SQL SERVER ANALYSIS SERVICES

In addition to the reporting features that SQL Server Reporting Services

provides, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 provides business intelligence and data

analysis features by using SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS). SSAS provides

online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining capabilities.

OLAP and data mining functions allow the user to aggregate data across multiple

dimensions and then to drill down to lower levels of data. This feature is useful

for displaying high level trends of selected data with the ability to identify

underlying causes of significant changes. For example, SSAS can be used to

collect data that shows total sales by month. If a particular month is higher, the

data can be analyzed to identify a specific customer or order that contributed to

the overall trend.

SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) provides a way of looking at data that
differs from how it is shown in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). SSRS
retrieves data from the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 database and allows you to
sort and filter the data to display the specific records that you want. SSAS
aggregates data from Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 and provides a way to view
slices of data. Instead of looking at individual transactions or records, SSAS
displays consolidated data and provides multiple ways of analyzing the data.

Analysis Data and Transaction Data

Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 uses a SQL Server database to store and retrieve
data that is related to the transaction. This type of database is called an Online
Transaction Processing (OLTP) database because the application is designed to
create and display transaction data. To access the Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
data for analysis, SSAS creates a separate database that is optimized to retrieve
large amounts of aggregated data. This type of database is called Online Analysis
Processing (OLAP) database because the data is organized to allow analysis of
the data.

An OLTP database quickly enters and retrieves a small number of records. It is
highly normalized with many tables. An OLAP database aggregates data from
multiple sources and queries typically involve a large volume of records. OLAP
is typically de-normalized with fewer tables.

The "OLTP Database Compared to OLAP Database" figure shows that the OLAP
database cubes allow users to view aggregated data that shows all customers,
items, and dates. Alternatively, the user can drill down a level to view quantities
of all items that are sold on a particular date, or even lower to view what items
were sold on a particular date to a particular customer.

Best Regards,

Hossein Karimi