Mcts 70-448 Chap 5 Developing Ssas Cubes

Front 1

What does OLAP stand for?

Back 1

Online analytical processing

Front 2

What is dimensional modeling?

Back 2

The process used to architect schemas to support data analytics and reporting
mostly done through denormalizing, reducing the number of tables, and simplifying schema

Front 3

What are facts?

Back 3

The numeric data at an individual level

Front 4

What are dimesnsions?

Back 4

Slices of the fact table by suject areas

Front 5

What is a UDM?

Back 5

Unified Dimensional Model, AKA SSAS cube, which is a logical storage object that combines dimensions and measures to provide a multidimensional view of data.

Front 6

What are the six components of the UDM?

Back 6

Data Source
Data Source View
Dimensional model
Calculations (optional)
end-user model (optional)
Management Settings

Front 7

What are your two options for data sources?

Back 7

A native OLE DB provider or a Microsoft.NET managed provider (which increases overhead
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) and Java Database Community (JDBC) are not supported

Front 8

Which is more secure--standard or windows authentication?

Back 8

Windows authentication
(Standard is the SQL Server Authentication option)

Front 9

What does impersonation do?

Back 9

It allows you to specify the identity under which a server-side data operation will be carried out
Many impersonation options are applicable only with Windows Authentication

Front 10

What does the inherit impersonation information do?

Back 10

the server will decide which impersonation mode is most appropriate--it will use the service account for cube processing and the credentials of the current user for querying data models

Front 11

How would you specify the identity of the user in a connection setting?

Back 11

With the EffectiveUserName connection setting. This requires the interactive user to be an SSAS administrator

Front 12

What do you need to add to the DSV if it is not defined?

Back 12

Primary key and table relationship definitions
(Logical primary keys and table relationships are not validated, so don't screw it up or you won't know it until you try to use it)

Front 13

What does a named query do?

Back 13

It creates a new logical table that is added to the DSV and then treated like a physical table from the underlying relational database

Front 14

What does the DSV do?

Back 14

Captures schematic information for the relationsal database
Contains metadata describing tables and views
contains primary key definitions
lets you extend the data source schema by adding named calculations and anmed queries
defines table relationships and logical primary keys

Front 15

Does the cube wizard validate database schema?

Back 15

No!

Front 16

What are the cube designer tabs?

Back 16

Cube structure
Dimension usage
calculations
KPIs
Actions
Partitions
Aggregations
Perspectives
Translations
Browser

Front 17

Where would you set the formatting for a measure as a currency or a percentage?

Back 17

Measure properties

Front 18

What does a blue wavy line indicate?

Back 18

A warning that relates to best practice rules

Front 19

What do you need to do to make the cube available for browsing?

Back 19

Deploy the cube definition to the server and process its objects to load it with data. BIDS combines these two taks in one step when you deploy the database to the server.

Front 20

Can you modify the design of a dimention that has been included in a cube?

Back 20

You can modify certain properties for a dimension but the phyiscal design of a "cube dimension" is inherited from the dimension at a database level

Front 21

Whate are the five steps to crating a dimension?

Back 21

1. Select Creation Method (optionally generating a time or other table)
2. Specify source information (select dimension key)
3. Select related tables
4. Select Dimension Attributes (be sure to use dimmension attributes to represent time dimensions)
Complete the Wizard

Front 22

Where would you set ROLAP, MOLAP and ProactiveCaching for a dimension?

Back 22

Dimension properties

Front 23

What does the usage dimension attribute property do?

Back 23

Determines whether the attribute represents the key for the dimension, defines a parent-shild hierarchy, or is a regular attribute

Front 24

What does the NameColumn dimension attribute property do?

Back 24

Specifices the column that provides name values for the members of the attribute
NameColumn is optional

Front 25

What are the commonly modified dimension attribute properties?

Back 25

Name
Usage
KeyColumns
NameColumn:attributeHierarchy-enabled
AttributeHierarchy-Visible
IsAggregatable
OrderBy
OrderByAttribute
Type

Front 26

What is it called when you add the same dimensions multiple times to the cube (i.e. due date, ship date, and order date)?

Back 26

Role-playing dimension

Front 27

What is the best data type for attribute keys?

Back 27

Integer

Front 28

What are the two main scenaris in which you might need to add a new measure group?

Back 28

When a new fact table has been added to the database and you need to bring its data into the cube
You need a DistinctCount measure that calculates the nbumber of fact rows with unique values, such as the number of unique customers who have placed orders

Front 29

What are the three steps to adding a new measure group?

Back 29

Make sure the underlying fact table is included in the cube's DSV
Click Cube Structure-->Measures-->New Measure Group
Select the fact table

Front 30

What does the ErrorConfiguration measure group property do?

Back 30

Specifies whether the default (msmdsrv.ini) or the custom error configuration will be used to handle error conditions.

Front 31

What does the EstimatedRows measure group property do?

Back 31

Helps the server choose the optimum data structures and processing algorithms for a measure group when the number of rows in a fact table is already known

Front 32

What does the IgnoreUnrelatedDimensions group property do?

Back 32

Controls the query results when the user browses the measure group by that dimension. By default, unrelated dimesnsions are ignored

Front 33

What does the ProcesingMode measure group property do?

Back 33

Defines the place in the cube procesing at which data becomse available to users. By defaut it is set to regular but can be set to LazyAggregations where users can access as soon as it is processed, but processing takes longer

Front 34

What does the StorageMode measure group property do?

Back 34

Defines default storae mode for the measure group partitions (MOLAP, ROLAP, HOLAP)

Front 35

What does the type measure group property do?

Back 35

Provides client applicaitons with information about the contents of the measure group (E.g. sales). This property is not used by the server. The client can inspect and interpret this property as needed.

Front 36

What measure must be placed in a seperate measure group?

Back 36

Distinct Count Measure

Front 37

What are the clasifications of new measures?

Back 37

Additive (e.g. Sales amount) can be summed cross all dimensions
Sem-additive (e.g. account and inventory balaces) can be aggregated across all dimensions except time
nonadditive

Front 38

Where can you get "lastChild, LastNonEmpty, and AverageOfChildren functions and what are they used for?

Back 38

They are used to handle semiadditive measures and are in development and enterprise editions of SSAS

Front 39

What does the AggregateFunction measure property do?

Back 39

Specifies the measure aggregate function

Front 40

What does the DataType measure property do?

Back 40

Needs to be explicity set for Count and Distinct Count measures only. The default option, inherited, get the data type from the underlying DSV

Front 41

What does the DisplayFolder measure property do?

Back 41

Groups measures into logical folders

Front 42

What does the FormatString measure property do?

Back 42

Defines the measure display format. Custom format strings such as #,##0
are supported

Front 43

What does the MeasureExpression measure property do?

Back 43

Defines a measure expression (multiplication or division only) of tow operands
the second operand must be in a different measure group. E.g. sales amount by average currency rate for currency conversion

Front 44

What does the Source measure property do?

Back 44

Defines the measure binding. Measures are typically bound to a single numeric column (fact) from the fact table that serves as the source of the measure group (column binding). However, a Count measure could be bound to a row (row binding) if it needs to count rows

Front 45

What does the Visible measure property do?

Back 45

When set to False, hides the measure from the end user. The measure can still be used in MDX expressions

Front 46

What should you verify after adding a new measure group?

Back 46

The relationships between the measure groups and the dimensions, which are auto-configured by the cube desinger based on the relationships in the DSV. Go to the Dimension Usage tab.

Front 47

What is the difference between measures and a measure group?

Back 47

A measure is a container of measures. Typically, a measure group represents a fact table and its measures represent the facts.