Scalability
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services provides a scalable architecture to address a variety of data warehousing scenarios.
Customized Aggregation Options
Using the Storage Design Wizard, you can optimize the tradeoff between system performance and the disk space allocated to storing aggregations. Analysis Services uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine the optimum set of aggregations from which other aggregations can be derived. As a result, you can focus on application design issues and leave the complex management of aggregation design up to the system.
Usage-Based Optimization
You can tune the performance of a cube to provide quick response to the queries most often executed by directing the Usage-Based Optimization Wizard to design aggregations appropriate to those queries while maintaining reasonable storage requirements. Thus, you can quickly build a system with a minimum number of aggregations and then later optimize performance according to the actual usage of the system.
Data Compression and Storage Optimization
In multidimensional OLAP (MOLAP) and hybrid OLAP (HOLAP) storage modes, Analysis Services stores all or some of the cube information in multidimensional structures. In these structures, storage is not used for empty cells, and a sophisticated data compression algorithm is applied to data that is stored. When combined with the flexible options for the design and optimization of precalculated aggregations, these techniques help to minimize the impact of the
Distributed Calculation
PivotTable® Service incorporates functionality from the server so that calculations can often be performed on the client instead of the server. Because this distributes the computational load between the server and the client, it increases the capacity of the server, reduces network traffic, and improves performance for the clients.
Partitions
You can spread a cube over multiple servers by dividing it into partitions. Analysis Services can then retrieve data in parallel to answer queries. Partitioning enables you to manage your storage strategy, increase scale with multiple servers, and increase performance.
Note This feature is available only if you install Analysis Services for SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.
Linked Cubes
A cube can be stored on a single server and referenced as a linked cube on other servers. Users connected to any of these servers can then access the cube. This approach avoids the more costly alternative of storing and maintaining copies of a cube on multiple servers. Linked cubes make it possible for you to create, store, and maintain a cube on one Analysis server while providing access to the cube from multiple Analysis servers. Linked cubes facilitate cube security and reduce storage and maintenance requirements.
Note This feature is available only if you install Analysis Services for SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.
Distributed Partitioned Cubes
Creating distributed partitioned cubes by using remote partitions enables you to manage your storage strategy by storing a cube's data across multiple servers. Benefits include centralized administration, greater scalability, and enhanced performance through parallel processing of queries.
Note This feature is available only if you install Analysis Services for SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.
Incremental Updates
A cube can be updated by processing only the data that has been added rather than the entire cube; you can incrementally update OLAP cubes while they are in use.
LAN, WAN, Internet, and Mobile Scenarios
Intelligent cache management integrates the Analysis server with the PivotTable Service client, minimizing traffic over LAN and WAN connections. PivotTable Service contains an efficient multidimensional calculation engine to further minimize network traffic and to enable analysis of local multidimensional data when the client is not connected to the server.
Microsoft ActiveX® controls, Active Server Pages (ASP) scripting, and ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) APIs provide a variety of solutions for querying OLAP data over the Web.
To support mobile scenarios, you can create local cubes, which can be used without a connection to an Analysis server. Depending on their storage mode, some local cubes can be used without a connection to an Analysis server and without a connection to the cube's data source.
HTTP Authentication of Connections
HTTP or secure HTTP (HTTPS) authentication can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) to establish connections to an Analysis server.
Note This feature is available only if you install Analysis Services for SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.
Client Support for Windows 95 and Windows 98
PivotTable Service runs on Microsoft Windows® 95 and Windows 98, supporting client applications available for these platforms as well as for Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 and Windows 2000.