Behind the scenes in SSIS, the data flow engine uses a buffer-oriented architecture to efficiently load and manipulate datasets in memory. The benefit of this in-memory processing is that you do not need to physically copy and stage data at … Continue reading →
Dimensions are often recycled for multiple purposes within the same database. For instance, a “Date” dimension can be used for “Date of Sale”, as well as “Date of Delivery”, or “Date of Hire”. This is often referred to as a … Continue reading →
A conformed dimension is a dimension that has the same meaning to every fact with which it relates. Conformed dimensions allow facts and measures to be categorized and described in the same way across multiple facts and/or data marts, ensuring consistent … Continue reading →
A reference dimension occurs when the key column for the dimension is joined indirectly to the fact table through a key in another dimension table. This results in a snowflake schema design. The following figure shows one fact table named InternetSales, … Continue reading →
SQL Server 2012 RC0 (Release Candidate 0), formerly known as SQL Server Denali, is now available for download. SQL Server 2012 RC0 is the first release which is feature complete. This was unexpected as no one gave any hints that it … Continue reading →
Degenerate dimensions, also called fact dimensions, are standard dimensions that are constructed from attribute columns in fact tables instead of from attribute columns in dimension tables. This is because useful dimensional data is sometimes stored in a fact table to … Continue reading →
In SSAS, data structures do not always conform to the snowflake or star schema model where one fact is associated with a single dimension member. For example, consider the example of financial transactions in accounts that can have one or … Continue reading →
Parallel execution in SSIS improves performance on computers that have multiple physical or logical processors. To support parallel execution of different tasks in a package, SSIS uses two properties: MaxConcurrentExecutables and EngineThreads. If you are like me, you probably did not … Continue reading →
If you have been creating SSIS packages in Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) for any length of time, you have likely noticed that SSIS packages run slower in BIDS as opposed to running them in a SQL Server agent job … Continue reading →
As a follow-up to my post SQL Server “Denali”: New Certifications, the seven exams for SQL Server 2012 are: Querying Microsoft SQL Server (70-461) [BI and DBA] (info) (course) Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Databases (70-462) [DBA] (info) Developing Microsoft … Continue reading →
A few weeks ago I asked a colleague, who is a DBA, if he was going to the SQL PASS Summit. He had no idea what PASS was. It then occurred to me that there are probably thousands of DBAs, BI … Continue reading →
Are you a salaried employee looking to switch to a W-2 or 1099 contractor? (For an explanation of W-2 and 1099, click Consultants: 1099 or W-2?) If so, what hourly pay rate would you need to at least match your … Continue reading →