Professional Microsoft® SQL Server® Analysis Services 2008 with MDX

6.2. Creating a Cube Using the Cube Wizard

Cubes are the principal objects of an OLAP database that help in data analysis. Cubes are multidimensional structures that are primarily composed of dimensions and facts. The data from a fact table that is stored within the cube for analysis are called measures. In Analysis Services 2008 you can store data from multiple fact tables within the same cube. In Chapter 2 you became familiar with the Cube Wizard and in this chapter you see more details of the Cube Wizard followed by refinements to your cube in the Cube Designer.

Similar to the Dimension Wizard you used in Chapter 5, the Cube Wizard facilitates creation of cube objects from the DSV. For this exercise, you continue with the AnalysisServices2008Tutorial project you created in Chapter 5, which contained the dimensions [Dim Geography], [Dim Employee], and [Dim Date]. To start with a clean slate, please delete the existing cube Adventure Works DW if it is still there from Chapter 2. To completely understand the functionality of the Cube Wizard, follow these steps to build a new cube:

1. Open the AnalysisServices2008Tutorial project from Chapter 5. If the Adventure Works DW cube exists, delete the cube by right-clicking it in the Solution Explorer and selecting Delete.

2. Right-click the Cubes folder and select New Cube, as shown in Figure 6-2. Click Next on the introduction page to proceed.

   Figure 6.2. Figure 6-2

3. In the Select Creation Method page you have the option to build a cube from ...