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Implementing As Partition Processing via Azure Functions–Part 2

In the previous blog post we walked through how to implement the As Partition Processing (open-source) solution using Azure Functions which generated some good questions and discussions. As a result, I’ve decided to take this another step and show you how to implement this solution using the Visual Studio Azure Function project type and modify […]

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Implementing AS Partition Processing via Azure Functions

Last year, Christian Wade released an open source solution to automate partition management and tabular model processing. As someone who’s spent a lot of time setting up similar solutions for clients over the years, I can assure you this is a great contribution to the community and will save you and/or your clients a ton […]

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When to Scale-Up or Scale-Out with Azure Analysis Services

Of all the new features and capabilities currently available with Azure Analysis Services, dynamic scaling up/down and in/out are my 2 favorite. Scaling Up refers to adding more (CPU and/or memory) resources Scaling Out refers to adding more servers Together these features allow you to adjust resources to match changes in workload with only a […]

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Methods for Deploying to Azure Analysis Services

This post covers the most common methods for deploying tabular models while explaining the trade offs for each option. Here are some questions to help you decide which one is most appropriate for your environment: Will you (the SSAS expert) be deploying the solution or do you need to hand it off to a production […]

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Analysis Services in the Cloud: IaaS vs PaaS

When deciding to deploy an Analysis Services solution to the cloud, one of the very first decisions to make is whether to go with an Infrastructure-as-a-Service or Platform-as-a-Service architecture. The diagram below does a good job in explaining the differences between the two. Source: http://www.hostingadvice.com/how-to/iaas-vs-paas-vs-saas/ Note: from an Analysis Services cloud architecture perspective, the “Software-as-a-Service” […]

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What is Super DAX?

In a recent post, I mentioned something called Super DAX without giving it a very detailed explanation. If you’ve been working with SSAS for a few years and have a couple of Tabular projects under your belt, you may already be familiar with some of the performance improvements that roll up under the term “Super […]

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SSAS Multidimensional and Super DAX

An interesting question came up during a recent engagement involving Power BI reporting against a Multidimensional data source. The client wanted to know if there was any benefit for them in upgrading from SSAS 2014 Multidimensional to SSAS 2016 Multidimensional. My initial response was “no, there would be little benefit in carrying out that upgrade… […]

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Object-Level Security for Analysis Services Tabular

Among the many new features coming w/ SSAS 2017, object-level security for tabular models is at (or close to) the top of the list for a few clients I work with. In fact, for 1 client, it is/was important enough that we decided to join the early adopter program (EAP) and officially run the preview […]

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Power Query = Mind Blown

The Power Query engine was first introduced as an Excel plugin (back when it was referred to as “Data Explorer”)… then we saw it again in Power BI Desktop… then again earlier this year in SSAS Tabular… and now (or very soon) as a cloud service. Quite frankly, I’ve been ignoring the whole Power Query […]

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Model Development Performance Improvements for Tabular Models Using Compatibility Level 1200+

It wasn’t until just a few weeks ago, while performing a design assessment on a very large tabular model, that I was finally able to appreciate one of the most underrated improvements made in SSAS Tabular 2016. This particular client was on SSAS 2014 and had a very mature tabular model consisting of… 64 tables […]