Knight's Microsoft® Business Intelligence 24-Hour Trainer: Leveraging Microsoft SQL Server® Integration, Analysis, and Reporting Services with Excel® and SharePoint®

Building Reports on Your Cube

When you create a report that is querying a SQL database, you are using the SQL query lan-

guage. When you report from an Analysis Services cube, you are using the MDX (Multidimensional

Expressions) language. This language is very different from SQL and has a steep learning curve. The

best way to learn MDX is to forget SQL and start with a clear head. Fortunately, you do not need to

learn MDX to create reports from a cube.

Reporting from a cube can be accomplished with little or no MDX knowledge at all. The MDX

Query Designer in BIDS is very efficient at creating the MDX query you need automatically. You

may need a little MDX knowledge to understand how to modify the report.

The data source for cube reports will be an Analysis Services cube. In the previous lessons you

learned how to create a shared data source. Those instructions still apply here, with one excep-

tion. The only difference is the type of connection. In the Type drop-down menu you will need

to select Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services. Figure 25-1 shows this selected with the con-

nection string below the type. This shared

data source will work just like any other.

The big changes are in the dataset.

A dataset built on an Analysis Services

data source will be significantly different

from the regular SQL database datasets.

You will notice the biggest difference in

the

Query Designer. I ...