Using Active Directory with Analysis Services

Analysis Services

Analysis Services

Using Active Directory with Analysis Services

Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Analysis Services supports Active Directory™. You can register an Analysis server with Active Directory to provide users with an easy way to search for registered servers using the Microsoft Windows® 2000 Search functionality.

For each Analysis server that you register, you can expose server information that the user subsequently uses to select the server. For example, you can provide relevant details, such as the location of the server, the name of the person who maintains the server, how the server is used, the kind of data it stores, and so on. In an enterprise that follows strict naming conventions, the ability to use additional criteria to locate a server can help circumvent server names that are not intuitive or are difficult to remember.

In Analysis Services, support for Active Directory is available for Analysis servers. Specific databases and cubes cannot be registered with Active Directory.

Registering an Analysis Server with Active Directory

During installation, Active Directory is configured to accept registration entries of SQL Server and Analysis Services instances. After installation is complete, you can register an Analysis server to make it available as a shared resource on your intranet. After you register an Analysis server, Windows 2000 notifies Active Directory of the new entry.

Registering an Analysis server with Active Directory is not a substitute for creating user accounts or setting permissions. Users who select a registered server are subject to the security measures that you have set for specific servers, databases, and cubes.

To register an Analysis server, use the Properties dialog box. You can access the Properties dialog box by right-clicking a server name in the Analysis Manager tree pane, and then clicking Properties. Use the Active Directory tab to register the server and set additional properties.

The properties that you can set correspond to search criteria that the user defines. When specifying properties, provide values that users are most likely to find helpful. For more information, see Active Directory Tab (Properties Dialog Box).

Searching for an Analysis server using Active Directory requires code that you provide. To support Active Directory searches, you can create a simple application or tool that allows users to find Analysis servers through name-based or keyword searches. Creating an Active Directory application requires the Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI). You can use the functions and properties of Active Directory objects to support browsing. For more information about ADSI, go to the MSDN® Web page at the Microsoft Web site and search for ADSI.