Who Should Read This Blog?

Thu, 17 May 2007 14:16:49 GMT

I'm writing this blog for a variety of people. Here are the groups I have in mind:

1. Individuals who are using Microsoft Analysis Services and are looking for ways to improve their cube browsing speed performance. I've got some ideas about how to do that - and my main focus is on doing it by using local cube files.

2. Individuals who are using CubeSlice as a tool to create local cube files. I intend to keep you up-to-date on this blog with the best ways to create high performance local cube files using CubeSlice.

3. Individuals who are using CubeSlice as a starting point for creating local cube files, but are modifying the ASSL script created by CubeSlice to fit their own needs. I intend to write articles that focus on the technical aspects of the script needed to create local cube files.

4. Individuals who are creating local cubes on their own. There's not a lot of information out there on creating local cube files. I'm going to try to provide the information you need.

For all - Please send me your questions, suggestions, problems, ideas. I want this blog to be useful, helpful, relevant - and focussed on what you want!

Thanks!

Why a blog about local cubes and Business Intelligence performance?

Fri, 11 May 2007 17:07:42 GMT

Welcome to my BI Performance Blog! My goal is to help users maximize their OLAP browsing speed. I think one of the most effective ways of doing that is by using local cube files.

What's a local cube file?

I work as an independent consultant, author, mentor, and software designer in the Microsoft portion of the Business Intelligence world. In Microsoft BI, a local cube is a file containing OLAP cubes that can be browsed when you're not connected to an Analysis Server. For a user, browsing a local cube or browsing an Analysis Server cube makes no difference at all - it all looks the same.

Local cubes were created so that individuals don't have to always be connected to the network. You can take your OLAP data on your laptop. You can send a local cube to an individual who's not connected to your network.

And there's a special bonus that comes from using local cube files - dramatically improved cube browsing speed. It's often better for individuals to use local cubes even while they are connected to the network, because they're able to drill down, apply calculations, and sort their data so much more quickly.

There are many strategies for improving the browsing speed of OLAP cubes. But, in my experience, the most effective way to immediately and dramatically improve browsing speed is to use local cube files.

Most people using Analysis Services don't know about the advantages of using local cubes to enhance browsing performance. Why not? There are several reasons:

Local cube creation can be difficult.
The performance improvement only comes when you use small local cubes. In order to effectively use local cubes created from large Analysis Server cubes, you have to find ways to create local cubes that are subsets of the server cubes.
Most software that supports the creation of local cubes only supports some local cube creation capabilities.

We have created a software tool called CubeSlice that automates the creation of local cube files. Whether or not you use our software, I think you should consider using local cube files. I'm hoping to help people do that with this blog. Please send me your experiences, your ideas, your suggestions for articles, and your questions. If you want to use local cube files to improve performance I want to help you find a way to do that.

Welcome! Thanks for reading!

Tim Peterson's BI Performance Blog: Why This Blog

Who Should Read This Blog?

Why a blog about local cubes and Business Intelligence performance?