Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible

Creating BI Semantic Models Using SQL Server Data Tools

You can develop BI Semantic Models using the SQL Server Data Tools using a special type of project called the Analysis Services Tabular project. As mentioned earlier, the development environment and development process are similar to that of the PowerPivot add-in for the Excel 2010 environment. If you read the section “Creating BI Semantic Models Using PowerPivot,” you can find a lot of similarities.

To create a new BI Semantic Model using SQL Server Data Tools, follow the next steps:

1. Launch SQL Server Data Tools. You can find the shortcut under the default install location located at Start → All Programs → Microsoft SQL Server 2012. The SQL Server Data Tools launches and displays the default Start Page.

2. On the Start Page, click the New Project option. You can also create a new project by clicking Start → New → Project. The New Project dialog window opens.

3. Select the Analysis Services Tabular project template option. Change the name of the project to AWTabularProject. Change the solution name to AWTabularSolution. You may also change the location to save the project.

4. Click OK. A blank model named Model.bim opens. At this point the model is an empty canvas. You need to create a table structure and import data.

5. Click Model menu option. From the menu list, select Import from Data Source,

6. The Table Import Wizard window opens. Select the Microsoft SQL Server option, as shown in Figure 58.18.

Figure 58.18 ...