Book Image

Tabular Modeling with SQL Server 2016 Analysis Services Cookbook

By : Derek Wilson
Book Image

Tabular Modeling with SQL Server 2016 Analysis Services Cookbook

By: Derek Wilson

Overview of this book

SQL Server Analysis Service (SSAS) has been widely used across multiple businesses to build smart online analytical reporting solutions. It includes two different types of modeling for analysis services: Tabular and Multi Dimensional. This book covers Tabular modeling, which uses tables and relationships with a fast in-memory engine to provide state of the art compression algorithms and query performance. The book begins by quickly taking you through the concepts required to model tabular data and set up the necessary tools and services. As you learn to create tabular models using tools such as Excel and Power View, you’ll be shown various strategies to deploy your model on the server and choose a query mode (In-memory or DirectQuery) that best suits your reporting needs. You’ll also learn how to implement key and newly introduced DAX functions to create calculated columns and measures for your model data. Last but not least, you’ll be shown techniques that will help you administer and secure your BI implementation along with some widely used tips and tricks to optimize your reporting solution. By the end of this book, you’ll have gained hands-on experience with the powerful new features that have been added to Tabular models in SSAS 2016 and you’ll be able to improve user satisfaction with faster reports and analytical queries.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Tabular Modeling with SQL Server 2016 Analysis Services Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Customer Feedback
Preface

Adding a measure to a tabular model


Measures are what your model uses for calculations against the rows and columns based on the formula. Once a measure has been created in the model, users will be able to add it to their reports. For this recipe you will create one measure that counts the number of rows in the CRASH_DATE table. Measures are added to the measure grid area of the grid view in your model.

How to do it...

  1. Open your project to the CRASH_DATE grid view. You will create the function in the cell highlighted in the following screenshot:

  2. Left-click on the highlighted cell and enter the following in the function bar

            Count_of_Crashs:=COUNT(Crash_Data[CRASH_KEY])
  3. Press Enter to calculate your function.

How it works...

In this recipe, you entered a DAX formula into the measure grid area that counts the rows. The formula currently shows the total number of rows in your table of 559,227. However, as you continue to add the following recipes, the formula will dynamically count the...