Pro SQL Server 2012 Integration Services

C H A P T E R  17

Dimensional Data ETL

We are not in the eighth dimension; we are over New Jersey. Hope is not lost.

—Adventurer Buckaroo Banzai

In the first decade of the 21st century, the terms data warehouse and data mart were suddenly—and without warning—copied and pasted all over every database professional’s résumé. Despite the apparent increased awareness in the professional community, the core components of these structures, dimension and fact tables, remained misunderstood. In this chapter, you’ll look at ways to load data efficiently into your dimensional structures. You’ll begin with an introduction to the terminology and concepts used throughout this chapter.

Introducing Dimensional Data

By now, most database professionals have had ...