Tabular Data Models and PowerPivot

Daniel Bugday — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:01:54 GMT

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Tabular data models are in-memory databases that uses the xVelocity storage and processing engine.

Can be used by Excel and Power View

Tabular data models exposes data in a relational format(tables, columns and relationships) instead of dimensions and measures in a cube.

Tabular data models are quicker to build and not so complex, although they lack some of the advanced features that multidimensional models have.

The best things with tabular models are:

Very easy to learn and implement if you know relational databases
Much simpler in design than multidimensional

Tabular models use Data Analysis Expressions(DAX) to create measures and calculated members and is very similiar to Excel formulas.

There’s two options where you can create a tabular model:

In Excel using PowerPivot(stored in the workbook) and can be published to SharePoint PowerPivot Service
Using SQL Server Data Tools(old BIDS in VS) by creating a SQL Server 2012 Analysis Server instance installed in Tabular Mode

You’ll get this additional features if you use SSAS Tabular mode:

DAX-based row-level security
Partitioning
DirectQuery mode
Deployment options

Dax is the language use create measures, queries and calculated members.

Here’s a really good quick learn guide:

QuickStart: Learn DAX Basics in 30 Minutes

Tabular Model in Analysis Services

SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 can be installed in three different modes:

SSAS(Multidimensional mode) – old traditional multidimensional mode(Cubes and Dimensions)

SSAS(Tabular mode) – New mode, where we use reletional databases with tables and columns(instead of cubes and dimensions)

SSAS(PowerPivot) – The SharePoint Service Application used to host the PowerPivot Service in SharePoint

You create tabular models using Visual Studio 2010:

You could also create a new tabular database in SSAS(Tabular mode) using SSMS by right clicking on the databases folder and choose “Restore from PowerPivot)

Category: Business Intelligence; SQL 2012; SharePoint Server 2010

Published: 5/24/2012 11:01 AM

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SharePoint 2010 Reporting Services Integration

Daniel Bugday — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:56:50 GMT

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This post is a follow-up on my previous posts about the new SQL 2012 Business Intelligence Features in SharePoint 2010 using SQL 2012 and SQL 2008 R2

Previous posts about Reporting Services and SharePoint Integration:

How to: Install Reporting Services SharePoint 2010 mode using SQL 2012

SharePoint 2010 SSRS News(Reporting Services) using SQL 2012

How to: Deploy an SSRS Report to a SharePoint 2010 SSRS Integrated Farm

How to: Integrate SharePoint 2010 and Reporting Services 2008 R2

In this post, i’ll try to summarize all the things you need to know about SQL 2012 and SharePoint 2010.

Reporting Services comes in two modes:

SharePoint Mode:

Reportings Services implemented as a Service Application and managed through Central Administration

SharePoint Mode can be configured either in “Local Mode” or “Connected Mode”. In “Local Mode” there’s no need for a report server and all reports are rendered in sharepoint document libraries. In “Connected Mode”, your reporting solution can include the features of Reporting Services like subscriptions, snapshots etc.

In SharePoint Mode:
You’ll have the “Power View” feature

You deploy reports to sharepoint document libraries

You start Report Builder from a document library

You manage all the features like subscription, snapshot, data sources, data sets etc. from the report file(.rdl) in a sharepoint document library

You’ll have the new data alert feature

All the logging and management is centralized throug SharePoint Central Administration and the logging is written to the SharePoint ULS logs.

Native Mode:

Reporting Services is a stand-alone application server that provides all processing and management of the service and has nothing to do with SharePoint

Category: SharePoint Foundation 2010; SharePoint Server 2010; SQL 2012; Business Intelligence

Published: 5/22/2012 1:56 PM

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Tabular Data Models and PowerPivot

SharePoint 2010 Reporting Services Integration