to those found in The Art of SQL (which is more Oracle-focused).
My business processes are currently in T-SQL stored procedures and rely fairly heavily on SQL Server 2005 features like PIVOT, UNPIVOT, and Common Table Expressions to produce about 27m rows of output a month from a 4TB data warehouse.
One place to start is here: http://www.teradataforum.com/
This might be a little late, but there are a few things which I can warn you about Teradata which I have learned.
Use the most recent version as often as possible.
For V12 the optimizer was re-written and the database performs much better now.
Try to realize that SQL Server and Teradata are very different beasts, most of the concepts will not transition well.
Do not underestimate the importance of a primary index.
The locks that teradata uses are very primitive when compared to other databases.
Do NOT use TERA mode. You do not have any code which is legacy, ANSI mode is far superior and is widely encouraged.
Join indexes are very helpful tools, but they do not provide all the answers.
Parallelism, take the time to understand how FASTLOAD, MULTILOAD, and TPUMP works and find out how one can leverage it with their ETL strategy.
If you are attempting to run a query which needs to be performant, do not use any casts, the optimizer will not use statistics to generate the best execution plan.
Working with dates are going to be a pain, just a warning.
Teradata is very DDL oriented, try to understand all the syntax related when creating a table.
Compression is a wonderful tool, if you have any values which are repeated in a table, make use of it.
There are not many tools available with Teradata, be prepared to build a lot. The tools that exist are very expensive.
Unfortunately, I do not know much about SQL Server, so I cannot say what tools in SQL Server appear in Teradata.
Hope this helps
I would also look into the recently launched Teradata Developer Exchange as well as the TeradataForum and forums on Teradata's main website.
I don't know of any good references available online. Teradata has some design manuals that are available for download, but they're more instruction manuals and not "best practices" as such. check them out here: http://www.info.teradata.com/DataWarehouse/eTeradata-BrowseBy.cfm?page=Teradata%20Database
Alternatively, you need to find a friendly Teradata expert to bounce ideas off. Try Teradata themselves, or find a local consultant with Teradata experience.
Best Practices on Teradata isn't a topic that gets lots of discussions and most of the best tricks tend to be proprietary knowledge of the person/people who discovered them.
Sorry,
David Stewardson
Satyam Computer Services
Top of the list on a Google search for "Teradata Best Practices" gave me TERADATA ADVISORY GROUP SETS BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESS OBJECTS AND TERADATA CUSTOMERS
EDIT: Seeing as that's just advertising, as you've pointed out, see how you go with these. Please bear in mind that I don't have a clue what Teradata is and can't see myself using it any time this side of the 22nd century AD.
Teradata Discussion Forums
Best Practices for Teradata Deployments
Best Study Guides For NCR Teradata Certifications
The middle one looks promising with it's nice long link tree at the top
Oracle® Business Intelligence Applications Installation and Configuration Guide > Preinstallation and Predeployment Considerations for Oracle BI Applications > Teradata-Specific Database Guidelines for Oracle Business Analytics Warehouse >
and the first link, to the forums, should put you in touch with the right people.